Interview

Interview with Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy

17/05/2010 2010-05-17 11:40:00 KoME Author: sianface, Jade, Pan

Interview with Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy

Interview with the symphonic black metal band Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy.


© Trinity Records
Could you please introduce yourselves?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: We are the dark symphonic metal band Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy. Our music is vast beautiful, powerful, intense, and wretched.

Why did you name yourselves Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy? Who came up with this name?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: It was a coincidental idea that came up from the image reflected in the dark mirror which Nostradamus used for his prophecies. The image in the mirror was full of tragedy meaning that our reality and the future aren't actually as bright or positive as we think.

How did you meet and form the band?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: We formed the band in 2003. There have been many members replaced and eventually we came to the current lineup.

It was easy to search for new members because of the outstanding internet system in Korea. Gash and I met for the first time as college seniors and juniors and created this band. Confyverse and Senyt were in another band but joined our band later.

Other team members, including Reverof, we met them on the internet.

How did you discover this genre of music? Were there any artists in particular that inspired you to pursue this symphonic metal?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: Korea is such a barren land for metal music. It is unbelievably hard to grow up hearing good metal music. But I bought Thy Serpent's 2nd album and Emperor's 2nd album in a random CD shop, and I gradually got addicted to the music.

Before then I was interested in art-rock, heavy metal, and classic music. I believe that these tastes have mixed together and turned into the music we play today.

In the beginning was it difficult to juggle work or studies with being in the band? How did you overcome this?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: It has always been so hard but we never thought about giving up. I was a student when I first formed this band and now I work.

None of my beliefs have changed since I was a student.

Because all of the members truly love music, it touches our heart, and as life changes through music we believe that we have a responsibility to let people know about all of our feelings.

Whatever we've gotten from people, it is right to give it back to them. I think this is the reason why many musicians play their music.

Most of the Korean music that we are exposed to in the west is pop music, so many people would not expect there to be a big black metal scene in Korea. Is this the case? What is the public reaction to your music in Korea?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: Honestly, it's nothing more than sh*t. It would have been better if people were a bit more active but they don't know about our band.

There is no place to stand for a metal band in Korea. No chance has ever been provided for us. I've been writing many songs for a decade and it's been six years since our band started to play, but during this time there have only been a few new bands, probably less then 10 bands (in extreme metal), and most of the time during concerts our band is the youngest among other metal bands.

But after all, though there aren't many, we get energy from our fans and we're able to continue our music.

You seem to be better known as a live band in Korea. What is it like at a Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy concert? How do the audience react to your music?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: You could say that Korean people are one of the craziest audiences in the world but it is only for some other bands overseas or major bands.

We do know that our songs aren't like music that people can bang their heads crazyily to. I don't think watching people riot in a concert area is always the best reaction.

Instead, we believe that a song that enters peoples' hearts is truly good music. Believe it or not, there are many Korean fans enjoying the music quietly and purchase our CDs on their way home. Also, many people show their love on our online bulletin board. We truly appreciate their love and care.

In Europe in particular, there has been a lot of negativity towards the black metal scene and metal scene in general due to certain events that have occurred. (For example, the church burnings in Norway and the Varg Vikernes murder.) How, if at all, would you defend the scene against this sort of criticism? What positive influences do you believe the music has?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: I also like black metal music. I am impressed by it and actually play similar music. But it does feel like sh*t. We know that there are some bands mocking Asian people in their songs and some Asian people who are crazy towards those bands. What can you say to those people? Freaking idiots or what?

Whatever it is, a life has to have dignity and to be held in respect.

On your MySpace you say that you've "Koreanized" the genre. What have you done to achieve this? How do you think your music differs from your European counterparts?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: I do not think our songs have some kind of unique Korean style. It's more like in DMOT style. My bandmates and I play the most beautiful, loathsome, deep sadness and, at the same time, very positive music. But this is not the entirety of our music. Pulling out various emotions and feelings is our task.

