Rockezine.com interview with Middian on Apr 03, 2007

with Mike Scheidt on Apr 03, 2007


		Can you introduce Middian? Middian is from Eugene, Oregon in the USA. We play a brand of heavy music somewhere in between High on Fire, Neurosis, and Sleep. My other band YOB was together for about ten years and played a similar style. Age Eternal is Middian’s first album.
		Can you try to describe the kind of music that you play? Middian plays doom and stoner influenced music funnelled though hardcore and metal. Our lyrics are very much rooted in a mix of Eastern mysticism and quantum physics with a strong human element. Meaning the concepts are not lofty or preachy but distinctly earthy and to the point.
		Who inspired you to play music, and why? I guess listening to all of my parents` records in the `70s made me want to play. I listened to everything from Steely Dan to Led Zeppelin, Elton John, The Doobie Brothers, etc. I didn’t realize that I was going to play guitar until I met this guy who was a fantastic player in the early `80s. He could play everything from Iron Maiden to Exodus to CCR. He played in this punk rock band with a guy named Phil Merwin who totally blew my mind too. Watching those guys jam pretty much did me in.
		Can you describe the creative process of making this album? How did the songs and the lyrics get written, arranged, and produced? Who does what in the band? I write most of the tunes away from the band and then bring them to practice. We as a band work on what I have written and decide if it’s worth exploring further. So far I have been the songwriter-, producer- and lyrics-guy but that might change as Will [Lindsay] (our bassist) is a great guitarist and songwriter.
		How do you promote the album and the band? Well aside from our local shows and West Coast shows Metal Blade does all of the rest. We do our best to make ourselves available for interviews and for music fans that have questions about the band. Plus we try to keep our Myspace page and website up-to-date too. On our shows we use flyers and work with the other bands coming through town, making sure they are treated well, get paid, etc. And our own upcoming tours will promote the band big time as well.
		Can you name some of the musical influences of Middian? Sleep, Iron Maiden, Neurosis, Akercocke, High on Fire, Will Haven, Immolation, Electric Wizard, Acrimony, Black Flag, Sabbath, too many to list!
		What exactly happened with YOB? Isamu [Sato] and Travis [Foster] decided they were done touring. Long trips are hard work, especially when the band doesn’t pay the bills for its members and they need to keep jobs for money for themselves and their families. I know I wanted to be able to keep touring. And the idea of YOB being a band that didn’t tour didn’t feel good to me. YOB was just really taking off at the point they decided to leave the band. So it felt best, after much thought, to let YOB’s history stand on its own and start a new band.
		Is there anything left to say? Thank you for this interview and thanks to anyone who has supported Middian and the heavy music scene worldwide! DOOM!!!
(Jeroen Habets)