DYING MIND
1. For today’s interview, I welcome Maine’s own, Dying Mind! To start us off, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself and what you do in the band?
My name is Justin, I do vocals.
2. How would you describe the band to someone who hasn’t heard it yet, and what would you say are the band’s primary influences?
I’d just call it death metal with mosh parts, it’s hard to pin down primary influences but I’d say bands like Grave and Harms Way would be a few.
3. When and how did the band come together in its present incarnation?
Dying Mind has been around for over a decade but has been dormant for quite some time. Earlier this year Ryan got at Anthony, Scott and I to bring it back but go in a heavier direction which we were all on board for.
4. Your EP Digging for Cerebral Mulch (great title) came out on June 19th, 2026 on friends of the site SVU Records. How did your relationship with SVU come about and why were they the natural fit to release your debut?
Anthony and Scott’s band Last Embrace is on the SVU roster so it was just a natural fit for us to hop on board.
5. What was the writing and recording process for the EP like?
The writing process was super quick actually, the songs were done in less than a month. All of us have played music with each other so much over the years we just know what works and what doesn’t. We recorded this with our good friend Richie Russell at Skateway Studios in Old Town [Maine] over the course of a handful of sessions and it was a blast, just a bunch of dummies making heavy music, what else could be better?
6. Walk us through the tracks on the EP—sonic and thematic territory you explore with each, etc.
“Digging for Cerebral Mulch” is about self deification through lobotomy. “Dying Mind” is through the lens of someone losing all self control, it’s loosely inspired by the comic series Crossed. “Spider.Eye.Lamb” is based on the game The Outlast Trials, it’s seen through the eyes of someone who’s an unwitting participant in a sadistic MK Ultra Program. “Termina” takes inspiration lyrically from the game Fear and Hunger 2 and is about becoming a twisted mutation of your former self.
7. Which of death metal, slam, or metalcore (or something else) do you think is currently the true second love of hardcore “kids” in general?
Brutal death / Slam for sure. I mean, look at the love for bands like Torture and PeelingFlesh, plus we all just saw that pile on for Devourment at Hellfest.
8. Which death metal band or bands (other than Dying Mind of course) has/have the best mosh parts?
Dying Fetus, bar none!
9. A mysterious benefactor has given you a blank check to book the bands on Summer Slaughter next year. You’ve got seven slots to fill, and all of the bands will say yes. What’s your lineup?
For me personally I’d say Defeated Sanity, Gorgasm, Mongrel, Mortician, Final Resting Place, Dying Fetus and for a headliner I’d pick Suffocation but with Frank back on vocals.
10. Any Dying Mind gigs and/or other projects or endeavors you’re involved in you’d like to plug? Any last words for the readers?
We are playing Geno’s on August 8th after a showing of Downeast Hardcore: Stories from the Kave, that one is extra special for all of us [ed. note: you can read my interview with the film’s director Ricky Leighton here]. We also have a couple more shows down the line that haven’t been announced yet. Anthony and Scott have shows with Last Embrace coming up in July with Fifth World in Vermont, Quebec, and Portland, Ryan’s band Holy Filth is working on new music and I’m working on my backlog of video games. Thanks to everyone that’s taken time to check out the EP, we got more music on the way!