Interview by Zax
A couple of weeks ago, I covered the best new death metal album you haven’t heard yet, Age Of The Solipsist by Mother Of All, the Danish solo project’s first full length record. Age Of The Solipsist arrives to us officially on June 11th. The album is very eclectic as far as genres go, and the performances on the record are exceptional all around. The mastermind behind Mother Of All is Martin Haumann, today I’ll be bringing him on to dig deeper into the record!
Hey there Martin, thanks a ton for your time today man! The new record is truly amazing.
How does it feel to be releasing your debut album under the Mother Of All moniker? It seems like a ton of work went into it.
Hey Guys! Thank you for your interest in the album – glad that you enjoyed it!
It feels great, but also a bit unbelievable. When I look at all the people who are on the album I
have to pinch myself.
Yes there was… A ton of work. The songs are pretty technical and varied and there was a lot of
coordination work to get all the pieces to fit. Both on songs, overall sound and album layout. Not to mention releasing an album during a pandemic. For a while it was hell. Now I’m happy that I went through it.
How did working with Hannes Grossmann and his distinct production work ultimately shape
the record? I mean, that mix is truly brilliant.
Yes the mix is really great! We wanted to capture the organic aspects of the instruments, while
having a “metal” sound. Especially the drums. We had a lot of back and forth and some
constructive disagreements. Sometimes I go a bit too far in my “concepts” and ideas so its good tohave someone to reign it in haha. Hannes understands this type of drumming and my sound, because he has played the style himself.
Your drumming sounds absolutely off the charts man, what are your specs?
Thanks – Just a simple setup. 12,14,16 toms. Usually I play with two Ride cymbals – a nod to
Gene Hoglan. I like a nice funky snare, that will sound good for blasting, backbeats and ghost
notes. So I use an old Ludwig snare.
Cymbals are all over the place. I pick the sounds I like. Paiste – Powerslave ride, zildjian K hi-
hats, meinl china’s, and just ‘warm’ crashes that ‘open up’ quickly.
Who are your biggest influences as far as drumming goes?
For metal, its guys like Paul Bostaph, Gene Hoglan, Sean Reinert, Hannes Grossmann, Dirk
Verbeuren and actually more funky guys like Brad Wilk and Abe Cunningham.
Outside of metal, Keith Carlock, Antonio Sánchez, and Elvin Jones.
How would you define the album as far as genre is concerned? I’ve seen it placed all over
the extreme metal spectrum, which I think truly represents the versatility of the album.
Good question. I wanted to make a Mother Of All album that was like a journey through slightly different approaches, all within metal.
You could call it progressive melodic death/thrash, but that sounds weird so I think I’d go with
progressive metal.
How was it working with the legendary Steve DiGiorgio, how did that collaboration come to
be?
Awesome! We had some back and forth. It was an honor and I really think his bass playing
breathes a lot of life into the album.
Hannes and Steve where on a tour together. So I asked Hannes to send the material to him.
Thankfully he liked it and thought it was an interesting and challenging thing to do.
What are the album’s main themes lyrically?
The name of the album is “Age Of The Solipsist.”
The first five songs are all about society and being a human in the times we find ourselves in.
I’m writing about technology, narcissism, value-signaling, getting older and commodification of art.
The last songs are revenge songs… about that deep feeling and need for revenge we can all feel towards someone and get devoured by… Actually maybe they are a good example of my own narcissism and solipsism. It felt good writing them, but now I have an ambivalent feeling about it. Sometimes I feel that nice surge of anger, other times I have an ironic distance towards their lyrical content. That’s how it should be.
How has working with Black Lion Records for the release of the record been?
Its been great! We managed to get some really good partners to spread the album. Its been a
difficult time for labels all around the world and I’m happy to be part of a label that has handled it so well.
How do the album title and cover represent the content on the record?
I was talking a lot with Travis Smith about it. We wanted something that could kind of
encompass the big picture. Which is the human tendency to obsess over ourselves, without
realizing it. That tendency seems to be amplified these days.
The beautiful art captures that in an iconic way. We have the whole universe around us and what are we all looking at?
Thank you for answering these questions for us today brother, I just have one more for you.
Why should all of our readers keep an eye out for Age Of The Solipsist? What’s going to set the record apart in the grand scheme of 2021 metal?
Anytime!
There are no fillers on it. You won’t get bored. Just one hell of a ride through Mother Of All’s
progressive, thrashy death metal universe. It’s a fresh take on a genre that I love.
The thing that going to set it apart is the forward-looking nature of the release. Mother Of All
takes a couple of steps back in time and goes forth from there. Exploring a lot of different
themes, crazy instrumental performances, all done through good songs.
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