Mourning Caress

Well, this time around it took quite a long time for the caressing mourners to send a sign of life, more than five years to be precise! But they are definitely back from their INNER EXILE to prove those wrong who thought they had given up. Survival is their victory. After parting ways with Arise Rec. in 2003, changing lead guitarists, looking for a new label, getting older and dealing with a bunch of other bullshit, INNER EXILE, the band’s second full length album, is what MOURNING CARESS stands for in 2007. A load of catchy melodies and hook lines, twin guitars, aggressive riffs, melancholia, hope, love, despair and most of all METAL! To make it short, the band’s musical style hasn’t changed dramatically, except for the fact that they might have gotten a bit heavier. This is probably because guitarist Florian Erhart left the band in early 2005 and was replaced by the band’s long time friend Florian Albers, who brought some fresh heavy sounds into the club, but also fully understands the trademarks of the band. INNER EXILE was recorded in two weeks during last autumn by Jörg Uken at the Soundlodge Studio in Northern Germany and contains eleven songs written by the five piece somewhere between 2002 and 2006. After having sent around the album, Dutch label Restrain Records decided to sign the chaotic quintet. Things are finally taking their course and this time around it will definitely not take five years until you hear new songs from the boyz. The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be more than just a rumour… For those unfamiliar with the history of MOURNING CARESS, the band was founded by vocalist Gerrit and drummer Dominik at the end of 1998. Shortly after, the other three caressing mourners Benedikt, Florian and Daniel joined. The line-up remained stable up to 2005, when old Flo was replaced through a new guy called Florian Albers. One year later the band released its first sonic attack entitled THE DIVINE GRAVE, which got good response from the underground press all around the world and helped spread the word about the band. As some of you might already know, the purpose of the release was to do something against the musical void in the town of Münster, which is more known for bicycles and bad weather than for Heavy Metal. The second attempt to irritate the public was made at the end of the year 2000 with the release of the second self-produced MCD entitled PERSPECTIVES. Incorporating some clean guitars, more dynamics and straight RockNRoll elements, the band felt it had found a musical style it could more or less claim its own. Reactions to PERSPECTIVES were far greater than expected. The MCD was positively reviewed in lots of popular Metal magazines, webzines and fanzines all around the world, the tunes were played in underground radio-shows and quite a few interview inquiries followed. Arise Rec. from Spain became aware of the lunatic quintet and decided to help the band on their mission to one day make the M of Münster stand for Metal. After having signed a deal with the Spanish label in spring 2001 the band entered producer Andy Classens Stage One Studio for three weeks in November of the same year. The band’s debut album IMBALANCE was mastered in the well-known Finnvox Studios in Finland and to round it properly, the artwork was created by Niklas Sundin, graphic designer and guitarist of Dark Tranquillity. IMBALANCE was released 2002 and contained ten songs. More than five years later the band finally managed to release their second album INNER EXILE and there is more to come! So far MOURNING CARESS have played with bands such as Tankard, Naglfar, Grave, God Dethroned, The Forsaken, Dew-Scented, Night In Gales, Burden Of Grief to name a few. Festival appearances include: Summer Breeze Open Air 2002 in Abtsgmünd, Rock Station Festival 2003 in Ankara/ Turkey, Westfalen Festival 2003 in Dortmund and Zillo Festival 2004 in St. Goarshausen. In 2005 the band played at Rock Republic Open Air in Istanbul/ Turkey with Slayer headlining the festival. Stay put for more shows, festival appearances and songs!