Mitochondrion - Those swell guys of metallic devastation

It's true: too many records come out. A ton of useless stuff and the occasional gem, once in a while. Then there are the revelations… often buried under the excess, hidden away in the crevices of the underground's underground. Concerts for a handful of diehards, the odd small satisfaction, and let's not even talk about money. Struck by the power and quality of their “Archaeaeon“, I got in touch via Facebook with these unknown Canadian guys. An exchange of ideas that lasted about a month. But it was a pleasure to “investigate” their sound, so brutal and hallucinated yet also full of moving glimpses.

So, guys… how did the Mitochondrion adventure start? How did you meet?

Nick Yanchuck: The band was born in 2003 out of the meeting between Shawn Haché (vocals, guitar), Nick Gibas (bass) and myself (guitar, vocals, bass). We decided right away to start writing original material. I had been friends with Gibas since elementary school, while Shawn had met him in middle school. Ironically, the schools we attended were Christian, while our families were not. Paradoxical? The maniac known as Karl Godard, on the other hand, joined us in 2006 as a second drummer, before permanently replacing our first, inept drummer.

Did you already have any musical experience before this?

Shawn Haché: in the band's early days, I was just a singer. I had fiddled around with guitar for a long time (mostly acoustic), but I never took it too seriously. Later on, I started writing riffs, some of which would end up on the EP "Through Cosmic Gaze". When our second guitarist eventually left the band to pursue his shitty, "technical" death-metal leanings, I decided to dedicate myself full-time to guitar, while obviously continuing to sing as well. Karl, on the other hand, is by far the most musical of all of us… he played in numerous bands before joining us. He plays piano, guitar, drums, and pretty much anything you hand him. Still, he'd only played drums as a teenager before joining Mitochondrion, and he'd been seriously rehearsing for about 4-5 months before he got up on stage with us for a show and recorded our first demo. Fucking impressive!

NY: Nothing really interesting. I played in a mediocre rock/metal cover band back in high school… shortly before founding Mitochondrion.

What are your influences (musical and otherwise)?

NY: That's always a great question! Inquisition (the only true black-metal band), Rites Of Degringolade, Incantation, Portal, Allfather, Immolation, the whole power-electronics/noise scene from Victoria. During one of our very first shows, we played alongside some of these bands, and that pointed us in the direction we were destined to follow. As for non-musical influences, the lyrics are mostly shaped by observations on the human condition on this earth… Fear, pain, agony, rage…. Most of my lyrical material tries to raise the micro-events of my soul to a higher, absolute, existential level. An attempt to "organize" the chains that bind my body and mind, if you will. As inspiration hit me while writing the lyrics for "Archaeaeon" (to which Shawn also contributed), a fair amount of cheap whiskey gave me a big hand in coming to terms with my demons. On "Archaeaeon", we dealt with themes of Satanism, fear, agony, hatred, and the contemplation of illusion versus reality, with references to the Necronomicon, to Numerology, and to the possibility each of us has to "annihilate" reality through sheer force of mind.

As for the new album, "Parasignosis" [there's still no official release date for it; ed.], drugs play a prominent role instead, even if the themes of pain and anguish remain the guiding force behind everything. The internet helped me a lot with my research into Satanism, medieval witch hunts, and alchemy. On top of that, the film "The Devils" [a 1971 film directed by Ken Russell, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Reed and Max Adrian; ed.] will also have some influence on the new album.

SH: To a lesser extent, names like Boyd Rice/Non, Blood Axis and Death In June gave us the courage to expand our sound into a stranger, more experimental dimension. For instance, my riffs are mainly inspired by everything "deformed", by distorted sounds – I'm not satisfied with a riff unless it causes me some kind of mental unease. Lyrically, when I write I let myself be guided by strange images and even more outlandish metaphysical scenarios, which I try to work through using words. These days, I'm interested in occultism, magic, esoteric stuff, various forms of ascension… trying to understand humanity's spiritual horizon.

How would you define your sound?

SH: When people ask me that, I answer by saying it's a mix of distorted death metal and savage black/war metal.

What exactly do you mean by war-metal? Are you thinking of Blasphemy, of whom, on some level, you're still an offshoot?

SH: Well, I guess, ultimately, that all war-metal started with Blasphemy. But yeah, I like the term "offshoot" better than "clones". We've never considered ourselves a war-metal band... that's a label others have stuck on us. But it's definitely an influence, and like all our other influences, we try to take it and reinterpret it according to our own vision.

