Mithras - 'Inside The Godmind' + original 2010 demo vocals by Leon Macey

Back in 2010 Mithras was reduced to just me (Leon Macey) flying solo. Around this time I started working on what would become the Mithras 'On Strange Loops' album. Given the problems I had experienced over the past few years with other members leaving and difficulties with live drummers, I decided I was going to put the live stuff aside and also perform everything on the upcoming record myself; guitars, drums and additionally, bass and vocals.

By 2010 I had written about 6 loose tracks, and plenty of embryonic songs. At this stage, I figured it was time to 'properly' demo up a few, so chose the tracks 'Time Never Lasts' and 'Inside The Godmind', for which I recorded rough drums, bass and guitars. I then decided I would have a first stab at the vocals. Given this was my first time recording my vocals in an extreme metal style, I was honestly unsure of how it would pan out, but I did have a firm idea of the direction I wanted the vocals to go in order to build on our previous records; more articulate on the one hand yet darker and a bit "nastier", while obviously not departing too much from Rayner's vocal style which we had worked on and developed over the years. Anyway with no rehearsing, I just went for it and did a few takes, and was actually surprisingly happy with how it all turned out, and you're hearing one of those takes right now on this up to now unreleased video.

After playing the tracks to some friends and getting positive feedback, I released a rough version of the other track featuring my vocal demos, 'Time Never Lasts', which I was surprised to see went down almost universally well, which was both a huge relief and a boost, given I was going to be stepping into Rayner's shoes (and also Sam Bean's as he had been doing live vocals for Mithras). But shortly after this, Rayner expressed renewed interest in rejoining Mithras, and after deliberating we decided to give it another try and work on the new album together.

We quickly got up to speed working on the tracks I had written. I was really happy with how my existing demos sounded and the slightly new direction the vocal was going in. So this created a pretty weird situation; Rayner was going to have to attempt to copy my vocals, which were me partly copying him! This was just one of the many “strange loops” on 'On Strange Loops'! Anyway Rayner did a great job and copied the vocals really closely; so we released the rough demo recordings but with an updated mix and with Rayner's bass and vocals replacing mine; this was the 'Time Never Lasts' EP which seemed to whet people's appetite for more Mithras and served as a stopgap between records.

Fast forward to 2016 and after some early highs and later lows, Rayner announced he was going to leave Mithras later in the year following some shows, but we agreed he would finish tracking his bass and vocals on the outstanding few tracks from the album he'd yet to record. Following the recording of those parts, he then announced he was leaving, effective immediately. At this stage 'On Strange Loops' wasn't complete so I finished the final bits of the record on my own, which was a sad way to finish the record, and a bit of a stressful and agonising period. At this time the 2016 live incarnation of Mithras had been desperately searching for a replacement vocalist/bassist, but we eventually realised that in order for it to work and avoid cancelling all our upcoming shows, I would have to take on the vocals alongside guitar. Following a huge amount of panicked vocal rehearsal, we played through to the end of 2016 with me on vocals/guitar, which worked out really well. But unfortunately, our regular lineup problems resurfaced, and we were again unable to find a suitable live drummer going forward. After more gnashing of teeth and disappointment, I eventually had to put the live band on ice, most likely for good this time.

Following a near year long break in 2017, this brings everything neatly full circle back to the exact same position I was in in 2010, just ~ 7 years, one EP, one vinyl release and one new album further along. Looking to the future, I'm now working on some rough ideas, which will hopefully take shape as Mithras album no5. To confirm, I will be performing the vocals on the next record. Given a lot of people haven't heard the 'Time Never Lasts' demo video with my vocals that I put online in 2011 (online here    • Mithras - 'Time Never Lasts' original demo...  ), I decided to throw my original demo vocals into the album mix of the “Inside The Godmind” track to give people a better idea of what my vocals might be like. Bear in mind this was a literal “first take” demo, but I am pretty happy with it, and it gives a reasonable idea of the vocal direction I'm planning to go in.

Anyway, cheers!
Leon Macey.

TLDR: This is the original demo vocal take from 2011 performed by Leon Macey, added into the album mix, hence this is a rough idea of what the Mithras vocals will be like going forward on future albums.