METAL HAS NO BORDERS

From Hashtgerd in Iran, God Mvker is an innovative one-man act, meshing underground, extreme music from both the metal and hip hop sides of the musical spectrum. If you’re a fan of the noisy experimentation in the vein of Ghostmane, Backxwash, or Corpse, you might dig the unorthodox sounds of this vocalist / producer act.

It should also be noted that the aesthetics and themes expressed in God Mvker‘s output is far from acceptable in his country of origin. In our recent interview, we speak to mastermind Muhammad about his recent single released via Tough Sounds (the first Iranian metal label), his wild stylistic fusion, and the music scene as well as politics within Iran.

Your recent single “Ignite Me” fuses brutal death metal with trap elements, a not very common combination. Can you discuss your relationship with both of those genres?

Well, I have listened to extreme music since I was 14 and started my vocal learning journey two years after I started getting into metal music. I always enjoy listening to heavy music; it drains my negative energy and makes me happy, so I thought it would be a good idea to create such music for everyone’s enjoyment.

You have quite a vast catalog of combining extreme metal and hip hop traits together. Can you recall the moment that you wanted to mix these two different styles?

I was always searching for a unique genre with this burst of energy and hype within it, but I never seemed to find it, so I thought it would be a good idea that I could start this concept. I thought the idea was very interesting and unique; at that time, I knew how to scream and do vocals properly, so I thought it would be cool to make a new vision, a new wave of music that would make people bang their heads with it. 

This mesh of musical styles reminds me of the Belarusian experimental rap / black metal act, Mora Prokaza. Have you heard of them? If not, can you listen to their song “Check It” and share your thoughts?

I haven’t heard them before. It’s pretty unique. I’m not a big fan of black metal, but Mora Prokaza has its own style, and its very cool in my opinion.

In late 2020, you dropped the track, “Modern Slavery.” In the US, I think of our prison system when I hear that phrase. To you, what is the song “Modern Slavery” about?

The song’s concept showed the world how systematic we are. Machines are taking our lives and we’re stuck in our cell phones. Fun fact, I wanted to sing on that track too, but since at that time I didn’t have much skills in singing and rapping, also production needed to be better, so I decided to publish it as an instrumental. But overall as my first single track on all platforms, it was decent at that period of time.

I’ve heard many stories about metal artists and fans in Iran being arrested and overall oppressed for participation in metal music. Can you share your experience and opinions on how Iranian politics affect you as an artist?

I make music internationally, not specifically in Iran media. The reason is simple, I don’t want to get in trouble. You see, my music is very uncommon. I write lyrics about spirituality and self-awareness, so if it leaks to any local social or media, that may cause me problems, so happily, I am free from Iranian politics for now. Hopefully, I can stay away from it for good because “they” are not friendly. 

I understand that God Mvker is a one-man project. Do you intend to add a live drummer, guitarist, sampler, etc. for live shows or do you prefer being a studio project?

I’ve been thinking about doing live shows forever and definitely doing them soon. Still, sadly I can’t do it in Iran because of the politics and the thought behind metal music in Iran saying it’s evil. If I find someone suitable, I can certainly ask them to join as a session player or maybe even a permanent member. 

What other artists and groups in the Iranian metal, hip hop, or extreme music scene should we know about?

I like a few bands from Iran’s metal scene. One is Padra, a thrash metal band originally from Iran, but now based in Istanbul, Turkey. I love their first album called Hezartoye Tanafor. And the other is a metalcore band called Satura. Sadly, they don’t have a vocalist right now, so they’re not making much music currently.