NMK is a bit of an anomaly within Peruvian metal. Their combination of melodic death metal riffs, progressive song structures with both clean vocals and growls by Nathalie Markoch does not really sound like anything else in the scene. The band has just announced its return after a three-year-long hiatus. Plenty of reason to catch up with Markoch.

“In 2012, Rafa (Nuñez, manager and life partner) decided to form a live band to perform the songs on my first album ‘Influences & Connections Vol. 1’ as a solo artist, that came to be due to me and some friends getting together because we were hired to perform Epica cover songs.

Once that was over, I thought it would be great if we could continue to perform the songs that I was planning on recording in the studio for the experience of exploring my vocal range and trying to find a singing style that felt the most authentic to me at the time. That is why my first album as a solo artist has so many cover songs, haha! It was for the sake of exploration.

However, that album has one original track entitled ‘The Fraud’, which I co-composed with Pepe Gazzo, the former bass player of Nautiluz and the brother of Adolfo Gazzo, a friend from school who became the producer of all the albums we released. We did the instrumentation together, and I composed the vocal melodies and lyrics alone. So, that first version of the song was what I could do vocally at the time that felt the rawest version of myself.”

Macro-Concepts

“So, with ‘The Fraud’ as the foundation for the second album that would feature all original songs, we did the same thing, but with Elias (Checco, guitarist) in 2012. That was my initial expectation: to do the same thing, but with original songs. Both of us co-composing the instrumentation together and me coming up with the concepts, vocal melodies and lyrics alone.

When we started composing ‘Outrage’ and then ‘Lack of Judgment’, it really hit me that what I wanted to convey in the concepts, vocal melodies and lyrics was impossible to do with the configuration that we had at the time, which was basically using my name and focusing all the attention on me. I felt that the concepts I wanted to explore were much bigger than my name, any identification with my physical individuation or personality layers. I knew I needed to create something bigger than myself in order to accommodate what I wanted to express.

That’s why I proposed to both Rafa and Elias to create a band that could contain these macro-concepts. I felt that it was a requirement for the songs to be finished, because I was already picturing the artwork as the depiction of my highest truth in the moment. The melodic voices needed a guttural counterpart, but not necessarily another singer. I did it in such a way that it would be acceptable if the aggressive vocals were being heard with the backing track at a live show. It was meant to be something subtle. Well… That’s what I initially thought, haha! That changed over time though.”

Now Mankind Knows

“Therefore, NMK was born to be able to hold that space, so to speak. I still maintained those three letters, but not as a reference to my name like before. I assigned each letter to words that could represent the mission of the band, which is to contribute to the awakening of the human species: Now Mankind Knows. What does it know that it didn’t know before? Well, the disclosure about how we’ve been living a lie created by beings that do not have our best interest in mind. It’s a painful process, but so worth it.

We finally released our debut album in 2018 and somehow, I knew I needed to release the album as soon as possible. After 2020 I understood why I was in such a rush, but that’s a different story.

When ‘Ravenous Spectre’ was released, it was such a big surprise for everybody. ‘Where did this band come from?’, ‘Was Nathalie not singing only in an operatic style? Is she singing those growls? And live?’ Haha! It was a big surprise for all of us, believe me. Even our producer couldn’t believe I was singing gutturals better than I sung in a melodic voice. A total shocker for all of us, but in a very good way.”

The Unimaginable Happened

“I happened to come across Dark Tranquillity and Opeth in 2006 and they totally blew my mind. Both Mikael Åkerfeldt and Mikael Stanne really impressed me and made me want to try that technique for myself. Not just the way they sang, but also the way they composed their vocal melodies. Of course, I was not able to utter a single word without coughing my life out, haha! So I had to stick with my love for melodic and operatic voices for some more years until around 2017. I had the idea I was simply not made to do aggressive vocals. Like… That it was just my fate, you know?

But the unimaginable happened when I convinced Rafa to do the growling parts for NMK’s songs. During the process, he was having a little bit of a hard time with the recording of the lines, since gutturals are not his forte. He is much more comfortable singing in a melodic or raspy kind of voice. So a friend of ours at the time inspired him to try and polish his growling technique.

