– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with IN VAIN?

Hi and thanks for the interview! Currently we are very busy rehearing with both Solefald and In Vain for our upcoming gigs at the Inferno Festival. But the rehearsals are going smooth. We have also spent a lot of time doing promo for our new album ‘Ænigma’, answering interviews and so forth.

– First off, as I guess there may be some people who aren’t familiar with you yet; could you please share some history of the band?

In Vain was founded by Andreas and I in 2003. Back then I was a student at a music school and there was a project in one of the classes which implied that everyone had to record a song in the school’s own recording studio. The first song we recorded was ‘As I Wither’, and in 2004 we dropped our first EP, ‘Will the Sun Ever Rise’. In 2005 we released our second EP ‘Wounds’ and were subsequently signed to Indie Recordings. Our debut album ‘The Latter Rain’ was released in 2007 and ‘Mantra’ was dropped in 2010. Our latest opus, ‘Ænigma’, was released in March this year. We will go on our third European Tour in April together with Solefald and Vreid. We will also play plenty of other shows and festivals this year to promote ‘Ænigma’.

 

– You have just released your new album, entitled «Ænigma», what are your expectations on it? And how is its feedback being so far?

The feedback so far has been excellent, both from fans and critics. The consensus seems to be that this album is just as good, or even better than our debut album ‘The Latter Rain’, an album which many of our fans consider as their favorite.

 

– I think with this album you’ve been through an obvious evolution compared to your previous «Mantra», which mas more progressive oriented. On «Ænigma» there are more Doom/Death elements still without loosing completely that prog side, maybe delving deeper into melodic Black/Death. Was this a choosen path or do you just let things flow?

We did not have a concrete plan, but we had a desire of making some shorter songs as well instead of having an album stacked with only long songs. Our focus was also on trying to make the songs as effective as possible, chopping off any kind of dead meat. This was the first time we were actually able to do a pre-production so we made many adaptations to the songs. Some songs were actually split into two. Additionally, I had a desire to write some faster songs this time around. On Mantra you will not find that many tremolo picking oriented guitar riffs, but on ‘Ænigma’ this is present on many songs.

 

– Anyway you have always been on constant evolution so, do you think there’s also room for growth? And, as you have always brought new elements in, do you have any musical limit?

In Vain will always be a metalband, but I think there is always room for new elements in our music. However, we have already done a lot of different things on our albums so far, so I am not sure if we can come up with something completely new every time. The idea of In Vain is not to change style on every album, but to make varied and long-lasting songs that are inpendent of each other.

 

– I personally think on «Ænigma» we can find your essence condensed, which I believe makes easier leaving impact on your listener. Have you considered this? I mean, I guess it may be pleasant to see more people getting into your music, but if you’d want to make a living out of music you won’t be playing Metal.

I agree with you. Metal will never be music for the masses. But this time we have tried to make the songs a bit more “easy listening” without making any compromises to our sound. The songs are still complex and varied, but we have tried to make them more catchy and accessible.

 

– Due to this blend of different music styles, if you don’t mind I would like you to tell us what have been some of the most influential bands/genres for IN VAIN.

Some of my all-time favorite metal bands: In the Woods…, Emperor, Opeth and Extol. Besides that I listen to all kinds of music.

 

– It caught my attention the fact this is your shortest album but having more songs. Was something planned to make tunes shorter?

Yes. As mentioned previously, we wanted also to have some shorter songs on this album. In fact, I wanted the album to be no more than 50 min, because releasing albums at 60 min is not always the smartest thing. However, the rest of the band did not agree on which song that should be scrapped.

 

– The band’s musicians have been choosen to be the live band for SOLEFALD for their first tour since 1999. I guess that’s the reason of having them on the album?

We have thought about having them as guests before, but we did not find suitable songs/parts. This time we wanted new guests and Cornelius and Lazare were natural choices.

 

– Your music is really powerful, and I think you’ve got a mix/production that depicts that perfectly. In fact the album was mixed and produced by seasoned Jens Bogren. Are you satisfied with the work done by him?

Yeah I think Jens did a very good job and delivered what we had agreed upon. We wanted a powerful, yet crystal clear sound and Bogren understood this perfectly. We had a very smooth cooperation with him.

 

– On the other hand, the superb cover artwork manages to keep the watcher’s attention but, could you tell us how did you work on it and what did you want to reflect with it?

The designer, Robert Høyem, did a really good job and understood where we wanted to go. We gave him key words describing the kind of feeling/atmosphere we wanted. Additionally, we sent him covers that we liked so he had a better visual idea. We agreed to avoid the typical “photoshop cover”, but decided to go for a hand drawn cover this time around.

 

– All this about «Ænigma» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?

Original, diverse and long-lasting.

 

– And finally; what are your near-future plans?

We are playing the Inferno festival in Oslo very soon. From the 4-17 April we will tour Europe together with Vreid and Solefald. Besides that we will do a lot of other gigs and festivals this year.

 

– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.

Thanks a lot for the interview and the review. It is highly appreciated!

 

Sergio Fernández

sergio@queensofsteel.com

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