www.facebook.com/pitchblackmentality
Sounds like: Thrash Metal
From: Norway
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name "Pitch Black Mentality" and is there any meaning behind it?
I started music when I was 13 years old, by the time I was 15 I started playing with friends for jamming. It was not until I was my early twenties that I formed a Metallica tribute band when I first met the guys that is Pitch Black Mentality today. We played together for many years as Brutallica -tribute to Metallica. In 2008 I started working on material for our first release ,The Pitch Black Reality that was recorded in 2012/13. The current album, World Final Wake was written in 2015 but not recorded before just recently ,due to many circumstances. The name of the band was an idea of mine, I am the main guy behind the band project.The meaning suggest the state of mind that I have around the future for mankind. It doesn't look too bright, honestly..
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Even though the music has a dark vibe to it, it is all about energy; negative energy or positive energy.. it doesn't matter, it is all about getting energy out from listening to our music, use it for work out, or for hanging out with your friends drinking beers, or driving your car with car stereo on full volume.. Just have a good time, really!
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
The sound is a mix of old thrash and a more modern melo death metal sound like the sound coming from Sweden in the nineties. We like to mix different styles together to elevate our music , making it catchy and interesting at the same time . Three key words : Brutal , heavy and melodic.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Pantera, Soilwork, Testament
5. How has Covid affected what you do?
Covid affected us in the way of delaying our recording process. We had just started recording the final vocal sessions as the pandemic hit us all with full force. We didnt get sick or anything, but security measures were taken, meaning we could not gather to finalize the album until it was safe. We live in Norway and we got lucky with very, very few casualties in our country.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Thrash Metal?
To be honest , I don't listen that much to Thrash these days, and when I do I always seem to go back to the classic bands from the Bay Area . The thing that strikes me, is that even today the old bands are the most popular ones and many of them, like Testament in particular, are more vital and brutal than ever before!
7. What's the current music scene like there in Norway?
The same thing here as with Thrash Metal.. The old bands are still dominant, there are many newcomers all the time, but none that get more attention than the old bands. I live near Bergen , and the biggest names from our city would be Immortal ,Borknagar, Enslaved, Taake- They have all been around for decades.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
Well, you need a hell of a lot of streams if you are aiming to make any money on your music. My album cost well over 10 000 dollars to produce, and that is without having to pay for the recording sessions which we did ourselves in our own studios. But I don't release music to make money, there are far easier ways to make money.. What I don't like about the streaming business, is that it is ran by people who are not musicians themselves, I mean the quality of the sound on Spotify cannot compare at all to the wav files that I have of my music here at home. And if you want your music to be louder on Spotify, you have to pay additionally money for that. That is absurd.. And sad.
9. What’s next for Pitch Black Mentality?
We are all about promoting our album these days, interviews getting reviews making videos to support our album, we also aim to print CD's of our latest album real soon. We are not to undertake any tour for now. We are very busy with other projects as well as this one, besides; touring is expensive for underground bands like us, we simply can't afford that now. But you never know what the future holds, right?
10. Any shoutouts?
Stay safe , stay metal, and please check out our music on youtube, spotify and all digital platforms, follow us on facebook and instagram. And most importantly... Share our music with your fellow metal maniac, that is how we as a band can evolve and keep making great music in the future! Cheers!
