An Interview with Mestema of Possession
Formed in Belgium in 2012, the black/death metal band, Possession, has released a demo, “His Best Deceit”, and an EP, “Anneliese”. On June 5th they will release a new mini-album, “1585 – 1646”.
Lead vocalist, Mestema, took time from his busy schedule to talk about the new album and more. As you’ll see, Mestema is passionate and serious about his art. And it shows in both his words and Possession’s excellent music.
Derek: Hi Mestema! Thank you granting me an interview! Possession came together in 2012, in Belgium. Can tell me more about the origin of the band?
Mestema: We had all been friends for years. The drummer and I were playing in a band while the bass and guitar players were playing in another band. Both bands were going nowhere so that it was kinda logical at some point to drop our respective bands and for a new one especially since we had and still have a lot of tastes in common. At the first rehearsal, it was obvious that it was a good move as some sort of black magic was in the air. The rest is history so to speak.
Derek: How did your partnership with Iron Bonehead Productions come about?
Mestema: When our first demo was recorded, my band mates and I took some time to think about how we wanted our music to be released. We did not want to act like cheap hookers with no dignity begging every label on earth for a minute of attention so that we decided to get in touch with 2 labels only: Iron Bonehead and Invictus. Luckily they were interested in us and decided to offer us a long term collaboration. If those labels hadn’t been interested in working with us we would have released our music ourselves. The link between our band and those labels is crucial to us and we will not switch to another label just for the sake of it. Matter of loyalty and gratitude I guess. These are vague concept to many but they’re very important to us.
Derek: On June 5th you will be releasing a mini-album, “1585-1646”, which was produced by Phorgath of Enthroned. How did the partnership with Phorgath come about? Did he have a strong influence during the recording process or was more hands off?
Mestema: All the Possession tracks (demo, 7’’ and now MLp) have been recorded at Phorgath’s studio named Blackout. The first time we went there back in August 2013 to record our demo, it was obvious that choosing to work with him was a good choice as he managed to understand what we had in mind in less than 15 minutes and even managed to come up with a lot of good ideas and advices. We trust him so that we plan to stick to him in the future. We would like to salute him as we consider him as a silent member of our band just like Patrick of Iron Bonehead, Darragh of Invictus and Chris Moyen who takes care of all our visuals and artworks.
Derek: You’ll be celebrating the release of the album with a headlining performance at the Helvete Club in Oberhausen, Germany. Will there also be a tour in support of “1585-1646”?
Mestema: This is correct. This Ritual will be a celebration of all the efforts we put in this upcoming MLp. We do not plan to tour. I’d rather play 1 gig per month in front of a decent crowd than playing in the middle of nowhere on a week day in front of 25 people. I have got better things to do with my time.
Derek: Do you think you will have the opportunity to tour North America in the near future?
Mestema: Actually, we are currently discussing with a US booker who’s interested in bringing us to the US and Canada for some gigs in 2016. We’ll see if that happens eventually.
Derek: Now it’s time for The Marvelous Three Round of Questions! What’s your favorite breakfast cereal? Most metalheads have large concert t-shirt collections. What’s your favorite band t-shirt? And last but not least, are you a cat person or a dog person?
Mestema: Sorry but I don’t feel like answering such trivial questions which have nothing to do with Possession.
Derek: Thank you for taking the time to the time to talk to me! I’m looking forward to hearing more Possession in the years to come!
Mestema: Thanks for your interest. I salute your readers. Check out our upcoming MLp entitled “1585 – 1646” when it’s out.
A.M.S.G.
Check out “Guilty” from “1585-1646”, due out June 5th
