INTERVIEW with MOUTH OF SAURON

We took a moment to speak with Mouth Of Sauron about their music and what they like Through the extreme metal scene!

MPM: Please introduce yourselves to what you do in the band:

MOS: Hey, I’m Zach and I do all of the instrumentation/music writing for the band!

MPM: How did Mouth Of Sauron form?

MOS: MOS formed like all great things in life… on Craigslist. I just posted an ad saying that I wanted to make a BDM/Slam band. We were originally planning on being 100% slam but that obviously changed very quickly and we took a more tech/groove path.

MPM: What inspired you to become a death metal musician and are there any influences you guys looked up to?

MOS: This goes all the way back to being a baby and head banging to KISS! I first saw KISS when I was 4 years old, and seeing the fire, Gene’s tongue, and feeling the bass is enough to make any kid want to destroy something. Around 6th or 7th grade was when I really started getting into heavier stuff. In terms of influences for MOS, we definitely have a lot of Abominable Putridity influence, Disentomb, Pathology, Behemoth, Defeated Sanity, Kraanium, and even Lamb of God. On top of that there was a lot of non-metal influences that helped me while writing the album. A lot of the melodic parts came from me listening to Hans Zimmer and Beethoven as well as modern pop bands like the Killers.

MPM: You guys are based out of Las Vegas, Nevada what you folks think about the current state for extreme music now compared to years ago?

MOS: I think extreme metal will always suffer in the U.S.
For some reason people just don’t attach to it like they do in some other parts of the world. A lot of our fans are from Indonesia and Norway so we’d like to play for them someday!

MPM: What was the inspiration to name a band like Mouth Of Sauron and what’s the concept behind the name?

MOS: I was always obsessed with the Lord of the Rings movies/books/video games etc. My closet was filled with toys. We also knew that most brutal death metal sings about murder or rape or killing women and neither of us are really into that type of writing. I’m a big nerd so anything fantasy related is awesome to me and we thought it would be unique to pair that with death metal.

MPM: Your latest full-length was released in 2017 titled “Hearken The Echo Of Music” (loved it by the way!) Can you guys explain the songwriting and artwork behind the record?

MOS: For the songwriting, I just wrote whatever I wanted. This was one of those times where I truly wasn’t writing for the purpose of pleasing fans or gaining fans. I just wrote what I wanted and I think people can hear the difference when they sit and listen to the album completely. The artwork was done by Brain Injected art and we love it! We gave him the setting and I said “Just make Dio’s Holy Diver but with Sauron” lol

MPM: If there was a dream tour lineup you guys would want to be apart of whom would you bring along?

MOS: Definitely All of the bands I mentioned earlier as influences. Impending doom, A7X (love them, hate me all you want), Aegaeon, Molotov Solution, and I guess finishing with KISS headlining!

MPM: Are there any particular albums looking forward in 2018?

MOS: Definitely the new Interpol album for me! Elijah is more versed in the modern metal scene than I am.

MPM: Any advice those wanting to pick up an instrument and play?

MOS: Just do it! Take your time and learn the proper way to play and don’t skip out on theory!

MPM: And is there any last words you want to inform your fans for the future time being?

MOS: “SUE FOR HIS CLEMENCY SO I MUST DO HIS BIDDING!”
HAIL MELKOR

Interview by Jake Butler