If there is one thing that is very clear about Czech's Metal Scene, it's the fact that it has obviously come a long way since the days of cult bands like the black metal legends Master's Hammer. Thanks to the magic, aggression and the spiritualism of bands such as them, Root, Törr, Crux and Fata Morgana to name a few, you can see how it drastically evolved from there and pretty much it never stopped going further with its evolution. Even if Master's Hammer has been officially split-up for a while now, the interest still remains strong, if not stronger than ever before. Since last year, the label Darkness Shall Rise Productions has re-released their classic demos and the Live Occult Rituals live album, with the high demand from fans who are there to remind us that the legacy of Master's Hammer lives on. Recently, I've decided to reach out to the band's vocalist and guitarist František "Franta" Štorm regarding the decision of re-releasing their demos on vinyl, but we've also discussed other subjects along the way such as the everlasting legacy of Master's Hammer, his other project Mortal Cabinet, as well as Franta's calligraphy and artwork which he still does to this day. I hope you will stay along for the ride and enjoy the interview with the great Franta Štorm.

Vladimir

Greetings Franta, welcome on behalf of Metalbite. How have you been doing lately?

Hello, thanks, today I'm painting and designing a book.

Lately I've seen new Master's Hammer physical releases from the Finished and The Mass demo re-releases last year and the Live Occult Rituals live album this year. What is the story behind the reissues of the demos and the live album on top of it? Were you reached out by the Darkness Shall Rise Productions label with the interest to put it out on vinyl?

Denny Wolfram / DSR convinced us to do it. I'm usually reluctant to dig into the past, but his attitude changed my mind. Some weird memories reached me when doing the interviews for the booklets, so fans can read about the circumstances at date of origin, they can smell the dirty rehearsal-room air with us. The feel is back without sentiment: I wonder if we had just a fraction of today's knowledge - and the opposite way - what if we had just a little bit of the young energy nowadays... That's the project's lesson for me.

I'm very happy with the Live album - not only is the sound great, but it combines old and newer stuff on stage. I'd like to mention some details that are not so obvious: all Ritual and Okultista songs are originally composed in E-tuning, whereas newer songs from Mantras are deeper in B, but Fascinator is all in D. For live version we had to unify all of them into D, which made them sound more consistent (and made the touring lighter with just one set set of guitars instead of three). When I first heard the rough live take, which is about 100 minutes of playing, I was surprised how well we played actually, but for me - so many mistakes in singing, but it's live, and that's the nature, and Honza Kapák did a great job on mixing. I was also happy that I could finally use my painting on the cover.

Since these old demos and compilations have been reissued on vinyl, was there high demand from the fanbase? Were there large sales of record copies involved?

To be precise, these are not compilations but faithful demos with just very little adjustments, just lots of recovered original archivals, memories and photos. Denny says there was a high demand from fans and the pre-order sales confirmed that. The "Live Occult Rituals" is another story - the concert is pressed as was played with just two or three songs swapped for technical reasons. No post- corrections, no over-dubbing in the studio, each mistake on stage is reproduced. Authentic professional and amateur photos and an interview. That's the way we like it.

It's been made clear that Master's Hammer disbanded officially four years ago, only a couple of years after the release of your last full-length album Fascinator, so what can you tell me about what happened that led to the demise of Master's Hammer? Was there anything that forced the band to cease activity in 2020?

We've been disbanded all the time, except for our 2018 world tour. We've been releasing albums regardless to personal line-up, e. g. Vagus Vetus, Formulae, or Vracejte konve na místo - we just met twice in a studio - once for taking live drums and second for mixing and photo together and afterwards we went back home to our businesses. I admit it's a special band. Live playing is a full-time job and I'm not a metalhead, loud noise is exhausting and boring.

After the band has stopped playing in 2020, the interest in the band still remains relatively strong and I've seen much more interest shifting towards metal bands from Eastern Europe, especially towards the pre-second wave black metal bands such as yourselves and Root. Do you feel the same way that the love and support towards Master's Hammer is still relevant or perhaps even stronger?

The fans' interest really surprises me, we're not typical "love product", some say that we're the only underground band still selling some archive stuff - it's true, but in quite little numbers, focused on nice limited editions. I wanted to do experimental black metal, but my band-mates used to hate synthesizers, so now I'm on my own way of composing. In this context the old-school sound is certainly nostalgia, and perhaps the reason why some young listeners go for it. The support also means I can get rid of those memories, to create new music.

