Mind As Prison is a three-piece grindcore band from Maryland, U.S.A., that has been recording and playing music in and out of their area for about three years now.
Like many good contemporary grind acts, they mix up the arrangements to keep the listener on their toes. They have strong blast beats and have a bit of texture in the slow sections of their songs. Live, the band is tight, aggressive, loud and noisy, and the sound on their split 7″ with D.O.C. reflected this.
In the audio below, I sample Mind As Prison’s latest recording and speak to the band about playing the music they live for.
Transcription
Mind As Prison. On their 7-inch EP released in 2012, you can hear much more clearly what they’re playing, and that makes it all the better.
Song: “Ramifications” by Mind As Prison
Maurice Alvarado, or Mough to his friends, is a singer and guitar player. He explains what attracts him to playing this kind of music.
“You know, within the underground it’s probably the most extreme genre without taking it to, like, the noise level or the experimental, you know, quote-unquote level musically with instruments, you know. It’s not for everybody, which helps keep the fashion aspect or the popularity aspect down a notch. That’s not to say grind bands haven’t had their share of notoriety, but it helps keep that at a minimum. And just the aggressiveness of the style, the speed of course, and just general overall history of the genre will lead you to socially conscious lyrics, which to me comes first before anything else.”
Mind is Prison has its own approach to its lyric writing, however.
“Lyrically, I mean, being three people that either deal with or have dealt with drug addiction in some form or another, that’s, like, the main focus. You know, where does that put you mentally, your thought process, how you feel. I guess more personal lyrics from each member, mainly the drummer and myself who write the lyrics.”
Moigh is humble about what his band is trying to accomplish.
“I never felt that Mind As Prison does anything really original or creative, but more as a tribute to all the grind bands that we listen to, as like a tribute to all those grind folks that came before us.”
Find the band online by searching on Mind As Prison on Facebook.
