LIE IN RUINS (Eng.)
– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with LIE IN RUINS?
Ave! Everything is going as expected. We have started to rehearse for the upcoming live shows. And of course we are eagerly waiting for the vinyl version of the album as well, but these days all the vinyl pressings tend to always be late.
– First off, the band was formed under the name of DISSECTED and you later changed it to LIE I RUINS. How and why did you pick this name for the band?
We thought there was need to change the name already because of Dissection but also because it was a new era for the band. The name itself has many meanings and I think it’s evolving year by year. With the latest album it can be described as the holy kingdoms lie in ruins.
– You have just released your latest album, entitled «Towards Divine Death». What are your expectations on this opus? And how is its feedback being so far?
So far the feedback has been more than praising. The only criticism pretty much has been concerning the length but that we expected anyway. Hopefully the audience will find the album also and with their support we can do tours outside Finland as well. So, we are carefully hopeful.
– Digging deeper into this opus; what did you want to depict with its cover?
The art itself was inspired by the title and it represents devastation of a heavenly kingdom. All the art inside the booklet was inspired by the lyrics and there are a lot of cool details to spot. It goes hand in hand with the lyrics and music as on earlier releases. Having an artist in your band makes these things easy to achieve and the connection is stronger in my opinion.
– Have been five years since your debut album, «Swallowed by the Void» came out. What have you been up to in the meanwhile?
We’ve done some gigs and the writing process of Towards… took a while. Actually, the album was recorded almost a year ago and at first we aimed for 2013 release but it was better we didn’t rush it anyway. We all also have other bands we are involved with. That’s always a bit of a balancing act when you have several bands on the side but so far we have managed to pull through it without any major conflicts. I don’t think the new album would have been out any sooner even if we didn’t have all these other bands.
– And how could you say has the band evolved throughout these last years? It personally feels to me like this is a really mature album.
Nice to hear it sounds mature to someone else’s ears as well. The basic elements, like eerie melodies and crushing riffs, are still there but I think we took a bigger leap to deeper waters throughout the years. I mean better compositions even though it means lengthier songs and pitch black atmosphere overall.
– The album’s length is of 70 minutes, divided in 9 different tracks, which is more than your previous release. Was this something planned or did it just come out naturally? Could you say taking more time with them help to develop them a little bit more?
Both. Some songs need their space to evolve and that’s what we gave ‘em. This time we got rid of the basic verse-chorus-verse-chorus type of song writing and it pays off. This album needs your full attention. It’s not an album that you can blast on with a bunch of your friends necessarily. But when you get sucked into the void, enjoy the ride. At least we are really pleased to the outcome.
– Anyway your basics haven’t changed: old school Death Metal with Swedish influences. Why this isn’t a really prolific style in Finland?
Is that so? I thought we had finally got rid of the comparisons to swedeath. Anyway I think typical Finnish death metal has always been bit more morbid and
twisted compared to Swedish death metal. And this type of melancholy and twistedness suites Finnish people better. We are quite an introverted nation which has a totally different way of thinking than the usual rock star attitude in Sweden, hah. Despite the obvious culmination, the cornerstone between these two genres is more about the tone than anything else.
– This has been your first album with Dark Descent after working with Spinefarm. Dark Descent isn’t in Europe as well-known as Spinefarm so, what are the pros and cons of working with a smaller company?
So far just pros. Spinefarm was way too big a label for us and their present knowledge about the underground movement is near zero. So, we are really pleased to be part of the Dark Descent roster. And even though the label is based in the States, they have way better distribution in Europe compared to Spinefarm (ug wise). We’ll see how this companion continues but as I said, so far it feels right move for us.
– All this about «Towards Dvine Death» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Suffocating darkness unbounded
– And finally, what are your near-future plans? How does 2014 look like for LIE IN RUINS?
Already touched on this a bit in the first question. We are rehearsing for the upcoming album release gigs and what is really exciting is that we have already started to compose some new material as well. All in all the future looks interesting.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thank you for the interview. Death to all divine!
