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曙光 - 美国Black / Death Metal乐队Mourning专访

今天采访到的是来自美国的Black / Death Metal乐队Mourning，2003年由贝斯手Bill，鼓手J.J. Hrubovcak，吉他手Mike Connors组建，不久之后歌手 / 吉他手Mike也加入乐队，2005年乐队在美国Ossuary Industries厂牌发行了第一张EP专辑“Blinded by Hate”，这是一张融合了Brutal, Grind, Melodic, Old School, Gore甚至还有一些Black Metal的元素，给人一种耳目一新的感觉，既保持着Btrual Death Metal的凶狠，毒辣，也有一些优美的旋律段落，还有一丝丝Black Metal的原始感觉，这张EP专辑大获成功之后乐队在2009年发行了他们的第一张正式专辑“Mourning the New Dawn”，这张专辑发行之后由于阵容的问题，乐队一直没有任何新的作品发布，随着2019年鼓手Jayson Meerholz和2024年贝斯手Josh Hammond加入乐队之后，乐队也重新开始了活动，在沉寂多年之后乐队终于在今年创作了新的作品，也准备在2025年二月份录制新的歌曲，让这支沉寂了多年的老牌乐队又重新回归了歌迷的视野当中，在前不久乐队的创始人Bill与杂志取得联系进行了一次专访！同时鼓手Jay也参加了采访！

（V: 代表笔者 B: 代表Bill J: 代表Jay）

Today's interview is with the American Black / Death Metal band Mourning, formed in 2003 by Bill on bass, J.J. Hrubovcak on drums and Mike Connors on guitar, soon to be joined by singer/guitarist Mike, and released their first EP, ‘Blinded by Hate’, on the Ossuary label in 2005. In 2005, the band released their first EP ‘Blinded by Hate’ on the US label Ossuary Industries, which is a mix of Brutal, Grind, Melodic, Old School, Gore and even some Black Metal, giving it a refreshingly different feel. After the success of this EP, the band released their first official album ‘Mourning the New Dawn’ in 2009. After the success of this EP, the band released their first official album ‘Mourning the New Dawn’ in 2009, which was followed by no new releases due to lineup issues, but with the addition of Jayson Meerholz on drums in 2019 and Josh Hammond on bass in 2024, the band has resumed its activities, and after many years of silence the band has finally written a new album this year. After years of silence the band has finally written new material this year and is set to record new songs in February 2025, bringing the long-time veterans back to the forefront of fans' minds, and not long ago the band's founder, Bill, got in touch with the magazine for an exclusive interview! Drummer Jay also took part in the interview!

(V: for the author B: for Bill J: for Jay)

采访对象：Avel（Fade Dreams队歌手）

采访时间：2024.11.13

V: 你好Bill很高兴认识你，非常感谢你联系我参加这次采访。我想这是你们乐队第一次接受中国的杂志的采访吧，首先先向中国的粉丝们问好吧。Mourning乐队成立于2003年，是一支历史悠久的老乐队。最初是谁组建这个乐队的？Mourning这个名字有什么含义吗？

Hello Bill, nice to meet you and thank you very much for getting in touch with me for this interview. I think this is the first time for your band to be interviewed by China magazine. First of all, let's say hello to the fans in China. Mourning band was established in 2003, and it is an old band with a long history. Who originally proposed to form this band? Does the name Mourning mean anything?

B: 我也很高兴认识你！同时我想向你介绍我们的鼓手Jay Meerholz。是的Mourning乐队成立于2003年，由我（贝斯）J.J. Hrubovcak（鼓）和Mike Connors（吉他）组成。我最初联系Mike加入乐队作为一个分支，因为Bloodthrone（当时我现在的乐队）正处于中断期，因为我们的鼓手术后恢复需要时间。所以J.J.在我们发布的招聘鼓手的广告后不久就加入了我们。至于乐队的名字，它背后没有任何意义。这个名字只是Mike和我决定的一个缩略版本，因为原来的名字December Mourning听起来更像是一个doom metal乐队的名字。

Nice to meet you too! Also, I'd like to introduce you to our drummer, Jay Meerholz. Yes, Mourning was formed in 2003 by myself (bass) J.J. Hrubovcak (drums) and Mike Connors (guitar). I originally contacted Mike to join the band as a side project because Bloodthrone (my current band at the time) was on a hiatus due to our drummer needing time off to get back surgery. J.J. joined shortly after answering an ad we had posted in search for a drummer. As for the band name, there's no meaning behind it. The name is just a shortened version that Mike and I decided upon because the original name December Mourning sounded more like a doom metal band name.

V: 现在乐队里只剩下两个第一代成员了，你和Mike另外两名成员已被替换，为什么第一代成员退出了乐队？新成员是如何加入乐队的？你对他们的工作满意吗？

Now there are only two first-generation members left in the band, you and Mike. The other two members have been replaced. Why did the first-generation members quit the band? How did the new members join the band? Are you satisfied with their work?

