Interview Molten

In this exclusive interview, we delve into the depths of MOLTEN's latest release, "MALICIDE." From its historical inspirations to studio collaboration with Greg Wilkinson, the band unveils the dark journey behind the album's creation, promising a groundbreaking addition to the extreme music scene.

1. Congratulations on the release of your latest single, "MALICIDE." Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the title track and what listeners can expect from the upcoming album?

HB: Thanks! We’re stoked on how it has been received so far. The title track is basically a reflection (in a very condensed way) on the brutality of the crusades. A subject matter that seems to be brushed to the side in today’s culture. We touched on the religious wars that swept Europe for centuries; the genocidal ways of the Christian church and the utter annihilation they had on other cultures all over the world. The lyrics are very broad and generalized in portraying those events. With with some brutality and intensity to match the music.

BB: The knights Templar boasted the unspeakable acts committed against their enemies were for religious and holy reasons but anyone can see they were committing atrocities and ultimately would be damned for these heinous acts. The second part of the song focuses on the crucifixion of Christ and defying Christianity for betraying the people via the Templar raids.

2. "Malicide" explores various thematic realms, from war and corruption to inner turmoil and fantasy. How do these diverse themes come together to create a cohesive narrative throughout the album?

HB: For the most part, we wanted to tackle real issues that we all experience regarding the human psyche, war, isolation, history, Covid, and so on. It’s usually subject matter that has negative connotations which go hand in hand with the weight of the music. 

BB: Starting with the first track “Festering Anamnesis”, being in isolation leads to thoughts of destruction mentally and physically creating an internal war, eventually spilling over into “Malicide” which describes the horrors of the crusades. “Scorched” deals with humanity relying too heavily on technology until it turns on us and destroys the entire planet. “Prophets of Greed” focuses on corrupt politicians, their money hungry agendas dragging the state of public well being into poverty and death in the midst of a pandemic. “Empires of Divinity” tells the story of archaeologists recovering the Dead Sea Scrolls, reciting them and unleashing hell on earth. “Life of War” is a tale as old as time where a ruthless tyrant plots to enslave anyone who detests his evil regime, while a group of warriors band together to overthrow the evil armies sent to eradicate them. 

3. The album was recorded at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, under the guidance of acclaimed producer Greg Wilkinson. How did working with Wilkinson contribute to the evolution of MOLTEN's sound, and what was the studio experience like?

BB: It’s always a fuckin absolute pleasure to work with the Evil Wizard cause not only does he know how to make heavy music sound even heavier with precision and patience, he’s also the nicest dude ever, makes it feel less like work and keeps it super fun. He’s very hands on and if you think you should do a better take he’ll encourage you to do it as many or as few times you need for it to sound proper. Some of the vocal tracks on this album came together in one or two takes and we were happy with the sound and kept plugging away at finishing the beast. As far as the evolution of our sound, we all enjoy a wide array of music heavy or not but the things we write about create a dark atmosphere that immerses the music with a sense of excitement but also despair if that makes sense. 

HB: Greg is a legend. Working with him is always a blast. Not only is he an incredibly solid dude, but he’s also super knowledgeable in various aspects of music. Not to mention incredibly patient. He’s a pro and he always puts 100% into what he does. He has a real passion for it. 

He has helped us a ton with tones, gear, effects, textures, and sounds. In the process of recording more complex arrangements, he always had good insight regarding performances and also with general recording techniques. He always guides us in the direction we want to take our sound. 

He recorded the drums, bass and vocals.

He also took the overwhelming task of editing and mixing the record, which was not an easy undertaking. His engineering magic on this record is an awesome feature on it’s own. 

Chris Corona, our guitar player, also had a lot to do with recording the record. He basically recorded all the guitars (electric and acoustic) on the record that he and Gary performed. He recorded me playing some acoustic guitars and piano as well. 