That was the first time I came across someone who could explain or demonstrate in front of me how to do that. So I was just watching the scene, and I really don’t know what happened, but it just happened. Something clicked in my brain I started to see a picture forming in my mind’s eye. It was so odd, but you know… It fucking worked!

So, since that day, I started growling like there is no tomorrow in the depths of hell, haha! One of the happiest days in my life, no kidding! People were like: what the heck just happened?! And then, we went to the studio, showed my newest tool or skill to Adolfo and he said: ‘well, it seems you can growl better than you can sing your melodic lines, haha! Let’s give it a try and record the aggressive parts of all the songs’.

We were shocked, but in a good way! Of course, in the end, we decided to maintain both Rafa’s and my gutturals for the album, and I managed to sing both melodic and growling parts while performing live, which happened to be quite the challenge when playing at bars that don’t have good ventilation, haha!”

Obsessed with Singing

“I started singing when I was super young because of my grandfather. He loved Italian music and I really liked Laura Pausini’s first album, so I used to put on the big headphones and just sing. Then, in my school years, I loved The Cranberries the most, so that was a big part of my vibe when I decided to sing more frequently at home, such as in the shower.

Then, the first time I couldn’t believe anyone was able to sing so beautifully that it literally took my breath away was when I was sixteen or so and I listened to Nightwish with Tarja. Oh my god! I fell in love right there and then. I used to go home as soon as possible, take the audio recorder – tapes and all – play the songs on side A, and record my voice on side B, on a blank tape. That way, I could listen to my voice and address the irregularities of my breath, the changes in tone, the mistakes in pronunciation, or the lack of emotions, et cetera.

I really immerse myself in whatever I do, so you could say I was a little bit obsessed with learning to sing by myself, haha! I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I tell you, it does have its perks as much as it has its downsides. At the time, it worked totally in my favor.”

Obstacles

“So, after a year or so, I was able to sing in an operatic style at an okay enough level to be confident enough to open myself to singing in tribute bands. Although I really liked thrash, heavy and melodic death metal bands since the beginning, I got pretty heavily into symphonic, gothic and power metal, because those were the only genres I could sing with my melodic voice.

At the time, I didn’t have anybody around me who liked rock or metal music, or who was a musician. Listening to metal was something that people around judged as reckless, bad, and dangerous, because they thought I was playing with the devil. We all know how typical that is from people who simply do not resonate with this type of cathartic music. They have always tried to steer me away from my passion towards metal, in subtle and not so subtle ways.

In my case, I was able to continue on this path no matter the obstacles placed in my way. So I opened myself to looking for like-minded people on the internet in 2004-2005. I joined a Nightwish forum from Spain and that is when I found the first musicians, and the first people to invite me to form a band here in Peru. It was difficult for me to practice at home, so I shifted to practicing with my band mates while in the rehearsal studio.”

Trauma Response

All this time, Markoch was still singing other people’s work almost exclusively. “It has taught me that one thing was turning my voice to match the melody, but another completely different thing was to really use my full body as an instrument in order to express my emotions through the unique frequencies that my voice has”, she explains. “I realized right away that I needed to put in the work and effort to be able to transition from being a girl who liked to sing to being a singer in a band. I was never fully convinced by the idea of being a solo performer, but I loved the idea of belonging to a band. And as a whole, to express our own unique presence and energy combined.

What I loved about the different subgenres of metal music is that I could literally open myself to ranges of emotion that I wasn’t able to access while growing up. I always felt very limited when it came down to my own emotions due to various internal and external issues that accumulated themselves within me, so let’s just say that I too music, composing and singing as a way to explore those aspects of myself that felt unwanted, unacceptable, invalidated, to dense, unknown, disowned, wounded, et cetera.

So, because I was in a kind of state where I was basically operating from trauma response, I was only able to continue operating through other people’s music that spoke directly to my soul. That is why I took that opportunity as my saving grace to pull me out of various self-destructive states throughout my life. It was a method for self-soothing. And as I mentioned, metal music is very cathartic. It’s a tool that I use for maintaining health. And it progressed from just listening to it to starting exploring my own body and voice, and then jumping into the unknown space to allow some parts of myself to have an expression.”