B: 澄清一些事情，没有人会感到困惑，Mourning最初是一个3人乐队。J.J.从一开始就和我们在一起，直到2007年他才离开我们，他离开Mourning是为了寻找更大的机会。他的第一个主要机会是做一个欧洲和北美巡演与Vile弹吉他。在那之后他成为了Hate Eternal的贝斯手。当时的新成员要么是通过craigslist网站找到的，要么是通过我们认识的其他乐队口耳相传找到的。Jay，我们第一次是怎么开始的？

To clarify things a little so no one gets confused, Mourning started off as a 3 piece band. J.J. was with us from the beginning up until 2007. He had left Mourning for bigger opportunities. His first major opportunity was to do a European and North American tour with Vile playing guitar. After that, he joined Hate Eternal on bass. The new members at the time were found through either craigslist or word of mouth through other bands that we knew. Jay, how did we become involved the first time around?

J: Bill和我实际上是在2000年的某个时候认识的，当时我在他之前的乐队Blood throne，我们只能说，那是情况不是很好。然后我开始了我自己的项目，大约在2009/10年的某个时候，我决定做一些分支计划并看到Bill的广告寻找鼓手。所以我和他一起开了大约一年的课程，写了Mourning, the new Dawn，直到我的个人计划和Mourning的巡演日程冲突，所以我被迫退出了这个Mourning，然后在2021年我才决定重新加入。

so Bill and I actually met somewhere around 2000 when I tried out for his prior band blood throne, which we will just say didn’t work out in my favor. At that point I went onto my own project and somewhere around 2009/10 area I decided to do something on the side and came across Bill’s ad looking for a drummer. So I ran a course with him for about a year in between him, writing Mourning, the new Dawn till I could not keep up with the touring schedule of my own project and Mourning so I was forced to step out of the project until I decided to rejoin in 2021.

V: 你能介绍一下你的创作过程吗？你的创作经历将激励许多年轻的音乐家。

Can you introduce your creative process? Your creative experience will inspire many young musicians.

B: 我真的没有什么创造的过程，我不是那种坐下来就知道自己想做什么的音乐家，我的主要写作风格基本上是在我们练习的时候，我会拿着吉他乱玩玩，如果我写了我喜欢的东西，我会拿给大家看。如果他们喜欢，我就会经常玩，这样我就会把它牢记在脑海里，这样我就不会忘记它，然后我就会利用我所拥有的东西。试图强迫作曲并不是最好的方向，因为有时候它不会有你想要的感觉。

I really don't have a creative process. I'm not the type of musician who sits down knowing exactly what I am looking to do. My main style of writing is just basically while we are warming up at practice. I'll goof around, and if I "write" something I like, I'll show it to the guys. And, if they like it, I'll play it enough so I've got it embedded in my brain so I won't forget it, then I'll work with what I've got. Trying to force writing isn't the best direction to go because there are times that it won't have the feel you're looking to get.

J: 多数情况下，我的写作方式和Bill一样，在练习的时候有点乱，如果有什么问题突然出现，我会记住，下次再写。而且一旦我们把一首歌的一大块安排好。它将经历编辑阶段，典型的调整，你播放了多少次或者如果你不喜欢某个部分，就会删除它用更好的东西代替它

for the most part, I write the same way as Bill, kind of screwing around at practice, while warming up and if some kind of beat pops up, I will remember it save for next time. Also, once we have a chunk of a song laid out. it will go through the editing stages, the typical adjustments how many times you play something or if you don’t like a certain part gets taken out to put something better in place of it

V: 你的专辑录制得很好。你是在哪个录音棚录的？谁为你制作了这张专辑？

Your album is excellent in recording. Which studio did you record it? Who produced the album for you?

B: “Blinded by Hate”于2004年在美国新泽西州霍博肯的鸽子俱乐部工作室录制。“Mourning the New Dawn”（2011）在家庭录音室录制了贝斯和吉他。鼓和人声是在德克萨斯州和新泽西州之间的不同工作室录制的。“Blinded by hate”由乐队和Bob Davodian制作。“Mourning the new Dawn”是我和Jay Prussack制作的

Blinded by Hate was recorded at Pigeon Club Studios in Hoboken, NJ (US) in 2004. Mourning the New Dawn (2011) recorded the bass and guitars at a home studio. The drums and vocals were recorded at seperate studios between Texas and NJ. Blinded by hate was produced by the band and Bob Davodian. Mourning the new Dawn was produced myself and Jay Prussack

V: 在2009年发行了官方专辑"Mourning the New Dawn"之后，你就没有再发行过新的作品。你这么多年没有出新作品的原因是什么？

After you released the official album "Mourning the New Dawn" in 2009, you haven't released any new works. What is the reason why you haven't released any new works for many years?

B: 在"Mourning the New Dawn"发布后，我们经历了不断的成员变更。更糟糕的是鼓手很难找到。所以直到5年前Jay再次联系我们，Mourning已经沉寂了近10年。

After the release of Mourning the New Dawn, we've gone through constant member changes. to make things worse, drummers are extremely hard to locate. So, until 5 years ago when Jay had contacted us (again), Mourning had been on a nearly 10 year hiatus.

