Interview with OMINOUS MOON
!!!RAW AGGRESSIVE METAL FROM THE UK!!!
We had a conversation with Brandon Parrish (Guitars/Vocals). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about OMINOUS MOON (Members, Starting Year etc).
Ominous Moon was formed in September 2022 by myself (Brandon Parrish, Guitar + Vocals) and Mad (Bass), and joined by Exaltar (Drums) after a long struggle of trying to find likeminded people to start a band with. We are a three piece Heavy/Speed Metal band but we don’t really aim for one specific sound, we just write music that we enjoy, therefore we have some noticeable death metal influences as well as some definite punk elements. Our lyrics mainly consist of themes of evil and the occult.
You have recently released your album ''Waking the Dead''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
The album has been well received in our target audience, those that still appreciate raw evil heavy metal. we have been complemented on our authentic raw production and genuine sound. We’ve been shipping off CDs and patches around the world, and doing interviews for small magazines in various countries. In terms of ‘the press’, they wouldn’t dare touch something so filthy!
Label or DIY and why?
We’re totally D.I.Y., entirely self produced and self recorded. We live recorded drums bass and guitar all together and then added more guitar tracks and the vocals on top of that, all recorded through real amps in Alex’s (Exaltar) bedroom, minimal mixing mostly done in the room before recording. We used rack units for delay and reverb and then mixed down onto a cassette tape, so we have genuine tape compression. We worked with what we had. I do all the artwork for the band, as well as all the business side of things behind the scenes. For gigs we print off hundreds of flyers and use homemade wheat paste to paste them all over our local area. as DIY as can be.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
There’s lots of interesting details behind the scenes, Mad recorded the entire album with a broken wrist from a skateboarding injury. We filmed the entire album making process on 8mm tape and we are going to be releasing it all online as a full documentary in three 1 hour long parts, covering all the album recording and producing, music video making, gigs, and all the behind the scenes moments. It’s been great to look back on and see how we’ve improved.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Vinyl has always been the coolest format, having your music pressed on vinyl and physically being able to hold it is a great honour that i am excited for as our vinyls are currently being manufactured. For just personal everyday use i love CD, easy and convenient but still very collectible and often contains lots of extra details in the booklets. There’s something special about physically being able to hold an album in your hands, and to really own it physically - no one can take that away.
Your music style is Black/Speed Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
Our biggest influences are Venom, Hellhammer, Darkthrone, Motörhead, Possessed, Sarcofago, and many others. The early evil raw sound. We all have our own personal influences, i love classic Speed Metal and Heavy Metal, as well as Thrash, Death metal, Trad Doom, Firstwave Black Metal, and 70s/80s Hardcore Punk. Mad has a much wider music taste of loads of weird stuff i don’t understand, all these old 50s and 60s bands. always got some weird new experimental blues band to talk about with some ridiculous name.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
Time, lots and lots of time. i am devoted, i don’t see it as a sacrifice more as necessary hard work to drive me towards my goals. wether that’s rehearsal, recording, mixing, designing, promoting, accounting, shipping merch, digitising tape footage, pasting flyers, writing music, playing gigs - it’s all getting me closer to where i want to be.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
I think the ideal live show should have energy that the crowd can get into and be responsive of, wether that be extreme headbanging and fast sporadic movement or slow lumbering sections to build tension. We have had some great crowds and it’s only getting better. we’ve got some shows in London later in the year that we are very excited for. I would love to make use of pyrotechnics and props and fans and banners and blood and samples that can be triggered to play the noises and sound effects we have in our songs. lots to aim for.
What attributes do you think that a new Black/Speed Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Well exactly what you said, an identity. We don’t know what to call ourselves. Our debut album Waking The Dead has a speed metal basis with elements of heavy metal, black metal, punk, early thrash, and early death metal. We don’t know what to classify ourselves as and we don’t feel like we need to. We now have most of our second album written and the majority of it has the speed metal base with other elements. We have written some of our fastest and most extreme material yet , with more death metal elements - especially in the drumming. However we also have new songs with more nwobhm and trad doom influences. We just write what feels right to us and that makes us Ominous Moon.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Black/Speed Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Well social media is an easy way to get lots of eyes on you, but it’s a hard way to make meaningful connections. Permanent connections happen in person, at shows. We do lots of our promotion physically, with flyers. it’s the tried and tested method. If you are gonna go down the social media path then it’s important to not fall into the soulless trendy drivel that many aspiring bands do. Doing skits and dances and every new trend might get eyes on you - but it takes away your individuality and gives you a reputation that won’t do you good.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
There really hasn’t been much of a scene until recently, there is a good music scene but little to no metal scene. There has always been the occasional one off gig at Chinnerys - but the most common thing is just endless tribute and cover bands. We played our first gig at The Twenty One Southend , which is a cafe in the day and hosts venues at night, it was a good venue for smaller bands it’s pretty low risk and low capacity - but that is shut down now. There was also the Ironworks, where we had our infamous failed ironworks gig in June 2024 - that is also now shut down. What we do have in Southend that is making a positive difference is Drop The Ego promotions, who started putting on shows about the same time that we started playing live shows. Chris and Josh from drop the ego have been a huge help, they don’t exclusively host metal shows there are other events as well, but they have put on some great gigs that we have been a part of. They’ve hosted some of our best gigs for example Halloween 2024 (which we used as b roll footage for our music video). We’ve got some great shows coming up thanks to them. Molder & Kontusion at the Fickle Pickle Club (formerly known as The Venue) which is a show they are hosting in July. They have now also started acting as agents for us, they’ve gathered many connections to many promoters and have got the experience and know how to push a band. Thanks to them we have got a few very very exciting opportunities to be announced soon! Southend is slowly getting more of a name for itself.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
I actually do not, i would love to be informed.
What are your future plans?
World domination!
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thanks for allowing us this opportunity to spread our word. Metal magazines and websites are crucial for the scene. We will never stop our stone cold metal assault!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
OMINOUS MOON CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555348962879&mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://www.instagram.com/ominousmoonband/
https://ominousmoon.bandcamp.com/music
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3k9WCHNDXPoRXNt5DBl11X
https://www.tiktok.com/@ominousmoonband