Inspiration and Instinct

‘Ravenous Spectre’ is the first release on which Markoch only sings original material. “Rafa and I invited Elias to co-compose the instrumental sections of all the songs, except for ‘The Fraud’ that was taken from the ‘Influences & Connections’ album. We got together in person at my home once or twice a week for a couple of months.

Since I am an empirical musician, I do things by inspiration and instinct only. I would record the vocal melodies on my phone, then showed them to Elias with ideas for the instrumentation. Then, he would take those initial ideas and combine them with his own ideas in the moment. We then would proceed to arrange those ideas together, so they would fit together. After that, Elias would transcribe the riffs in Guitar Pro, and then add the rest of the instruments as we went along, section by section.

Elias would come up with the guitar solo sections alone, when he was at home, and then he would show them to us. All were perfect fits not for not only the songs, but the concept as well. The only guitar solos he didn’t personally compose were the one featured in ‘Ravenous Spectre’, which was composed and recorded by Koko Rengifo, and the one featured in ‘Outrage’, which was composed and recorded by Charlie Parra.

At the end of the process, we had all the demos in Guitar Pro, with the tablatures of all the instruments. Therefore, the recording process was easier than expected.”

Exploring the Depths

“I had a very clear idea about what I wanted for the music from the very beginning. Since I couldn’t do the growling parts at the time we were composing the songs, I tried to compensate the lack of aggression I the voice by being smart about the lyrics’ phonetics, phrasing, and pacing, together with the melody and the pronunciation. For me, it was a very natural process, since the majority of the songs I’ve composed so far started from the vocal melody – usually the chorus or the pre-chorus.

Elias is an awesome composer and guitar player and he is very open to trying new things and accommodating everything to the initial idea. From there, we would co-compose the instrumentation of the rest of the songs, and after that, I finished the arrangements of the vocal melodies.

Rafa had his doubts about what I was doing with both vocal melodies and instrumentation. He suggested to include heavy metal components to the instrumentation parts to accommodate my melodic voice. I was not so sure about that, so I was grateful that Elias stepped in and supported my original vision for the album, which was basically to take ‘The Fraud’ and expand on it by exploring the depths of its darker and more aggressive aspects.

In the end, everybody agreed that the more inspiring way to move forward was not to have other references but that single song. As you may have noticed, NMK’s sound is very unique and particular. We really liked how it came out, and I think it was a real surprise for many.”

A Tribe of One

Markoch lights up when asked about the lyrical ideas and concepts on ‘Ravenous Spectre’. “You know, that is probably the question people have asked me most”, she says. “And I really love it, because, because some would tell me is not that important as the music is. I find it’s the other way around, though. The concepts, artwork, and lyrics are the reasons why NMK as a band was created in the first place.

Since I was a child, I had the self-awareness that we were living in a somewhat simulated reality. The deep state – the pyramid of control over mankind and a large part of the multiverse – co-created a vast variety of quantum artificial intelligence systems to hijack, degenerate, and distort our bodies and our connection to the Source of All Life, our true organic way of being, expressing and interacting with ourselves and others.

People around me weren’t waking up from the nightmarish qualities of those inorganic realities superimposed over the organic one. This definitely affected me in various ways while growing up, due to me constantly questioning the status quo.

So, after many years of failing to belong to a tribe, I realized that I needed to become a tribe of one. I embarked on the journey to remember my organic, authentic self that lies beyond all belief systems, worldviews, personality layers, identity layers, artificial programming, trauma, et cetera. I felt the inspiration to share bits and pieces of my authentic self with people who resonate with the music I loved creating. I’m not an activist of any sort, but it’s just my own way in “tricking people” into remembering and to assist in some way to refine their discernment.”

Parasitic Entities

“NMK means Now Mankind Knows. The logo contains some principles written in a language of which the frequency is high enough to dismantle and dissolve illusions and distortions created by the accumulation of blockages in the DNA sound chambers of humanity. For example, pure emotions like Love, Trust, Inspiration, Peace, Creativity, and Pleasure. I work with these types of elements with my patients at my practice.

