Godless believes that gods should not be

Godless is a dark death metal act hailing from Greece and currently based in Austria founded by Chris Muimbwa.The first years (1994-1997) were really difficult for the main member of the band as they were mostly characterized by line up changes. Though, Chris Muimbwa found a way out of the problems and unleashed his spell on the underground by releasing the blasphemous “Downfall Of The Religions” demo 96 and one year later the great “Massacre And Holocaust” demo. Main influences of Godless had been legendary bands like Morbid Angel, Nocturnus and Asphyx. From December 1997 till december 1998 Chris wrote down his most evil spells so far while the others in the band were resting lazy and confident. The new matterial destined for the ’Let There Be Darkness ’ CD showed a more dramatic side of the composer, fascinating everyone with influences from a couple of the most dark and depressive works of all times, Rachmaninov’s “Isle Of The Dead” and Dvorak’s “Stamat Mater”. It was in August 1999 when Chris Muimbwa decided to continue with the band alone - sometimes just one can be more disastrous than many... The new songs were left in stock until the decision to be recorded was taken. Finally, he felt ready to begin recording in August 2000 with a very low budget. 2 guest musicians gave a helping hand adding guitar solos and backing vocals. The recording sessions ended in April 2001 after only 20 hours in total inside the studio. The mixing procedure followed with even less money and time. Chris spent almost 10 months (May 2001 - February 2002) working on a home made mastering and experimenting trying to get the desirable sound. Finally the messy demo sound turned into a raw attack of evil power combining fresh and revolutionary song-writing and a mid-80’s production.

interview with Chris on 14-04-2003

Please give us a short introduction of yourself?
I started Godless at 1994. I continue it alone playing always anti-commercial death metal.

So explain why you started the band? What forced you into metal?
I just wanted to write my own music, and not play covers. Metal became my only interest since I got in highscool. I just stopped carring for anything else and wanted to become a metal musician.

To what kind of music did you listen to as a child? What did your parents say about it?
At first I was listening to commercial hard rock and heavy metal. My taste turned to harder every year. Things where ok with my family untill I started being into death metal... Day by day me and my religious mother liked each other less... The ’beggining of sorrow’ was when she started to actually believe that I became possed by a demon. The icing on the cake was when I tried to ’just make her faint by stopping her breathing for a while’ after another demand for imminent exorcism. After those things got very bad. But in 1999 we finaly shaked hands and by now we have a very good relationship again.

And where there bands or musicians you looked up to? You wanted to be like them?
Steve Harris...defenetly! If it wasn't him I would have picked some other instrument but the bass. But I always wanted to play harder stuff than Maiden, and songs that would not be based much on some voice but on the guitars. I wanted to play complicated stuff, I was very impressed by the song writting of Megadeth. Then I started to like soft death metal like Spiritual Healing, nNcrotisism, all that boring stuff. Still my favorite band was Iron Maiden. Soon I became totaly fascinated by Nocturnus. I checked again these ’noisy’ Morbid Angel, and that was it...

What does attract you in the music business? The fame, money, women, free beers?
What I find attractive in the music bussiness is that its the only area I could be useful to others. I'd play anything for money. That's the only thing I can do well. You pay, I play, I dont care what it is. But Godless is different, its about never ever give to people what they want and still hope to get fame, money, women and free beers for that.

Explain your roots. According to your name you are from Africa. The email is in Greece and the package was send from Austria. Running for the taxes?
My father is African, my mother Greek. I come from Greece and started promoting Godless there so I am always keeping the Greek Yahoo e-mail adress. But I had to leave Greece cause if I'd stay there Godless would always remain in the shadows of bands that just made an ok album a decade ago and I dont feel like letting this happen. Since february 2002 I had to change a place 5 times. I have no stable adress. Got bills to pay on the one side and on the other a bunch of people who try to convince me that they should get a free cd from me. 2 promo cds to make and send cost me 1 hour of baby sitting, or an hour of spreading flyers in the cold, or an hour of stage building, or stage security, or being a waiter in some frenzied party. Anything to keep on going with music.

Do you think music can connect the different races? Think you can get in touch with people easier when listening to the same music?
Most of the modern western world music is a mixture of the white and the black musical traditions. Even most modern instruments, their construction and use is a mixture of black and white musical traditions and needs.
I don't know if you can get easier in touch with people who listen to the same music. I don't think I have to say more with a deathster than with a blues man. It is the kind of aproach that everyone has for the same music. If for example for someone death metal is a ’religion’ and for another just good fun its hard for them to communicate.

