Interview with Tomi Mykkänen (29 february 2004)
Q>>
Hi guys, is Finland still as cold as before? :)
A>> Well, it hasn't been really cold this year at all compared to last
year. But I see somebody considering this cold... There seems to be -10 C's
at the moment.
Q>> Just
heard your newest opus... Awesome! I remember your demo "In Thine Majesty"...
Times have changed, right?
A>> Thanks! They truly have! And for the better I think.
Q>> Jarno's
vocals are pretty cool. How did he manage to be so strong throughout the whole
album?
A>> That is somehow a mystery to me too as he did the vocals without intensive
rehearsing. He's just amazing in that. I think he's got one of the best metal
voices out there these days.
You know, the album is recorded in 2 sessions which had a year and 4 months between them. Jarno sang in the first session and the next time he sang was at the second session. So his voice is pretty natural. Gladly though he doesn't speak like that! Hahaha!
Q>> Tell
us something about the lyrics... somberness seems to be quite a recurrent theme
though the album sounds quite positive due to the nice melodic guitars...
A>> Lyrics used to be a lot more darker and black metallish on our demo
and first album "Lacrimae Mundi" than on "Wither". I also
used to write about nature and these lyrics I call "weather-reports"
earlier but this time I deliberately avoided writing those things. Of course
there are some naturally inspired lyrics also but there are more these darker,
more delving-into-human-mind kind of lyrics.
The musical content brings in the somberness and sadness which I therefore try to express with the lyrics. I usually write the song musically first so the lyrics will then be a lot more into the song's feeling.
Q>> You mastered
the album at the Finnvox. Of course... However, did they come up with a result
that entirely satisfies you? (I think it sounds great...)
A>> Well, not entirely. I'm not 110% satisfied with the general sound
and mix of the album. It could be more clearer and the instruments could come
out a bit more but it's a decent job though. The mastering is pretty good, those
things should have been made better in the mixing session, but we were in a
bit of a rush so that's why it's not perfect.
Q>> Have
you got press results yet? Is "Wither" ready to enter the top ten's
? ;)
A>> Haha! Well, I don't think our stuff is chart-approved. It seems that
here in Finland heavy music is getting bigger and smaller bands are selling
more and getting into our top-40, which is a good thing, but we're not in that
league yet. Maybe our next album, if we get it done a bit sooner than "Wither"
after "Lacrimae Mundi" (it took 5 years!).
Most of the reviews I've seen have been really positive so it gives me some reassurance for doing this thing.
Q>> Let's
talk about Tarot... Why was "Wings Of Darkness" chosen as a cover?
A>> Well, it was Jarno's idea. He wanted to cover Tarot. We were thinking
about a cover for our then to be MCD (which turned into "Wither" after
some tricky label businesses) and Jarno said that why not cover Tarot as no
one has before and it's his favourite band. So we thought about it and decided
"WoD" would be a perfect song from them. After that I called Marco
Hietala for a permission and after a while he was in the studio singing backing
vocals to his own song. That was excellent!
Q>> What's
gonna happen now? Are you gonna tour in Europe?
A>> We'll see about that. If we start selling some records over there
then maybe someone will be interested in getting us to play there. I'm hoping
that maybe some summer festivals will be interested in getting us on their bill
but we'll see about that later. Of course Crash Music must be into that too
and be ready to bring us over there. Hopefully!
I should start writing new material for our next album soon as we've thought about recording it later this year. I have most of the musical ideas and lyrical content for the album in my mind so it's just the matter of taking the guitar on my lap and start recording the ideas and building up the songs.
Q>> Weird
question: is Evemaster a hobby, a passion, both or something more?
A>> Not that weird question... it's a hobby done with passion. It has
become a lot more than before during this year as we've started playing gigs
and we're becoming a real band. It has earlier been just me and Jarno so it
hasn't been too serious before.
Q>> Write
anything you want. You may even say very bad things in Finnish ;)
A>> Thanks for the interview. Hopefully we'll see on tour someday! Check
our new album and visit our homepage.
"Älä kuule ukko ala isottelemaan miun kanssa. Sie tiijät miten siin käyp, jos aletaan koittamaa!"
RNO