Interview TRIGONUM MORTIS

Interview with Žanda , OF & Mira of Death Black Metal Band from Vysoké Mýto, Czech Republic TRIGONUM MORTIS

1. Can you tell us about your childhood? Do you remember when you first came into contact with loud music and what were your first concerts ?

Žanda: I can say I had a beautiful childhood, however, it has got dramatic later. You know, puberty hits hard, divorce in family, stuff like that. I also felt really different and almost disconnected from my surroundings at that age, so around age of 10 I found my own little comforting world in extreme music. I’ve got into Metal thanks to my sister mostly (she was into punk and metal as well, but not so obscure) and due to my father, who had CD Metal Heart by Accept in his car. Later when it comes to playing guitar, it was a Youtube playthrough of a soundtrack from computer game called The Binding of Isaac (in that game you have to fight Satan and God as well – kinda metal game) which had the strongest influence on me to pick up guitar and start to play on my own. And first concerts? Again, my sister was a saviour so I could visit my first metal show in small town near here at age of 14. It was called White Sneakers Day vol. 4 and that evening played six Czech Thrash metal bands. I could spend time there until midnight at most, of course, so I missed most of the bands. Funny times!

OF: I started with shitty mainstream pop music cause of radio, TV and other omnipresent media. Later, my father showed me Motörhead and I quickly understood that the most visible culture doesn’t necessarily have to be the best one. It had so much energy, totally different vibes, I really loved it at first sight. Large amount of beautiful melodies, technically sophisticated composition, that depth in songwriting impressed me a lot. There my way with mainstream suddenly broke up. I discovered a whole new world of music that lives independently on anything. From Motörhead I went through (chronologically) punk-rock, hardcore and finally melodic death metal & death metal itself.

2. Can you describe the local scene where you grew up, what bands and venues were important to you and can you share some of your greatest memories about these bands/places ?

Žanda: I came from kinda different “scene” and location than other guys from the band. During the first years I was too young to spend time personally with people who were into the same music but later I found out there are a few people (mostly Grindcore/Thrash metal fans) in the near city. I have the best memories from all gigs called Zraz Anonymných Alkoholikov (Alcoholics Anonymous meeting) which take place in local Pizzeria. Ofcourse the sound is often awful, but it has the spirit and believe me, moshpit in that small area is just insane. I remember one evening when I got drunk a lot and tried to sneak to the backstage. Unfortunately, circlepit was too energic and I crashed straight to the drums. Best thing about these gigs is that you know each other with majority of the people. Normally I played here with Thrash metal band DeadKillers as a bassist, but we also played here with Trigonum Mortis once and it turned out really well considering the fact that gig is mostly focused on dirtier bands, for example Blamage (Crust, SK), Sperm Of Mankind (Goregrind, SK), Slup (Pornogrind, CZ), Locura (Grindviolence, CZ) or Člověk v Plísni (Grindcore, CZ). Cheers to Lukáš!

OF: Eastern Bohemia is not a region with strong underground metal scene. One decade ago there were some DIY punk venues in my nearest town, so I was lucky enough and became a member of the local punk society. Later I even founded punk band with very fluid and unexperienced roster, which led to break up shortly after the first gig (it was really embarrassing). You know, in such bands usually only one member plans to be a serious musician and not only a beer drinker. Suddenly after that I became a member of crossover-thrash band and learned a lot, played some gigs, but the metal scene was slowly dying there. Nowadays in my current local scene – which is a few towns further than before – I feel more support from fans and from the town Vysoké Mýto itself. Paralelly I live in South Moravia region where the metal underground scene and venues are super good!

3. Did anyone play in any bands before Trigonum Mortis? If so, can you tell us something about them? Were there any releases? Can you share some good memories about those bands?

Míra: My first band was called Screaming. I joined them in 2014. It was a great experience for me because I knew absolutely nothing about playing and making music. But the most important thing for me was that I met Ondra (guitarist), Ondra (drummer) and Marty (B-guitarist) with whom we started to play as Trigonum Mortis when we left Screaming.

