Mendeed

Posted on Jul 6, 2006

by Anders

Mendeed a pretty new band hailing from Scotland and ready to conquer the world with their insane blend of melodic death metal, thrash, traditional heavy metal and much more. The band has just released their debut album "This War Will Last Forever" on Nuclear Blast in Europe. The album has been available in Great Britain for some months, and has made quite a hype over there. I hooked up with the band's singer and lyric writer David and he willingly told a lot about what Mendeed is all about.

Hi there, how are things in Scotland as we speak?

Hi, things are good in Scotland, thank you. We're not in the world cup which sucks but we're still having a good time.

Will you please start off with a small introduction of yourself?

I'm David, I'm the singer and lyric writer in the band.

A small introduction of the rest of the band and what they contribute to the band with, will be very appreciated as well!

Chris is our bassist and he also does most of the clean singing, he's the crazy guy in the band. Nixon is our lead guitarist, he writes most of the riffs and makes me feel untalented! Kevin is our drummer extraordinaire, at 21 he's one of the best drummers I've ever seen. And then there's Steph, our other guitarist, he's the quietest guy you'll ever meet until he gets a couple of shots of Jägermeister in him, then he's an animal!

You are right now ready with your debut full length "This War Will Last Forever", how do you in the band feel about it?

We're excited right now, the album has been out in the UK for a few months so it's nice to have a fresh challenge, to get the album out somewhere else and see what reaction we get.

How has it so far been received?

So far it has been amazing, we didn't know at first what to expect from the European press as we had heard it was totally different from the UK but the reviews have been excellent. A lot of European Journalists came over to London to see a live show and they all seemed be impressed.

What do you expect of the album?

We expect it to get our name known throughout Europe, in fact the world. We are confident in what we have, people are realising that we are not a metalcore band but a band who try to create something new. Then we're going to hit everyone with the second album and it's going to blow people away!

What war will last forever and what do you wish to tell with the title of the album?

All wars will last forever, be them physical or mental. The title of the album is a warning that if we don't change our ways, if human nature doesn't adjust then we will destroy ourselves and our planet.

Is the album title connected to the lyrical content on the album?

Yes definitely, I cover a wide range of topics in the lyrics but I use the imagery of war to convey my message.

What topics do you touch in the lyrics and do you have a message to get out to the listeners?

I'm covering actual wars like the fact that for over 1000 years there have been holy wars because one man believes that he worships the correct god while the other man believes that it's his god who is the real god. But I also cover different aspects of life, for example I have friends back home who hate going to work, it really depresses them, that is a war for them, also there are kids who go to school everyday and are bullied, that is a war for them.

Who are writing the lyrics and where is the inspiration for them found?

I write the lyrics, I take inspiration from all different things, be it documentaries on T.V or from a book I'm reading, or from seeing dying people being left to fend for themselves around the world when the so-called global super powers could so easily step in and help them.

How important is the lyrical side of Mendeed compared to the musical side?

I'd say its more important haha! But the rest of the guys would tell me to fuck off. Nah seriously its equally as important, I mean first and foremost you need to have great music but its got to be backed up with something important, there's no point singing about how your girlfriend dumped you because that is a pain that passes, it's important to write about something with serious meaning and hopefully open people's eyes to a wider world outside their own existence.

Let's turn the music, who are the main songwriters in the band?

We all pitch in, Nixon will come into the studio with riffs ready to go. We'll have a listen, say what we like and what we don't, change some shit, then starts piecing together the song and adding drums. After we all are happy with the musical side, we record the song and I then write the melodies and lyrics.

How do you in the band work when you write music?

We work as a unit, there is no dictatorship it is most definitely a democracy.

Where do you find inspiration when you write/make music?

From all sorts of things, other bands inspire us greatly, movies, books, life in general is the biggest inspiration of all. There’s so much happiness and tragedy in the world that it's impossible not to be touched by it.

Once in a while a wee bit of folk music shines through the compositions, how did you pick up on those inspirations and why did you choose to incorporate them into the music?

"A wee bit"??? hahaha I thought that was a Scottish saying! Yeah we wanted to have a little bit of a Celtic theme here and there, so that people would instantly know where we come from.

Can you pick out 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and your way of thinking music?

'Silent Night, Bodom Night' by Children Of Bodom, it was the first Bodom song I ever heard and was blown away, it was the first time I'd ever heard anything like that! It’s really heavy yet melodic at the same time, they are exceptional musicians. 'We Will Rise' by Arch Enemy, it's such a powerful song, they really know how to put together great songs by making them really catchy and melodic, while still keeping them heavy, we try to do a similar thing with our music. 'Trashed And Scattered' by Avenged Sevenfold, at first I wasn't sure about "City Of Evil", but after touring with them and getting used to hearing the new songs I soon fell in love with the album, I think they write excellent songs with really good hooks and excellent vocal harmonies.

What do you wish to tell/bring the listeners with your music?

That you can think outside of the box, you don't have to play music the way other people play it, create something new. We'd rather be leaders of our own scene than followers of another.

Can you pick out your 3 favorite songs from "This War Will Last Forever" and tell us how the music was made, what the lyrics are about and so forth?

'Beneath A Burning Sky', 'The Reaper Waits' and 'The Black Death', with all 3 songs musically, as we always do, we were trying to do something different from what was going on at that time, to mix up a lot of different styles and find the perfect balance. The lyrics for '.....Burning Sky' are about the current state of the world, we're being dictated to and forced into a war that no-one wants, leaders should be here to do what is best for their people not what is best for themselves. 'The Reaper....' is about life and death, death shouldn't scare us, we all have will and if you believe that you are in control of your mind, body and soul then you can achieve anything. The one thing we cannot change is time so try not to waste any by sitting on your ass thinking about what you could have done. 'The Black Death' is a little more complicated, I watched a documentary on T.V about the plague, when 20 million Europeans were wiped out. That really struck a chord with me and moved me to write. But as I started to write about something that happened hundreds of years ago I started to think about the contrasts between today's world and the world back when the black death swept across our lands. Poverty, disease, war and genocide are everywhere, it is not so hard to imagine 20 million people from one continent being wiped out in today's world.

Your band name Mendeed, what does it mean and symbolize?

That is a secret! Only the 5 of us know. It symbolizes a power within us all.

How is the metal scene in Scotland? It isn't the scene we hear most about in the rest of Europe.

There is a good metal scene around Glasgow, there are a lot of good bands, but unfortunately people don't turn up to see the shows. It's hard being from Scotland because there is no music industry there so you have to branch out and play shows in London which isn't easy to do for an outside band.

Are you going to tour in support of "This War Will Last Forever"?

We're going to be heading out on tour later in the year, we're still sorting out the details of when and where, so keeping checking our website for details!

How do you in the band look upon the future of Mendeed, and what can we expect?

You can expect us to be touring our asses off. We'll be heading over to Europe on tour toward the end of the summer, we're just sorting out some details for that. We're aiming for world domination, so by the time our second album comes out early next year you can expect to know a hell of a lot more about Mendeed!

Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with our readers?

Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Children Of Bodom – Hatebreeder
Arch Enemy - Anthems Of Rebellion
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
In Flames - Clayman

Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!

Thanks very much, we're going to be coming over real soon so check out our album and our website and stay metal!

Mendeed website

Review of "This War Will Last Forever"

Buy the album at

Buy merchandise at