Ten essential records for your musical education.

Axis of Advance – “Obey”

Conqueror – "War Cult Supremacy"

Portal – "Seepia"

Rites of Thy Degringolade – “Totality”

Incantation – "Blasphemy"

Behemoth – "Zos Kia Cultus, Demigod"

Blut Aus Nord – “Fathers of the Icy Age” e “The Works Which Transform God”

Hate Forest – “The Most Ancient Ones”

Immolation – "Close To A World Below"

Inquisition – “Invoking the Magestic Throne Of Satan”

Morbid Angel – "Covenant"

Non – "God & Beast"

Let's talk a bit about the music scene in your city, Victoria. Is it thriving? Are there many metal bands?

NY: It could be better. There are plenty of bands playing metal, but fewer and fewer devoted to an "extreme" sound. Among the many, there's Conqueror, Allfather, Funerary Call and, to a lesser extent, Gremory. The most extreme stuff, though, comes from the power electronics or noise scene: I'm thinking of projects like Griefer or Brutophilia. Either way, most of the music around here is pretty weak and uninspired.

P.S. Karl and Shawn currently live in Vancouver. Only I stayed in Victoria.

I know you've recently played some shows with Portal... In my view, the Australian band is one of the most important forces on today's "death" scene. Truly hallucinatory music! The way I see it, you represent a step forward from their sound... I see you as a mix of Gorguts (for your "otherworldly", progressive touch), Nile (I'm thinking, for instance, of certain martial passages... especially an instrumental like "Descent..."), war-metal (well, you're also somewhat children of Blasphemy!) and, obviously, Portal (your stuff is damn hallucinatory too!). An extremely original sound, no doubt about it.

NY: I believe Portal are the most "unique" band to ever appear in the death-metal circuit. In my opinion, neither we nor Gorguts can really be placed in the same category as them (for instance, we lack the theatrical appeal that's one of their defining traits), although I won't deny there are some clear convergences at the sonic level. Gorguts, Nile and Blasphemy are all hugely important influences for us, as you rightly point out. We're trying to combine the sound of the death-metal acts we love most, trying to create something new. We do NOT want to blend sounds just for the sake of it, the way so many bands do with jazz influences and all those aimless solos with no direction, no weight, no substance. You have to respect talented musicians capable of carrying forward a project like that... However, that's not really the musical path we want to pursue. A step forward, you say? I agree with that, but only in the sense of filling a void that hadn't been filled before; not necessarily a step forward as such. I think Mitochondrion will achieve their goal if they keep moving through uncharted territory. Our next album, the one we'll eventually manage to release! (we recorded it in the summer of 2009... but there have been plenty of setbacks since then), will be a bit stranger and I think it represents an evolution. I'm not 100% satisfied with the result, but there are good ideas here and there.

Either way, I think "Archaeaeon" is a masterpiece, one of the most important metal records of recent years. And sure, Portal, for all their merits, haven't yet made an album of this stature!

NY: Well, thanks! Anyway, you should know that Portal's shows are far better than ours. The Curator is quite possibly the most terrifying frontman extreme music has ever known, and the technical skill and riff-writing ability of Illogium and Aphotic [the band's two Australian guitarists; ed.] are unmatched!

By the way, why aren't you fully satisfied with the new album, “Parasignosis”?

NY: As I see it, “Parasignosis” was recorded under less than ideal conditions… conditions that meant the guitar tone didn't come out quite right. Also, the album could have had one more song on it… but it's fine as it is, in the end.

Going back to “Archaeaeon”, I remember that in one of our first email exchanges you told me that “there's nothing that sounds like this record”. Well, I agree. In any case, before recording it all, did you have any idea of what the final result should be?

NY: Not really. Whenever a riff or a section of a song came up, we just followed where it led… and that's about it.

SH: “Archaeaeon” is the culmination of two years of writing and ten months spent putting it all together, making changes and mixing. Basically, we took all our material and recorded it to the best of our ability.

What are the most obvious differences between your first demo [self-titled, 2005] and “Archaeaeon”?

