Here is band from Singapore called Meza Virs. The follow-up of their good debut album name Vida Sacrificium Meum Est. This is great interviewed because all of member replied the question together, that's pretty good. Interviewed by Solitude Nymph 



Q:  Hail Meza virs! How it?s going in the dark world?

A: Hey Fern and everyone reading this! Things are good and busy in the Meza Virs camp and we?re really stoked to be doing this interview?


Q: First of all, I would like to ask you to let us know about the story of Meza virs. How was the beginning until what you are right now?

A: Well the core of the band was formed in mid/late 2002 when Cedric and Samuel started jamming with the intentions of doing a melodic black metal project. We found Jasmine and Ying online and recorded a few demos. Those songs were pretty well received and we decided to put a full lineup together with Jonny and Tjinn coming on board.  The music soon changed to more of a dark, symphonic metal vibe. We started playing live shows, writing more material and eventually started recording the full length album, which we finally released in December 2006.  Roman helped us out as a live bassist initially but switched to viola for the recording, and finally Jon stepped into the fold as our permanent bassist in 2006.





Q:   What influenced Meza virs members? To create this album "Vida Sacrificium Meum Est"

A: We all have pretty different influences, for example Samuel listens to J-Rock/Anime (you can hear traces of this on ?Hauntas Eternal?), Cedric likes brutal death, Jonny?s into prog, Ying?s into classical/triphop and so forth. The music is basically a combination of all our varied influences, which prevents it from stagnating into any one genre and hopefully keeps it interesting. I guess the best representation of our current sound would be the song ?Reborn? on the album; it was the newest of the songs and the one where everyone really put their own touch to it. 

Q:  How do you categorize your band's music? Symphonic Black metal? Or Dark / Gothic metal, it?s somehow between. And almost of your lyrics, what they are talking about?

A: It?s hard to categorize us sometimes because as we said, the music draws from many genres and can be completely different from one song to the next. I suppose Dark Symphonic Metal might work. The lyrics on this album draw from day to day experiences we have; a few songs are about failed relationships and stuff like that. ?The Apocrypha? is about the hypocrisy of some organized religions, but that?s as far as we go, nothing about goats or satan, I suppose we?ll leave that to the the true black metal bands ;)

Q:  How did you guys work with this album and in the studio? Your band has eight members. Describe the way you compose music, How do you start, who comes up with the ideas?

A: The songs usually start with Samuel, Jonny or Cedric coming up with guitar riffs and ideas, we arrange and record them with sequenced drums for reference and then take it to the rest of the band who then come up with their own parts to fit the music. Most of the songs on the album were done this way, though we started writing in the rehearsal room with everyone involved directly. ?Reborn? was a result of this approach, and that?s how we?re writing new material nowadays. 

Q:   As I have heard, you guys had live performances with many great bands. How was it like to be on the same stage with bands like ?Impiety, Abigail, The Gathering, Meltgsnow ?? How did you like from the shows in the past?

A: Our first gig was actually opening up for Impiety and needless to say it was a pretty nerve-wracking experience. It turned out pretty well though and it was quite an honour to be sharing the stage with these bands, especially our brothers in Meltgsnow. Actually, we co-headlined a gig called ?The Gathering?, not with the band of the same name. As far as past shows go, the response has been great but we?re never truly happy with it and are always looking for ways to further improve our live shows?

        

Q: Are there any next coming show recently of you guys? How about Full Battle Order, How much do you prepare for it?

A: We?ve got two shows lined up in the near future, 24th February at Vintage Rock Bar and 2nd March at Full Battle Order. 24th Feb is actually an overdue mini album launch gig of sorts with support bands Hamartia, Oshiego and Deus Ex Machina. If anyone of you guys are coming down to Singapore we?d love to see you at the shows. You can get more details and updates at our MySpace site. We?ve been working our asses off for the two shows, right now we?re up to rehearsing twice a week and probably more frequently as the dates draw near so hopefully we?ll put up a great show for you guys.

Q:  Please tell us about the underground scene in Singapore; was it difficult to get the labels and fans?

A: As far as labels go, there aren?t many decent ones here. We financed the recording and pressing of our album ourselves. However we were fortunate to hook up with MourningSound Records for press and distribution and it?s been great having a label with the drive, vision and professionalism to make things happen. The fans have been great and the scene is growing larger every day. There was a gig in December where we printed 50 album promos to give out, instead about 300+ people turned up which was amazing to say the least. There?s a lot of young bands bringing big fanbases to gigs and that?s great for the scene in general.

        

Q:  Asking about opinion, how do you think about Our South East Asia Scene? There?s not much band with beautiful voices of fronted female band or Black metal with keyboards in our scene.Will they growing up like the European scene?

A: It?s true, there are some really good bands coming out of the scene that can already compete with the European bands technically and musically, but not many with female vocals or keyboards. A great band to look out for is Sins of a Curse from Singapore, they?ve got a really good female vocalist, and Chthonic from Taiwan are awesome and pretty similar to us style-wise, though not strictly from SEA. We made a conscious choice from the start to include female vocals and keyboards in the music to hopefully sound unique and set us apart from other bands.

Q:  How about Thailand and Thai Metal Scene, what do you think about it? Would you like to have a show here sometimes...? I?m sure that many metal heads here would like to see your show and I?m the one of that!

A: We hear the Thai metal scene is amazing! Our keyboardist Ying was in Bangkok for a metal fest/show last year and is still raving about it today. Really looking forward to seeing Rancorous at Full Battle Order, and Surrender of Divinity is a good solid black metal band. Needless to say, we?d absolutely love to play in Thailand, and if any gig organizers are reading this, drop us an email! 

        

Q: One more special question for Jasmine, How do you take care of your voice? Do you have any special treatment?

A: Nothing much, just some honey and water. I?ve had vocal lessons in the past so I know proper breathing/singing techniques.

Q:  And last but not the least, Is there anything you would like to say to Thai Fans or Metal head around the world?

A: Thanks Fern and siammetal.com for the killer interview and support! We really hope to come down to play some shows in Thailand really soon!  You can check out the latest news, updates and song samples at www.myspace.com/mezavirs  , and if you like what you hear, get our album ?Vida Sacrificium Meum Est?! You can order the CD through our website or check MourningSound Records at www.mourningsound.com for a list of local distributors. Hails, Cheers and Beers!

Well, I?d love to thank you very much Meza virs! for your time and answering !! I really hope to see you guys here and play in Bangkok in the future. Keep the great work, we always support!