1. Lantern
is born from the ashes of Cacodaemon. Why did you decide to leave Cacodaemon
and create Lantern in 2007? How were the early Lantern?
After 10 years of musical apprenticing with
Cacodaemon, the ranks started to loosen up just a bit too much, so to say. The
consensus, the focus and the interest of the group started to wane, and I – as
the solemn dictator, hah – then decided to put the band to rest and start from
a clean slate. So Cacodaemon died a natural death, one could state. And not too
long after that, I and our vocalist Necrophilos breathed life into a new entity
called Lantern, and the first songs and the first demo were scraped together in
2007 in a rather improvisational manner. The way the early creations of Lantern
were put together was very chaotic, but eventually things shaped up into what
they are now.
2. You have
just published "Below" How was the writing process for this album?
How will the arregláis to work in the studio when recording the different
parts?
The songs that ended up on "Below"
were written between 2007 and 2011… basically from our birth to the beginning
of the album drum recordings. Some songs took four years to be completed, while
some were finished in one day (although a riff or two might have been lingering
around for some time). Eventually all the material that would create this
extremely uniform piece of deathly metal fell into place like the pieces of a
puzzle, and we started to record the drums. However, as to our always at least
partially improvisational style of working, the songs were not fully complete when
we entered the studio, but came perfected while they were being recorded. This
pretty much sums up how the rest of the recordings went, as well: each song was
chiseled to better precision one instrument / vocal track at a time.
3. How has
the band's sound evolved over the years? Do you think your music although there
are still some residue of old school death, whenever it is true that increases
the weight of black metal?
As said, the first demo was very loosely built,
and we didn’t know what to expect when we entered the studio. Still, “Virgin
Taste…” ended up showing many of the qualities that persist in Lantern’s music today:
a mix of death and black metal with a touch of doom and even heavy metal…
something pretty hard to describe! While crafting "Subterranean
Effulgence", our sound began to evolve toward something more stable and
uniform… and when we got to work on "Below", I think the last style-wise
piece ultimately clicked in place.
So although the keyword with Lantern is death
metal, the black metal element (alongside the slightly less obvious doom, heavy
etc. ones) has always been there, very strongly even. “Manifesting Shambolic
Aura”, for example, is the first song ever written for Lantern, thus representing
our essence more than well. However, I feel like the borders of death, black and
whatever metal are becoming even harder to recognize in Lantern’s music, at
least when judging the new songs I have at hand right now.
4.
Convulse, Abhorrence, Entombed, in my point of view are bands with certain
similarities to Lantern. What are your main influences? What do you think about
the trajectory of the aforementioned bands?
Stuff like Possessed, old Morbid Angel and
Therion, Necrosanct, Samael, Mercyful Fate, Dark Throne and so forth could be
listed here. From Finnish bands, Demigod, Beherit, Belial and Impaled Nazarene affected
my works especially back in the day. Some of the old progressive rock wave has
also inspired me regarding how music can be written and especially how certain boundaries
can be broken. Nowadays it’s harder for me to pinpoint where my influences come
from, as the things that inspire me currently come from inside of me and not
that much from the outside.
As for the trajectory of Convulse, Abhorrence
and Entombed, I think all of them have aged relatively well. They’re not as
deadly as they were in the early 90’s, but I think no one should expect one to
keep their most primal edge after, what, 20 years.
5.
Regarding the death scene of Finland, what can you tell us about the scene?
The death metal scene is very functional with
lots of good bands and especially lots of good people in it. A grand hail to
all the great personnel – you know who you are! Of course the scene isn’t
restricted to just death metal; black, doom, heavy and thrash metal maniacs
blend in the same way.
6. The
theme of the lyrics revolve around The lyrical theme journeys unto death and
undeath, mysticism of existence and afterlife - and all that is hidden in
between. Could you elaborate a bit on these concepts, which mean to you?
The near-death experience I had in 2000 changed
my values and my perspectives towards death, dying and life itself. So since
then my lyrics have drawn inspiration from what I saw and felt, what I was left
contemplating and so forth. It’s sketching an abstract inner landscape on
canvas, trying to describe my visions about death and the planes of existence.
Some of my other texts affiliate with plain
horror topics and unspeakable visions, but sometimes contain a “side rail” of
sorts; an alternative meaning concealed within the obvious context.
7. What
reasons led you to be a musician in the first place? Are they still valid
today? What is your opinion today at Finnish extreme scene?
I’ve been playing an instrument since, hmm,
1993 or so, guitar from 1995, so I could say it just started from a kid’s hobby
of learning how to play something. And when my personal musical preferences
began to develop together with playing skills, I started to create music
somewhat similar to my liking, which was metal at the time. And here we are…
still composing metal music.
8. Who designed the cover of Below? How does
the cover to the music or the band?
Alexander “Bad News” Brown from New Zealand designed
the cover, the same guy who nailed the “Subterranean Effulgence” EP art. The
front cover art compiles much of the album’s lyrical (especially from “Rites of
Descent” and “Entrenching Presences”) and thematic content, while the booklet
has some references to the way the whole piece progresses. It’s a complex
piece, and like with everything else, I endorse the listener / viewer to plunge
into the details and find further meanings from it.
9. How do
these first concerts being presented "Below"? Is it very difficult to
get musicians for concerts?
If you mean our album release shows in May
2013, they were a blast. Our current set-list contains quite a bit of “Below”
material beside a few older songs, and I think they work well when played live.
In Finland, the whole live show scene is
relatively advanced with great organizers like KRK around. There’s no problem
getting gigs, if you just play good music and work with a humble attitude.
Still, outside the biggest Finnish cities, venues that are both decent and
supporting metal events seem to be growing less, which is a problem. But still:
where there’s a will, there’s a way.
10.
"Below" is published through Dark Descent Records, Death orientation
States. How did this collaboration? Do you feel comfortable in Dark Descent
Records? To be continued in the future publishing your material through it?
Collaborating with Dark Descent Records has
been a satisfactory experience. Imagine working with a good pal, who just does
his part with utter professionalism and passion… not only for music, or metal
music, but YOUR music. I could not wish for nor demand any better conditions
than what Dark Descent Records have offered. And what comes to the future, we
have not discussed anything yet. But hypothetically, I can’t see why we
wouldn’t collaborate with Dark Descent in the future, if we only manage to keep
composing worthy material.
11. What
next steps will Lantern, in terms of new releases, concerts, etc ...?
We’re currently composing new songs and trying
to figure out fitting concepts for them. So release-wise we’re merely planning
new schemes. Gigs are more than welcome at the moment, and we actually have a couple
of more Finnish shows agreed on but not officially announced for autumn 2013. Playing
abroad is the next big step we’d like to take some time in the (near) future.
12. Thank
you very much for your time, if you want to add something for people who like
Lantern, this is the place, thanks. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Thanks for the interview and your interest in
Lantern!