SH: That first demo represented a band that a) didn't take itself too seriously at the time and b) was VERY inexperienced. For all of us, it was our first experience as a band. The demo is an embarrassment to me (apart from one song) and I wish it would vanish from the face of the earth! We recorded it with a guy who basically had zero recording experience, aside from what he did for his own terrible, cut-rate black metal band, using a digital guitar and a drum machine. The result was a sonic abomination (not in a good way!). “Archaeaeon”, on the other hand, is a living, breathing thing! Once it took shape, it started spreading its influence into unknown realms. It's a completely independent release, from a practically unknown band, and it's now getting enough attention to justify a certain degree of success (at least in my eyes!). By contrast, that demo has vanished into thin air and I don't even want to hand the mp3s over to anyone. It's completely dead!

NY: Well, back then we had less ambition and less experience. Also, I wasn't even involved in writing the lyrics or shaping the themes, and on top of that I wasn't singing yet. We also had a different drummer…

Then there's the EP “Through Cosmic Gaze”, better than your first demo…

NY: Well, we just wanted to record something… A couple of the songs are very, very old… written with our first drummer, who wasn't all that good. “Archaeaeon” is far more compact and considered.

NY: We had some offers, but nothing really worth considering. Now, though, there are plenty of options. Our next record could come out on Profound Lore! One of our favorite labels! Portal! The Devil's Blood! Cobalt!

SH: I talked it over with Morbid Moon, Aural Offerings and a few other labels. But we had no interest in sitting at a table wasting time with some guy twiddling his thumbs, anxiously wondering whether or not he should bother considering us. Fuck that! We did it all ourselves and the result couldn't have been better! It's exactly the record we wanted to hear! You'll be glad to know, too, that we're heavily involved with Siege Engine Records (formerly Unholy Horde Records) and something might come out of that. The guy running the show is a genuinely great guy… and it's a pleasure to work and talk with him.

Where did you record “Archaeaeon”?

NY: In our rehearsal room, which we shared with Gremory at the time. Then the building it was in got sold. For mixing, though, we used Karl's apartment.

Can we talk about a “concept album”?

SH: No. The compositions aren't linked thematically, but there's still a cohesion and an atmosphere that runs through the whole thing. For example, if we look at the differences between tracks like “Eternal Contempt Of Man” (pure death-metal brutality), “Infernal Weapons Summons” (primitive war-metal barbarism), “Wraithlike” (various solos and melodic riffage) and “137 (Death’s Hedecaratia)” (slow, tortuous rhythm), the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of an overarching vision. And yet the record works brilliantly as a whole! Hence the idea of putting a bit of everything into it.

The album is subtitled: ”Eternal Age Of The Ancient Ones: Fornix Ferreus Scientiae Mortis”…

NY: It's Latin, obviously. We translate it as: “The deadly archive of steel knowledge.” Latin is a powerful language, a kind of elite tongue for the last millennium or so (especially for the Catholic hierarchy)… why not use it now and then? For you Italians it probably carries less impact, but we certainly don't want to overuse it, nor do we claim to be Romans or any such nonsense. Essentially, that subtitle says: “Pay attention to the contents of this record! It contains that powerful knowledge concerning the true nature of reality! The forces that sustain this world are ancient but still active! You'll find it all inside, but its content is not for the weak.”

Sure, it sounds a bit pretentious, but in our defense I'd say metal is also this! It's supposed to “look” ridiculous and shameless too. Through conceptual depth, in short, we try to leave our mark…

The cover art is pretty mysterious too…

NY: I personally took care of the artwork. I wanted to do something simple, but different from the usual black, red or white stuff… I think I managed to make it simple, informative and quite interesting all at once. The image is a woodcut from a code concerning execution and torture methods. I thought it fit perfectly for an extreme metal record…

And then the title… “Archaeaeon”.

It has several meanings. It's a combination of the words Archaea and Aeon, so the meaning could be “the Aeon of Archaea,” which itself has multiple meanings. The first one is right there on the album cover: “Eternal Age of the Ancient Ones,” in a mythological sense: the primordial forces still reign over everything, even now.

Secondly, Archaea [archaea, ed.] is an ancient and relatively overlooked single-celled life form, still thriving beneath the “surface,” in the deepest oceans, evolving and surviving in harsh environments: essentially, it's an analogy for our extreme music, flourishing in the most hidden places. Thirdly, there's a kind of reference to the band's name, Mitochondrion, which refers to the cellular organelles [mitochondria, generally elongated in shape, present in all eukaryotes, ed.] that survive in extreme environments (in this case, inside multicellular organisms). Just as all life depends on them, our lives depend on this band.

