Interview: Massive Ego returns from the brink

New music from Massive Ego is on the way—including a full-length album.

Massive Ego 2024

In 2022, Massive Ego called it quits. The news came as a sudden and unexpected shock to fans of the dark synth project. Their website went offline, and all their social media accounts disappeared, cutting everyone off from communication with the band. I composed a eulogy.

As it turns out, the end of Massive Ego didn’t stick. The band made a surprise return last year with a new song, a new look, and a new lineup that includes former Rosetta Stone guitarist Porl Young. We now know that frontman Marc Massive experienced a mental health crisis and needed to step away from social media for a while.

Today, Massive Ego is charging fell steam ahead into 2025. On Friday, they’ll release “(My) Death Song,” their second single since returning from hiatus. They’ll perform at this year’s M’era Luna festival in Germany, and there’s much more music on the way—including a full-length album.

I reached out to Massive Ego to welcome them back to the world of music, ask about their return, and find out what they have planned for us. Here’s what they told me.

First of all, welcome back! I truly thought Massive Ego was over, so it’s fantastic to see you return. How does it feel to be back with a new lineup, a fresh sound, and a revamped aesthetic?

Marc Massive: Thank you, Chris, I appreciated the obituary you penned in 2022 very much. I got quite emotional when I read it. It was strange reading the outpouring of support when Out Of Line announced our demise on Facebook, as I’ve never seen that much traction on a post about us ever and never likely to see it again. It shows we humans love a tragic tale we can add our backstory too, for titillation. And let’s face it, posts about a new track don’t have the same pull as a fall-from-grace story.

But back we are. I’m enjoying it now I have a renewed desire to write, record, collaborate, be creative, make time to read, run and meditate, and have life adventures with like-minded souls wanting to come along on the journey, not work against it like it felt last time around. I’m not desperate to climb any ladders of success or higher visibility this time—I’ll leave that to the new kids who dream of tasting it and will do everything to get it.

This current line-up is strong on the musical writing front, and we are happy to take it as it comes without feeling the need to chase it.

Your new song is called “(My) Death Song,” an interesting choice for a band undergoing its own resurrection. But this song is really about leaving the past behind, right? What can you tell us about the inspiration behind it? What’s been the most challenging or unexpected part of relaunching Massive Ego after such a break?

Marc: The new song is one of a handful of tracks I wrote after an 18-month breakdown, the most difficult period of my life, where everything changed. I’m not going into details as those involved need no ego massaging, but suffice to say, attacks from outside forces, threats, and unfounded accusations led to one big f**king personal black cloud forming, and by 4th March 2022, it reached its peak. A date that will forever stick with me, and I considered my options for ending it. Yet still, the forces intent on evil tried connecting that personal date of significance to suit their agenda whilst deploying tactics to bring down the band and stir a reaction.

So I took a huge learning curve. Further hard work to shift the black dog, months of accessing mental health services, and finding my true inner spirit got me through. I’ve been open about it as there’s no point in hiding behind a mask, I’d done that for twenty-odd years, time for a fresh start. If I was to put the band back together it had to be under a different guise. I was stuck with the name, but I could lose the wig and the constraints that it brought. The label was supportive; they’d already invested heavily in us and were keen to recoup, and with that comes a responsibility. My attackers forced them to deploy their legal team, and that’s when the bills racked up.

As a result, I don’t suffer fools gladly anymore and won’t let myself fall back into the “everyone must like me” model of old. Having a fan base, even as small as ours, comes with a responsibility, and I genuinely did like being friendly and available. However, it became one of the problems that led to us falling apart. There were too many discussions taking place online and in private messages that I wasn’t privy to at the time between different parties, and lots of anger, accusations, jealousy, and rivalry.

It was very telling that in the first few weeks of taking our social media down and staying off the internet for eighteen months, I was informed of certain people saying all sorts of stuff to fuel the fire. The truth is, these same people were the ones I bent over backwards to accommodate, personalised handwritten lyrics for, messaged and been cool with. Only then experience them slagging me off to the one who never went out of his way for them once. Life lessons learnt and moved on.

With “In Your Own Darkness” and this month’s “(My) Death Song,” your music has taken on deeply personal themes. How important is it for you to address mental health in your music, and what do you hope listeners take away?

Marc: I wanted to be honest about that part of my disappearance. As I am writing this today. A stigma is still attached even if the scene tries to appear supportive. Having to quit affected the band’s success and flow, without a doubt. Being forced to cancel those last few gigs we were contracted to do in 2022 through no fault of my own has made promoters naturally a little wary, even though they were only three of a hundred gigs we performed.

