MONA BORLAND – interview with the band

4-Piece “Groovy” Metalcore outfit hailing from Dallas, Mona Borland is relatively new Melodic Metalcore with a new stylistic approach. Neglecting all the traditional methods, Mona Borland took a new path where their sound is an ideal blend of Metalcore and Hard Rock hence the name Groovy Metalcore. Following their debut album, Jade’s release I had a chance to talk with the dudes over Mona Borland. Here is what the band has to say about their debut album, their future plans and more.

What is the story behind the name “Mona Borland”?

Mona Borland was a side joke on a television show called “Home Improvement.” There’s a co-star named Al Borland (played by actor Richard Karn) on the show, and in an episode he was made to feature in the Mona Lisa painting. It doesn’t have a huge meaning, just that we enjoy comedies and it was a name we could all agree on.

Your latest album was a solid, It might as well end up being one of my favourite Metalcore releases of this year. Care to share the ideology and Song Writing process?

Normally, how we write is Cody (guitar/vocals) will generally have some riff ideas, basically he comes to us with anything from a riff to a nearly completed song. Then we’ll jam around on it, tweak things, and I’ll add vocal parts to see what fits and serves the songs best. One of the things that really works in our favor is that we all listen to very different things so we’re all able to add little things here and there that we feel makes the songs feel a little different from a lot of metalcore. We generally knew the mood we were hoping for, which was feeling sort of jaded and burned out, but remaining hopeful.

Jade is different from a stereotypical Melodic Metalcore bands. What makes you different and unique?

I think the fact that we all enjoy different types of music. We all agree on plenty of music, for sure, but we also enjoy things separately from each other as well, so for example, I’m able to pick out little parts on the record that I feel were influenced by bands the other dudes don’t listen to and I’m sure it’s vice versa with their parts as well.

Jade artwork is as good as the album itself. Upon closer inspection one might end up having a dozen of conclusions. What does the artwork portray?

At the risk of losing art credibility, we bought that artwork. Merch, album art, and album name are always the things we have the hardest time agreeing on. But this artwork is just very unique and represents the feeling of being overwhelmed, so it fits the record, we think.

If you could point out 3 of your favourite Metal bands, What will be your list?

I hope I’m not aggravating any genre sticklers, but our three collective favorite bands are Norma Jean, He is Legend, and Every Time I Die.

Three-Four months back, You guys were on a search for a new bassist. How was the Selection process and Why’d you choose Joshua over another person?

It was fun! We knew that the right person would be not only proficient with the bass, but also be someone we could form a great friendship with. Every step of the way, Josh has been nothing but great surprises and a great friend. We couldn’t be happier with Josh. Here’s a spoiler, we’re even trying to work out a little vocals with the dude.

If you look upon some Metal blogging platforms you might stumble across some kids ranting about Metalcore being bland and dull. On top of that they will end up claiming “Core sucks”. Being a Metalcore band what is your take on this proposition.

To be honest, we don’t really worry about “labels” or genre lines and we certainly don’t worry about naysayers. There will always be people who complain or find fault with anything, we just don’t think that’s a really great approach to life itself, let alone a genre of music. It seems so trivial, but to each their own I guess. Can’t make everybody happy all the time.

Who influenced you guys and what made aspect of their musicianship motivated you to make music of your own?

Billy (drums), Cody (guitar/vocals), and I (Matt – vocals) have been playing in bands off and on for around ten years. I think the biggest thing we all appreciate with music is the voice and freedom it gives you to handle life. We also appreciate the cathartic aspect as well, but the list of musical heroes across the four of us would be pretty vast and eclectic.

Apart from Metal which genre(s) captivates each one of you and Why?

I can only speak as one person, but other genres some or all of us enjoy are hip-hop, death metal, pop, classic rock, punk and punk influenced rock, southern rock. I would probably venture to say that collectively, the spectrum is pretty broad wth what we like.

2017 has been a great year. Which albums were the best ones according to you all? Care to share the albums that you guys are looking forward to?

We need to give a shout out to our boys in The News Can Wait, they’re another Dallas band and they put out a solid record this year.

What is next for Mona Borland? Can we get a new album any time soon?

We have plans to do something small before the year is out and then get working on a full length (10-12 songs) next year.

Thank you for giving us a nice interview. On behalf of Metal Centre, I wish you all the best for your future. Cheers!

Thank you so much! We very much appreciate you all!

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