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CONCRETEWEB.COM
by Dirk van Den Auweele
Interview
with the band Eleníum
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Just to kick-start this little thing,
could you like give us a small ‘history of the band’?
“It all got started in the late 1995 by our singer J, synthplayer
Johannes and our former guitarist Okko. They decided to form a death
metal band and after a couple months they found me and our drummer Mikko.
I knew them before and since they didn’t have a bassist I joined
in. We did our first demo in 1996 and played some gigs. The second demo:
“This Side of Paradise” got great feedback and we signed
a deal for one MCD, video + maybe a full-length album. The label was
a one man’s firm called Hella Records.
Our
second guitarist Tommi joined in before the recordings of the MCD, which
included 3 songs from the demo. Tommi used to play and sing in a band
called Borealms who were a big influence to us. They were from the same
hood as we and they were a bit older than us. Their music was like old
Amorphis with a brilliant keyboard player. They unfortunately broke
up but luckily Tommi came to Eleníum.
The
co-operation with the label didn’t work because of his lack of
time and interest. Okko left the band in 1999 and we rehearsed underground
as a five piece until in autumn 01 we found Kasperi who studies music
in Helsinki. He was a perfect guy for the band and now the line up feels
great.
In
the beginning our greatest influences were bands like Amorphis (Tales
From The Thousand Lakes, Karelian Isthmus), Sentenced (Amok, North From
Here) and naturally Metallica and Megadeth etc. Nowadays we get influences
from such a wide area that I won’t make a list here.”
Please
tell us where your hometown in Finland, Vantaa, can be found on the
map,
and give us some more info about the area?
“Vantaa lies in the southern Finland right next to Helsinki, which
is our capital. Vantaa is more like a suburb of the capital. Nowadays
most of us live in Helsinki but our childhood homes are only half an
hour’s drive away. Martinlaakso is the actual suburb in Vantaa
that we come from and it’s a gray depressing place with lots of
problems… nevertheless I have warm feelings towards that place
and not least because of all the great people we’ve spent time
with in there. Martinlaakso is also the place where Amorphis got started
and our most famous Formula 1 driver Mika Häkkinen is from there.
If you ever come to Helsinki the airport you’ll be landing on
is in Vantaa.”
Important
for the rest of the interview, so we already put this question now:
On the website, you mention
that you are temporarily unable to do gigs. How comes?
”It was just 2 weeks before the beginning of our studio sessions
when our drummer Mikko was on his way to give his drums a beating of
their life. There were fire trucks outside our rehearsal place pumping
shit and sewage waste out of it. Most of our equipment we had bought
during the last 10 years were ruined including several speakers, my
bass, Johannes’s synth with his self created sounds, drums etc.
There was equipment worth 15 000€ that got ruined. Our ensurances
won’t compensate the loss ‘cause they say it’s the
water company’s duty and the “funniest” thing is that
the water company found a certificate from the 70`s which somehow releases
them from responsibility. Money is the language of today and we aunt
got it.
The
information you mentioned has actually been removed from the site by
now. We will start head banging on stage next year on February now matter
what happens. We haven’t had band rehearsals after the album recordings
so this sure is a fucked up situation.”
The
album was recorded & mixed in only two weeks of July 2003 at Sonic
Pump studios.
That was a very short session?
”2 weeks is a very short while indeed when you’re supposed
to do a technical and progressive death metal album. There’s really
not much time to start thinking of cool new ideas or maybe jam a new
song. We were well prepared although the already mentioned accident
gave us a bit more challenge. We had done a pre-recorded version of
almost each song at our rehearsal place (r.i.p)
The
situation of that time probably bought an extra spontaneous feel to
the whole album not to mention anger. We also had to borrow a lot of
equipment, which of course made it more difficult to prepare. Thanks
to Juffi from our fellow band Amoral we have drums on the album `cause
he borrowed his. I played with the bass of Titus from Thunderstone so
a thank you goes to him too.
The
album was co-produced by the band & recording engineers Nino Laurenne
and Max Kostermaa.
How did that work out?
”It worked out really well. The same guys were at helm when we
did “Them Used Gods” so it was natural to continue from
there. At my view most of the actual producing was made by us, the band
in our rehearsals. Nino did most of the mixing and he did a great work
and got the heavy sound to it. Max (Tero Kostermaa) was more involved
in the recording process, gave some ideas and worked as a judge whether
something was good or total bollocks.
Max
really deserves some extra credit for his work cause we mostly worked
at night with him and he didn’t get any extra salary except some
beer from us. We usually worked with Nino in the daytime and when he
was mentally and physically exhausted to our humor and “mushroom”
metal in the evening we called Max. Then we continued with Max ´till
the morning. He’s a great man with an enormous amount of patience.
