Mythosphere released their brilliant debut album, 'Pathological' on November 18th, 2022 and completely threw my world upside down. Three of the members have been part of bands I have followed for a long time, so I thought having a chat with a couple of them, actually the two founders, Darin McCloskey and Dana Ortt, would be appropriate. And hopefully the conversation would open the door a bit and show more of the world Mythosphere moves within.
How did the band form?
Darin: Well, after the last Pale Divine album came out things pretty much came to a screeching halt due to the pandemic. So that meant no tour and basically no shows to promote the album. Once the fog sort of lifted a bit and we were able to begin getting together again, Dana and I decided to work on some songs that more or less continued in the same wheel-house as Beelzefuzz or at least seemed to be a continued progression from where we left off. We also decided to "kick the tires" (so to speak) on introducing some other ideas into the mix. That was basically the catalyst to making Mythosphere a reality.
As far as the formation of the band, Dana had been in contact with Victor Arduini about potentially working together at some point. Well, this seemed like as good a time as any so Dana reached out to Victor with some of the rough versions of the songs we had been working on and he was into it. So, things were moving along pretty well. When it came time to recruit a bass player Ron "FeZZy" McGinnis was an obvious choice and we knew he'd be the perfect guy for the job. We weren't wrong!
Dana: June 2020 is when the Pale Divine album “Consequence Of Time” came out and that’s right when shows were being cancelled because of the pandemic. The writing process in Pale Divine is a collaborative effort with songs often being written in the practice room. With band practices on hiatus I started writing songs and sending them to Darin to get his thoughts on. With just myself writing the guitar parts the songs had more in common with the vibes associated with Beelzefuzz more so than Pale Divine. Rather than try to make these songs work in the context of Pale Divine, Darin and I decided to form a new band around the new songs. I had already been in contact with Victor about recording songs together. Once Darin and I started rehearsing the songs we sent the rough recordings to Victor who began tracking solos that added a great new element and character to the songs.
Did you have a masterplan for Mythosphere, you know a specific song structure, sound etc?
Darin: Not that we specifically discussed. Dana had a lot of song ideas and he and I just started working on them. What Victor brings to the table in terms of his solos and guitar work I think is what makes Mythosphere sound unique.
Dana: We didn’t have a specific master plan initially other than the agreement that, as with each album we’ve recorded, we would continue to improve upon the production quality.
How did you come up with the band name?
Darin: We obviously wanted to start fresh. No recycling of names or combining of names or anything like that. We wanted to start with a clean slate. The name 'Mythosphere' seemed to capture the direction of the lyrical content and the vibe of the music. We knew we'd be heading into somewhat of a progressive area musically but we've always also had one foot in the music of the '70's and '80's. 'Mythosphere' seemed to be a name that tied it all together.
Is there a red-lining going through the songs or are they individual stories?
Darin: Do you mean is there a concept? No, not by design but the lyrical themes are consistent to some degree.
Dana: There is a similar theme to some extent with all the songs. The lyrics address topics of using critical thinking and empathy in dealing with others around us to avoid isolation. Going forward I’d like the songs to continue with a positive theme.
How did the songs come about?
Darin: Basically, Dana introduces the outline of a song and he and I work on the arrangement together during rehearsal. Sometimes Dana will have the structures pretty well planned out and other times we will work on them together. The songs generally begin with melodies and riffs that Dana shows me when we rehearse. In the end I think everyone makes their presence known in their performances and the final version of the songs. Victor listens to the songs and comes up with his own ideas of what to add and that takes the songs into another dimension and really completes them.
Dana: I usually send Darin song ideas that consist of acoustic guitar playing a verse and chorus with the vocal melody over top. At rehearsal we jam around these ideas. We had around 15 songs in development for this album but as rehearsals go on certain songs just have all the elements come together faster than others. The songs go through stages of development after I show Darin initial verse and chorus melodies. Arrangements and tempos get dialed in once we rehearse the songs with Fezz. Once we got the arrangements and tempos established we sent demos to Victor who develops his own guitar solos and melodies to go over the progressions. We got these songs written and recorded in a timely fashion and would like to do the same for the next Mythosphere album.
Dana, are you playing keyboards and effects through your pedalboard?
Dana: I’m using a POG effect on many of the songs that simulates a keyboard or a Hammond sound. I don’t think it’s as prominent on this album as on previous albums. I think there’s more acoustic guitar tracks on this album compared to previous albums we’ve recorded.