The ‘Ravenous Spectre’ album talks about the moments we realize that what we have been living was a fake reality created by beings that don’t have our best interests in mind. The disbelief, anguish, disappointment and anger that I also felt all the times I felt deceived, and drained by these parasitic entities. A ravenous spectre is just that, a parasitic entity that attaches to our individual and collective energetic fields. They cannot sustain themselves, and perpetuates its life by draining other’s energy (loosh) to power up quantum artificial intelligence systems to continue to constantly use us as batteries with us unconsciously agreeing to it.

To make sure we start detangling ourselves from the artificial and to remember our Oneness with the Infinite, that which truly animates all life, and to put healthy boundaries multidimensionally as well as proxy for all.”

Inspire to Question

“Just being aware of this is enough to start questioning our behaviors, thought patterns, belief systems and so forth. To wake up from the self-destructiveness that we unconsciously choose as adaptative coping mechanisms. My desire was to inspire people to question what they think is true. Not to just follow what society, genetics, experts, “gods” say it’s advisable or truth. To inspire them to cut the ties that bind to the corrupt and obsolete, that which no longer serves us.

Nobody will come and save us, we need to understand that it’s up to each one of us to co-create a life worth living. To roll up our sleeves and find those gaps in our perception, get the insights, express our emotions, and liberate ourselves from the inorganic programs that were running us.

The album talks about the unparalleled hunger these inorganic beings have towards organic ones, which are made by awareness particles; incorruptible infinite matter, Source’s essence. The awareness particle is made by the expression in Oneness of seven sub-atomic particles: light, frequency, energy, presence, life force, cognitive and non-cognitive intelligent perception, and matter.

The quantum artificial intelligence systems have hijacked so much, including the sub-atomic particles. This creates distortions in our bodies as well. At these times – 2023 and 2024 – all  of these entities, quantum artificial intelligence systems, and so forth are being dismantled, cleansed, and demolecularized rapidly.”

Speaking to the Soul

The language Markoch chose to get her message across is English. “I speak Spanish – that’s my mother tongue – but also English and German”,  she explains. “I attended a German school and I even did my career in that language. But for some reason, English was always the language I liked the most. All the singers and bands I used to listen to while growing up were from Europe or North America. I remember buying a notebook specifically to write down lyrics I could hear from my favorite songs. At the time, I didn’t have access to the internet, so I just transcribed the lyrics as best I could, haha!

I used to have a notebook that was filled with The Cranberries and Oasis songs. The same happened when I transitioned to listening to metal music. So, when I started to write my own poetry, I naturally was inclined to do so in English because of those experiences. And I carried another notebook for pretty and interesting words I would find anywhere that spoke to my soul for some reason, or of which I really liked the meaning.

So, when I started to compose vocal melodies and lyrics, English came to me naturally. But something really wild happens to me whenever I’m composing a heavy metal song. The lyrics always come in Spanish, haha! Maybe because I really like heavy metal bands from Argentina…”

Tone and Color

The song selection on ‘Influences & Connections’ already suggests that Markoch’s inspirations are mainly foreign. “Yes, my inspirations for singing came from foreign sources since I was a child”, she nods. “Laura Pausini as a child, Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries and Amy Lee from Evanescence in my teenage years. Then it was Tarja Turunen on Nightwish’s second and third albums, Floor Jansen in After Forever, and Simone Simons for the operatic and melodic voices. They actually inspired me to open myself to singing in front of people, and to form a band.

While being in bands, I got a lot of inspiration from Kamelot’s Roy Khan due to his melodic and operatic tone. Also Russell Allen from Symphony X regarding technique, dynamics and so much more, although I still can’t add grit to my voice! At the same time, I was being blown away by both Mikael Stanne and Mikael Åkerfeldt. I love how impeccable their growls are. Oh, and let’s not forget Anders Jacobsson from Draconian, I really like his tone and color.

