Band of the Day: Memorial Parasite

Today’s Band of the Day (after yesterday’s traditional lay-off) are Scottish death/djent(!) 7(!)-piece Memorial(! – sorry, ignore that one) Parasite…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

Forres, Nairn, Cawdor, Lossiemouth, Alves.

How did you meet?

Online, school and college.

How long have you been playing as a band?

A year and a half.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

Originally suggested by our drummer, it describes somebody who thrives off the memory of others’ misery and trauma.

What are your influences?

All sorts, from brutal death metal to political punk. Artist influences include Meshuggah, Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower and System of a Down.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

One of the few bands to use both lead and rhythm bassists, as well as three guitars and a keys/percussion player. Our sound is unique as we don’t conform to any one genre. Most of it is death metal and djent influenced, but we also do a thirty second deathcore-meets-goregrind song with a smooth jazz ending, and a six-minute gothic death-doom Woods of Ypres meets Gojira song. We often use the combination of heavy downtuned riffs with atmospheric keys, and a third guitarist in a higher octave to boost the atmosphere. In songs without keys we have extra floor tom percussion.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

Quite a variety, anything dark and sinister, including making art from corpses and sewing limbs back on. There’s usually a more serious message behind them along with a hint of dark humour. We also have a fifteen-second song about beer.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

We try to keep the shows fairly intense, plenty movement and headbanging, fake blood, some of us wear masks, will occasionally interact with the crowd or one of us will start a pit.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Wildest we’ve done is probably when two of our members once raced downing a beer during a fifteen-second song.

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

  • ESP m-17
  • Vintage Metal Axxe Wraith
  • Epiphone Tony Iommi signature
  • ESP LTD bissox
  • Pearl Export
  • Korg Kross

A few others, not sure about the exact models

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

Currently promoting our single “Thrown into the Cemetery”, and our upcoming EP.

What are your plans for the rest of 2017, into 2018?

Mainly finishing the mixing for the rest of our EP. We’re playing a fundraiser event in Forres in January and a show in Inverness in February.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

Ideally supporting Scordatura, opened by Inverness band Pathogen.

From previous Band of the Day Glam Skanks: How does it feel to share what you love (music) with others?

I couldn’t really imagine a better feeling. It’s amazing being able share our passion for music with people.

From another BotD, Charly & Faust: Which question has nobody ever asked you and which would you love to be asked?

Well we’ve never been asked this before! Would love to be asked our dream festival lineup to be part of.

And from Dreaming of Jupiter: What is your favourite planet?

Jupiter, it’s fucking massive!

Memorial Parasite: facebook | twitter | bandcamp

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments