UNSIGNED BAND NEWS: ROCKET Interviews Rok Stopar Of MORDENOM

Metlika, Slovenia black metal act MORDENOM self-released AGNVS DEI, a technical blitzkrieg of dark music in 2009. With a growing following, they have been making a lot of noise in the underground and are ready to take it worldwide, showing great determination in a very competitive “Unsigned” scene.

The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody recently conducted an interview with Mordenom’s guitarist Rok Stopar for his loyal army of Den Headz worldwide.

tmd

Rocket: Where were you born and raised?

Rok: Hi. I was born in a town called Novo mesto, Slovenia. I spent my childhood mostly in a small village where my parents live. Quiet and peaceful place, no gangs or stuff like that :).

Rocket: Do you come from a big family?

Rok: Not really. I have two brothers. One is older and the other is my younger twin brother. So I’m right in the middle.

Rocket: What first drew you to playing music?

Rok: One day a friend visited me. He brought a shitty acoustic guitar with just two strings on it. I learned to play Smoke on the Water on that thing. That was 18 years ago or so.

Rocket: Who are a few of your biggest guitar playing influences of past and present?

Rok: For the first few years I was only playing and studying Metallica songs and nothing else. So the biggest influence would be Hetfield & Hammet. But of course there are others too, just to mention few: A. Kisser & M. Cavalera, D. Mustaine, D. Darrell, J. Loomis, J. Petrucci, Nergal, K. Sanders & D.T.Wade, C. Shuldiner … A few days ago I saw band Absu. I was totally amazed by their guitarist Shandy Mckay aka “Aethyris”. His playing and live performance was incredible. I must check out some of his stuff.

Rocket: What kind of guitars are you currently playing live and in the studio?

Rok: I use Jackson King V – professional series and 7-string Schecter Hellraiser. I also have another 7-string B.C. Rich Warlock NJ-series but I don’t use it a lot. I think I will sell it.

Rocket: What kind of amp rigs?

Rok: Currently ENGL Powerball. I used to have MesaBoogie 2:90 and Triaxis preamp but I wasn’t satisfied with the sound.

Rocket: How many hours on average would you say you practice playing the guitar each day?

Rok: Well, l I know I should practice more than I do! I used to practice for 8 hours each day in the past years. Now I would say for 1-2. It depends, if I’m writing music or preparing for a show for example I do it more intensively. But I don’t bother too much because I don’t make a living from playing. Having fun is what matters.

tmd

Rocket: How does MORDENOM go about writing music? Does it always start with a riff?

Rok: Yes, it does. We are a guitar-oriented band. When we write music a riff is always the first thing. But we are not easily satisfied. We work on dynamics and arrangements of each song a lot.

Rocket: Who are some of the record labels out there that you would love to see your band sign with?

Rok: I don’t know why but Century Media Records always crosses my mind when I think about it. Maybe because of the bands they represent. There are a lot of record labels out there. At this point I would be happy with anyone. But if I went with the big ones I also wouldn’t mind Nuclear Blast, Regain or Metal Blade.

Rocket: I like to have fun with this next one. What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you while performing on the stage?

Rok: There were a lot of crazy things. A few moths ago we had a small gig. While we were playing the last song I suddenly noticed our lead guitarist wasn’t on the stage. I was like: Where the hell did he go ?!? A few seconds later I saw him among the audience watching our show and again I was like: What the hell is he doing down there?!?! Later he told me something went wrong with the amp and if he couldn’t enjoy playing he would enjoy watching the rest of his show hahahaha.

Rocket: With all the great metal releases so far in 2009, what albums have been your personal favourites?

Definitely Nile – Those Whom the Gods Detest. I also like the album When Death Comes from Danish thrash veterans Artillery. I must mention these releases from 2008:

Testament – The Formation of Damnation

Misery Index – Traitors

Severed Saviour – Servile Insurrection

Behemoth – At the Arena ov Aion Live Apostasy

and Suffocation – Suffocation from 2006.

Rocket: Cool. What are some of the upcoming shows for MORDENOM?

Rok: We have few local shows planned by the end of this year. At the same time we are trying to arrange shows in abroad. It’s very hard to do this by ourselves. I hope this will change once we sign with the record company.

Rocket: Where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

Rok: 10 years older I guess ha-ha. I am a metal head in the heart. At my age (29) I don’t wear metal bands t-shirts because it’s trendy. This is what I am. I like metal. In 10 years I’ll still play, write music and go to concerts no matter what. As I said before I don’t bother too much with questions like “will we sign, do they like us, when we’ll make some money…”. I simply enjoy metal very very much!

Rocket: Thanks very much for rocking this out with me. Best of luck with it all moving forward. Go ahead and give thanks out to any of your friends, family and supporters.

Rok: Thanks for sticking by and believe in what I do. I was really surprised by some of you. You are really true friends & fans! You know who you are!! Also thank you for this interview and good wishes. Cheerz!

http://www.myspace.com/mordenom