Track by track…

NY: Chapter 11 (Yanchuk)

There are biblical references. The sound of God crushing man's vain efforts.

…Into The Pit of Babel (Music – Yanchuk, Gibas; Lyrics – Yanchuk)

A reference to Kafka. A track influenced by Incantation and Blut Aus Nord

Agonizing (Music & Lyrics – Haché)

Influenced by Rites of Thy Degringolade

Eternal Contempt of Man (Music & Lyrics – Yanchuk)

The title says it all.

Infernal Weapons Summons (Music & Lyrics – Yanchuk)

I wrote this after a good reading of the Necronomicon…

Oath in Defiance (Music – Aramenko, Yanchuk; Lyrics – Haché)

The oldest song on the album. Our old second guitarist M. Aramenko [2005-06, ed.] wrote half of the music.

Descent… (Music – Yanchuk, Godard)

It was meant to be the intro to "Into The Pit Of Babel", but it didn't work as an intro for the album, so it was rewritten. The noise section was recorded live in our rehearsal room.

Wraithlike (Music – Yanchuk; Lyrics – Haché, Yanchuk)

Our best composition, in my opinion. Influenced by Axis Of Advance.

Akashic Predation (Music & Lyrics: Haché, Yanchuk)

One of the best tracks live. Influences include Angelcorpse and Inquisition.

137 (Death’s Hedecratia) (Music: Haché, Yanchuk;  Lyrics – Yanchuk)

Influenced by Beherit. Occult numerology. Try to trace the Fibonacci sequence.

Organum Exitus (Gibas, Yanchuk, Haché, Godard)

Recorded completely live in our rehearsal space. There's even a real timpani on this track (as there is throughout the rest of the album).

NY: A hint… from 5:37 to 6:08…

NY: Hahahaha, Kefka! I meant Kafka! Somebody's been playing too much Final Fantasy VI!

Can you actually make a living from music? Or do you also have day jobs?

NY: AHHAHAHAHAA. We haven't made a single cent out of this band. And I don't think we ever will. Maybe one day, when strange, wild, occult-referencing metal becomes popular… Shawn has a degree and teaches English. Karl is a software designer. I used to be a cook, but now I work in medical insurance because of a chronic pain condition.

I saw the video where, live, you play one of the tracks (“Trials”) that will appear on your next album, and it's just you and Shawn on guitars… plus Karl on drums, obviously. Don't you have a bassist at the moment?

NY: Our bassist, Nick Gibas, another founding member alongside me and Shawn, played his last show with us at the end of 2008. That was the last time we ever used a bassist. Nick left the band to focus on other musical projects he felt more invested in. We're a pretty tight-knit group, and even though I have plenty of talented friends who could play bass with us, for now we have no intention of adding another member to the band. Maybe if we end up playing some big festival or something like that, we'll call in one of our friends to play bass. In crappy little venues, the sound is always poor anyway, and not having a bass actually helps us keep the sound quality under control, especially during the faster parts. The slower parts, on the other hand, suffer a bit more from the lack of bass, but that's also become something of our trademark at this point. Plus, it's easier to plan things out with fewer members.

Where do you see Mitochondrion in a few years?

NY: We'll probably record another album within a couple of years.

Let's change subject! What do you think of religions in general?

NY: Religions are interesting. As I mentioned, Shawn and I spent part of our lives in a Catholic school, and that left us with a healthy contempt for the major organized religions. Nothing extreme, though.

What do you think about the web in general… and, specifically, about peer-to-peer? A lot of people are convinced it's seriously damaging for bands, but I believe that, thanks to peer-to-peer, many unknown bands will finally get the chance to be discovered.

NY: You should ask Karl about this! It's his territory…

Ok. Karl?

Karl Godard: I might be biased on this topic, because I don't care whether my band makes money or not, but I believe file sharing is destined to make the music industry grow. The record industry is the only part of the music business that's actually being harmed. CD sales are declining now, but that's because labels like Emi and Bmg aren't raking it in like they used to, and now we get to hear them whine about their pitiful death. But while it's true that more and more people download music every day, there are still plenty of people buying records. Nowadays a lot of bands release their music on vinyl. Why? Because vinyl is cool and people love owning great artwork. I just bought the Portal 7" "13 Globes" and I don't even own a turntable! I just sit and look at it, hanging on the wall. Given the choice, I'd only want to listen to music on strange analog formats. To me, the CD is the bastard child of the 1980s record industry: it should be turned into something more useful. If you're going to put digital stuff on something physical, put it on a USB flash drive or something else you don't need latex gloves to handle! I really hate CDs, and thankfully, selling physical formats isn't the only way for bands to make money. Thanks to the internet, music has become something more "fluid", and that lets bands run a proper marketing campaign for everything they have to offer. Shows and merchandising are probably the two most important things a band should focus on. The different ways you can package and sell your "Brand" (insert band name here). That's how you get someone to click on the Paypal icon or on your MySpace page.

