Mad God- Your Friendly Neighbourhood Doom Band
Imagine waking up in a Lovecraft tale with a beer in hand and high as shit, this is basically what happens when you come across the Johannesburg based- Mad God. With a hefty blend of stoner and traditional doom dragging across the room, it's hard to miss the ominous and somewhat sinister tone that the band puts out. I imagine that if the Necronomicon had an OST then this would probably be it. They describe their music as part "themes of horror, madness, drugs and interdimensional beings..." which, if you listen attentively, is spot on. Their lyrical content also includes murderous tales and true crime which makes it even more eerily enjoyable. With Tim on vocals, Evert on bass, and Patrick on drums it's hard to ignore the epic doominess that Mad God throws in your face. We decided to ask Tim (vocals) some q's regarding the genre and the scene. Full interview below. As a fan, I would recommend seeing these boys on stage, just prepare yourself for some otherworldly shit. Also, avoid eye contact or be damned!
Who would you consider as the holy trinity of DOOM?
(Top 3 Doom bands)
I always struggle with these kinds of questions… I find it very hard to narrow down my favourite of anything so excuse my elaborate answer. I would probably answer this question differently depending on who was asking the question, so here goes. If I was giving this answer to someone who has never been into doom or listened to doom before it would have to be: Electric Wizard, Church of Misery and Sleep. These are quintessential doom bands that basically quantify the genre and if we are sticking with the sacred metaphors then these guys would be Old Testament doom. If I was going to pick the bands that I think make the most interesting and innovative doom, old and new, the list would have to be: Yob, Thou, and Warhorse (New Testament). (Honourable mentions go to St. Vitus, Cathedral and Candlemass (Judaism)… I told you I was bad at this)
It is a well-known fact that Mad God is influenced by H.P. Lovecraft. Is there anything specific that draws you to his work and how does it play into the music?
The main thing that draws me to Lovecraft’s work is the depressive and morbid atmosphere he sets with his style of horror and that is something I wanted to try to recreate with Mad God. I am particularly inspired by his themes: the deliberate and drawn out descent to madness, the fear of the unseen/unknown and the questioning of reality all layered through the lens of a drug-induced nightmare. I think the most direct influence you can see of his is in our lyric writing. When Mad God started I really wanted a strong theme to lean on because that always helps me to draw inspiration when writing and at the time I happened to be reading a tonne of Lovecraft and was just generally immersed in his writing and his worlds. Among other things reading, stories and horror have been a huge passion for me throughout most of my life and drawing from these sources has helped to keep the band following a strong direction but also giving us an honest place to draw material from. Almost all of our lyrics are some form of a story and nothing is written from a personal first-person perspective. While I do try to address human themes that people might relate to the method of delivery is always through some sort of miniature horror story or a retelling of a historic event.
Some bands jam it out then add lyrics, others write lyrics then jam. What would you say is your process regarding new material?
The process is always different. I find myself constantly writing down small phrases or verses that I save on my phone and pull out when I’m trying to write new lyrics. I also do the same with riffs and song ideas. I have so many new ideas backed up on my phone that I’m kinda nervous of losing it. Often a song will start with a riff and I will try to attach lyrics to it later but I occasionally have had lyrics written that inspire me to write a riff to matches it. It is more common for the riff to come first but it’s definitely not the rule.
Do you have any crazy show/tour memories that add to your love for performing?
I think the guy doing one-armed push-ups in front of the stage at the Winston in Durban might take the cake for the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen at one of our live shows. I wasn’t sure if he was having a really great time or wanted to fight. I also never found out. One of my favourite recent moments has to be after our latest show in Cape Town with Ruff Majik when Ben decided to stay and party after the show we had just played. I was going to stay with him but last-minute bailed with the tour van cos I could already feel the hangover coming. In the car, we all realised that Ben had no idea where we were staying. I think we laughed all the way home. I even waited up three more hours just so I could laugh at him when he called me asking where we were staying. Love that weirdo. Sure it wasn’t an on-stage moment and not that crazy but a memorable one for me all the same. More than likely I have forgotten the craziest memories as most after-show parties end in some sort of catatonic blur and I wake up the next day covered in old beer.
Do you have any current favourite local acts?
There are so many local acts that I love it is hard to choose. I always have to give a shout out to the boys in Goat Throne cos they are our soul goats. Can I say Ruff Majik? Aren’t they a German band now? To add some fresh names to the mix, MA-AT really impressed me when we saw them at Mercury Live recently. We really need to get them down here for a Temple of Doom show soon. Peasant is another act that just can’t stop releasing amazing tracks. Return to Worm Mountain also dropped some fire this year.
In your opinion, do you think the DOOM scene in S.A. is starting to grow or do you think it's pretty stagnant?
The South African music scene is a strange beast in general. In Joburg, we don’t really have the walk-in culture you see in some cities both locally and around the world. It feels like our musical scene here comes and goes in waves. Some weeks, months, years, gigs are packed and the drinks are flowing. Other times it feels like the scene has all but died. The doom scene in particular I feel is growing slowly, we have more bands in this genre than ever before and internationally doom just seems to be getting bigger. The biggest problem right now in Joburg is one of the venues. So many of the most established places have closed down and for that reason, we have taken our gigs to the DIY space (check out Sognage in Randburg). It is really hard to speak for the genre as a whole but from our perspective, I wouldn’t say doom is dying but we aren’t seeing exponential growth either. We are here and we aren’t going anyway yet.
What can we expect from Mad God in the distant and near future?
More music. More merch. Come to a show and drink a beer with us.
Photos by David Devo Oosthuizen
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