At the same time I joined Gloomy Sunday. It’s pure black metal. It was also a very good experience for me, especially regarding the recording, because we did it ourselves in D.I.Y. studio. There were a lot of new things for me to learn and it was very fascinating to have this whole process in our own hands. From my point of view, every band should try it. Because it brings new, undiscovered ways to do something that is truly original and completely your own style. Of course it requires a lot of skill and xps. Unfortunately, I had to leave these wonderful people because the commute became difficult for me.

OF: We played all in Screaming, except Žanda. With singer Míra we recorded one full length stuff and later we played those songs live also with Ondra and Marty. Can I share any good memory about that band? … let me think… No.

4. How did you come up with the band name Trigonum Mortis, do you describe your musical style? And can you tell us briefly the history of your band’s creation ?

Míra: As I said, I met Ondra, Ondra and Marty at Screaming. So we had everything what a starting band needs. After a few months we started thinking about a second guitarist. Not because Ondra’s playing was weak, but because two are more than one. So I contacted Žanda. I didn’t know her personally, but I knew she plays the guitar and loves hard music. She was quite interested in a few of our songs. And so Trigonum Mortis was born. A newborn baby surrounded by hungry sharks and beasts. 😀

OF: We were looking for an original name, what no one has and also for good sounding word(s). Naturally, for a death metal band the dark, pathological or painful name fits. So I asked my sister, who is a doctor, to suggest some interesting diseases. Most of them were already taken (what a surprise) and the rest was not good sounding. But I liked latin a lot, the expressions sounded mysterious little bit. Finally we chose Trigonum Mortis, it’s not term taken from pathology, but from anatomy. It’s still associated with pain and suffering though. Yes, Trigonum Mortis exists not only in underground culture, everyone has it in his face – it’s a dangerous triangle of the area from the corners of the mouth to the bridge of the nose. This area is dangerous because of high risk of retrograde infection. Same easily vulnerable area as Achilles’ heel, but in the face.

5. Why did you want to play this genre ? Who or what inspires you to write songs. What bands have inspired you the most?

Žanda: Honestly, we weren’t like “Oh, let’s start a Melodic Progressive Folk Reindeergrinding Death/Black metal influenced by Electroswing.” I entered TM a few months after guys got together and our style just evolved naturally. It’s definitely a blend of our musical tastes because everyone likes different stuff – currently I’m blasting tons of Brutal Death metal like Brodequin, Guttural Secrete, Cerebral Bore etc. while Ondra, second guitarist leans more toward well productioned and melodic Death metal, then Ondra, drummer, enjoys more epic and Folk metal bands. But of course we are still exploring what we want and what fits the best for us. I think my biggest influences for writing TM songs are Mayhem, Incantation, Electric Wizard, Anaal Nathrakh, Carcass, Meshuggah and Burzum.

Míra: Honestly….I don’t really know what the f_ck we do 😀 But what we do is something I really enjoy and it gives me some satisfaction. And that’s enough for me. I have a lot of favorite bands. I like it when some guys can do some atmosphere, not just fast bpm or clean guitar sound. I’m just in charge of the lyrics and trying to create the atmosphere I was talking about. There are many masters who inspire me, probably the most: Inquisition for their cosmic/satanic themes, Mephorash ‘cause they are true black wizards, Carach Angren for their great sense of dark storytelling, Mgla for their poetic concept of Black Metal and many, many more…

6. Can you tell us something about your debut Album 2 years ago “Fall into the dark Age” 2021″ And your new Single “Within Reach of Sagittarius” Recorded at Davos Studios, And can we expect more new music in 2024?