So, to sum up, here's what I think a band should do to be successful:

1. Write and record music.

2. Let people listen to your music for free – the more ears, the better!

3. Sell a few CDs and band merchandise online

4. Set up and promote a tour.

5. Sell a few CDs and band merchandise at shows

6. Repeat the whole thing (never stop making music)

But also… keep studying or keep your day job!

What about Canada today?

SH: Canada is a great place to live. Sure, people never stop complaining, but life could be a lot, lot worse. At least we don't live in that black hole known as the United States! Although sometimes it doesn't seem like there's much of a difference. Touring here is really hard, because the cities are so far apart from each other. Still, we're home to some of the most extreme bands on the planet.

Have you ever been to Italy?

NY: No, never been to Italy. I've heard there are a lot of metal fans over there and, of course, some excellent bands (Mortuary, Abysmal Grief, Blasphemophagher). Someday, maybe, I'll come… but not anytime soon.

(12/06/2010)

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In January 2011, after signing with Profound Lore, the band released its second full-length, "Parasignosis". We discuss it with Nick Yanchuck.

Let's talk about the title: "Parasignosis"

NY: I chose the album title myself, starting to work on the concept right after the release of "Archaeaeon". A rough translation might be "transcendental knowledge born from a parasitic, uneasy perspective". It can also mean "knowledge derived from images of the 'beyond'". I think it's a fitting title for the concept and sound of the record.

What are the most important differences between this new album and the previous one?

NY: The main difference between the two albums lies entirely in the preparation behind the track-list and the overall production of "Parasignosis". For "Archaeaeon", we recorded all the songs we had written and played live up to that point, and only afterwards decided on a track-list. I only started working on the artwork after the recordings were finished. For "Parasignosis", on the other hand, the whole album was conceived and planned from start to finish before being recorded. Obviously, a few things were changed along the way, but the overall development was prepared in advance. Also, the artwork was developed at the same time as the recording and post-production. Overall, "Parasignosis" is more compact from every point of view. Lastly, I also handled the bass parts myself, and I had a lot of fun doing it. 

NY: We talked with Chris from Profound Lore for a while. I don't remember exactly how we first met, but I'm almost sure it had something to do with people comparing us to Portal. I'm honored that our new album was released by a label that boasts so many interesting artists.

Plague Evocation

Initially, this was a standalone song (there should be a demo version of it somewhere, if I'm not mistaken), but in the end we decided to trim it down and turn it into an intro. You can't learn from sickness and unease if you let your thoughts be clouded by the illusion of free will. This track is an attempt to absolve the chains of free will in preparation for what is to come...

Lex Ego Exitum

An anthem for self-destructive action

Tetravirulence

The chorus "Strike down, Saturn", "You, shall never", "Consume me!" can be read in many ways... which, in my opinion, makes it very powerful. It's both the challenge and the "warmth" of Death.

Trials

Probably the most canonical death-metal track of the bunch

Parasignosis

This is the oldest track on the album. It was written in 2008, right after the release of "Archaeaeon". Many of the riffs are even older, dating back to 2005 or 2006. It's the track I like the least at the moment, probably because we've played it in so many different ways over time, and I think our songwriting has changed a lot since then.

Banishment (Undecaphosphoric)

This one, on the other hand, was the last track written for the album. The lyrics were written by Shawn and I find them unique! I love it when it's cryptic and dark as hell! Both the lyrics and the music hurl you into the pre-cosmic void, chaining you there for eternity...

Future plans?

NY: Well, certainly still Mitochondrion, although in the coming years we'll most likely be increasingly caught up in our private lives. Fortunately, there will be another album of ours in 2012 or 2013. There could even be a double release, but nothing has been decided yet. Anyway, we have an astronomical number of riffs and song fragments waiting to be pieced together.

(30/01/2011)

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