He also worked really hard to get those tones and awesome performances spending inumerable hours adding effects, mixing tones and experimenting a lot with the engineering part of it. A big part of the sound of the record is thanks to Chris too. 

Chris and I worked with Greg on the production side and the overall vibe of the album.

4. The visual aesthetics of "Malicide" are complemented by artwork from Noah Cutter Meihoff. How does the album's artwork reflect the intensity and depth of its musical compositions, and what was the collaboration process like with Meihoff?

BB: I think the central theme “if you do evil things, evil will find you and you’ll pay much more for your acts” is represented by the Knight on the cover having part of his face removed in a cross shape by a demon taunting him nailing it on the wall to show his hideous actions have brutal consequences. Working with Noah was a breeze and he is one cool dude for sure. We wrote back and forth and he sent us a couple different ideas before we finally chose what would be the insanely beautiful and morbid piece of artwork that is “Malicide”. He will be a household name in metal art very soon, mark my words.

HB: He did an amazing job portraying the general vibe of the album in that piece of art.

5. "Malicide" marks a significant evolution in your sound and artistic vision. Can you elaborate on the influences and creative process that shaped the album, making it both melodically captivating and viscerally intense?

HB: For this record, it was obvious to all of us that we wanted to create something heavier but with more substance. In a lot of ways we wanted a more straightforward approach with more complex arrangements. Like Dystopian Syndrome, we basically incorporated all of the music we love into our sound. We also started working more collectively; experimenting a lot with different rhythms and harmonic approaches. 

Involving everyone in the band instead of 1 or 2 guys writing the songs and showing them to the rest of the band. Consequently, it all was molded into a more cohesive stream with input from everyone in the band. 

BB: Personally I take a lot of influence from classic Florida death metal bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide and old European bands like Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Entombed and Napalm Death when it comes to vocals, style and lyrical themes. War, oppression, depression, mental/body horror, and corrupt political climates are all featured in our lyrics which can be derived straight from the news and daily life. 

6. Your previous releases, the 2019 EP and 2021 debut LP, "Dystopian Syndrome," received acclaim. How does "Malicide" build upon the success of these earlier works, and what new elements does it bring to the table?

BB: I think for this album we just wanted to get darker and heavier with a few shorter songs that punch you right in the gut before you get into the meat for a song like “Empires of Divinity” that I lovingly refer to as our “Satan’s Fall” (by Mercyful Fate). I feel like you can look at the killer artwork, read along to the lyrics and make a mental landscape of what’s going on for each song. One thing I really try to focus on is annunciation so you can hear what I’m singing instead of it being muddy and indecipherable (which I love those bands too don’t get me wrong). 

HB: Malicide is just a continuation of us trying to put all of our influences into our sound. In the process of writing this record we tackled more complex arrangements and we experimented a lot more as a band with different ideas we had not tried before. We had a very melodic sound on DS with a lot of melodies, harmonies and clean parts. With this record we experimented more with different rhythmic and harmonic approaches that incorporate an eclectic array of influences. 

Unanimously, we also did not want to repeat ourselves so there was a lot of discussions on how to prevent rehashing elements we’ve touched on the previous records. 

7. The press release mentions that "Malicide" promises to push sonic boundaries. In what ways do you feel the album challenges conventional norms within the death/thrash genre, and what experimentation can fans look forward to?

BB: I feel like each song in the album stands apart from the other which make for an interesting listen each time you listen to it but at the same time they also work together to bring a story as old as the 1300’s up to current times. If you read each song I think you’ll find the common connection.

HB: We love all kinds of metal, but it’s hard to create new and refreshing sounds that don’t sound contrived or derivative of something that’s been done before. Aside from the obvious metal influences, what we tried to do is add elements of other types of music that are not typically regarded within the death/thrash parameters. There’s some prog and classical influences on the record. We also have a doomy side to our music. The black metal influence is there too. 

A lot of the music was written as an amalgamation of genres, per say. With a metal sensibility always. 