I’m very particular regarding my unique taste in growls. They need to sound death metal, yes, but I need to be able to hear the words clearly due to how much I value the lyrics of the songs. So, it’s important for me that the singer pronounces all of the words in the freaking lyrics, haha! You know, I love Jeff Walker’s gutturals as well, but oh how I wish he would sing all the words and phrases as intended and written in the lyrics…”

Integrity

“I was sixteen or seventeen years old when I started interacting with other musicians and started being in bands. At the time, I acknowledge that I had poor, unhealthy boundaries in my inner dynamics, especially at an emotional level. For that reason, I failed to establish and maintain healthy boundaries in my relationships, including band mates, fellow musicians, and people related to the music industry.

So, when you don’t take the time to really acknowledge and express your personal truth – including likes, dislikes, preferences, wants and needs – and you need to interact with various different types of beings with diverse levels of consciousness, you are basically asking to be pooped. So, there were some situations where I had to interact with people who, at the time, didn’t have the same level of values, integrity, and other basic valuable human traits that are needed for a healthy relationship to be cultivated.

Therefore, when it came down to band mates, their lack of integrity – regarding ownership of compositions, rehearsal time, willingness to refine their skills, loyalty, et cetera – was a major contribution for not being able to continue making music the way I used to before meeting Rafa.

Because of that, I felt like I was wasting time, and everything that comes with it, on projects that were doomed from the very beginning due to incompatibility being found in aspects where I couldn’t just give up on something highly valuable to me. So when there’s no workability, no middle ground in those areas of incompatibility, the only valuable option to preserve my own integrity is to end the relationship.”

Healthy Boundaries

“The last time that happened was in 2010, and that’s when I met Rafa. He basically said: you are in no need to depend on others to release your art. You can compose your own songs. Let’s find musicians who want to be a part of a live band, but you will be in charge of what it is you want to do with your art. I will support you. I will be your manage because I know that you love composing and singing, but you have a weakness establishing healthy boundaries. Work on that on the go, until you don’t need my assistance anymore.

Being a solo artist was a great next step for me in order to work on my social skills, to be able to learn a lot regarding leadership from Rafa. I’m still struggling a little bit with some aspects of it, but after thirteen years, I can now say that I’m much more confident in establishing healthy boundaries with people and valuing my own unique perspective as my inner compass that inspires me to create music – be it as a solo artist or with NMK.”

Exciting News

“So, here is some interesting and very exciting news. You reaching out to us for this interview might have been the last sign I personally needed to make the choice to talk to all NMK members and propose to them a new way of doing what we love: make music! And they agreed to it!

I am super happy to announce that NMK is back. We will be releasing a new single in 2024 with a new video clip, and we will be playing live again as well. The first show hasn’t been announced yet, so I cannot tell you exactly which show we will be playing, but it’s a fact that we will be back on stage in the first quarter of the next year. There are more plans and offers, but I cannot talk about them just yet.

Also, we are making this comeback with a new line-up. Diego Chacaliaza is replacing Carlos Roca on guitars, and the rest of us have stayed the same. We announced it with a new official band photo on the 28^th of December 2023, so we are stoked to resume activities soon.”

Klingon

Markoch is happy to have found exactly what she needs in the current musicians in NMK. “This is a great opportunity to announce that we are back! After three years of inactivity, we finally decided to get back together and make more music. I really love this line-up. I think that after years of trying to find the adequate balance in personalities, this time we hit the nail on the head. Personally, what I value most is personal integrity, values, mutual respect, transparency, empathy, passion, creativity, willingness to refine our skills and taking responsibility for our own experiences.

When it comes to the creative aspect of music, Elias is my partner in crime. We met through Koko Rengifo approximately ten years ago to invite him to play live for my solo band, and we’ve been close ever since. He is also my sister’s boyfriend, so he is family as well. Not many people can understand the way I express my ideas about riffs, rhythms and melodies. I speak Klingon when it comes to that, and apparently, he speaks it as well, haha! Also, the ideas he comes up with for the instrumentation of the songs are really in sync with mine, and he always has a very nice surprise up his sleeve, so I’m grateful for the gifts he brings to the table.

I  absolutely love Lucho’s (bassist Luis Medina) energy when he plays live, and his overall presence when he hangs out with us. He and Rafa are the voices of reason in the band, not just because they are the oldest ones, but also because of their personality traits. It’s very reassuring to have him on stage, as well as having his reassurance in personal matters as a close friend.

