Doomed Confessionary: Marius, Marian, Mihai & Matei (Green Prophet)
Green Prophet is a four-piece alternative/stoner metal band from Bucharest, Romania. Formed in 2022, Green Prophet consists of Marius on vocals, Marian on guitar, Mihai on bass and Matei on drums.
Green Prophet is blending stoner grooves with alternative metal and psychedelic textures wrapped in a distinctly dark atmosphere. Sung in their native language, their music pulls you deeper into cosmic shadows, guiding you through unsettling realms where emotion is confronted and control dissolves.
After releasing their first album »Apus«, the band is now shaping the next album, deepening their descent into shadowed, immersive soundscapes.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Marius: The roots of this project are from the end of 2018, when we met up in a rehearsal room in Bucharest and started to jam. Our sound is a blend of elements from psychedelic, stoner, metal, jazz, and oriental, with alternative vocals sung in our native language and lyrics that approach psychological and philosophical themes. Simply put, it’s like a cosmic journey through the chambers of the mind.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Matei: In my opinion, being in a band comes with many challenges. I see it as having a relationship with four or five different people at the same time, each of whom also has their own relationship with everyone else. Things can get complicated very easily. One challenge that can be especially hard to overcome is staying motivated, particularly during the summer holidays, when people may be away for a while and interest can seem to fade.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Marian: We have done almost three albums in this formula, and gained a lot of experience from
all the live shows. Also, I think we have managed to create a particular sound and refine it after each year.
What was your biggest regret?
Mihai: I think my biggest regret is that I could not give more of my time to go on tour with the band in the last year. I am yet to find the balance between personal life and band life. But we managed to do a couple of shows here in Bucharest and had time to record new tracks, so we are closer to releasing the new Green Prophet album.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Mihai: The best concert so far in my opinion was with a local band Tragic and we held it in a nice pub named Echoes Haus on 23rd November 2023. The place was crowded, and a lot of people came there just to listen to underground music. It felt like we were the Ramones in CBGB’s.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Marian: I was surprised to see that there are still people who keep doing what they like despite all the struggles that come with this passion for music and art in general.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Matei: Death, Dimmu Borgir, Tool, Marilyn Manson, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Asking Alexandria.
Marius: Faith No More, Rollins Band, Gaupa, Karnivool, All Then Witches, Astor Piazzolla, Rishloo, Lowrider, Porcupine Tree, Alice In Chains.
Marian: Ayyuka, Yuz, Glass Beans, Taraf de Haïdouks, Goran Bregovic, Igorrr, Gojira, Opeth, Travka, Alternosfera.
Mihai: Meshuggah, Mountain Of Misery, Breaking Benjamin, Ph8, Basement, Turnstile.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Marius: I have received a few over the past years: 1. Never try to satisfy anyone. Music is a subjective realm, and I think it can be very consuming to try to please everyone.
2. Be yourself and try to build your own musical identity. Give yourself chances to experiment because you might end up being surprised in a good way.
3. Continuously evolve and work in this direction. Rehearsals, music lessons, experimentation. Get yourself out of your comfort zone.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Marius: Immersing myself in a nice video game; late night music binge on a specific band; coding, scripting, and automating stuff at work; drinking tuica(plum brandy) with the boys.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Bucharest?
Matei: I think the current scene in Bucharest is difficult to understand. In the past, there were only one, two, maybe three big rock or metal concerts per year featuring popular bands, and very few, if any, less “commercial” bands. Back then, people would go to see local bands regardless of genre simply because they wanted to hear live music. Nowadays, many bands from abroad come here, and people tend to attend those shows instead. There’s still this mentality that foreign bands are good and local ones are not.
Aside from the well-established rock bands that attract large crowds due to their popularity and legacy, there are also underground bands in genres like indie, punk, deathcore, and death metal that can gather more people than other styles. But if you play a mix of genres, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with very, very few attendees at your show.
Where can we see you live soon (concerts/tours)?
Marian: We mostly have concerts in Bucharest, the next show will be in a local club – Encore on the 31st of January.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Mihai: In the future, we want to do a lot of things, we hope to achieve most of them. Our main priority is to finish our second Album, so far, we have 4 recorded tracks, 3 demos, and some cool ideas we want to polish so that we have 10 songs on the new album. Other things we would like to do is to release physical CDs, have more merch and create a website with a store for our merch and other information about the band, create a new music video for one of our new songs, and finally to go on tour locally or an European one.
How can people best support your band?
Green Prophet: If people want to show support, they need to come to the concerts, buy symbolic items like T-shirts to help boost the band’s morale, and like, share, and subscribe to our social media accounts, because gaining reach is difficult. Interact with our social media posts (likes, comments, shares), which would make us more visible to other people with similar music taste.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Green Prophet: Thank you very much for your support. It means a lot to us because it helps us keep going, playing, and creating.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well