We were humbled to be invited to The Rock Project Exeter’s United For Music event, held at the Exeter Phoenix at the start of this month, where our roving Photographer Neil was asked to capture pics of all the acts – from 80s legends Carol Decker of T’Pau and Owen Paul through to the latest youth groups born of the fantastic Rock Project’s music training programme.  We caught up with each of the bands performing and over the next few weeks, we shall be dedicating our Phluid column to those acts, kicking off this week with the deeply Dark Melodic Metal band Mordrake.

Consisting of Majalis “Drakkar” Stormguard on Guitars and Vocals, Gordric on Guitars, Mullac manning the Keys,  Ūwila on Drums and backing track controls with Seiđr on Bass, their stage presence is as striking as their names – adorned in heavy gothic makeup and delivering devastating Metal melodies to shake your very soul.

“The line-up has been through several changes - Drakkar being a founding member, Mullac being the 2nd longest member and Gordric who switched from bass to guitars. We then became friends with Uwila (who we knew from Cistvaen), who joined on drums. Seidr, who is another close friend, has joined on bass as the newest member, having just played his 4th show with us.”

The origins of the band’s name may be familiar to some - being the subject of Urban Legend and having several television shows revolve around the titular origins.

“The name actually came from the historical fictional character, Edward Mordrake. The legend has it that Edward was born with two faces, the second face being latched to the back of his head. He couldn’t control this second face, which would only communicate by laughing, crying, or mocking him. This character has since featured on an episode of ‘American Horror Story’!”

Whilst having a decidedly un-nerving origin to their name, the story of how they formed thankfully lays less in the realm of the macabre.

“We originally started as a completely Bristol-based band in 2013, having formed whilst studying at BIMM (Bristol Institute of Modern Music). We now have members from Exeter, Bristol, Gloucester, and as far north as Derby!  The current line-up was established in 2019 but, due to Covid, we were forced into hibernation. We finally got out gigging again in 2021 as a 6 piece, and we’ve now found our ideal lineup as a 5 piece. Most of the songs that feature on our first E.P, ‘Unhallowed Chambers’, are a mix from both original guitarists having a joint input. Since 2018, Drakkar writes the core elements of the songs, with the other members adding their own flair, style and creativity to what they play.”

Speaking on their influences and how they have affected their sound…

“Children of Bodom has always been a massive inspiration to Mordrake, along with Wintersun, Insomnium, Kalmah and Ensiferum. However, anything can be an inspiration in the writing process! Miserable morning rain and frost, through to sunshine setting over the landscape. Each member brings their own individuality, passion and interests into the band, ranging from classical music to film score, such as Hans Zimmer. The fusion of these with metal is something we try to include in our own music, much like COB would have done!”

As with many in the field, music extends beyond the stage to permeate the lives of each member, indeed merging out as both their profession and hobbies.

“Mullac is a professional Tour Manager and also plays in other bands. Drakkar works with The Rock Project as well as doing private music tuition, and plays in Cistvaen with Ūwila. Being out and about in music all day certainly gives you the passion to keep being creative in your own music.”

We asked when we can hope to next catch them live, how they would describe the band using three words and to elaborate on their sound.

“Our live performance in three words: Energetic, powerful, entertaining. In terms of our overall sound, we’ve tried numerous different ways of saying a unique metal sub-genre and never really found one that fits. We currently have a combination of already existing genres: Melodic, Black, Symphonic Death Metal or Melodious symphonies played upon blackened death metal.

We’ve just done a string of local gigs and now we’re concentrating on finishing up our next record, which will be out later this year. It’ll be the follow up to the 2019 self-released ‘Guardians Of The Whispered Hollow’, which you can listen to on Spotify. Of course if the right show comes up, we’ll certainly make time for a gig.”

Finally we asked Mordrake, if they had the opportunity to play at one venue anywhere in the world supporting any band on a tour, where and who would that be?

“This answer is very similar to the bands who inspire us! - Wintersun, Children of Bodom (if we could go back in time), Kalmah, Amorphis, Insomnium, Ensiferum and Rotting Christ. Drakkar and Seiđr would love to play with Leprous, but not with Mordrake.  As for venues, Download Festival and Club Tavastia, which is a venue in Helsinki where Children of Bodom first started gigging.”

You can find more on Mordrake on their Socials:

www.facebook.com/MordrakeOfficial

www.instagram.com/mordrakemetaluk/ 

twitter.com/MordrakebandUK

… and keep your eyes open as they’ll be joining us on Phluid Vision for an in-depth interview and to play some of their favourite tunes very soon.  In the meantime, Mordrake would like to leave you with these words

“We love to play gigs and always try to make an impact. Most importantly it’s to have fun and bring the most metal happiness to any venue we play... Mordrake, Mordrink, Mordunk ! And to our fans, ‘Guardians Rise'.