Mortal Strike formed in Autumn 2009 in the great city of Vienna,Austria. The 5 boys with the different countries of origin only had one goal: To make the music that they all loved. Within a short time they started making a name for themselves in the Vienna Metalscene, as an innovative and highly live-fit combo. Their style has many influences of the oldschool thrash bands Sodom and Kreator, and even fast speed influences of bands like Stormwarrior.
But also old school heavy metal influences occasionally find their way into the music of Mortal Strike. This is particularly easy to spot in their Anthem to the Heavy Metal scene “Es geht Rund”. Aggressive and spot on since the beginning, even the austrian police couldn’t change anything about that when they stopped one of the bands first live shows because of the loudness.
 Their demo “Here comes the Tank” came out on 16th of April 2011, recorded in the rehearsal room and made by good old fashioned manual labour, mixed and mastered by the band itself. It then came as it had to: known for the energetic live performances, the next big concerts followed, for example as Headliner on the “Napalm Only” show, opening act for “Malevolent Creation” and the “Bömbers”. Always with superb fansupport
Ultimately they won the W:O:A Metal Battle Austria and the 5 guys (Themselves being year-long Wacken veterans) had their chance to play on the biggest metal festival in the world and to impress the international Metal world which has helped in shaping the Band.
And today we are 

 Please point out the most important moments and experiences you’ve had with Mortal Strike ?

Chrir : I would argue that every concert is an experience in itself, but a few stand out moments would definately be playing Wacken Open Air in 2011, Playing and meeting Tankard, Exodus, Destruction… However releasing our debut Album to such overwhelmingly positive reviews and reactions from fans is my personal favorite. It’s so nice that people love what we love to do.

 What made you form a band of your own ? What was your driving force and which were your influences ?

Chrir : Personally I have played in bands since I was about 15, but making Mortal Strike was something different. Living in a new city with new people, it was a completely different vibe than the bands before. The driving force was simply the love for music, Thrash Metal and, to be honest, quite alot of beer. Influences were different for each of us, but I reckon you can hear out that we all love Oldschool Thrash metal, especially of the Ruhrpott variety.

Can you present Mortal Strike to our readers in a few words ? Give them reasons to check your work out. What will they find in it ?

Chrir : Fast,Loud and aggressive ! However I would not say
that we sound like any old thrash metal band. We do have an explicit style of writing, and few songs sound very alike, however they all sound like Mortal Strike. Your readers will find an honest, fast paced album written by Thrash Metal fans to Thrash Metal fans. But make your own impression, that is always the best thing to do.

Which are the elements you are most proud of in your music and which are the things you think you need to work more on?

Chrir : I must admit that the lyrics are very hard hitting while beeing easy to sing along to. For example MG42 and Here comes the Tank. Musically I am proud of how everything fits so well together. We are 5 very different characters, but we work together so well to bring out the best in every song. And the Main riff of MG42 is just killer, if I might add.

What kind of procedure do you follow when you compose songs? Do you have to be in a certain state of mind in order to perform the songs as you want ?

Chrir : It changes from song to song. Some songs take months to polish and finish, however some songs are done in 20 minutes in the rehearsal room. We find a good riff and it just works and everything just fits together after that. Matthias writes his lyrics to the song and we change the length to make it fit.

I want know more about Mortal Strike future ?

 Chrir : As last year in May, we are joining forces with our Brothers from Tulsadoom, to invade Eastern europe and Germany for the “Barbarian Strike Attack Tour part 2”. We are working hard on our 2nd album, which hopefully will be released this year. However we work after the principle: It’s done when it’s done. Better to take 2-3 months longer than to bring out something Halfe-arsed.

Are you preparing a new album ?

 Chrir : Yes we are, see above.

 Do you think that new album can bring new fans to the band ?

 Chrir : Definately! As we mature ourselves, so do our Musical abilities and our abilities to write music. The first album is always important, but I reckon the 2nd one is the hardest. You don’t want to do the excact same thing, but you don’t want to change to much from the first one. I think we are hitting that fine middle ground. Louder,faster but also with more melodies.

Thank you! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you for the opportunity! All the best to you ! ~ For the Loud and the Aggressive!

Interviewer Med Manef Slama