Diego Porturas (drummer) is the ‘maknae’ of the band. Respectful, fully committed to the music, he exudes good vibes and has a very bubbly personality. When he first started playing with us, he didn’t even own a drum kit, so it’s incredible that he is able to play NMK’s songs so well on stage. He gives us the confidence we need for us to move the way we need to go. He can play fast, is precise, and has a lot of groove at the same time. The perfect balance.

And our newest addition is Diego Chacaliaza. We call him Panxi. We met in 2007, at the exact same concert where I met Rafa. He was playing in a Helloween tribute band, Rafa in an Iron Maiden tribute band, and myself in a Nightwish tribute band. That was epic, haha! Diego was first in a band called Hellium with Rafa and former Nautiluz members, and then in Nautiluz. Over the years, we have cultivated a very unique friendship. And we al love anime, manga and anisongs as well, so it’s a match made in heaven!”

Slow Down

“Superficially, the catalyst for us to go into hiatus was the pandemic. The last live show we did was in deed in March 2020, although we did do an online gig in August 2021 for an Argentine festival. We were also booked to open for a Mexican band the next month, but unfortunately, that concert was cancelled due to the restrictions imposed at the time.

In reality, we could have continued to stay active by composing and releasing a new album or a single, or something like that. But the truth is that I was personally kind of burnt out from everything. I needed to juggle my work, co-manage the band’s activities, my studies, a type of energetic cultivation I was doing at the time, healing myself from some remaining health symptoms that I’d been having for years, and so forth.

With this sudden stop in social activities, I realized that I needed to fucking slow down the pace of my life and reconnect with myself at a much deeper level. So it was kind of a unilateral decision from my part, and I know it was painful not only for me, but for the rest of the band members as well. But I couldn’t delude myself once I knew what was happening within me. I couldn’t pretend I was okay when I really wasn’t.

I realized that I had a ton of trauma, stress and tension accumulated in my body that I really needed to work on. So, I devoted myself to my healing practice due to its nature, because that helps me understand what’s truly happening within me. I even left Peru and started working from Latvia and then from Italy in 2021, and in the USA this year even.”

Belonging

“The Peruvian metal scene is very small, and doesn’t have the proper structure to ensure any organic support to any metal band, regardless of how professional or brilliant the band and the material might be. So with that in mind, I already knew that if I was going to put time, money and effort into this venture, it was only going to be enjoyable if I knew this from the start, and that I wouldn’t be expecting absolutely anything in return. If I knew this from the get-go, then I absolutely needed to make sure I had a stable income to be able to spend money on the band, and to see it as a hobby.

It was a grateful surprise to receive that much support and positive feedback from all over the world who found us randomly from the get-go. We are very grateful to locals and international fans that supported us. We are also super grateful to the people who treated us with respect and invited us to play live at their gigs, and made us part of their projects.

That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily consider NMK belonging to the Peruvian metal scene. I think and feel that NMK doesn’t really belong anywhere, but we can certainly work together with people from the scene who have integrity and values, and treat us with kindness and mutual respect. I was very lucky to meet Rafa before releasing any material to the public. With his guidance and assistance, I was able to bypass several pitfalls that someone like me would have gotten into.”

Healing Facilitator

“Of course, over those thirteen years, there were some issues we both encountered that were unavoidable. It has been a wild ride for us, but that’s what life is. And any adventure has its risks. Especially when it comes to refining one’s ability to establish healthy boundaries with people. That’s what I call self-sovereignity in relationships, which is something we both need to continue to refine in order to move forward with music.

In my case, I needed to separate my absolute love for music from the experiences I have had with musicians, or people related to music from my past. It has been a very enlightening experience, and these three years of hiatus were a great opportunity for me to process emotionally what I couldn’t process before due to the hectic schedule I had with the band’s activities, work, studies, personal stuff, and so forth.

