Mariangela "Mary" Demurtas, vocalist for Stavanger, Norway-based metal act TRISTANIA is featured in a new interview with Sonic Cathedral. She discusses the band's new album Darkest White, chance meetings outside a Mexican toilet, the meaning of her tattoos, and much more. An excerpt is available below:

SC: If I understand correctly, Darkest White is the fastest album Tristania has done, with the entire album being recorded in a month. As the vocalist, what did being on such a short time-frame mean?

Mariangela: "Nothing more than just being prepared with the songs, just before going to the studio. I mean, I rehearsed them all during the months before the recordings. When I got there, I was already ready. In just two days and a half, I recorded the whole thing! It’s a matter of training, I guess. That’s all."

SC: For the album, did you compose the vocal lines and melodies …

Mariangela: "Not in all the songs, but in general, we are included in the songwriting as composing the vocal melodies. Sometimes, if someone writes the whole song, we might keep the other lines, but we have the responsibility to work on the vocal melodies (me and Kjetil) all the time. So, it’s like that."

SC: In addition to recording with Tristania, you also collaborated with EX DEO on Caligvla, which was actually nominated for Metal Album of the Year by the Juno Awards (Canadian Grammys). How did you get hooked up with those guys?

Mariangela: "We were in Mexico with the band (we were in a festival), and I was in the toilet queue there. There were two guys from KATAKLYSM waiting outside. I went to the toilet, and I sadly got stuck in there. So I threw open the door, and I ran out. I was feeling claustrophobic and really scared, because I didn’t want to be stuck there of course before playing.

The guys saw me, and asked: 'Is everything fine? Don’t get scared.' Then we introduced each other, and we actually hung out the whole festival, especially with Jean-François the guitarist from Kataklysm. And then, Maurizio Iacono is the guy from Kataklysm who is actually Italian. So what happened? We met again on the boat of the 70000 Tons of Metal, and they came to see our Tristania concert. Then it happened that Maurizio wanted me to join as a guest in the project, Ex Deo, because he wanted some Italians playing there, like Francesco Artusato from ALL SHALL PERISH. And then ... they liked what I did, and wanted me to join. So, I had an opportunity to be a guest on their album. I am really glad that the album is getting so much attention in Canada. It’s cool!"

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Tristania released their seventh studio album, Darkest White, on May 31st via Napalm Records. The new album artwork, painted by artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SODOM, HATEBREED), can be seen below:

Darkest White will include the following tracklisting:

'Number'

'Darkest White'

'Himmelfall'

'Requiem'

'Diagnosis'

'Scarling'

'Night On Earth'

'Lavender'

'Cypher'

'Arteries'

A limited edition version will include the bonus track, 'Cathedral'.

With Darkest White, Tristania venture into a considerably darker soundscape than on their previous album, both musically and lyrically. The emotional span of the album is bigger, ranging from the most brutal primal aggression to the most fragile and poignant moments. The album features an array of grand arrangements, doomy moods, and elaborate harmonies blended with intense growling; a flamboyant display of outstanding vocal performances. Darkest White is produced and mixed by Christer André Cederberg.

Bassist Ole Vistnes comments: "After the release of Rubicon in 2010, I felt that we had opened the door to our new musical landscape, but that we still had a lot of places to explore creatively. With Darkest White we have dug deeper, searched wider and reached higher to create the most musically challenging and emotionally involving album we possibly could. Like all Tristania albums, I feel this one is detached from musical rules and genre expectations, and perfectly represents the musical freedom that I so much love about Tristania. During the writing and recording of the album we worked hard to create the album we had in our minds, but we were also careful to let the songs live a life on their own. We didn’t set out to make the album technically outstanding or theoretically perfect, but we followed our hearts in all parts of the writing and production. I’m proud of Darkest White, mostly because of the uncompromising honesty and attitude that saturated everything from the songwriting and recording to the mix."

Tristania lineup:

Mariangela Demurtas (vocals)

Kjetil Nordhus (vocals)

Anders Høyvik Hidle (guitars and vocals)

Ole Vistnes (bass and backing vocals)

Gyri Losnegaard (guitars)

Einar Moen (keys)

Tarald Lie (drums)

More on Tristania at this location.