Dark Manthra. Interview with Alexis Laguado

Interview by Jay Parker

Hello Alexis, greetings man. Thanks for taking the time to talk to our readers and share some of your wisdom.

1) Tell us about the powerful Dark Manthra... When, where and why was the band formed?

Greetings Jay to you and all the readers…. Thanks for this space, Dark Manthra was born in 1997 in Bucaramanga, a capital city with some history within national metal, but it was until 1999 when I started this tour in a more serious and professional way, we debuted live on December 18, 1999 and since That day we did not stop taking our sound to a higher level, completely dedicated to extreme metal.

2) Tell us the lineup...

After many years of struggle, a committed line-up could be finalized and with real metal lovers, for more than ten years we worked like this, Alexis Laguado (Voice guitar) - Alejandro Olarte (Guitar) - Mervin Quiroga (bass) - Zandro Rueda ( Drums)

3) Walk us through your discography, (some real gems there) from start to finish... Where can our readers buy your music?

Dark Manthra from the beginning I work own music, at the beginning of the century we recorded our first singles, we shared in several professional national compilations, in 2005 we released a demos entitled "Faith Breaker" (CDr) that was very well received in the national scene, in 2007 a Peruvian label (Undermetal rec) made a split with a Mexican and a Peruvian band, called "The Wicked Trilogy", and in 2013 we achieved the first album "Vientos de Guerra", which opened many doors for us at the level Latin American, after an arduous work of composition and production in 2019 we released "Morbid Chaos" a very well thought out album, with an impeccable production and that we hope will become a national classic, many more plans are coming in the future with some splits and others professional productions as usual.

4) Your latest release, Morbid Chaos, is a very well crafted slice of daemonium... Master's Of Evil is a true masterpiece... when and where was it written/recorded? Lead us through the tracks...

Thanks for those appreciations, Morbid Chaos is the result of a coordinated and direct teamwork to the jugular, influenced with the hatred the speed and crudeness of metal of all time but helped with new technologies to produce good material we were there for a year composing and arranging our songs, contributing all ideas and touches to improve every detail in each song, we chose to record in a studio in our city for the ease of controlling the editing and mixing work, we focused on every detail of the layout and design and printing so that in the end the whole set is a true piece of metal, there were 500 copies that we released independently and fortunately they have gone far, there are very few copies left in our possession and that drives us to continue in this. As for Masters of Evil, it is a very brutal theme based on classic metal tones and paying homage to all those who have influenced us on this path, that is, a simple tribute to Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Sarcofago, Masacre, Typhon, Neurosis… in short, to all the bands we grew up with, the lyrics and music are my own and together we made the respective arrangements, the choirs and injected all the hatred and power of Dark Manthra as in all the songs of the disk.

5) What is the process when writing tracks? how does it all come together? What is the inspiration behind the lyrics?

It's something very natural, nothing forced or mathematical, simply our experience listening to metal and with our instruments, someone comes up with an idea and starts putting together the whole song, each one contributes something that makes it sound more brutal and that's how we give the final result , then we inject the lyrics accommodating the main idea and a brutal theme comes out, our themes speak of the higher self, punishment and denunciation of the falsehood of faith, earthly pleasure, death and metal.

6) For musicians who are reading. What instruments do you use? What tunings do you prefer? what recording equipment do you use? How has your recording process evolved over the years?

Well, we have not wanted to release the standard tuning, many musicians want to sound heavier and more "modern" by changing tunings and others, but we are closely linked to the metal of all time, to that naturalness that this tuning gives us, we use strings a slightly thicker 10 gauge and that gives a certain different tone, we use distortions emulating a dual rectifier, we like that heavy table sound, we almost always ask for those amps, they are rarely found to play, but when we have them we use them naturally.

7) What are your plans for the future? Are you recording and writing new material? Are you planning to do a tour outside of Colombia?

There are many plans, there are already songs to record, there are already commitments to play, and we also have some productions in the oven, a split with a classic band from the United States (Lucifixion) that will be co-produced between a national label (iron fist) and one from over there in the USA, in addition to a 7” with Dar March that we are preparing for this year. Some concerts in different cities of Colombia and if of course our ideal is to leave the country, we are looking for the means to achieve it.

8) Today, Colombia is internationally recognized as a thriving center of Black Metal, with some of the best bands and some of the most respected old school figures in the genre. Tell us what it's like to be a part of that... the energy, the musicianship and the fans here are really something special...

Everything in Colombia has a certain extra level, the raw and bloody history of the country has inspired extreme music since the mid-80s and the BM does not escape this, here we do not write about cold mountains, or pine trees surrounded by snow, here we writes about the hatred against conservationism instilled since childhood, against violence and against the injustices that happen daily, it is metal that is created and truly felt. We are very proud of national metal, we are collectors, we have friends since the end of the 90s in this and every day more serious bands and projects are added that are worth spreading and making known.

9) Recommend some new Colombian bands for our readers to check out…

It Would Never End, To Name A Few, Cabra Negra, Daenam, Dantalian, Endeathed, Stnzr Cult, Horncrowned, Sadistic Rot, The Reapers Hand, Other Entities.

10) Tell us some stories man, you've been here for a while... what's the best and worst experience so far as a BM musician? Tell us a funny anecdote from your live shows...

The best thing has always been to share the stage with great exponents of national and international metal, there are so many stories that I don't even know where to begin to meet characters like Mantas, Tony Dolanto (Venom INC), Apollyon and Blasphemer (Aura Noir) who have written this world metal history is one of those great satisfactions, the national bands have always deserved the greatest of my respect and admiration, because in Colombia it is not easy, it is a more aggressive level, so all those anecdotes are summed up in satisfaction... things on stage and outside of it that we will always remember, an example and back in 2001, we were with Witchtrap, Erzebeth and Lemures in Bucaramanga and they were staying in an apartment of the promoter, we were obviously drinking and we were in charge of lunch so we already told you Imagine some young kids trying to do something in the middle of the party for everyone to eat, I don't know if they ended up intoxicated... In short, there are many things that can be counted, and others not, but that is if he plays with beer in hand.

11) What is your favorite BM album of all time and why?

It would be very bland to choose just one, there are classic pieces that are the cornerstone of the genre, I have in my appreciation the beginnings of bands like Cradle, Behemoth and Dark Funeral, and in Colombia Maleficarum, Tenebrarum and Typhon, to name a few, they are all different , but they have something in common and they gave us on their first albums all the hate and musical foundation to create metal.

12) Do you have any advice and words of wisdom for upcoming bands and musicians?

The truth is that we are not wise, but we are persevering, this path is not easy, but it is the best thing that can happen to us, we are not here for fame, far from it, but we want to be a recognized band that is a flagship in underground metal, and We do it with a lot of passion and love for dark and extreme metal, from the beginning dedicated to the freedom of the human being and to go against the dogmas that lead man to kneel, to fight my brothers. Metal brothers.

13) Do you have anything you would like to add? (contacts/zine/label etc :))

Thanks for the space, we are Dark Manthra and we will be metal warriors forever, write to us at darkmanthra@hotmail.com or look for our music on networks and streaming, @darkmanthra and spread dark and Death Metal, www.linktr.ee/DarkManthra