Chris is super into legendary guitar players like Jeff Beck, Gilmour and Hendrix to name a few, and he adds a lot of textures and arrangements that are not super common in a metal context. Damon has awesome swing in his playing, not to mention the punk rock attitude he adds to his drumming. So the overall feel of the songs have a different vibe than the traditional metal style. 

Bristol is always incorporating different kinds of vocals in the songs, with different ranges and styles. 

So it’s a plethora of influences meshed together. 

It’s also important to point out the tones involved in the music. With drums, guitars, bass and vocals. We added a lot of 12 and 6 string acoustic guitars on the tracks. 

Our tuning is also another factor. 

For instance, we were partly denied by a record label because our tuning was not low enough for the low register of Bristol’s vocals. Nowadays it’s almost a norm to record guitars in a lower tuning, specifically with extreme metal. And since we recorded the record in Eb it might be off putting to some death metal purists. 

8. As a band, how do you balance the aggressive and immersive aspects of your music to create an album that is both intense and captivating?

BB: We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel but we’re also not trying to be some cookie cutter band that’s just one dimensional. Instead we pick the best things from genres we love, blend them in a way that’s familiar, yet our own sound and keep pushing to create tunes that are memorable and fun to listen to.

HB: We also like to push ourselves as musicians and artists. So it’s always fun to experiment with different ideas. Our influences are so vast there’s always ideas thrown into the mix from everyone. The well is never dry.

9. The journey through the darkest recesses of the human psyche is a central theme in "Malicide." How do you approach lyricism and instrumentation to create an experience that is haunting yet exhilarating for your listeners?

HB: Lyrically Malicide is more of an observation of events that went down during the crusades. But we’re talking of centuries of events here, of course we’re going to generalize and be very broad on the subject matter. 

We do have a song on the record called Festering Anamnesis and the main theme is focused heavily on the dark recesses of the human psyche for sure. Both lyrically and musically. 

Ultimately when we write music or lyrics we wanna create things that seem interesting and exciting to us.

BB: I tend to write about the horrible things happening in the world as well as mental horror and fantasy to tie together a story style way of writing lyrics. 

10. Can you share any memorable anecdotes or challenges faced during the creation of "Malicide"? How did you overcome these obstacles to deliver the groundbreaking addition to extreme music that the press release promises?

BB: Well Covid put a huge limitation on us getting to tour for the first time so we took to writing about what was happening around us. It seemed like it took a lot longer to get things done back then and now it’s finally seeing the light of day thanks to Greg at Earhammer, Justin at Trakworx and James at Transylvanian Recordings. 

HB: We’ve had a lot of memorable moments, specially playing shows, recording in the studio with Greg, or simply hanging out at practice. We had a blast making the zombie’s curse mini horror film.

We try to always have fun doing this. 

It took a lot of hard work and persistence to get this album out. Greg, Justin, Noah and James were a big part in helping us create this album and to put it out.  As far as it being groundbreaking I’m not sure. But we are extremely proud of the record and it’s definitely been an improvement from our last album, in our opinion.

11. With the anticipation building for the release of "Malicide," what can fans expect in terms of live performances, tours, or other exciting plans from MOLTEN in the near future?

HB:Yeah, we’re definitely gearing up to hit the road and play more. We’re already writing new material too. So playing shows with cool bands and meeting awesome people is definitely a highlight for us. 

Overall we wanna have fun and play some sick metal that will hopefully bring something refreshing to the table

BB:Anytime we get on stage we bring the intensity in our music to you and interact with the crowd. We want to have good fuckin time with the fans because they drive us to keep making music that’s gonna make you bang your head and feel it in your chest. We are in the works of lining up some tour dates so if you want to see us in your town, tell your local venues, promoters, hell even email us and spread the word cause we wanna come melt your faces, Molten style.

Molten (@moltenthrashingdeath) • Photos et vidéos Instagram

Dystopian Syndrome | MOLTEN (bandcamp.com)

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