Míra: One of my friends told me, it is like losing your virginity. It’s a little weird, but ultimately very sexy. 😀 For me personally, this is great feedback. Within reach of Sagittarius is a taste of the new wave we are preparing for you.The theme of the lyrics is about mysticism, the darkest places of the human soul and dark meditations that will allow your spirit to merge with the entire universe. But Within reach of Sagittarius is just one piece. If you want to know more, you have to see the whole mosaic. I think I can speak for everyone now, we have no idea what the new album will sound like and what it will look like. But I think you can expect it to be darker and more ambient than Fall into the Dark Age.

Žanda: I agree with Míra, the second album will definitely be darker and with a different mood. However, this is not the only thing which changes. I have a feeling that we just explore more and more different sounds, songwriting, rhythms, styles and we are slowly moving on from that strong Death metal formula, which wasn’t our 100% goal after all. The songs are also getting longer.

7. Which places to play were important to you and why?

OF: Definitely Tyjátr in Svitavy is one of the places most related to us. We organize our event Sunflower Picnic annually there. I like all the fans, stage, environment and sound. We have to mention the club that we have above our rehearsal room and where we also played multiple times. It’s M-Klub Vysoké Mýto, let’s say our home stage. We really enjoy playing there as well.

8. What was your Weirdest show you’ve ever played and why? feel free to mention more than one, and don’t hold back on the details ?

Žanda: I think it was our first show ever, because it was streamed concert during strong COVID restrictions so we were playing for paper figurines. It was weird, and it’s also harder to play when no one gives you your energy back, but on the other hand, we had opportunity to drink fresh beer like no one in those days. I know it’s really funny, but we felt like kings.

OF: Whoever has visited Farářova Sluj in Mladá Boleslav knows what the true satanic show looks like. We had one opportunity with Trigonum Mortis and that couldn’t be compared with any other club. It’s all very very little, the stage, the bar, the auditorium, all is held in basement and covered by black paintings, reversed crosses, plenty of weird arts… It looks very funny when Baest, who usually play for thousands of people, suddenly play for twenty of them in such a small dark place. For me, supporting Baest was one of unforgettable memories. Sadly, this will never happen again, Farářova Sluj will finish it’s journey soon (someone did not like that).

9. What is Trigonum Mortis Show like? What can somebody expect when they go to one of your concerts?

OF: Nothing special, if you go to our gig, you will see Trigonum Mortis live. We would probably prepare some music and try to make your evening better. Nothing less or more, just properly played music.

10. Are there other types of music you would like to play with a band?

OF: No, we are lucky to agree on what we’re playing so far 😀

11. Which Festivals would you still like to play ,and Which festivals do you have the best memories?

Žanda: You give as a difficult questions because we don’t play live too often – I am the youngest one in the band, others have much more responsibilities (family, stuff like that) so we can’t play two shows every weekend. That’s also the reason we haven’t played on any bigger festival yet. However, it would be great to show our stuff on Czech Death fest or Brutal Assault for example. The best festival in the world is Obscene Extreme ofcourse, but our music is too soft for it, haha.

12. How can fans and future fans locate, listen to and buy your music & merchandise? Is there anything else you would like your fans to know?

Žanda: We are active on social media like Instagram or Facebook. For more detailed information about our history you can also check Bandzone. Music can be found on Spotify, Deezerl, Apple music, Youtube or pirate websites. If you want to buy some merch just contact us via social media or gmail, we have no problems sending stuff worldwide. Or meet us at the merchbar at shows!

13. What were your best moments in 2023 as a band ? And are your plans for the future ?

Žanda: I can’t speak for others but for me, the best thing was listening to our new singles and just feeling that finally, everything is how it should be and how we wanted it. When it comes to our plans, we would love to play more in the western part of our country and keep our tradition of organizing Cabin Fever Night and Sunflower Picnic gigs. And ofcourse new album is the biggest priority.

14. These were the questions, thank you for taking part in this interview and all the best to you and your band! Something to add to yourself ?

Žanda: Thank you so much for your support of the underground and your time to find and contact a little band like us from a totally random country. It means a lot to us. And the most important thing? Worship Czech beer and take a look at other Czech bands, you may find gold!