That
8-hour policy really isn’t our thing cause we want to keep the
whole session intense. Otherwise it’s like… just when you
get into the groove the day is over. I can’t concentrate on anything
else when it’s about making music. So we did some 20 hour days
and it was rough but great.”
Was
there any special reason to use the Sonic Pump studios?
”We didn’t even consider any options this time ´cause
the demo recording session was the first time everything went superbly
in the studio. Of course a band like us doesn’t get a huge budget
for a debut so sure we could have done it in Studio Fredman in three
days. Sonic Pump just offers quality for a reasonable price. It was
also important that we knew Nino and liked him. He’s been involved
in metal music for ages so it’s obvious he also knows a lot of
it."
Have
there been any ‘Spinal Tap’ moments at all during your time
in the studio?
”I wonder if there was a moment that wasn’t a ´Spinal
Tap´ moment. We were more or less psychotic all the time because
of the lack of sleep so everything I can remember is more or less a
blur and we were even sober for most of the time. All I can remember
is a huge amount of totally stupid and childish humor combined with
laughter and other strange voices… It was really hard to behave
outside the studio when we were forced to leave the building. The wetter
was really hot at that time as well. 2 weeks of perfect Finnish summer
and we enjoyed it by staying in a basement all the time. The rest of
the year is dark and cold…”
Unlike
debut albums from other bands, you didn’t use any of the older
material, but wrote all-new songs,
how comes?
”The thing is… we’ve waited for a chance to do a full
length for years. This is the first time many people hear our music
so we wanted to give them an idea of our current style and form. We
were also a bit bored to play those demo songs live and they are pretty
old. We were supposed to do “Inbred Infinity” for the album
´cause we thought we could do it much better than on the demo.
We had to drop it off because of the lack of time. The outro on the
album is the theme from that song so we might have a continuum here.
The demo actually could be an MCD ´cause it came out pretty well.
It wouldn’t be fair to the people who supported us and bought
the demo to put all the same songs to the album. Now they have something
special.”
How
long was the writing process for this album, and who’s mostly
responsible for writing
this beautiful music?
”Thanks for the kind words… It’s Johannes, Tommi and
I who write the music and riffs but everyone brings his own ideas and
influences to it and finally it sounds like Eleníum. Johannes
is the most active composer and songs like “Eye for a Lie”
and “Under the Mug” are totally his compositions. The final
songs are more or less always very different from the versions the composer
had in mind and that’s richness. There is couple of songs that
were almost ready before the demo recordings like “Subcreator
and Moments”. We had enough material for a full length even when
we signed a deal with ROA about a year ago and at that time we were
really frustrated to wait until the summer. I’m glad we did ´cause
now we had enough time to arrange, rehearse and write new, better songs.
During these 7-8 years of Ele`s existence we’ve thrown loads of
songs into the trashcan so every once in a while some old riff may wake
again to haunt us. That happens too. There’s really no specific
way a song evolves. It may start from jamming together or then someone
does everything at home."
Maybe
the band has some favorite track(s) on this album?
“I can only speak about my opinion and now that I think about
it… no. They’re all so different and yet again equal.”
Where
does vocalist J get the inspiration for his lyrics?
”It’s all just reflections of reality. It’s not a
concept album but there’s a uniting theme. A lot of stuff about
selfishness and how it can be seen everywhere. J does read pretty much,
looks a lot of movies and listens to different kinds of music but actually
all you have to do is open your eyes and have a look around. This world
is getting out of hand and I’m not talking about terrorism here.
People have lost the touch of what is truly important in life. It’s
all about money now.
There’s
a new generation on the earth that has an urge to compete in everything
and rush forward with bloody elbows, only success counts. It’s
in our fucking genes that we think of ourselves only it’s evitable
for surviving. Even beautiful fine things like love have selfish motives
behind them. Love is just I wanting to be happy and complete and you’re
a tool for me to get it. We are animals, no use to deny that. “Up
the Long Ladder” has it all pretty much in it’s title and
when you’re up there it must feel very empty. Maybe we should
dedicate that song to the world’s nation number one and it’s
brainless leader.
J
seems to have quite some control over his voice, changing from deep
grunt to rather
clean vocals in a wink of an eye. Did he take lessons?
”Now that you mention it, he has taken a few lessons (and we’d
want him to take more, heh.) Maybe it’s because he can’t
control his voice? Maybe it’s some kind of a Jekyll & Hyde
syndrome? He probably annoys some people but I like his diversity. You
can even understand what he’s growling without him sounding wimpy.
Yet again you can blame the fact we like all kind of music that is good
and sincere.”
