Scottish Death-Tech masters Man Must Die are back and will be releasing their fifth studio album entitled The Pain Behind It All on February 17th. The band’s frontman Joe McGlynn took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about the band’s upcoming album, the hiatus of the band, lineup changes within the band, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Man Must Die’s fifth studio album entitled The Pain Behind It All is set to be released on February 17th, what can you tell fans about the upcoming release?
McGlynn: Well it was by far the hardest album to write and record that we have ever done. We started the process smack bang in the middle of lockdown which meant none of us could meet up in person so everything was written and recorded in isolation. I think you can hear the frustration in a lot of the material, this is definitely our darkest album I feel. It’s still very much MMD but it has a more introspective vibe especially in my lyrics. You can hear the anxiety in a lot of the songs.
MER: How was it writing and recording having this being the band’s first album in eight years?
McGlynn: All members had to record their parts themselves which was an absolute nightmare as all but one of us in the band had any experience doing that kind of thing. I literally by the end of it had a mental breakdown which was fun haha. As for writing the new album I did most of the writing myself it just kind of worked out that way organicly. I’ve always been very very involved with writing the music as well as all the vocals in MMD.
MER: The band released the title track from the album, what kind of feedback have you been able to receive on the song so far?
McGlynn: So far it’s been really positive. The title track is a little bit different for us which is why we wanted to put it out first, to show people that we aren’t just a balls to the wall death metal band. In fact I wouldn’t even consider us a death metal band, sure we have elements but we are definitely more diverse I think.
MER: How would you compare this to Man Must Die’s previous four albums?
McGlynn: For me personally this album is a little more direct than our previous records there’s not a lot of fat on the songs. It gets in there quick, kicks your balls and then gets the fuck out of there. Playing the style we play it makes more sense to get to the point rather than over fill the songs with 100 riffs. Reign in Blood is a perfect example it’s 28 minutes long and it does exactly what it sets out to do.
MER: What do you see as far as plans for 2023?
McGlynn: Hopefully we’ll get some shows booked it would be great go play some places we haven’t been before.
MER: Is there anyone that you hope to tour with that you haven’t yet and why?
McGlynn: No one in particular springs to mind. I would like to tour with someone who isn’t similar to us though, those package tours with 6 bands that all sound the same are boring as fuck to me. Deftones! I’ll go for them because I love their music and I think we would scare the shit out of their fans haha.
MER: How would you describe the music scene in Scotland?
McGlynn: I wouldn’t know haha. It’s all different now from when we started over 20 years ago. Back then all the bands knew each other but nowadays almost all of the guys in the band have families so our attention isn’t really on the scene now.
MER: How do you feel about the band’s current lineup after going through some changes?
McGlynn: Yeah it’s cool, there’s always going to be friction though, it goes with the territory.
MER: What was it that bought the band out of hiatus and survive the lineup changes?
McGlynn: Honestly it’s all about the music, it has to be because there’s no money to be made anymore, not that we ever made money in the past haha. We have a lot of awesome fans that still want to hear new stuff so as long as they’re still interested we’ll keep on doing it.
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