1. The band was born in 2015, what led you to create the band? Why did you choose the name Maahes and what does it refer to?
Some of the founders had known each other for a long time and had also played music together for a long time. When we finally got to know our singer, we founded MAAHES.
About the Name… Maahes is a sun god, he is the gatekeeper of the holy place. And if someone gets in his way, he becomes a bloodthirsty predator and causes carnage. Re, light, fire and flame. The flashing lightning and rolling thunder. The lord of darkness and wind. This god is the epitome of our “Ancient Metal”.
2. With a first Ep released in 2016, it is not until 2020 that they continue in the form of a full album with the edition of “Reincarnation”, what has happened within the band to take their time between both releases?
To be honest, most of the time delays are due to private and above all professional reasons. The first version of the album was already mastered in 2017. However, this version was a high-end production. This didn't fit with MAAHES, because the atmosphere of our music didn't come across. We put a lot of work into it and produced the album a second time in collaboration with Florian Dammasch (Eis, Ash of Ashes). “Reincarnation” was then completely finished in February 2019 after final graphic revisions (including a renewal of the logo). It was a few more months before we had negotiated the deal with MDD Records. After all the hardships we had to push the release back again due to Covid-19.
3. How was the composition and recording process for this “Reincarnation”? How has the sound evolved with respect to your previous EP? What brand of instruments have you used for the recording and what main difference can we find with the instruments? what do you wear for concerts?
The style of MAAHES has basically remained the same, but “Reincarnation” will feel much more malicious because we experimented a lot with keys and generally gave the album an old-school aura. The colder style of Horus' singing is definitely worth mentioning, too.
4. The sound of “Reincarnation” contains black elements of course, some keyboards and thrash elements, all with a dark atmosphere that may remind the sound of bands like Dimmu Borgir on the one hand or Venom on the other. How would you describe the sound of your last album for those who have not heard it yet? What bands have a clear influence on you in terms of sound?
I would also describe us with the bands you mentioned. I would also mention Dissection, Immortal, and Dark Funeral. We've all been listening to these bands around the clock for years.
5. Your previous Ep offered a theme related to Greek mythology, however for "Reincarnation" you take a turn to cover Egyptian mythology, why this change? What attracts you to not only Egyptian mythology but also to the Greek to focus on it when writing your texts? What can you tell us about the conceptual history that is offered in the lyrics of “Reincarnation”?
It was a long way before we even discovered Egyptian mythology. To explain this, I have to go back a bit. When the band was founded, one thing was clear to us: We want to stand out from other Black Metal bands in terms of concept. This is also the reason why neither a religion nor Norse mythology came into question as a concept for us. In the beginning we focused on Greek mythology and wrote our first songs. In the course of time we became aware that we did not want to implement this concept in the long term, as it would have created a lot less scope for the entire implementation of our works. We would have restricted ourselves too much with it.
After the final selection of the band's concept, the band name Maahes was also
determined, which should have been in June / July 2015. Now to your actual question, what fascinates us so much about Egyptian mythology. I would not say that the Egyptian concept corresponds more to us than the Greek because of the mythology, it is much more related to the whole of ancient Egypt. The mysterious, the puzzling, the unbelievable knowledge, just think of the building of the pyramids, the cult of the dead, and so on. This concept offers us astonishingly many possibilities and a lot of room for interpretation in the poetry. These are the things that inspire us today and also confirm that we have made a good decision with it.
6. Who was in charge of designing the album cover? How does it relate to the music and concept of the album and what do you intend to reflect with it?
The designer of the album was Caio Caldas from Brazil, who has worked for Doro and Dragonforce, among others. The art is intended to illustrate the dark atmosphere of the album: shortly after his reincarnation, the “Master of the Black Arts” is standing in front of the pyramid where he was interred and is conjuring up chaos again. It‘s also worth mentioning the hourglass with the skull, which represents the transience of life and the passing of time. On closer inspection, even more details can be discovered that allude to death or reincarnation, respectively.
7. In a year as complicated as the current one due to Covid, how have you been affected in terms of sales and promotion of the new album? How have you been able to keep in touch with your fans at this time?
Of course everything would have gone better without Covid, but luckily we were able to play a few distance concerts and bring our CD to the people. Most of the advertising, like everything else, was done online and through magazines.
8. You come from a relatively small population such as Grafenau, is it difficult to carry out a black metal band in such a small place or today thanks to new technologies this is not an impediment to make yourself known? On the other hand, How is the experience of attending a Maahes concert?
It's incredibly difficult in a small town like Grafenau. Unfortunately we only have a small scene in the Bavarian forest. In general, however, I would say that the response to our concerts is good despite everything and the metalheads in the area are also very satisfied with it.
9. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attend, first albums you buy? What happened in your lives made you want to be musicians?
Because of our parents, we've all always listened to heavier music. You just heard bands like Black Sabbath, AC / DC, The Scorpions, Motörhead, and so on. That was of course the first concerts and the reasons why we became musicians. Then, as teenagers, we slowly turned down the hard way. This is where bands like Slayer, Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom, Dissection, and so on, came into play. And so everything took its course.
10. How did the opportunity to edit your album through Black Sunset come about? Are you satisfied with the editing and promotion work done by the record label?
We introduced ourselves to different labels and at Black Sunset everything worked out. We are very satisfied with the label and would also be willing to work together in the future.
11. Which album represents the essence of black metal for you? Which German black metal band do you consider to have been the most important for you as a reference? What recent albums have you bought?
For me personally, the essence of Black Metal is represented by "Stormblast" by Dimmu Borgir. We never actually took German black metal bands as a reference for Maahes. The last album I bought was the EP "Ritus" from Bestialis.
12. What future plans do you have for the band in terms of upcoming releases, concerts, etc ...?
At the moment we are working on our next album as much as possible. We'd like to do that in 2021. Let's see if it works out. Concerning concerts ... we're trying our best to be able to play a few concerts but it's just out of our hands.
13. Thank you very much for the time dedicated to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Maahes fans this is the place. I hope the questions have been to your liking.
On behalf of all MAAHES members, I would like to thank you again for interviewing me, and I hope we‘ll get the opportunity to take you all on an unforgettable trip to ancient Egypt at one of our live shows! Metallic Greetings & Stay healthy
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Golden vinyl with printed inner sleeve and gatefold sleeve. Strictly limited to 100 copies worldwide.
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