Did
any of the songs on this album give the band extra trouble in the writing,
learning,
or recording process? If so, which ones, and why?
”Well, “Subcreator” used to sound like shit at our
rehearsals with crappy rehearsal sounds but it actually turned out pretty
well. “For Me” was the last song we wrote for the album
so we had the least time to rehearse it."
The
album was mastered at the Swedish Finnvox, known for their rather specific
sound. Weren’t you afraid to loose some of your own character
in the refining process that usually takes placing there?
”Hrmph… Finnvox is NOT Swedish, it’s Finnish and it
lies very near the Sonic Pump. It’s true they have a specific
sound. I still think our sound isn’t like the “Spinefarm”
sound or then we’ve failed tragically. The sounds don’t
change that much in the mastering unless it has been mixed very badly.
It more like opens the sound a bit, gives it the last candy on the cake.
The
“Spinefarm” sound is something we’d want to stay far
away from. It’s nothing personal and Children of Bodom have a
great sound and they’re a great band but why do we have to have
a thousand poor man’s Bodoms around here? It’s like having
one successful formula and then forcing all followers into the same.
It’s enough if it sells a half of the first one’s numbers
`cause it still sells well and you can sell it to the same people who
liked the first one. As simple as that but it really sucks."
How
important has the Internet been in spreading the word about this band,
and how do you feel about the Internet in general?
“This is my fave question… heh. It’s a great way to
communicate with people all over the world and it has been a great help
to us. There are actually quite many people all over the world who’ve
been following our evolution since 1998 and that would never have happened
without the web. I don’t see it as a terrible threat as long as
people buy those albums they really like. There’s nothing wrong
about having a free trial. You won’t get disappointed that way.
Naturally if everyone just vacuums our album from the web, we are pretty
unlikely to do another one – unless our label is a bunch of great
guys with a lot of extra money wondering how to waist it all.”
How
did you get in contact with the Rage Of Achilles label, and what is
the nature of your contract?
”Our mates Omnium Gatherum were already signed to Rage of Achilles
so we decided to send our demo to that label too. We had already been
turned down by some major companies because they thought we had no commercial
potential and our music was too complex. They all did like our shit
but didn’t consider us as a perfect tool to financial success.
ROA contacted us very soon after hearing our stuff and they loved it.
The rest is history. We signed a 2-album deal with them. The co-operation
and communication has worked out really well with them but it’s
too soon to say much more yet. “
The
album will also be released in the US in early 2004 through The End
Records.
How did that come about, and what kind of deal do you have with them?
“I actually don’t know much of that thing. The deal has
been made by ROA and The End Records.
Time will tell how things work out there but I know as much as you do.”
The
artwork for this album (as for the “Them Used Gods” demo)
was done by Tuomo at Jotun Graphics, suggesting that he does a little
more than just ‘drifting’ as is mentioned as his ‘profession’
on the band’s website?
”Well… I used to drift only but now I also study graphic
design. I’ve been interested in art and graphic design for a long
time already and I’ve also worked as a graphic designer in a small
magazine for a while. Last year I did some studies in web design and
I’ve created our website myself too. I think it’s nice to
take care of the bands visual dimension ourselves too. This way we can
avoid some of the strongest clichés around and look like we sound.
I’m glad ROA gave me the opportunity to do the covers for the
album, they liked the covers of our demo so they had no problem with
that. Hopefully I can do more of this graphic design in the future.”
By
the way, just how many opportunities are there for a band like Eleníum
to play their music in Finland?
“In Helsinki it’s been pretty easy for us to get gigs even
as a demo band but it’s not so big place so it’s not wise
to play to the same people every week. Outside Helsinki we haven’t
played too many gigs cause we don’t have a booking agency. I think
there are pretty well those gigging places in Finland at the moment
and of course we have Tuska Festival here in Helsinki, which is a very
good festival indeed. There have been artists like The Haunted, Machine
Head, In Flames, Bruce Dickinson etc. and all the biggest Finnish bands
playing there. Hopefully we can play there someday too.”
All
jokes about wiping the shit off your instruments aside, when do you
think you might get out on the road again?
Specifically, do you think a European
tour could be in the making for soon enough, and would you consider
playing in our small country of Belgium as well?
”We are going to start gigging in February here in Finland. We
have to arrange our gigs ourselves so we shall see what we can arrange.
Our dream and definitely one big goal is to get playing abroad and when
we will, I think Belgium might be on our way.”
Any
comments, life threatening advises, possibly silly things to say to
our readers?
”Thanks for the interview. Take a look at our website at: www.eleniumband.com
and buy a shitload of our albums, hahaa! Peace, love & death!”
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