I guess the biggest challenge for me was to overcome the belief that I needed to fit in with the Peruvian metal scene, and any scene whatsoever. Or that I needed to give up something valuable to me in order to continue with the band’s schedule, to fulfill expectations. Or that I needed to do things the way others wanted me to, because they had more experience being part of a band.

But all in all, what I found was the biggest challenge overall was the belief that because I’m a healing facilitator, this type of music is something I should avoid. This was due to a dysfunctional relationship with some narcissistic people who thought they knew better. This created a lot of distress in me, to the point of thinking I was going insane when I went through ‘the dark night of the soul’ regarding this matter. Fortunately, I was able to pull myself out of this illusory void, and I am finally able to fully accept those aspects of myself that cannot be comprehended by the ‘light’ just yet.”

Major Milestones

“I told myself how to sing when I was a teenager and continued throughout my early twenties. That was one of my biggest developments for sure. To be continuously criticized, but regardless of everything, continue trying and not give up on my passion.

Then, in 2012, I managed to overcome a big challenge by composing and recording my first original song ‘The Fraud’. That was huge. To be able to do that, Rafa suggested we recorded ‘Influences & Connections Vol. 1’ with various cover songs and one original song. The idea was to assist me to find my own sound and voice during the process, and producer Adolfo Gazzo coached to leave the operatic style behind to do various vocal techniques I learned on the go. I’m not going to lie: it was a freaking nightmare for my brain! But with the accumulation of those experiences, I was able to compose and record ‘The Fraud’. And that made me extremely happy.

As a songwriter, I am tremendously proud of what we accomplished with ‘Ravenous Spectre’. It has a maturity and depth that is difficult to describe. Then, I managed to finally learn how to growl, so that was another major milestone for me. I was elated to incorporate it into the album, and then test my skills on stage. The whole journey is literally filled with positive developments, accomplishments and milestones that I value tremendously.”

Peculiarity

Markoch already touched upon the surprising amount of international interest in ‘Ravenous Spectre’. “To tell you the truth, we knew we had something special in our hands in the ‘Ravenous Spectre’ album”, she admits. “International quality, yes, but very unconventional at the time. NMK’s sound is not similar to any other band. Especially because of the melodic voice with the rapid and aggressive rhythms and complex inner dynamics. We thought this was good, but only for the few who had the eyes to see and the ears to listen due to the peculiarity of the concept of the band and the album.

But when we released it, people actually liked it a lot! We started playing live at big festivals here in Peru, opening for international bands like The Agonist, Fates Warning, Dark Funeral and Opera Magna. People were buying our albums and merch directly. Journalists from various countries were asking for interviews and writing reviews about the album. We are grateful and happy to see that it was very well-received, both in Latin America and internationally.

The only downside to what happened during those initial times is that we didn’t have the capacity to make it bigger with marketing tools. Both Rafa and I have full-time jobs that are very demanding, and we always saw the band as a hobby that brought us joy. So I’m sure we could do much better if we have more time and human resources to give us a hand with that. Still, we are very proud of what we accomplished independently with our debut album, and super grateful to all the people who supported us through these years!”

Assistance

Through the years, Markoch has frequently appeared as a guest on other musicians’ work. “If people want to work with me and are willing to open up to me, I can be an inspiration for them to uncover what they truly want to express artistically”, she explains. “I think of myself as a consciousness catalyst, and music happens to be a way to express our true authentic self.

There are some musicians who might be great with one or a couple of skills. For example, a guitar player might be brilliant at executing, recording and composing the guitar sections of a song, but maybe he hasn’t had the time to explore his creativity regarding vocal melodies or lyrics, and I can be of assistance with that. If they have something already, but they’re not convinced it really fits, I can also assist them in tweaking things so that they will be happy with the outcome.

If they have everything, but the lyrics are in Spanish or German, I can translate the essence of it and create lyrics in English or vice versa. If there is a new band or an old band that wants to create a concept for their band, album or video from scratch, I can come up with ideas for that and create something meaningful to the people involved with the project. Or maybe not from scratch, but they have something in mind but are not fully convinced because it lacks depth, or they want the idea to fully represent them as individuals. I can also help with that.