So why did you choose the name Godless? Anything to do with your ideas about religion?Do you believe in something? Follow a religion?
I just didn't want to name the band ’Unholy Necroslaughter’ or something... Godless means ’I believe that gods should not be’.

Saw your badge of VoiVod? Do you like the old thrash bands? Your opinion about them nowadays when some of them reunite? Can they ever get the feelings back?
I like old thrash bands, and Voivod is my favorite. I hardly ever learn about reunions. Instead of trying to catch up with the scene I dig in the past and try to find what I've missed. See I am young and when I started listening to thrash there were mostly lesser quality albums like Coma of Souls, Arise, Seasons in the Abyss etc. I liked them very much though, but I forgot them when I heard what was before. Thrash bands today seem to confuse madness with anger. The old feeling is madness.

What are the treasures in your music collection? Did you got them easily? What was the biggest effort to get one?
I got lots of nice stuff, mostly vinyl. I don't buy something because it may be rare but only if I like it. Some of the things I feel most worried about when visitors touch carelessly are: Abominations of Desolation, The Key, The Rack, Seven Churches, Apocaliptic Raids, I.N.R.I, Reflections of the Solstice... Rigor Mortis, R.I.P., Darkness Descends, None shall defy, Roar, Infernal Overkill, Executioner's Song... The day of Wrath, Melissa, Abigail, Refuge Denied, The Walking Dead, Hammerheart, When dream and day unite.... Pretties for you and all Alice Cooper till '75, Earthquake, Songs from the wood... The only cds I feel nervous when others touch are all Incantation cds, Stream from the Heavens and Saint Vitus.
I got every album easily, I was just eating too much pasta and avoiding going out often.
Rehearshals with bands were always the problem in saving money.

How far is music involved in your daily life? Stand up in the morning and then what?
I listen to music even when I eat. When I watch tv at the same time I play exersises ’unplugged’. Usually I wake up very tired from last night's practice or song writting. I put something on the stereo and light a cigarrete. Then I wait till my girlfriend leaves the house so I can practise or try to compose something. I just want to be alone. If I am not left alone I usualy just try to kill the day by listening to music but I cannot realy enjoy this. I'll probably turn on my pc at some point and start surfing at the web so I don't think much about it. That is the reason I often stay before the screen 14 hours in a day. When she's finally gone to sleep and I feel alone enough I start playing or composing or enjoying some listening.

What music do you play when having sex? Alone or with a girl?
I always let the lady choose the music and the kind of light she wants for sex, so she can give me a good impression of how she wants me to ’aproach the matter’...

What is the kick of creating a new song? How do you begin? How do you record?
I just cannot stand not writting music.
I have a very specific idea of the mood I want to create every time, and I got to stick with this idea until I make a theme that is a well musical expression of it. This kind of process apart from being very time consuming it also makes you a nerve pack within minutes. I just got to be all alone in the house to do this. If there is somebody even looking at me I can feel it and it drives me insane. If someone is entering and leaving the room once in a while I can explode. I always prefere recording right at noon, with a clear mind and fresh ears. I practice the songs till I don't want to play them again in my life and go to finish with them nicely. Apart from the fact that use digital or semidigital formats all the rest is not just old fashioned but conservative. I record as simply as it gets. 16 channels are more than enough. Always after a natural sound. I do whatever I can to put some live feeling in the recording. When saying live I mean concert or rehearshal. I've studied sound engineering and basicaly do a lot of things that are ’not really suggested for creating a hit’. Otherwise I stick by the rules in the whole recording process.

Do you spend a lot of time on the lyrics? Find them important while it is difficult to understand them without printed lyrics?
Yeah, I work them till I don't want to change them anymore.

Your last chance to promote yourself or the band?
GODLESS: LET THERE BE DARKNESS CD
CD price for webzines 7$/7EUROS or full album in 128kb mp3s for free.
CD price for printed zines 10$/10 EUROS (That's for they never bother to send a copy of their review).
Compilation participation offers: free cd and no payment from GODLESS.
Fans: half cd in 128 kb mp3s for free. (No sales untill label is found).
NO TRADES.

Last rites?
Twan, thank you very much for your support and this interview.