Q. For those that never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
A. It all first started when Shahyd and Iku started jamming in the studio and on one of those jamming sessions we found ourselves playing something unique, sounding really different than the projects that we work on. We decided to record the materials, that was then the journey with Mystic Wonders began. We take Mystic Wonders as a Melodic Death Metal band. Yet, experimenting with a lot of other genres such as black metal, progressive, technical and such, infusing them in our own way. From the feedback of the audience, Mystic Wonders is hard to classify as to which genre the band truly is. Just as how our name implied, it was our motive. We don't want to stay in one specific genre. We implement different elements but still maintain our melodic vibe in it.
Q. Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented in the recording?
A. It's aggressive yet has the kind of melodies that will carve into your mind and stay there for a long time. Each songs of this 9 track album entitled 'Prophecy of The Chosen' will be unique and has many variations to feast on for the progressive fans. Also theres power implemented in some tracks and others feels like it came out of a black metal album. In short, every song is a theatrical play with a different story behind it.
Q. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
A. The lyrics are laid in a fantasy-like theme, but it can be related to anyone or everyone in general. Most are based on violence, corruption, a few about politics and real life situations that society needs to be aware of or to think about. To add a bit of flavor, we added a bit of human suffering to the lyrics as well and bringing it on like a story.
Q. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mystic Wonders'?
A. Unexplainable, or mysterious wonders. Those term describes best on our compositions and decided to use that name for the band. Shahyd actually has a song composed named 'Mystic Wonders' among a lot of other unused tracks which was planned and composed for the Sacred Legacy's album 'The Legacy Begins' which was later put back on the shelf with several others before the release of that album. One time, we're going through the tracks we previously recorded and found the track Mystic Wonders and found the name quite perfect for our band and thats when we decided on using that name.
Q. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
A. Iku and Shahyd played a lot of shows with their other projects, especially in Sacred Legacy. Since Mystic Wonders is a recent project, there aren't much shows played but we do plan on playing a lot of gigs soon. The first show we gave with the Mystic Wonders line-up was in 11th of November this year in Maldives. It was really fun. We enjoyed it to the last moment. Our performance has a good vibe with an aggressive sound, very exciting for both the audience and us. We had great feedbacks on our performance.
Q. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
A. We have plans for next year to tour. Definitely an european or asian tour will happen along with a new concept album in early 2015. We will also be playing in some big festivals in Asia, we're already confirmed for Maelstrom Festival 2015 in Sri Lanka.
Q. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
A. It's very hard to get major labels in Asia, it takes a great lot of effort. We aren't approaching any labels as of the moment but we're interested. We get some offers but we also have to give attention for both sides of the party as to be sure its a label that we can comfortably work with and understanding without compromise, be it a major or an indie label. And we can guarantee we can give a sound that can satisfy the ones that we're dealing with.
Q. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of the melodic death and black metal genres?
A. Its been a couple of days since we released our debut album 'Prophecy of The Chosen' and we already got a large audience of both Death and Black Metallers. And surprisingly, we even get positive feedback from ones that goes with Blackened Death Metal audience. Also, this recent week we're approached by several agencies and a few of our songs are played in Radio Channels. We have been getting lots positive comments about Mystic Wonders and the album in social networks. We haven't even started with the paid promotions or with a PR agent, but we are happy with the results we got so far.
Q. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
A. Shahyd is working with his solo project. He is releasing his 3rd solo album soon entitled 'Through The Ashes' and also working on the new album for Sacred Legacy 'Generation of Chaos'
Iku will be releasing his solo album as well on early 2015 entitled 'Prismatic'.He works with Shahyd in Sacred Legacy too and several other bands such as Ovnivium (A Symphonic Black Metal band lead by the front man of Sacred Legacy Lord Hoochy Pharmacist) Disruptia (Progressive Death Metal) Unholy Rising (an old school Black Metal band) and several others including the works from commercial scene in Maldives.
Kattaray has been giving out bass lessons on his youtube channel. Also, covers various songs.
Mukay has been in the commercial scene for sometime now and is now well known.
Q. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
A. We'll be going to places. One thing for sure is we'll frequently release albums. We think our future as a band is very solid and we don't think our journey together will be a short one. In our perspective, there is no end looking at the horizon, just that the beyond lies newer paths and a bigger picture to look at.
Q. What are some of the bands or musical styles that had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
A. Shahyd has a large influence for solo artists and gets inspiration from artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Micheal Angelo Batio, Andy James and such. Iku's inspiration comes from Devil Doll, Belphegor and gets the influence from such Bands/Artists.
Kattaray too is influenced by great artists like Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan and those Lords and great Legends (new and old) Bassists.
Mukay lives out in the world of old school Thrash Metal. Still, some of his favorites are Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer, Lamb of God, Testament and them giants of Thrash Metal
Modey takes his influences in a different angle from the rest of us. Power Metal, Folk Metal, Gothic Metal are some of the genres that inspires him like Dragonforce, Iced Earth, Dio, Ensiferum, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden.
Q. How would you describe the metal scene in your home country of Maldives?
A. Its depressing actually. The metal scene here is going through a huge downfall. Due to this, several bands are disbanding. We remember the glorious days the Maldivian Metal Scene had back then. With a lot of bands, countless followers of metal, Shows frequently happening and If a Metal Album is released, its news will be every where in the local media. And back then, bands get a lot of opportunities to play shows and funds. There used to be a lot of sub-genres of metal bands in Maldives, and its sad to see them disbanding. At present, there are avenues that metal is used to play but not allowed anymore. Its also very hard to get sponsors or funds for the bands as well. And there are hardly any practice rooms or recording studios left in Maldives. Due to all this, very few bands survives, while others looks for other alternatives to continue their music career such as involving into commercial industry. Honestly, we don't see much help or contributions by the Entertainment Industry in Maldives that would make a positive impact to the scene here. Even in the midst of this, there's still a large fan base here that still doesn't give up. We won't be giving up either. We'll contribute however we can and help to get back the glorious days of the Maldivian Metal Scene.
Q. What are some of your non musical interests?
A. Gaming!!! Especially mmorpgs like ArcheAge, DragonNest, Eden Eternal, Onigiri. And we love anime and manga. Anime plays a role in our musical aspects as well. In our song structures and melodies. Coffee is all our favorites and very important in our lives... and IKU LOVES CHEESECAKES! we always gather in the same coffee shop and catch up on stuffs. Not to mention the rides in Kattaray's car (sometimes we find Kattaray headbanging playing loud music in the car while driving) haha.
Mukay is a fitness freak! He goes to gym on a daily basis. And we have a hunch he's going to be a gym instructor soon. Movies is also one of our major interests.
Q. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
A. We'd like to thank our families, friends and fans. They're the reason that kept us going and the start of our journey of Mystic Wonders. We have a lot of plans ahead, we will be revealing the title of our 2nd album very soon. And a shout out to Hoochy, Arkane, Ibbe, Shaulaan, Avas.Mv, Sharippe, Musthain, Vitte, Emp, Dani, Abo, Rasha, Munthi, Wisham, Marsh, Nasih, Altho, Keshan and AWN crew, Chippe, Andu, Dante, Music World, Wadde brothers, Jessy, Bloody Ayya, Usham, Tom, Irey, Meksie, Hoosh, Husy, Milo, Azmeen, Humaidh, Thithi, Legacy Studios crew!! And Thank you for this interview, we really enjoyed it! \m/
Regards
Shahyd Legacy
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