SOURCE – Could you talk about the early days of the band?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – NMK started as a band in early 2015. Previously I, as a solo artist, released an album entitled “Influences & Connections Vol. 1” in 2012. As a live band I worked alongside Elias Checco (guitar) and Luis Medina (bass) and we became very close during the years we played live. When I decided to start composing songs for my 2nd album I invited Elias to join me in the process. But soon we realized that the new songs were more intense, more independent and had a deeper meaning that correlated with “The Fraud”, which was the first original song I composed alongside Pepe Gazzo (Nautiluz, bass). So, we decided to found the band with Rafael Nuñez as our manager and start the journey of NMK (Now Mankind Knows) from scratch, with a concept, music and artwork of its own. We invited Luis on bass, Carlos Roca on guitar and then Fabian Pinto on drums. Recently, due to Fabian hectic work schedule he left the band and we recruited Franco Almeida for drumming duties. He already played live with us on our latest gig on March 22nd, 2018.
SOURCE – Your first single, Lack Of Judgment. What was the band up to during those years between?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – Between 2015 and 2017 we composed the new songs, rehearsed like crazy and we managed to release 2 videoclips. One for Lack of Judgment, our single. And the second for a song originally composed by the legendary melodeath band At The Gates entitled “Blinded by Fear”. We also released our debut album “Ravenous Spectre” in all digital platforms in January and also in digipak format on February 27th,2018.
Between those years I also had a major health issue that I needed to drastically take care of and lasted for almost 3 years. I fled from allopathic medicine once I realized I was getting worse and worse and decided to drive myself back to Wellville with fruits and traditional herbs. I´m currently still in treatment and will last for remaining of this year, I believe. But I’ve gained back my strength and I’m really excited to play live with the guys again!
SOURCE – Do you feel that you were able to use Ravenous Spectre as a learning process for the band?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – Of course! It was a major learning process for us. For Elias, it´s the first time he had the opportunity to record a full length album as the lead guitar player. Also, for me, it was specially hard, due to the fact that I didn’t knew how to growl properly before the recordings started. I had to push myself real hard on the side to be able to record my growls on the album and I managed to do it at the very end, just when Rafael finished recording his deep death metal growls. So what I did was record some mid-high pitched ones on top of his. Then, on rehearsals, I managed to be able to sing with my melodic voice and then switch to do growls. We also found out that we matched each other pretty nicely. Not only as musicians, but as friends. We have a very tight and deep bond that I´m very proud of. Although we have different levels of perception, we are really thankful to each other for the music and the friendship we are currently living.
SOURCE – And how do you feel about that Ravenous Spectre album now in retrospect? Did you make more strides in improving the songwriting and recording processes?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – “Ravenous Spectre” is our 1st album as a band. We composed it at home with a guitar on one hand, my cellphone to record everything on the other and Guitar Pro software in front of us. It was a slow process, but I’m sure it was what we needed to be really accurate while recording the songs at Shredded Sound with producer Adolfo Gazzo. We are really focused on the details and we were pretty stubborn at the time to make things happen just like we pictured it in our minds. We`re very happy to see the final product! When the time comes to compose and record our second album, we know it will take less time to finish it.
SOURCE – Do you like using Bandcamp as a format for releasing your work? Does it help with getting your name out there easier, on a global level?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – We don`t use Bandcamp right now, but we do use Soundcloud. We´ve uploaded only our single there and yes, it was really helpful to send our single to a lot of press sites. We won’t upload the whole album there, because it’s already on all major platforms like Spotify, Itunes, Deezer, Amazon Music, etc. It’s ok if people upload our music to other platforms, there´s nothing to do about that and we can’t and won’t try to control outcomes, it’s pointless. We do what we can do and that’s making the album available on those platforms and also selling the album ourselves. We´re currently working on some distribution deals that might come true this year, making it easier for people abroad to buy the album and merch.
SOURCE – What do you feel separates NMK from other metal bands from Peru?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – Well, the concept and the songs are the main differences between NMK and other metal bands. You know, no 2 bands are the same, just like no 2 people are the same, despite of being twins for example. Our concept is pretty clear. We want to expose the Shadow Government, make clear that the DNA of the Homo Sapiens has been altered and also that we´re been played, manipulated and condemned to live a life of enslavement if we do not wake up to the basic facts about our true power and nature. We are labeled as a “melodic death metal” band, but if you carefully listen to our songs, you´ll find out it’s not quite what you would typically expect when talking about a “Melodeath” sound. I’m yet to find a band that sounds like us. I’ve researched, believe me hahaha. Nevertheless, I think that Peruvian bands have improved tremendously and actually, there are a few bands that I’m fan of!
SOURCE – Where would you like to see the band go in the future, from a musical standpoint?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – Recording our second album in 2019, touring this year 2018 within Peru and playing at some international festivals here in Lima. We have some plans to go to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Germany, Russia, Italy and some other countries in the mid-future. It will be confirmed once we settle everything regarding work (every NMK member has day-jobs). We would love to play live in Brazil soon as well! I need my Cupuaçu + Açai fix haha
SOURCE – What type of plans should we be expecting from NMK this year, outside of the album release?
Nathalie Markoch (Vocals) – We`re currently planning on filming a new videoclip for “Outrage” alongside guitar player Charlie Parra, who is a guest musician we invited to record the first guitar solo on that song. The 2nd one was recorded by Elias Checco. We are going to publish the 1st chapter of a series of “Storytellers” that explain the origin of the band, the concept, track by track material, behind the scenes of both “Blinded by Fear” and “Lack of Judgment” videoclips, how we recorded “Ravenous Spectre” and some other fun and interesting stuff for anyone interested in our music. We played our first live show on March 22th alongside Anna Fiori from Mexico at the Hard Rock Cafe in Lima and we are now working on our next shows which will take place on the 4th (alongside Blizzard Hunter) and 5th of May at the Metal World United Festival with awesome bands like Necrodemon (Chile), M.A.S.A.C.R.E, Fallen Symmetry, Hadez, Vulture (Peru). On June 2nd we`ve been invited to participate on the “Fem Metal Warriors II” Festival alongside Hamadria (Peru) and on July 7th we`ll be officially presenting “Ravenous Spectre” in a very special show. After that, there are some plans to go to Huaraz (Peru) and further dates in other provinces.
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