Interview with Necronomicon Ex Mortis

Mar 31, 2023

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music, what would you be doing today?

Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien album got Michael into music. If it hadn’t, he would probably be in serious trouble with one form of authority or another.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music, and how does that influence your creativity?

Michael watches a lot of horror movies. It influences the band very directly because most if not all the songs are inspired by the horror genre in some way.

How long has your band been around?

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

The members live spread across the United States and Canada, but thanks to the internet we can all stay on the same page. We call ourselves “Chicago death metal” because most of the songs are written by Mike, who lives in Chicago.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Necronomicon Ex Mortis is a direct reference to Evil Dead which is Mike’s favorite franchise. Reanimator is a close second.

Tell me about your most memorable shows?

What is your favorite venue to play at and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Our favorite place to play is R’lyeh, because we can turn our amps up so loud that Cthulhu wakes up and ends existence every time.

If you could play a show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

It would be a 5-band show. We would open. The second band would be Aris with Ryan Knight. Third would be Black Dahlia Murder. Following that, Dying Fetus. The headliner would be Obsucra with Christian Munzner on guitar.

What is some advice you would give to someone who is just getting into a band?

If you’re just starting the band, focus on writing the best songs possible before playing shows, buying gear you don’t need, or posting on social media every 5 minutes.

If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice, what would it be?

Of your songs, which means the most to you and why?

Curretnly, Mike’s favorite song is The Burning simply because he wrote some of those riffs years ago and it’s nice to hear them played back. Manuel is also unreasonably proud of his solo on that one.

Which songs are your favorite to play, and which get requested the most?

We have a song on an upcoming release called Crypt of the Gorilla God. The riffs are at a very comfortable tempo and hit very hard so that’s currently our favorite. As for the most requested? Freebird.

Q14: What is the creative process for the band and what inspires you to write your music?

Since we live in different areas, creativity can be difficult. Generally, Michael will write a song and send it to everyone and we’ll go from there. Michael does not like not working on things so he is always trying to write a new song or explore a new musical concept. Sitting still tends to bother him.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Do you ever have disagreements in your band and how do you get past them?

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything you would like to spotlight that is coming up?

We have plans for 2 more releases before the end of the year. We can’t say too much yet, but if things go according to plan, it should be a good year for nerdy melodic death metal with too many guitar solos.

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