"The thought of a meaningless and meaningless life scares me. The thought of going from childhood to old without having found anything deep and meaningful scares me, says guitarist Erik Andersson and adds:
"Occultism feels like a step away from that. To seek this deep realization of oneself, to find spiritual liberation through the spiritual path, that is a security.
Mephorash plays esoteric black metal – a genre of music dedicated to the search for spiritual knowledge in dark places. The members describe their path as "occultism rooted in Jewish mysticism."
Writing about childhood trauma
The new album Krystl-Ah is more personal than the previous ones, and tells the story of a childhood characterized by insecurity.
"It's a summary and a deep dive into our past. All leading up to the point where we met and decided to do art to express these things. All the traumas, all the childhood problems that led us to want to seek security and depth in something beyond what everyone else might see as security," says Erik Andersson.
Elegance in the dark
Erik and Oskar, or Mishbar Bovmeph and Mashkelah M'Ralaa, as they call themselves on stage, work with a distinct aesthetic.
"We're trying to introduce an esoteric elegance into a very brutal and bloody and dark genre," says Oskar Myrberg.
Not welcome in the church
Mephorash wanted to do the interview in Uppsala Cathedral – a place where the band has found a lot of inspiration, and whose bells are sampled on the new album. But the church said no – because it can't support the band's message.
"When we're forbidden to be inside the church, it feels like they take their faith seriously, just like we take our music seriously. So that's why we can't do more than respect their choice," says Oskar Myrberg.