Luna Mortis Vocalist Mary Zimmer
by Matthew Hoffman
Staff Writer
HRH: I was surprised by the CD, and that doesn’t happen very often. After reviewing extreme metal for more than four years with sub-genres Celtic, Norse, Nordic, Finnish dark, satanic bastard-styled metal that’s usually born and bread in Europe that when it does come from the States it’s usually (sad as it is to say) is immature, not aggressive enough, too aggressive or seriously lacking in at least one main area. With Luna Mortis, it not only had all the prerequisite elements of the darker metal, but your vocals kicked me in the arse as well. When I popped it in, I thought it was incorrectly labeled and was a traditional Goth metal album with angelic pretty female vocals. Needless to say, about a minute in, I was in total shock. I said, “What the hell happened to the Goth CD? This is pretty good. Is this even the same “chick?” ”
MARY: (Laughing) Yeah, yeah.
HRH: Then I wondered if the extreme vocals were provided by a “chick” at all. Then I researched it and saw no other vocalists are in the band. And I was amazed that it even was a “chick” doing the vocals, and I’m sure you understand by now that was a huge compliment. I mean, I come from a Carcass-loving background, so I know my top shelf extreme vocals. As far as the women go, I have never been into even top female dark vocalists like Angela Gossow, and I usually gravitate back to the gentleman’s darker, more “sick” styles. And I am not sure what it was whether you had a superior technique or simply used the contrast between the beautiful traditional ones vs. the wicked, but I now have become a serious believer. I’m still trying to figure out what it is that draws me to your vocals. They are not contrived, not at all feminine and not done with an overt effort. So can you help a brother out with this quandary?
MARY: Sure, sure, cool. And first of all, thanks for the great CD review. I will send the link to the guys as well. They love to read all the critiques out there on our music. As for my vocals, I am a classically trained singer. I actually went to college for trying to be an opera singer before I got into metal. I’m actually a pretty good classical singer, but we realized that kind of vocal was ridiculous with our type of music. We have actually tried it, and it’s too much, too much stuff going on, plus it wasn’t aggressive enough for our style of music. We actually like some of the bands that do that, but it just wouldn’t work for us. When I first got into metal, I would listen to bands like Carcass and At the Gates, in particular.
HRH: Wow, a woman after my own heart. Carcass is classic, classic tremendously essential material. And I was going to tell you that Jeff Walker was my favorite extreme metal vocalist, and for me to like your style and you to have them in your background is very poignant.
MARY: Oh yeah, I went to see them in Florida when we were recording in the home of Death Metal, and yeah, I think that Jeff Walker was a huge influence on me as well as Tomas Lindberg (Grotesque, At the Gates). You see, before I heard those guys, I had no prior experience with metal and came in fresh at age 18. I had no idea metal was as huge as was, and at that time it had become underground. Unless your friends are into it growing up, you aren’t really exposed to it because it’s not reallyo n the radio. So my friends gave me all these tapes and Cds, and when I put in At the Gates I said, “That is the sickest thing I have ever heard in my whole life, and I have to be able to do that.”
HRH: (Laughing) Ha, ha.
MARY: So to be a classically trained singer and to know where the larynx is located and how it works, I had a decent idea of how they are doing it. And then after doing it for a few years, I went and took some lessons from Melissa Cross in New York. She specializes in training those kinds of vocals. She is, like, the only one in the whole world that trains that and truly understands the mechanics of it.
HRH: So your understanding of anatomy helped when you worked with her, helping you to deliver a really high-quality vocal and also, more importantly, not to hurt yourself? Because I know many vocalists who have to miss multiple tour dates due to problems with their voices. A few months ago, it was Phil from All That Remains, for example, missed several dates of his tour.
MARY: As a vocalist, you use your body as an instrument, so you are subject to that going out. And no one is invincible to that, so I can’t say it will never happen to me. I would never be that naïve, but I haven’t had any problems with it because there is a “right” way to do it. Without getting too technical, it is not screaming; it is a forced-air technique, and I was lucky to have had training before I went into it. I was a challenge for her because I was the backwards of what she usually saw. I knew the technique, so what she did was tighten up my technique and “cut the fat,” so to speak.
HRH: Have you guys started touring under the new name of Luna Mortis yet? Also please speak to the band’s history before the name change.
MARY: The reception has been great. In the review, you spoke of the cohesiveness (of such a new band) and maybe it’s because we truly have been playing together for more than two and a half years with this line-up. As far as us playing together under the Luna Mortis heading, we have been playing a lot of dates around the region and especially in Madison, and it seems everyone across the Midwest knows the new name. We have a small tour with Edguy lined up in the Fall. Also, we are on Chicago Powerfest this summer, which is going to be great, and a couple dates with Warbringer, too.
HRH: I know you read the review, so you realize by now that I liked the entire band for numerous reasons including excellent guitar play; your axe men aren’t decent; they are exceptional. There is some vicious, vile and extraordinarily aggressive stuff from Brian Koenig and Cory Scheider, and when they hit these sick parts what do you do on the stage? Do you lose your mind? Do you grab a mic stand and lose control?
MARY: (Laughing) It’s funny that you say that, ’cause after being in a band with Brian especially for as many years, and Cory, too. Actually, Cory was Brian’s guitar student. There is an eight-year age difference as Brian is 29 and Cory is 21. And they are such great players that sometimes you get tired of it.
HRH: Ha Ha, you get tired of it. I could probably get a nice Woodchuck Cider and listen to those fools all day.
MARY: And you know they would actually play for you as they are so modest and so cool, and their egos are in check. They are good guys, and their egos are really in check for as great as they are. At times, we take them for granted, and they are a huge huge part of our musical success. We are incredibly blessed to have them as a part of our band.
HRH: As to my original question, what do you do on stage when these fools get off?
MARY: Our band is so balanced, so I step into the background and pass off the attention for a few minutes to have a break and maybe get a drink of water.
HRH: If it were more progressive, I would have given it a 7/10 and said, “Where is the next CD?”, as I have 30 more sitting here awaiting review. The key is it is the beautiful technicality of the music mixed with raw aggression, and your vocals are also doing that beauty mixed with aggression thing. Even though you’ve played together a while, it is still a debut effort. And I was really impressed with the quality of the disc and even liked it more than standard bearers Lamb of God’s early material. Lamb of God’s latest release Wrath debuted at #2 on the Billboard Charts and sold 68,000 units the first week alone.
That’s what I feel is the special nature of your band and why you will have success once the record really gets out there. I’m excited for you guys.
MARY: Sure. Thank you very much. It’s really cool that you are so enthusiastic, especially since we are so new that we really haven’t had a chance to get much feedback yet. With the advent of Internet, you really didn’t need radio anymore, and so people were, like, fuck that, and they just get their music on-line. So times are changing. I actually had a chance to meet Randall Blythe of L.O.G as we were both working with Melissa at the same time, and he was really nice. But their success is absurd in the face of the Internet age. I mean seeing Lamb of God and God Forbid this week, charting alongside of cute little country girl (Taylor Swift) on the chart is insane. So, thanks. We can only hope to have that kind of tremendous success.
HRH: As a young girl, who were your idols before you found out about metal?
MARY: I did a lot of musicals and when I was 8. Like any girl, I liked Debbie Gibson, though she never inspired me to sing. I also played piano for years, and as a young adult, I realized I could be good at singing. As for classical music-wise, one person that blows me away contralto is Ewa Podles; it’s a low voice that sounds as big as a tank. You will never hear anything like this anywhere. You have got to check it out!
HRH: Have you had a chance to meet anyone in metal and say, “Wow, I can’t believe I just spoke to so-and-so? When you went to see Carcass, did you get a chance to speak to any of them?
MARY: Um, yeah, everyone in Metal has been really laid back, but no one I have really been nervous around. Though I am a huge fan of Mike Ammott and Bill Steer, we never got a chance to meet them. But I have had a chance to meet and hang with the guys from Warbringer, Soilwork, Darkane and Aborted, to name a few (several of whom Jason Suecof introduced us to). I have also had a few cool phone conversations with Jeff Loomis (Nevermore). He is such a nice guy.
HRH: OK, so now onto the fun topic of being a “hot” metal “chick.” What’s your take on being attractive? I saw your band picture with you in a skirt and sexy nylon legs. But I noticed your military boots, Nazi-style, black knee-length boots where you look like you would step on someone’s face if they even think of touching those legs.
MARY: Ha, ha (Laughing)
HRH: ‘Cause this seemed to be another example of the dichotomy this time with a lovely doll vs. the boots that’s similar to what the music does. Am I accurate with saying that? And to also assert that you are not into any of the “Hottest Chicks in Metal” pictorials or discussions?
MARY: We tried to avoid any of the gimmicky things. We looked at Gojira’s latest press photos, which were basic and simple. Just dudes wearing shirts in a picture, kind of classic but no gimmicks. No costumes, just simple. This is us; this is what we look like now let’s go play some metal. I feel a lot of integrity is lost with all the gimmicks. There are so many gimmicks out there, and I feel they get in the way of simply making some fucking music. You get more respect that way, and it may be a slower build, but the ones that do get us, seem to be staying on longer. The photographer had to convince me to put on a skirt, and I only did because it looked nice and it was tasteful. It was actually my skirt that I brought to the shoot. To be totally honest, though, I did do some pictures for the “Girls of Century Media 2009 Calendar,” but, once again, it was simple and tasteful. You don’t have to get into your underwear for those types of pictures.
HRH: Obviously, the Simone Simmons-type spin on-line with 12,982 lists and videos of her being the most beautiful front woman in metal are everywhere and not only with her but other women. What is your take on this phenomenon?
MARY: Yeah, I see a lot of that as well. I actually had a chance to see Simone in person, and she is really that naturally beautiful. But the best thing about her is she actually has the talent to back that beauty up.
HRH: Exactly. From a gender and race equality take, finding out that God Forbid’s singer was black or that you were a woman doing extreme metal vocals after hearing the music is the way it should be. How have you been treated in this industry? Fairly?
MARY: Great question. I have to say that 95% of the industry has been great, but there have been times when bands have openly said they won’t tour with a band that has a female singer. I have run into that discrimination, and it really, really burns. And I know the guys from God Forbid have experienced it too. Because they only have one white member of the band, there have been challenges for them. And so it is sweet that they are now obtaining success off of their music.
HRH: Well, we have spoken for more than an hour, and I only asked for half that much, so I certainly want to thank you for being so generous with your time. And I truly wish you the best of luck with your band.
MARY: No problem, sure. Thank you for all you have done to promote us already. We really appreciate it.