V: 你们的Logo设计很独特。谁为你设计的这个Logo？你的专辑艺术作品也是黑白的。谁为你设计了这些专辑的封面？

Your logo design is very unique. Who designed this logo for you? Your album artworks are also created in black and white. Who designed these album artworks for you?

B: Roger Poole设计了最初的Logo。然后Jay的一个朋友做了一些调整，但仍然是保持原来的样子。这两张CD的美术设计都是由Jon Guice完成的，Mike在看过Jon Guice的作品后建议我们使用他的。

Roger Poole had drawn up the original logo. Then a friend of Jay's had done some adjustments, but still leaving the original look. The artwork for both CDs was done by Jon Guice who Mike had suggested we use after looking at what other work he had done.

J: 几乎我们所有的新作品都是由我的朋友Joe Intile完成的，他非常棒。它非常容易操作。

pretty much all the new artwork we have has been getting done by my buddy Joe Intile the guy is quite amazing. It’s super easy to work with.

V: 你们所有的专辑都是在Ossuary Industries这个厂牌发行的，我对这个厂牌很熟悉。他们主要是Brutal Death Metal的风格为主，也发行你的乐队专辑。你是怎么联系上他们合作的？你对Ossuary Industries的工作满意吗？

All your albums are released under the brand Ossuary Industries. I am familiar with this brand. They are mainly in the style of Brutal Death Metal, and rarely release your band albums. How did you get in touch with them to cooperate? Are you satisfied with the work of Ossuary Industries?

B: 我在my space上找到他们后就和他们取得了联系。大约一个月后我和Brian（厂牌老板）谈了谈，告诉他（当时的我们）我们在寻找更多的东西，当时合作也只是为了发行和宣传这张CD。我们对这个厂牌和他为Mouring所做的一切都很满意

I got in touch with them after locating them on myspace. About a month after emailing each other back and forth, I had spoken with Brian (label owner) and told him that (we at the time) we're looking for much. Just to have the CD released and promoted. We are satisfied with the label and what he's done for Mourning

V: 我在听你的官方专辑“Mourning the New Dawn”，这张专辑完全不符合你的风格。你们是一支非常真实的Brutal Death Metal乐队，有着快速而持续的Riff和复杂的编曲。看起来你的演奏技巧高超，鼓手就像一台高速运转的永不停息的机器，歌手低沉有力、饱满的演唱也有一些喉音效果。你的作品给我留下了深刻的印象。

I'm listening to your official album Mourning the New Dawn, which is completely out of line with your style. You are a very authentic Brutal Death Metal band, with fast and continuous Riff and complicated arrangement. It seems that your playing skills are superb, the drummer is like a never-ending machine running at high speed, and the singer's deep, powerful and full singing has some guttural effects. I am deeply impressed by your works.

B: 感谢，Dennis Sanders (Hod ... Texas)是一个临时鼓手，Bill Reuter (Death Sick ... NJ) 也是一个只干了一小段时间的主唱

Much Appreciated. Dennis Sanders (Hod ... Texas) was a session drummer and Bill Reuter (Death Sick ... NJ) was on vocals for a short period of time

V: 你们乐队很长时间没有出新作品了。2024年你们乐队有什么新作品吗？比如写歌、录新歌或发行新专辑？你能介绍一下吗？

Your band hasn't released any new works for a long time. Is there any new work for your band in 2024? Like writing, recording some new songs or releasing a new album? Can you tell us some information?

B: 在过去的两年里，我们一直在创作新的作品。但是，随着一些成员的退出，我们又回到了第一步，让新成员的加入，让他们跟上我们创作的老歌，并且开始新的创作。到目前为止，我们的目标是在二月份开始录制。新歌的名字包括；Soul Collector, Devil Made Flesh, Ashes of The Throne and Ingest the Blade of the Beast.

We've been writing new material for the last 2 years. But again, with members quitting, it pushes us back to step one with breaking in a new member, getting them caught up with the old material and starting on the new. As of now, we're aiming to start recording in February. New song titles include; Soul Collector, Devil Made Flesh, Ashes of The Throne and Ingest the Blade of the Beast.

J: 我很期待能录下这些音乐。我觉得新歌在很多方面都有了进步。我们在歌曲中加入了各种不同的动力，我们之间有很好的配合和平衡。

i’m looking forward to laying down these tracks. I feel that the new material has stepped up its game in quite a few areas. We got a good chemistry and balance between all The different dynamics we’ve put into the songs.

V: 你们是一支优秀的乐队。真后悔我刚听说你的乐队。从今天开始，我会一直支持和关注你们的乐队。我也希望通过这次采访，让更多的中国歌迷关注和支持你们的乐队。最后你有什么想对中国球迷说的吗？

You are an excellent band. I regret that I just learned about your band. I will always support and pay attention to your band from today. I also hope that more China fans will pay attention to and support your band through this interview. Do you have anything to say to China fans at the end?

B: 我们感谢中国今后的支持。请关注2025年的新信息。

We appreciate the future support from China. Keep an eye out for new material some time in 2025.

J: 感谢您花时间关注我们的音乐，很高兴看到它很受欢迎。.

thank you for taking the time to looking into our music and glad to see that it was well received