Darin: Dana is using the POG effect though his guitar. The Mythosphere sound expands on that sound which was a characteristic of Beelzefuzz's music but it also involves more acoustic guitar and of course everything in Victor's toolbox as well. The music of Mythosphere is definitely a collaborative effort between Dana and Victor in terms of guitar sounds.
Are some of the songs remnants from Beelzefuzz?
Darin: No. None of these are songs that didn't make the cut for an album or anything that ended on the cutting room floor. That said, there may have been ideas that could have been cycling around in Dana's head for the years while Beelzefuzz was active but perhaps not quite the right fit at the time.
Dana: A couple of songs have ideas that have been around for awhile but never developed any further from a verse riff or chorus riff. I think whatever songs Darin and I are involved with writing will be expansions on basic ideas and concepts we’ve established in the past.
Which musical influences does Mythosphere have? Why I ask is because to me especially Star Crossed and No Halo brings strong vibes of Ronnie James Dio in Black Sabbath or Rainbow.
Darin: There's a ton of stuff really from the '70's to the '80's. Everything from psychedelic rock to progressive rock to traditional heavy metal. Rainbow is definitely one...also Black Sabbath of course, Uriah Heep, early Genesis. Some of the influences are maybe rather obvious to the listener and sometimes that's by design...other times some of the influences are more obscure and aren't quite as obvious. Chances are though if you think you hear it you probably do, haha.
Dana: I’m definitely a fan of Rainbow and Dio era Sabbath. I check out a lot of music but certain things always return in regular rotation. I’m reluctant to write down a list but I’m going to anyway. Deep Purple. Also Davis Byron and John Lawton era Uriah Heep. Peter Gabriel era Genesis. Yes. Pink Floyd. Free. Neil Young, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Allman Brothers, UFO, Micheal Schenker. Judas Priest. Steppenwolf. Grand Funk. David Bowie. Scott Walker. Leonard Cohen. Type O Negative. Eric Wagner and Trouble. Fields Of The Nephilim. Fates Warning. Helloween and anything involving Michael Kiske. Iron Maiden. While Heaven Wept. Gates Of Slumber. Apostle Of Solitude. Anything Wino related. Earthride. Anything with Phil Swanson singing. Mercyful Fate and King Diamond.
Dana, you mentioned Victor and you had been in talks about working together before Mythosphere was born. What brought you together? Also with the band in full roll now are you two still planning on working on something separate?
Dana: I met Victor at The Maryland Doom Fest a few years ago, 2017 maybe? I'm a fan of his guitar playing in Arduini/Balich and Fates Warning. We discussed possibly collaborating on some music and I sent him some song ideas. A few of those ideas ended up on the Mythosphere album. I'm thinking Mythosphere is the main project I'll focus on now. We've been working on songs for a 2nd album.
Darin, I've followed your career for a long time and you've played on some pretty amazing albums. But to me, 'Pathological' is the first recording where your drums truly are pushed to the front with a full, rich sound. The same goes for feZZy's bass guitar. Did you have to push producer Noel Mueller to do this or did it come naturally?
Noel considers getting nice warm natural drum tones his
specialty. There wasn't much I had to do to get that sound that's' on the
album. Noel knows his room and how to position the drums in order to get a
really good "room" sound. My only regret is not going to Noel's
studio sooner! As far as bass, Noel is a bass player himself so he cares about it and how it sounds.
You also reeled in Arthur Rizk to master 'Pathological' which is quite a feat. How did this come about?
Actually Arthur came to us by way of our friend Phil Swanson (Solemn Lament, Hour Of 13, Sumerlands). He and Arthur of course worked together in Sumerlands and are very good friends. Phil told Dana that Arthur had been interested in doing something with Pale Divine but was also familiar with Beelzefuzz. We reached out to him and he agreed to work with us. Obviously Arthur's body of work speaks for itself so we knew we were in capable hands. We had actually intended for Arthur to mix and master but once we started working with Noel things just sort of moved forward pretty fast and before we knew it were starting to mix. We still wanted Arthur to be involved and we really liked the things he's mastered, so we approached him about doing that and he agreed. I think he did a great job and brought out a lot of clarity and dynamics in the mix.
Do you have gigs and/or tours planned?
Darin: At this time we're discussing possible tour ideas and plans for shows are in the works. We've played a handful of shows so far beginning with the Maryland Doomfest this past June, The New England Stoner and Doom Fest in Sept and a couple album release shows in Delaware and Maryland recently. We're hoping to play some shows/festivals overseas in the coming year.
- Swedebeast
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