FALL OF MIRRA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHIKIN ALI
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/fallofmirra
COUNTRY: Singapore STYLE: Metal / Rock / Hardcore

WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DID YOU FIRST LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU DISCOVERED HEAVY MUSIC?

Before we started to truly discover heavy music, most of us listened to a diverse range of different music genres and were playing in bands of various genres.

BRANDON (VOCALS): He used to play bass in a Hardcore band, and then later in a brutal Deathcore band. Ironically, he plays in the school concert band as well, and enjoys stuff ranging from classical to Elctronica, and from Indie to brutal Deathcore

HADI (GUITAR / BACKUP VOCALS): He plays guitar in a Alternative Pop Rock band, Knightsfall, and listen to wide range of music such as Rock , Indie , Post-Hardcore and Pop Rock.

IMRAN (BASS): He used to play bass in a Funk band, and enjoyed grooving to good old Rock music.

JULIUS (KEYBOARDS): He grew up listening to classical pieces, and also laying the piano.

FARHAN (LEAD GUITAR): A true fan of Jazz and Glam, Hair Metal / Rock.

FADZLLY (DRUMS): He enjoys Hardcore Punk, straight edge stuff and the likes.

LISTENING TO THE TRAILER OF YOUR EP ON MYSPACE ONE CAN HEAR MANY MUSICAL INFLUENCES. WOULD YOU SAY THAT THE BAND HAS A CORE SOUND THAT MOST OF YOUR SONGS WILL ALWAYS BE BUILT ON?

Well, I wouldn’t say so for most of the members of the band have a diverse range of music influences and each of these musical influences contribute in different ways when we write our music.

Complete with brutally brutal guitar riffs, heart-thumping deadly basslines, vicious blast beats and savage vocals, our songs are largely recognizable by the aggressive undertones of our hardcore and metal influences, while melodically and rhythmically balanced by the many varying genres which have impacted each individual member of the band.

YOU RELEASED THE NEW EP A SHORT WHILE BACK TITLED “PRELUDE TO DESTRUCTION”, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO COMPLETE THE EP AND HOW MANY TRACKS ARE ON IT?

Our debut EP titled “Prelude to Destruction” has 3 tracks and they are:

Razor Blade Smile
Once Lost (Is Forever)
3:32

We really enjoyed producing and recording the EP. The pre-production took us about 2 months and the recording, mixing and mastering took us about 5-7 months. We really took our time to produce it and listen to every little detail of each sound to ensure that every part that we planned for was there at the final product.

WAS THIS EP YOUR FIRST RECORDING EXPERIENCE, AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE END RESULTS?

This is definitely not our first recording experience for us expect for our 16 year old vocalist, Brandon and Keyboardist Julius. Both of them did well on their first recording debut.

The EP was produced at Inversion studio and Sound Advice.

Beside them, Fadzlly did a lot of various recording before with Trash Metal band Raspatul and does spend more time in the recording studio compared to the rest of the band.

Hadi also recorded a 5 track EP with his Alternative Rock band Knightsfall while Farhan and Imran did record several tracks with their previous funk rock band.

Overall, the whole band is ecstatic and overwhelmed when they heard the final product. We were blown away instantly when we took our first listen to the mastered tracks. Hadi had to even call the producer and clarify if he passed us the right EP because it simply didn’t sound like us!!”

We would like to acknowledge the hard work of our sound engineer and producer Cedric Chew for producing our debut EP. Being in vocalist in Black Metal band (Meza Virz) himself, he helped us a lot and pushes our vocalist’s potential beyond his limits.

Over all we are happy his work and will definitely go back to the same studio for the release.

COULD THE EP TITLE “PRELUDE TO DESTRUCTION” MEAN THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO RELEASE EVEN GREATER AND HEAVIER SONGS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AND WHAT IS THE ONLINE POST “…PLANNING FOR THE NEXT 1.5 YEARS.....” ABOUT?

Yes!!! You get it right… We decided to name our debut EP “Prelude to Destruction” because we know and want the next release to be way more brutal and aggressive. Currently, we have 2 new songs up and they’re sounding great for the moment! These 2 tracks will definitely appear on our next release.