But then M’era Luna, our gallant saint on a black horse, came calling for this year, and that’s the next big milestone I’m working towards. We have lost some followers but gained others in return. I am happy knowing I’m not and never have been the person I’m being made out to be in some quarters. I’ve channelled the experience into lyrics, but even with depressing titles they all have a positive message and ending, and that’s what I’m about now.

The addition of guitars is a major sonic shift that pushes your sound into new territory between synthpop and darkwave. What has the process been like integrating guitars into your synth-driven style?

Porl Young: When I first joined the band there were gigs to rehearse for and a set for me to learn, so initially it was all about finding ways to enhance synth parts, using a synth pedal (Boss SY 300) to create appropriate tones to compliment the back catalogue. Tracks like “Haters Gonna Hate” and “For The Blood In Your Veins” originally had synth guitars, so replacing those with real guitars in rehearsals suddenly made a big difference to the live feel of those tracks, which certainly helped to point the direction for what could work in new songs.

When we were writing and arranging “In Your Own Darkness” the guitars didn’t need to be too prominent, I focused on adding some rhythmic Banshees meets Duran Duran chords in the verses and some counter melodies to the synths in the choruses.

“(My) Death Song” is completely different. There was space to open up with the heavy guitars in the choruses, though the verses and bridges still have that Banshees/Duran influence. Ultimately, it’s all about what’s needed for the song. There are tracks we’re working on for the next singles and the album that feature guitars very differently and some where they don’t feature that much at all. Luckily I’m a real synth lover too (with a bit of an unhealthy collection of analogue beasts) and tend to write more on synths and machines.

You’re planning to release a series of singles this year leading up to a new album. Is there an overarching theme or emotional thread that connects these songs together?

Marc: It certainly looked that way during the writing of the first six or seven tracks; there was an overriding theme of crashing, burning out, ceasing to exist, smashed-up cars, and general catastrophe and mistrust.

We’re working through releasing them as singles, as is the industry norm today, and we still have a few tracks to finish for the album. I have a cover design in my head, but as the lyrics move on from all the above stimuli, I might need to cheer it up a bit.

Marc, you’ve made so many great guest appearances—with everyone from Ashbury Heights and Blutengel to newcomers like Dead Lights. So I know how deeply connected you are to the dark music scene. What’s your take on the current state of the scene? Any favorite artists or trends you’re following closely?

Marc: Dead Lights, Simon Carter, and Chris Pohl’s She Hates Emotions project collaborations came along at just the right time. I was trying to get motivated to write new Massive Ego material, so to be asked to write and guest on these artists’ tracks felt like synchronicity at work and like being thrown a lifebelt.

I have to be honest, I spend a fraction of the time I used to on social media now through choice. Therefore, I’m not as familiar with who or what’s going on or who’s causing waves. I adore Henric de La Cour, Modern Men from France, Buzz Kull, Das Moon, Gavin Friday, and Mr Manson’s back. I like a bunch of darkwave artists. In fact, our next single reflects that.

Porl: The scene is healthy and growing. Canada, the USA, Mexico, Latin America, and most parts of Europe (of course Germany) have a healthy scene and some amazing current artists. We’ve got some in the UK too. Dead Lights and Promenade Cinema are very different but I love both.

Current favorites worldwide include ACTORS and LEATHERS, Bootblacks, Kanga, The Bellwether Syndicate, SDH, NNHMN, Deceits, Corlyx.

And my goodness, look at the outpouring of love for the new album from my favorite artist ever, The Cure. Not forgetting Solar Fake. What a great last album, Then Comes Silence, ditto. And I mustn’t forget Chvrches and Lauren Mayberry for keeping great pop music a little bit strange.

Massive Ego’s 30th anniversary is coming up in 2026. What legacy do you hope to leave behind when you do play your final death song?

Marc: I guess I already prematurely sounded the death bell on the band in March 2022, quitting the internet and taking down all reference to us ever existing. I didn’t put all of it back up when I returned; there’s no point filling a scrapbook when there are still more images to put in there. I hope the videos I made for the songs are still accessible and stand up to the test of time, as I enjoy making them.

I’ve recently been offered the chance to write for a magazine called Blitzed, which feels like a kiss of life, to have a new string to my bow at 56 feels very gratifying. I’d love my legacy to include written words in a book of my own making, telling my truth rather than Idol-Lies.

I always remember Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon being asked what he’d have inscribed on his tombstone, and he replied, “Here lies the body of Simon Le Bon, once he was here, but now he’s gone, gone, gone,” which always makes me smile.


Here’s an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new Massive Ego video for their single “(My) Death Song.”

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