Interview

The Black Moriah's The Mad Arab SaysThe Next Album is "A Concept Album And A Journey Across The Western Esoteric World We Have Created."

The Black Moriah were fortunate enough to live near (Dallas/Forth Worth) one of the greatest black metal bands to ever grace the States, Absu. The group is heavily influenced by Absu. The group is no sideline fan of Absu, though, their guitarist Zawicizuz played with Absu on their self-titled comeback albums, one of the highlights of 2009.

While there are similarities to Absu in their music, especially on the title track of “Casket Prospects,” The Black Moriah is by no means a clone. They have their own sound and their own shtick. Samples and tremolo riffs create atmosphere, while drummer The Mad Arab plays a variety of tempos. They’ve brought Westerns into black metal’s narrow fold. When they take the stage, the group dresses like bandits from the old West.

Three years have passed since the release of “Casket Prospects,” and the group is ready to get back in the saddle again. They have a new full-length and tours in the works. Last month, the band played Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Horror Film Festival, where they played the pre-fest party at Korova with other Texas heavy-hitters like Aggravator and Protest, plus Sweden-infused Black Breath. Drummer/lyricist The Mad Arab recollected on “Casket Prospects,” and gave us a glimpse into dusty, corpse-ridden material that is on the way.

Rex_84: The Black Moriah released “Casket Prospects” three years ago. Now that you’ve had a couple of years to reflect on the album, how do you feel about it? Did everything come out the way you wanted or would you have changed some things?

The Mad Arab: Our debut album we recorded at Wooden Horse Studios which is our own studio located in guitarist Zawicizuz’s, the other founding member of Tbm, home. It was engineered by Chris Galt , Zawicizuz and mastered by Gary Long at Nomad Studios. The album was well received by fans and has had many great reviews. We had a limited budget for the album so we obviously would like to have some more label backing on the next album to be able to have just a heavier album with a much fuller production. I am wanting more of a fuller heavier sound on drums like the old analog recorded albums. Every time you record album yourselves you learn from your mistakes and take notes of what you like and dislike during the process, so that's the great thing about DIY.

Rex_84: What old west story are you telling on Casket Prospects?

TMA: “Casket Prospects” is the story about a bounty hunter riding through the west through towns and searching for his prey, capturing it and getting his bounty whether they are dead or alive. Bounty hunters in the west were never really the good guys; they where the tough rugged vagrants who didn't take shit from others. They where not afraid of the violence or imposing violence and fear.

Rex_84: Who played cello on the intro “After The Shovel.”

TMA: Ha ha, I wish the cello was acoustic, but all the samples and instrumentals where all composed by Zawicizuz.

Rex_84: Zawicizuz played in Absu before joining The Black Moriah. Some of the songs on the album, especially the title track, sound similar to Absu. Did his time in Absu influence your sound?

TMA: Being from the same area as Absu and Zawicizuz being in the band he helped write the comeback album after Absu took their hiatus. “Amy” on the album is one track Zawicizuz solely wrote. So I think that could go both ways. We are very good friends with the band and have been listening to them since the beginning of their existence. I see Proscriptor as a big drum influence for myself. They are a great BM band that has a great concept behind their music and they portray it great live and on their albums.

Rex_84: Who are some of the other bands that influence The Black Moriah?

TMA: Influences I would say are, Khold, Slayer, Venom, Craft, Motörhead, Bathory, Mayhem, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Aura Noir, classical music, Lorne Greene, Aphex Twin, Absu just to name a few.

Rex_84: How did you come up with the band’s name and what does it mean?

TMA: Zawicizuz came up with the band’s name. Tbm is the first wagon hearse that carried the dead to the infamous Boot Hill cemetery. If you visit tombstone it is still there locked in a museum.

Rex_84: You told me you’re working on a new album. Where are you at in making this album? What details can you give us about the recording?

TMA: We are almost over half way done with our next album. It is entitled “Road Agents of the Blast Furnace.” We hope to have it released in early 2016.

Rex_84: Will this upcoming album be a concept album like “Casket Prospects?”

TMA: The next album we will also be sort of a concept album and a journey across the western esoteric world we have created. It will be more intense and aggressive than the debut album.

Rex_84: Are you approaching the writing the same way for this album as you did “Casket Prospects” or are you trying something new?

TMA: We are writing the same way for this album as we did the previous using kind of the same formula. We are doing some things just a little different since we have added a couple new members. Last album Zawicizuz wrote all songs. This time around we will have some input from our second lead guitarist Syzygy Dérive who will be having a couple tracks he wrote on the new album. We also will have Zathog our new bass player laying down the bass lines. Myself The Mad Arab will write all lyrics on the album and vocal lines on the album with some input from our new vocalist Orodreth Carnesir.

Rex_84: Where did you record “Casket Prospects” and will you be recording the next album there?

TMA: We recorded Casket Prospects at Wooden Horse Studios produced by Southern Casket Productions which are both under the Asteri Agency , owned by Zawicizuz , Mavro Asteri and myself, The Mad Arab. Zawicizuz has a degree in music and has spent many years studying music production and audio engineering. He and myself are the main producers and engineers of the project.

Rex_84: Who produced the album and will you be using the same producer for the next recording?

TMA: The previous album was produced by Zawicizuz, myself and Chris Galt. We plan on recording the new album at Wooden Horse Studios and doing a lot of the mixing, and production ourselves. We will of course be shopping it around to various labels that are interested in our project so we can get more backing for the final production of the album. We have not decided where we are going to master the album yet.

Rex_84: The Black Moriah played Housecore Horror Film Festival’s pre-party in San Antonio on Thursday, November 12th at the side stage at Korova. How do you feel about being part of this festival? Did you watch any films, meet horror film personas or watch bands?

TMA: You can never pass up a invitation from Phil Anselmo to play the HHFF. We played the first year which was in Austin in front of a huge crowd and this year which has been great exposure so far. It's great getting to meet new people connections, hang out , enjoy all the great music and horror films. This year we watched “Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things , short films and “God Told Me To.” Of course we where all geared up to see King Diamond perform Abigail! I met Bill Moseley, which was pretty kick ass.

Rex_84: What are some of your most memorable shows that you’ve played?

TMA: Some of the most memorable shows are probably when Phil came to see us in Nola on the tour with Hymns. Then I would say first year of the Housecore fest at the Dirty Dog, which we played to a packed house, our first show with Bestial Vengeance at the Phoenix project in Dallas, then some of the shows we did on the tour with Absu in Nola, Okc, Dallas before we took a break to start writing the album. We also did our trail of Texas Terror tour leading up to the first Housecore fest that went through Dallas, midland, Amarillo, El Paso and Nola.

Rex_84: What is a The Black Moriah performance like? Do you wear corpse paint?

TMA: In our shows we want to portray the aggressiveness of our music on stage as well as the western themes in our music. We wear bandannas like many of the outlaws did in those days while committing acts of horror. We all wear black and because we are Road Agents of the same posse. We don't wear corpse paint it doesn't fit our theme. We want to portray the ruggedness and violence on stage of the west.

Rex_84: What is in store for The Black Moriah after HHFF? Do you have a timetable for your album? Do you have any shows/tours planned?

TMA: After HHFF we will begin finishing our upcoming album “Road Agents of the Blast Furnace.” We don't have a set date but I would say a tentative goal for us would be to finish the album by Feb and give it to the labels that are interested in Tbm. We have some shows planned with Absu next year and will be doing some touring around the U.S. and Canada. Nothing is set in stone yet but it is all in the works to tour very heavily in 2016 and spread our filth all over.