‘’The Mnajdra temple complex is an amazing structure. In my opinion it’s probably the most impressive temple on the Maltese islands. Also I just love the word itself. It’s beautiful, powerful and mysterious all at once.’’
Manjdra epitomise their namesake. The mysterious entity with a strong spiritual and Maltese connection create music that is vital confounding and utterly uncompromising. It is an indefinable beast that takes its cues from Black and death metal, along with flourishes of sludge, doom and experimentation. It is a creation of towering monolithic epics that consume the senses. Every track is unique in its own architecture based in extreme music.
‘’Mnajdra actually formed from leftover ideas of other projects. Songs and parts that didn’t fit other bands. The material felt good enough to flesh out and complete but it needed its own identity to connect the pieces. I’ve been to Malta numerous times and felt a connection there so the rich and mysterious history was good inspiration for a theme.
In the Name of the Goddess follows up very quickly from their stunning debut.
‘’It’s a continuation in terms of going deeper into Maltese history and ancient cultural traditions but not a direct sequel by any means. The first album was sort of an imagining of the ancient people and their gods. The new album is about ancient Malta’s long history of goddess worship so it touches on various goddesses and important mythological and historical female figures.
The goddess you are celebrating and her connection to Maltese history?
‘’The concept of a mother goddess. The Venus. The sleeping lady of Malta. That’s the overall inspiration but each song touches on various individuals.
And The Maymūna Stone?
‘’It’s a 12th century tombstone of a Maltese girl from the major Islamic period of their history. The exact date and location of its discovery aren’t known so it’s another piece of the mystery of Malta’s history. Who was the girl and why such an amazing tribute to her as found on the stone? Fascinating stuff.
The connection between black metal and history...
‘’I’ve got a handful of projects I write for and I like them each to have their own concept. So with Mnajdra the concept is history. Nothing brand new but the focus on Malta gives it something unique.
The Intensity of Mnajdra. Hidden and only revealed in your music, or part of your very being?
‘’Both. Its part of my being but it’s only unleashed through music. It’s an essential part of who I am internally and in that sense it’s hidden from the public but it gets let out into the open through music.
With a violent edge. Who is this manifested against?
It’s manifested against the universe we live in. The reality of life. Existence. The constant change of our lives while the entire concept of living itself is unchanged.
Reflected in a truly unique vocal style.
‘’Thank you. It’s just channelling those feelings within and trying to match the harshness of what ancient life must have been like on the islands.
It’s Inspiration?
''Raw emotion. Just letting it rip itself out of you.
Whilst your music is undeniably extreme, it is much more than mere black metal. You have a variety of styles entering your music
‘’That mostly comes from the first album being made of up unused ideas for various other projects. The key was blending it all together. But in general there’s no reason to limit yourself to one specific sound unless that’s just something you want to do. Just about every style of heavy or extreme music can work together.
Is Extreme music the only possible outlet for you to express yourself?
‘’Definitely not. I love a lot of different genres and tinker in quite a few. But extreme music is home base.
Future plans?
If things keep going well there will be more Mnajdra. Maybe a little longer between albums but I’d love to do at least one more and see what happens. If there’s demand for live shows, who knows?
Tops six albums of all time?
Radiohead - OK Computer
Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Primordial - To the Nameless Dead
Killing Joke - Night Time