Lysergic Metal of Death

רְשִׁימ֥וֹת־תֹּ֖הוּ | interview with Grave Miasma

By: Yossi Ben Oz

3-2-17

Basically? I think it is the thick abundant overall guitar sound combined with the evolving riffs that make that undefined stomach feel that grasps you when encountered with the works of Grave Miasma.

Originating from the UK, these guys felt a bit of a pioneer group in their own country though they are most certainly not founders of their genre. They have been around since 2002 though under a different name (used to be called Goat Molestör when commenced – back in 2002, remaining so until 2006).

A relatively newcomer to the scene, the band doesn't aim to revolutionize Death/Black Metal. They play a sort of extreme & doomy-bass-filled type of Black-Death build upon a melodic structure that reminds me of the good old days of the founding fathers like Hypocrisy, Gorguts or Benediction. In a sense, these bands are what I seem to look for every time I hear what Grave Miasma are doing in their music. The modern times absence of a firm, non-compromising, thick-doomy like-bass-oriented sound in the Metal scene is a "romance" generator: Your heart is filled with sadness about your ever beloved spouse, gone now. And you cannot forget how your soul reacted to her when you've been with her at old times. But now she seems to have gone forever. Nowadays, all bands try different things, moving onwards to toy a little bit with the more experimental kind of post-metal materials whilst you are left to yearn for your lady to come back & re-flourish your heart.

Grave Miasma are taking you back to your loved one, if the above metaphor can be completed. This is, to my opinion, their strongest virtue.

With time, the band developed its own sound that I feel strayed only little from the initial backline.

In honor of their 1st time ever visit to the land of the divine intervention, we talked to the band asking them a few questions to discover some more layers within their music & writings.

The interview below was taken with Yoni Ben Haim – the guitarist & vocalist behind the British Black/Death Metal act – Grave-Miasma.

*

1.       Hello Yoni. 1st of all – I'd like to thank you for this kind interview & hails for your visit to Israel! Personally I have longed for this to happen.

Likewise, it is a great honor for us to visit and play in Tel Aviv.

2.       Can you please share with us how you all met in the 1st place & what stirred you up to get organized as a band & start playing?

Dani and I are biological brothers, and from a young age both harbored the dream of playing music. I met Ro in a Rock club and we became very good friends with a shared taste of underground Metal. Based on this the three of us had huge interest in playing a style of Black/Death Metal that was not common at that time - certainly less so in England.

3.       Tell us a little about your last EP. The new material does not stray from your primal line of art, although changes have been made.  Nowadays a lot of bands tend to reinvent themselves all the time, what's your stand about this? Will future material totally differ from your current stuff or do you tend to take a stronghold of your artistic directions?

There lies a paradox within Death Metal. We do not wish to stray beyond the narrow limits of the genre, however we feel that there is enough creative space for each recording to evolve with newer elements and influences without straying from the core principles of Death Metal; Those being, darkness, decay, obscurity, madness and so on.
Reinventing the band is not necessary as quite simply Death Metal will forever be our chosen form of expression.

4.       You deal much with the Occult in your lyrical themes. Most of it from a Hindu origin. I must add that I have even found some lyrical themes taken from the ancient realms of the "Qabalah" (antique secret lore of the ancient Israeli nation). What is behind this use of ancient wisdoms?

In terms of approaching Qabalah as a system of equilibrium - be it from a mathematical or gematric viewpoint – there are clear secrets than can be illuminated. Artists Jesse Bramford and Daniel Martin Diaz have perfected a visual explanation of these principles far more worthy than any written attempt I could give, in how they relate to the fabric of space-time, consciousness, thought and matter.
Additionally, The Four Worlds (A’B’Y’A) are something that can be realized and experienced. What makes a mystic principle real and rather than merely theory is its tangibility. Even the Bhagavad-Gita contains the following quotation which has a very analogous connection:  "And, O descendant of Bharata[1]! See wonders in numbers, unseen before. Within my body, O Gudâkesa! See to-day the whole universe, including everything movable and immovable, all in one."

5.       As said above - you heavy intertwine of Hindu elements into your music. Both textual & musically BTW. Why the Hindu culture of all?

Obviously I claim no cultural lineage towards Hinduism or that part of the world. The relation and equilibrium between Kali and Shiva is one I find absolutely fascinating, and the mind becomes absolutely absorbed in this astonishing reality once digging deeper.

6.       I want to talk about the music: I think what really appeals in your music is the thick overall sound that takes people back to the days when black & death metal were deep & bass filled genres. I'm curious what – if any – metal bands have influenced you in your work?

The list of bands who influence us will be too numerous to state, though to the initiated ear they are quite detectable and obvious. Since our formative years we believe that the influences have become less definitive to the point that we have our own style based on our musical capabilities (and subsequent limitations).

7.       Back in 2002 you've changed your name to Grave Miasma. Before that you were "Goat Molestör". Has this change brought upon some more deep changes in your artistic work, besides just changing your image? What was the incentive behind this action?

All bands evolve, and we are no different.

8.       If I was to ask you to describe in one sentence the very heart & soul of your metal in Grave Miasma – how would you've described it?

Lysergic Metal of Death darker than the other side of the moon, brighter than a thousand suns.

9.       What are your plans for the future? Is there new material you are working on lately?

Currently we have numerous ideas and riffs recorded. The next full length is taking shape.

I want to thank you for this kind interview, & see you all in Israel. Hails \m/

        Cheers! \m/

Yossi Ben Oz
January 2017

[1]  In Hindu scriptures, Bharata (Sanskrit: भरत, Bharata i.e., "The cherished") is a legendary emperor and the founder of the Bhārata dynasty and thus an ancestor of the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata.