IN MITRA MEDUSA INRI: Melancholic dark wave

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

“After all, life is always about fulfilling your dreams.”

Orkus: In Mitra Medusa Inri has been around since the early nineties. How did the desire to form the band come about back then?
In Mitra Medusa Inri: We all knew each other from school, were friends and came from the same small town. As it happens, you try out different hobbies at that age. But as we had always been totally in love with music, we thought about starting it ourselves. First concerts, then the idea of releasing a CD, and so everything went its own way.

O: What’s the story behind the name? How did you come up with In Mitra Medusa Inri?
IMMI: When we started back then, we were thinking about what to call ourselves. This was back in 1992. We came up with the name by chance. In Mitra Medusa Inri. Synonyms that reflect our music.

O: How did the desire or need to “revive” the band come about?
IMMI: As is sometimes the case in life, you need distance to allow closeness again. We have been friends for over 30 years. The idea of resurrecting INRI, in the truest sense of the word, had been dormant in both of us for some time. So we got in touch with each other again, talked a lot and said to ourselves: “If not now, then when?” … So off we went. We reissued our 1996 record as an LP and that’s how we ended up with a new CD. We are super happy about it. After all, life is always about fulfilling dreams.

O: Is “Second Life” also the title of the program? Breathing a second life into the band?
IMMI: Exactly, the title of the CD should reflect exactly that. The second life, the new beginning, back to the roots.

O: The album begins darkly with “Help Me”. How did this piece come about?
IMMI: Like so many things. Out of an idea, a thought. Our producer had the idea for this composition. Then the guitars were added and, excitingly, the chorus lines came first. The first feeling when we heard the instrumental: “Help me, is it a dream or is it the truth?” – The other lines of text were then written around this.

O: In “Lonely Souls”, the question is posed as to whether there is beauty in the fall. In what way?
IMMI: Isn’t it important to accept the situation and the feeling so that you can then use this experience in harmony with yourself and draw strength from it for the future?

O: Loneliness and the feeling of being lost are also recurring themes in the songs. How do you deal with these feelings?
IMMI: This is what moves our whole life and isn’t that also the origin of the scene? – Defying transience, understanding loneliness and feeling lost in it? We can process our feelings and emotions in our art through lyrics and melody. You can hear that in our “Second Life”.

O: So working on “Second Life” was also a kind of catharsis?
IMMI: As we hadn’t made music for a long time, there was a lot that wanted to “get out”. Musically and lyrically, there was a lot inside us that had to surface and wanted to find its way to freedom.

O: “Second Life” is full of melancholy. Would you describe yourselves as melancholic?
IMMI: To some extent, definitely. But like many people, we also have different faces. Sometimes dreamy, melancholy, then a little crazy, then rational and emotional again. Melancholy can be a nice state if you don’t lose yourself in it too often and for too long. A state to immerse yourself in your musical world.

O: “Tragic Reflections” raises the question of whether our own darkness always catches up with us. Or is it possible, as hoped for in “The Circle”, to break out of the treadmill?
IMMI: Basically, we are what we are. As soon as you reflect on yourself, you embark on a new path that also gives you the hope of breaking out of the familiar. And yet we are what we are, what we feel, what takes hold of us, what carries us along, what inspires us to feel things the way we feel them.

O: “Home” doesn’t convey the feeling of home as a place, but more. What does “home” mean to you?
IMMI: “Home” is about the father-son relationship. “You said to build houses out of stones, but I wanted to create castles in my dreams. But I was different from what you wanted … You said I should always go straight, but I went left and right a lot …” Home has an important meaning for us. That was the first new song after a break of over ten years.

O: And the album ends with the mantra “Here comes the suicide” from “Wind Stroke the Trees”. How can we get something positive out of this depressing ending?
IMMI: It is absolutely a positive thing, because suicide represents self-determination, and therefore also being able to freely determine your own life. Decide for yourself which path you want to take, which things are important to you. If this is your own decision, then you are in harmony with yourself and this path.

O: What generally builds you up when you’re down? What makes you happy?
IMMI: It’s often the little things. But sometimes it can also be a nice movie, something to make you laugh so that you have positive thoughts. It’s also important to know that you have other people around you. Friends, family. The wind when you’re by the sea. The wind blowing through the trees, a smile.

O: What’s next for In Mitra Medusa Inri?
IMMI: We first have to realize that we have a new CD out. Now it’s time to rehearse for the live gigs. We hope that there will be a few more. We’re really looking forward to taking the songs out into the world. In Mitra Medusa Inri is back!

Speaking of “live”: Experience IN MITRA MEDUSA INRI live:
August 30, 2024 CZ-Prague, Futurum
October 05, 2024 DE-Essen, Grend
November 14, 2024 DE-Hamburg, Hafenklang

Do you already have your tickets?

You can purchase the album “Second Life” here (click on the picture):