I am someone who is very passionate about people’s mind, emotions, motivations and unyielded potential. I can help them realize what it is that needs to be dismantled in order for the potential to be reclaimed and the new to be born. For the blockages to be dissolved, so that inspiration can fluently flow in areas where there was stagnation. So yeah, I have my own unique way of working with people, be it musicians, bands or patients.”

Standards

“I remember my first live show. It was 2006 and I think the festival was named Kings of Metal. It was held in an old movie theater called Arenales here in the capital, that I think doesn’t exist anymore. I didn’t have a band at the time, but people knew I sang in rehearsal rooms with some musicians that had their own bands.

At that festival, one of the bands that was doing a tribute to Warcry had issues do to their singer being very late, and they didn’t want to cancel their performance. So, to entertain the audience, the guitar player asked me to jump on stage and sing old Nightwish songs. I was like: what the hell are you thinking, nooo! Haha! I was a nervous wreck back then, but somehow, I managed to overcome stage fright and just went for it. Fun times.

People used to go to more local gigs at the time. Including myself. I stopped going to live shows for the same reason other people stopped going to live shows. Low-quality gigs overall, the venues’ infrastructure and services were lacking basic sanitary standards, some bands had a terrible sound – not only due to themselves not being pro enough, but due to the awful backline the gig offered. Poor marketing, low budget or almost no budget at all, by asking favors or mutual collaborations that didn’t fit the technical requirements for the bands, no good-quality food, and some corruption here and there.

I realized I was not comfortable going to the majority of the shows, so I gradually stopped going, and only saved money to see a couple of good local bands, or some of my favorite international bands if they happened to visit Peru.”

New Alternative Metal Scene

“People in general need to step it up in terms of personal integrity and values. Clarity of thought and inspired action are most needed. The old way of doing things is obsolete. There are people who need to accept the facts and the reality of the situation, and stop with the magical thinking. Negating the negatives with the positives doesn’t serve anybody, and it doesn’t improve any situation. This is not me being negative; this is seeing things for what they are and not trying to deny some painful truths.

In my opinion, there needs to be an alternative metal scene with people who are inspired to work as a team to restore the true essence of music, and to honor the creative artistry of humanity. If we can’t value it in others, it’s because we cannot see it within ourselves. It’s an act of self-love to recognize the poetry of existence. Our lives are living works of art. If we know this, then we can see it, value it, and cherish it in others.

It doesn’t have anything to do with money. Money will be there if we remember our true authentic expression of abundant beings. If we remember we are abundant, money is just a byproduct of us being that abundance. Everything can become a profitable business if corruption is extirped from its core. If that happens, a new alternative metal scene can be born, with people who respect themselves and others. To expect musicians to work for free is an absolute recipe for disaster, and perpetuates the states of lack.”

Accepting the Unacceptable

“To think that organizers are doing the bands a favor by allowing them to play a shitty show is such a delusion. To ask bands to pay their way to being selected to open for other bands sabotages everything for everybody. To expect fans to attend shows in shitty venues with only alcohol and no food available is just to ask them to suffer, whether they can recognize it or not. To make people wait for hours to see a specific band play in dire conditions or even not play at all is just cruel.

I want people to understand and get this already. Live show should be fun to attend. The experience of seeing a band perform should be a fun, mystical and enjoyable experience. To expect people to drag themselves to shows just because if they don’t, somebody is going to be upset for people not supporting the metal scene is just dysfunctional. If I go to all the shows, I would have to put myself in a position that feels uncomfortable. Accepting the unacceptable is not saintly. People need to examine their actions, thoughts, speech, feelings and realize what works. And what doesn’t.

I do support the Peruvian metal bands that respect themselves, and give respect to others. I do support and love meeting musicians, organizers, staff, fans that belong to the Peruvian metal scene who behave congruently, who value human nature, and who see the importance of virtues, values, and integrity.

Fortunately, within this metal scene, I have come across several people who do want to make things work properly. I am very grateful and happy that I have been able to meet them and to have participated in projects together with them. I am sure that, at some point, our visions about a new metal scene in Peru will come true if we continue to stay ourselves, and express in full authenticity, unapologetically.”

All photos by Karlos Ramone