It is not that our band is distinct from European bands, but every single band in the world is different from other groups as well.

On your first album, you did a cover of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters in your own style. Why did you decide to cover this song? And was it a daunting task to cover such a well-known band?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: When we were working on our first album, our director of the planning section wanted us to have a song that everyone would know because we were a new face at that time.

You can probably see that all the songs build up as one song floating through the whole album. Thus we had to take something that matched the album's whole feeling. One of Metallica's songs, Nothing Else Matters, was an obvious choice. I think the song meets what we had in our second album. It is a great song which has good lyrics talking about one's beliefs, and has a vast scale that we were able to remake in our own flavor. It is true that the song is now a bit different from the original one but I don't see that as a bad thing.

It's been a while since the release of this album, what has the band been up to in the meantime?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: It's been such a difficult but meaningful time for our band and for me as well.

The fourth and fifth tracks are two songs that I wrote in 1999. They have been re-edited a lot of times over the last ten years and finally come out to the surface. I'm strongly attached to those two songs because they kind of represent my musical life.

We have experienced many members changes while working on our second album. It shows how difficult it is to keep one's musical belief in Korea. Meanwhile, the unity of our members has become much stronger.

As the saying goes, "there's calm after the storm." Working on the second album was a time when we got much closer to each other and found our band's own color and uniqueness, which makes us more valuable than others. Just listen to the CD.

You released your new album The Pregnant of Despair in August, what sort of album is this?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: Our second album is the most beautiful, cruelly grievous, and cathartic album. We think that our music is more advanced than any other band's. Our second album is the foundation and evidence for that.

How did you find the song writing process for this album? How do you go about writing songs?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: It depends on the song but normally I take the basic idea and then we build and develop the complete song as all of my band members play together. I'm just a guide to the whole process. DMOT's songs belong to all of us and are from all of the band members' hard work.

Is there a theme running through this album? If so, could you please tell us a bit about it and how it came about?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: Just like the first album, it's the emotion and feelings running through our songs, not a story. If you have our CD, just push the play button and listen from the beginning to the end non-stop. You will know what we wanted people to feel from our music.

Are there plans to make this release available to buy overseas?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: Like I said earlier, Korea doesn't have a good scene for metal music. I bet that most of the musicians would agree with this statement. I think going out to the foreign market is one of the ways to maintain our music. Therefore, we want more people to listen to our songs. As a matter of fact, we've signed a contract with Trinity Records in Hong Kong. I believe it's a good opportunity for our band.

We will be the first band in the foreign market so that other eminent musicians in Korea will have a route to the world. This is our dream. We will take that responsibility seriously and will do our best to make it real.

Do you have any plans to play in Europe and America in the future? Is there anywhere in particular that you would like to play?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: We'd really like to have a concert right now if we could. But we just don't have a route or the money to do it. If we get a chance, we would play our music wherever the stage is. If we have to take out a loan for the trip, we would still take the opportunity even if there is only one person who wants to hear our music.

In Europe there is a growing acceptance of Asian metal bands within the scene, with bands such as Chthonic, Gallhammer and Sigh achieving particular success. How do you feel about Asian bands finally becoming successful in the west?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: That is such inspiring news for us. They are all skilled and great musicians. We want to give them big cheers for their ability in playing music, their passion, and for their great effort.

What are your hopes for the future?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: I want to play my music till I close my eyes. It is my dream. I want to play better music and I always wish to be honest to my music.

Any final messages for our readers?

Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy: Though we're just a small artist in Asia, we put our whole heart in our new album. I am positive that many people will be attracted to our music and want to see our concerts.

Just wait and we, DMOT, will be there. We are going to make them cry out for joy and make it a moment they will never forget. It will be like an invasion of a virus into your body, and that is how we communicate with the public.

Do not be shamed of tears falling from your eyes.

KoME would like to thank Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy, Infinity Records and Allan Dayco for making this interview possible.
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