Hahahah … Some of you have seen this online post “…planning for the next 1.5 years.....” on our Myspace page and Facebook fan page. Alright, let me let the cat out of the bag. For the next 1.5 years, we will work on our next release and this time it will be an album and as at now, we are planning to have 8-10 tracks on the album. We also are planning for our regional tour – Malaysia, New Zealand and maybe Japan (it is still on-going process) and to promote the bands in any means possible. If given the chance and opportunity, we would love to play in South America.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST “BARRIER” THAT YOU CURRENTLY NEED TO OVERCOME AS AN INDEPENDENT BAND?

It would have to be all about the financial problems I would admit. Being an independent band, we lack sponsorship and endorsements, and this means we would have to fork out all the money that is spent on recording our EP, organising shows and producing our merchandise.

I CHECKED OUT THE LIVE VIDEO FOR YOUR SONG “CHUCK NORRIS”. I THINK IT IS ONE OF THE COOLEST SONG TITLES I’VE HEARD IN A WHILE; WHY OR HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO NAME A SONG A AFTER HIM?

Hahaha! There was this time when I came across this website http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/ and read almost every single one of the ridiculous and absurd facts, I almost died laughing and that was when I decided that hey, I have got to write a song about him! The song was mainly about how brutal and terrifying Chuck was and all the weird shit he could do. Like in the lyrics, “I’ll slam that revolving door and count to infinity not just once, but twice” and “I’d like your skull crushed, like I’d like my ice to be”

THE BAND ALSO SEEMS TO ENJOY IT’S TIME ON STAGE. DO YOU PREFER PLAYING IN SMALLER VENUES OR IS IT A CASE OF THE BIGGER THE VENUE THE BETTER?

Hmm, well we do prefer playing in much bigger venues for there is more room for us to jump around and go crazy while playing and also, way more room for a bigger moshpit! However, sometimes we do prefer playing in smaller venues as we feel much more engaged with the crowd while playing.

HOW MUCH DOES HAVING A KEYBOARD PLAYER HELP TO GIVE THAT EXTRA “ATMOSPHERE” TO YOUR SONGS IN A LIVE ENVIRONMENT?

It sure does provide that really awesome electronic, party atmosphere with the different keyboard synths effects and stuff. And the keyboard can create a really grand and lively, yet still aggressive tone and sound that complements well with the band’s heavy sound. It’s like mixing different colours up, mixing and matching, if you know what I mean hahahah!

WHAT GUITAR TUNINGS AND GEAR DOES THE BAND CURRENTLY USE?

The band now is using drop D tuning.

Here is what our band members gears:

HADIRMAN (GUITAR / BACKUP VOCALS):
Guitars
Schecter-006 Extreme with Seymour Duncan JB pickup
LTD EX-50 with EMG 80 and 85
Boss NS-2 noise suppressor
Maxon AD9 Delay pedal
Maxon OD808 Overdrive
MI Audio Cruch Box

FARHAN (LEAD GUITAR):
Guitars
Yamaha AES420
Yamaha AES520D6
Zoom GFX-8

JULIUS (KEYBOARD):
Yamaha PSR-S550B

IMRAN (BASS):
Yamaha BB614

DO YOU HATE PACKING AWAY AND CARRYING ALL THAT GEAR AROUND SOMETIMES AFTER A GRUELLING PERFORMANCE OR DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT HELP WITH THAT SORT OF THING?

Well, it’s pretty much of a so called “standard-operation-procedure” kind of thing so we’re really cool with it. It gets really exhausting sometimes but we can make fun out of almost everything!

HOW MUCH DO YOU PLAN TO PERFORM FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR AND WHAT GIGS ARE YOU CURRENTLY LOOKING FORWARD TO?

We'll probably be playing another 2 more shows and then we'll be going into our hiatus mode, while our vocalists takes some time off to study for his upcoming major exams. And then, we'll probably be thrashing the stage in no time again, with new materials!

On top of that, we're really looking forward in sharing the stage with more bands and making more friends. And we would really like to tour alongside other great bands as well!

ANY COMMENTS OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

To all projectrfsezine readers, if you would like to get your hands on Fall of Mirra EP – “Prelude to Destruction” you can email us with your name and full address to fallofmirra@gmail.com with the subject “Fall of Mirra EP”.

Before we go, Fall of Mirra would like to thank Neil van Zyl for allowing us to have this interview and to our friends and friends soon to be made, thank you so much for your sincere support. Fall of Mirra will be back real soon so stay tune and please help us to spread the destruction through the world.

Love and Regards,
Fall of Mirra
www.myspace.com/fallofmirra