I also want to talk about your other project Mortal Cabinet, which you formed with horrorcore singer Řezník and Sodoma Gomora Samir Hauser. What's the story behind the formation of this project? How did you guys manage to incorporate so many different elements from a handful of different genres?

In 2015 we decided to mix the most radical decadent sorts of rap, electro and metal together, people loved it, it was great timing to play apart from our other projects. The idea was that each of us will write one third of all songs and we'll sing some together, which we did. I like Marty's / Řezník (the Butcher) poetry - he is best rap songwriter and film producer in Czechia. Samir is an excellent manager, songwriter, and had great ideas on image, stage acting, and I did 90% of Mortal Cabinet music in my studio, John Fryer did the mix of the album. We had only 10 shows - all crowded, epic parties. We are great friends and still inspiring each other.

I see Mortal Cabinet as a nice blend of various musical ideas fused in with occult themes and philosophies that fuel its output, but are there any influences in particular outside of music like movies, poetry or literature?

We were crazy as animals, taking the worst ugliness for inspiration, deviation and madness. But Mortal Cabinet was mostly about fun. And so are horrors in general. We had a song about A. Crowley, very ironic, also about televangelism, about abuse, pain and despair taken from local legends, but taken with a lot of humor.

Mortal Cabinet's album Necrotica is nearing its 10 year anniversary, but since then there wasn't any news regarding a follow-up album. Are you guys planning to return to the studio and work on another album?

You're right, it would be nice to do something - at least one song in common...

Anyone who is familiar with you also knows that you work with calligraphy and artwork, which were an integral part of Master's Hammer discography, and I see you're still very active in that field. How and when did you start with calligraphy and artworks? Also, how did you manage to develop your own artstyle?

In fact, visual art is my current occupation. I'm a designer, illustrator, painter, typographer, among other activities. None of them is actually "primary". My inspiration is perhaps nature and present life, also travelling, but mostly my inner worlds, it's difficult to describe briefly here, I'm writing a whole book about it now.

How frequently do you follow the music scene nowadays? Have there been any new artists or bands that really got your attention?

I love modern classical music like Arvo Pärt - we have tickets for the next Prague Spring. Actually I like all kinds of music (except for folklore and jazz), and I love silence. Recently I've discovered a very special artist named "Omnion" - very focused and relaxing, with some spirituality and humor at the same time.

So far, what are your plans for the future? Can we expect anything new from you in regards to music or other contributions?

I do exhibitions with animations projected with beamers - on last Brutal Assault in Josefov for instance. It's always a special installation in dark space with canvas paintings, video and of course original music - I call this "sound design" - I don't do "songs" anymore. Next exhibition will be in December / January in Prague's Avoid gallery - come to see!

Thank you so much for this interview Franta. It's been such an honor having you here, especially as a longtime fan and follower of Master's Hammer and Mortal Cabinet as well. Best of luck to you in life and I hope our paths will cross in the future. Are there any final words?

Thank you for having me. You're right - our paths may cross anytime, so is with music and fans, we never know...

Music has the power to take us to unimaginable places, shaping our lives in unique and surprising ways. For Italian Mistheria, this journey began early, influenced by his father's love of music. From his first chords on an accordion at the age of six to his graduation from the music academy in Italy, he found his passion and his voice in the keys. In this interview, the keyboardist of Bruce Dickinson takes us through this trajectory of musical discovery and shares his experiences from his first influences to his most recent collaborations and soulful songs, including "The Mandrake Project," the recently released solo offering from the Iron Maiden frontman.

Marcelo Vieira

First of all, why did you choose keyboards?

That's quite simple. When I was a child, around six years old, my father, who is still a music lover, put an accordion on my lap, and that's how I started with music. Then, I entered music school in Italy, and here I am now, yeah, who would have thought?!

Italy has a strong tradition in epic and symphonic heavy metal. Could you talk a bit about the artists and bands from your country that first and most influenced you to become a musician?

I entered the metal scene a bit late because I was studying at music school, so I was around 20, 21 years old when I started composing and playing metal for real. Before that, I just listened to some albums here and there randomly because I studied eight, ten hours a day, so I really didn't have time for anything other than classical music. At that time, I started listening to bands from Italy, like Labyrinth and Vision Divine, which were basically the most well-known at the time and opened my eyes to symphonic metal. Later on, I discovered other bands [from other countries] like Nightwish, Epica, and Stratovarius.

Your discography includes over 100 albums, including your own productions and those of other bands, spanning from classical music to metal, new age to soundtracks, pop to rock. Which of these styles is your favorite to play?

