Summon: How did the band get started?
Khalvst ov Mhurn: The band started in early August this year, a few months after the dissolution of my previous band Skjaersild. In the chamber I had about 30 songs written between 2004 and 2008 which had never seen the light and I thought it would be a good time to create a new band. Then I was looking for a musician who would want to join the new band, I asked Raze because I know that he is a good and serious musician who gets involved at 100% in what he does.
Raze: For me the band started in late august this year when Khalvst Ov Mhurn contacted me asking if I would join as the guitarist in his new project, soon after that he asked if I would do bass and vocals as well.
Summon: What kind of music do you play?
Raze: We play a very dark and other-worldly type of black metal, hard to describe it so I suggest for people to listen and judge for themselves.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Same as Raze.
Summon: How has the fan response been?
Raze: We’ve gotten a good response from people so far, to be honest Khalvst Ov Mhurn is more in touch with the listeners then I am.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Well, the album was released a few days ago, but the response from the people was good. I think it will be better to ask ourselves that question again further down the line. Now is too early to draw any conclusions.
Summon: Where did the band name come from?
Raze: I remember Khalvst Ov Mhurn asking me if I had any ideas for a good band name, my suggestion was to merge two names together like Scott Conner did to make the name Xasthur, the next day we spoke again and he had come up with the name Marahkain.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: That’s it. The name Marahkain is formed from the name of my daughter Marah (named after the god of destruction and leader of demons in buddhism) and the name of Raze’s son Kain (named after the first murderer in Christianity and the first Satanist in luciferiarism).
Summon: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band. Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Khalvst ov Mhurn: I’m the one who writes all the music, record all the drums and keys. I am also the one who designs the artwork.
Raze: I record all guitars, write the lyrics and record the vocals. Then I put everything together and do the mastering.
Summon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Raze: The lyrics for the EP are all based on the end of all things, a return to nothingness and a great void instead of a fairytale afterlife.
Summon: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
Raze: I myself am a luciferian and have my own set views on the occult, I don’t like to sing about Satan and such but I do like making vocals about the left hand path of reality.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: In my case, I am totally anti-Christian and I am against any kind of religion. However, I feel a special predilection for the dark and evil. Trying to ‘escape’ from the reality of this world of shit, usually I take refuge in self-mutilation, something that I’ve put aside since my paternity.
Summon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Raze: In our other projects we have released several CD’s but so far only one Marahkain CD.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: And you can purchase the Marahkain EP through two labels. No Remorse Records (from Gibraltar) or Senseless Life Records (from UK).
Summon: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Raze: I suppose the best songs are Obsidian Skies and Beyond The End, very different songs but they are the darkest and most powerful in my opinion.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: I agree with Raze, but I will also add the song The Merging. For me it was special, because was the first song to be recorded.
Summon: Do you have any side projects?
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Yes, I have another project called ov Mhurn. Initially started as a solo project of Dark Ambient with a demo released in 2012 through Depressive Illusions Records. Now, the project is changing to a Doom/Black Metal/Dark Ambient. I have composed 3 new songs for ov Mhurn (I hope that Raze will be interested in being part of this project to record the guitars and bass!).
Raze: My other project is one I do on my own its called Cold Crypt, its more disturbing and insane then Marahkain but its less melodic.
Summon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Lots of musicians and bands. I started listening to thrash metal bands like Metallica, then changed to Melodic Black Metal (early Cradle of Filth, Catamenia, Children of Bodom,…) but then I started to listen to the TRUE Black Metal, specially Scandinavian Black Metal bands (Emperor, Immortal, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Satyricon,…) and over the years I went deeper to underground black metal bands.
Raze: My greatest influences are Wrest from Leviathan and Malefic from Xasthur.
Summon: Which current bands?
Raze: Right now I’m listening to a lot of Sapthuran (can’t wait for the new album).
Khalvst ov Mhurn: I am listening lots of DSBM bands right now, for example Svart, Morn Guruth,…
Summon: What is the band like when you play live?
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Marahkain don’t play live shows.
Summon: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
Raze: US black metal is great, been waiting for the new twilight album for ages, the best death metal band I’ve heard from the US would have to be King Karnage but I think the band has changed its name now.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: In my opinion US Black Metal scene is less known than Death Metal scene. But, is it true that there are few black metal bands that are great.
Summon: What do you think of the Overseas scenes?
Raze: Most of the music I listen to is from overseas, the UK metal scene is kinda thin at the moment, some great bands but not enough of them.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: In Spain the situation is similar to UK and other countries. In Spain there are good underground Black Metal (and other genres) bands, but they don’t have full support; I mean that I don’t know why people don’t go to a live show to support them, or buy a physical copy of their works (for example for only 8 € you can see a live show of 4 or 5 bands, or buy their copies for no more than 10 €) with the excuse that these prices are too expensive but then these ‘fans’ do not have any problem with spend 5 € each day in tobacco or pay for each beer 2.5 €. So, in my opinion, this attitude is hurtful to the scene.
Summon: What are some of new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
Raze: Leviathan, Xasthur, Striborg, Darkthrone, Burzum, Nosvrolok, Xenotaph, Sapthuran, Smorg, I could go on.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Shining, Morn Guruth, Svart, Vrolok, Burzum, Satyricon, Cold Crypt, …
Summon: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Raze: We have more material written and ready to record, we just want to spread the music out a bit if that makes any sense.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: Yes, and some new stuff is being written, concretely a cover. I think that when this cover is done and recorded people will say: FUCK! what the hell have these people have done with that song!
Summon: What does the future hold for the band??
Raze: New sounds, new ideas and a shit load of Jack Daniels for inspiration.
Khalvst ov Mhurn: That’s it. The main change will be in the sound (guitar, bass and drums), but in contrast to Raze, I prefer gin tonics!
Thanks for this interview
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/marahkainband
http://marahkain.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpgj9FnPKHebjYka8NJIYFw?feature=watch
