With a heavy emphasis on storytelling and creating lush atmospheres, mothaltar seeks to take both themselves and their listeners on a journey of awakened expression.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Jonathan Franco: Vocalist, Aaron Ashcroft: Drummer, Kevin Meyer: Guitarist, Isaiah Short: Guitarist/ Main Songwriter
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to mothaltar? How long has the band been around?
Ok so I was in one local band in Arizona that didn't really amount to much as far as a band's progression, but the musicians in my band were truly beautiful. Just like other bands people don't hear about. Isaiah was in a band called "Death Of A Tyrant" which was a local deathcore band. They are sick actually.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Oh gosh man, yeah. haha. Our band name before was "Forerunner" which was one of the hardest band names ever to try and promote because the word is so generic. Make sure to take time the first time to make it unique. The name "mothaltar" comes from biblical scripture. The moth is used in scripture to symbolize decay of materialism. We spell the altar with an "a" because we as a band are signifying that we lay our own materialism at the altar of God as a choice to lead more spiritual lives.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
We all collaborate, and that's really important for how we write. We all have input. However, Isaiah is usually the guy who gets a full song structured and we trust him to write a really strong skeleton with the allowance of us to come in and change things to better the song. Both parts are equally important, we have to let him build and only really speak up if we have something to help better the song.
The themes that we choose are usually within topics of prayer that we have, so we as of right now are going through chapters of the bible to tell a story. Listeners will have to tune in to see what we choose exactly. This isn't the only thing though, we are actually going to tackle an album in the future telling all the stories of our closest friends. Basically, you can write about anything you want.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
The staples have to be; The Contortionist, Invent Animate, and Northlane. However we are a band that actually like bands in the scene and don't say the typical "I don't listen to metal" trope. We are really liking what Thornhill, Sleep Token, and Shadow of Intent are doing.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
We each have a different story and a different band in mind. I can definitely say that for each of us it was seeing that particular band live and being totally enamored with their performance. Myself speaking it was the Contortionist, but for the guys just insert their band name.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Oh big flexing! We usually watch tons of anime to prepare for, you know, the big performance and all, haha. I like to run and stay in shape. The band as a whole does a lot of practicing before rehearsals even come around so that we can narrow down transitions more. I also like to encourage the guys to do a lot of visualization and meditation. Being prepared mentally is a big thing for us.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far? // The first music video that we just released has to be the biggest thus far. Affiant taught us a lot as a band and it added to our growth tremendously. We are now aware that we have the capacity within ourselves to reach bigger milestones.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Oh gosh. This list is huge. I will spitfire quite a few. The Contortionist, Northlane, Meshuggah, Dream Theater, Fit For a King, For Today, Bloodlines, Sleep Token, Rivers of Nihil, Shadow of Intent, Fit For an Autopsy, Void of Vision, Architects UK, Between The Buried and Me. It would be any and all bands that have influenced us or we've spun on repeat quite a few times. I believe we will tour with some of these bands one day.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I never know how to answer a question like this. If I add anything it is always that metal is kept alive by the fans and community. Support the big bands when they come through and support the local bands at shows regularly. Be a fan of all good metal music. It really does matter!
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