It's hard to choose because I only play what I like, so it can be anything from disco music to pop songs. Being a classical musician, I love combining classical music with other styles. That's why I also started my Vivaldi Metal project, which is a symphonic and cinematic metal project where I combine classical music and metal, but also in my discography, as you said, there are soundtracks because I also love composing.

Your most recent and notable collaboration was with Bruce Dickinson on the newly released "The Mandrake Project." Would you say this is a case of a fan becoming a bandmate?

You could say that. When I started listening to Bruce's solo albums, it was around 1993, 1994, something like that. Then, later on, I made a trip to the United States, stopped in Florida, where I met Rob Rock, who was being produced by Roy Z at that time. And then, after that meeting, I received a call from Roy asking to record on an album of Bruce's, which was quite surprising and unexpected. So, it's kind of funny that we became bandmates. Many years have passed [since then], over two decades.

From a musical composition and thematic background standpoint, what aspects would you highlight in "The Mandrake Project" that make it so special?

Perhaps the cinematic, theatrical, somewhat dark atmosphere that influenced the entire album, all the compositions, and some of the songs have, of course, a good amount of sounds from me that highlight these atmospheres they asked me to emphasize. That combination between metal and soundtrack is what I like the most [about this album]. Compared to Bruce's previous albums, of course. Also, the guitar work and the composition itself are amazing, but these cinematic elements may be new to Bruce's albums, so I was very, very happy to work on that side of the album.

Do you feel the band manages to convey the cinematic elements of the album to the stage?

Without a doubt. We are doing the show without any playback, no pre-recorded backing tracks, nothing; it's all live, and the band is, modesty aside, on fire. With each show, we're getting even more in sync, and the sound is killer, also thanks to the amazing sound engineers we have, who are like the seventh member of the band.

How has the tour been going so far?

The tour has been amazing. We had a great start in Los Angeles, and so far, we've had shows in Mexico and Brazil. We've been getting several reviews, and I must say I've only read positive comments about the tour, so I'm very happy.

Did the Brazilian audience meet your expectations, in particular?

I would say they even exceeded expectations. I know everyone was excited because before we arrived in Brazil, we received many messages and comments from people who were eagerly waiting for the show and ended up making our time in the country a wonderful experience. It all feels like a dream.

Although you've never been to Brazil before, what do you know about the culture and especially the music here?

I have friends from Brazil, some of them even live in Italy, and others I met during my time in Los Angeles, so I already knew a bit about Brazilian culture, but of course, I know much more about the music, traditional and modern, and metal. Just to name a few, I'm friends with the guys from Angra; Edu Falaschi, whom I performed with in some concerts in Italy, and Felipe Andreoli; Andreas Kisser from Sepultura and many other musicians. The Brazilian metal scene is well known in Europe.

After the tour ends, what are your plans?

After the tour ends [in August], I'll take a vacation in Italy and then I'll go back to my two projects, Vivaldi Metal, with which I should have some shows by late September, and my solo metal album, which is still in progress. Those are, for now, my two artistic goals for this year, besides, of course, teaching and producing and my partnership with Yamaha, for which I record keyboard and piano demonstrations. But the first thing after the tour will be to spend a few weeks by the seaside in Italy. [Laughs.]

To wrap up, if I asked you to recommend some albums to get to know remarkable keyboards and pianos in rock and metal, which ones would you recommend?

I would recommend albums from the bands and keyboardists that influenced me the most, so I would start with "Burn" (1974) and "Machine Head" (1972) by Deep Purple, as well as anything else they did with Jon Lord, who is simply one of my idols, so the Purple [albums with Lord] discography is mandatory to know how to use keyboards in rock and metal. Then, I would mention my second biggest influence, Keith Emerson from Emerson, Lake & Palmer. "Tarkus" (1971) is their darkest album; it's something amazing, especially for that time. Closer to our times, there's Dream Theater, especially [the albums] "Images and Words" (1992) and "Awake" (1994); great keyboard works [by keyboardist Kevin Moore]. The first metal album I listened to, upon a friend's suggestion, was "Trilogy" (1986) by Yngwie Malmsteen, and Jens Johansson is an incredible keyboardist. Finally, I would like to mention my dear colleague, who unfortunately left us too soon, Vitalij Kuprij. He has two amazing albums, "High Definition" (1997) and "Extreme Measures" (1998), which really highlighted keyboards in metal in an impressive way.