IN SOLITUDE (Eng.)
– Hello, lots of thanks for answering our interview. How is everything going into the IN SOLITUDE’s camp right now?
We just came back from the American tour actually, and we’re all quite overwhelmed with impressions. And at the moment, I’m trying to turn off as many lights as possible.
– You have just released your new album, «Sister». How does it feel holding it finally in your hands? How are you feeling toward the final outcome?
I had lived with the final results of music and artwork for nearly five months without holding it. On the inside and around me. Listening to it, and going through the visuals. But to finally have the thing in my hands was the pinnacle of the process that I had desperately waited for. And my feelings towards the final outcome of the album are entirely wonderful. I think it turned out exactly how we had planned. Usually there might be details that get distorted in the process, but this time everything came out great. It’s the closest we’ve come.
– After giving the album several spins, listening to it with attention, I feel like it has a rockier basis than your two previous releases. What are your thoughts on this? It seems like your constant growth has, in a subtle way, make you land in a slightly different direction.
Well, your expression develops simultaneously with you as a person. And our approach is constantly changing with us. We’ve probably refined our methods quite a bit. But there’s an element of loosing control in there as well, that is really important. There’s definitely a strong distinctness about the songs that is very much in tune with us. More so than before, if you ask me.
– In fact I also think this is your most diverse release ever. There are certain moments that remind me to 80’s Goth Rock, passajes at the Nick Cave style, or PINK FLOYD-like nuances, also really epic, quite Heavy/Doom US, parts, or resemblances to 70’s NWOBHM, even Black Metal riffs. You blend all this around a really traditional Heavy Metal basis. Do you think right now people into Rock/Metal music are open-minded and willing to embrace so many different sounds and textures? As you seem to like to a really varied audience, and I personally thought nowadays most metalheads were quite narrow-minded.
I personally don’t like to generalize things like that. And I dont have any general opinion on where people into Rock/Metal music are at at the moment. I really don’t see any point in doing that. But there is definitely a misconception about ‘tradition’ at times, if you ask me. I mean, I personally feel that we are carrying on a lot of what we’ve learned from older Heavy Metal bands when it comes to their way with things. To always take things further. But to be honest with you, I really don’t think about these things too much. The whole detour of putting everything in stark contrast to everything else and finding it’s place culturally in order to genuinly grasp it. That feels like a waste of time if you ask me. Hopefully some people are taken by the album in a special way, thats whats important to me.
– To me your music has always been driven by emotions, but this new «Sister» feels specially visceral to me. I guess is just because maybe is strongly linked to a personal growth/transofrmation?
For me it had to do with the fact that we really reached something that was genuinly visceral to us. And that we were doing exactly what we needed to do while at the same time loosing control over it in a way.
– In fact on your albums everything works as a whole, everything seems to be equally important. And everything, lyrics, artwork, etc., is open for different interpretations depending on how and who is reading them, though I have always thought your lyrics show quite a lot of your inner self. Does it fear your the fact some people may be won’t understand what your actually wanted to express with the whole «concept» behind IN SOLITUDE or behind an album by the band? Or is it rather positive that everyone finds its o way on your lyrics for instance?
First of all, I dont write lyrics to express «a concept». I write lyrics in order to translate certain things that are urgent to me. And these things will inevitably have very different affects and consequenses depending on who’s reading them. And this is how it should be. In the end these things are subjective in nature and I find it very gratifying that they’ll mean different things to different people. I mean, a lot of art is being made once its out of the artists hands. When other people connect the dots according to their personal sentiments.
– You have always been compared, I think because of the dark aura, to MERCYFUL FATE, but also to IRON MAIDEN. I think on «Sister» we can’t find that much those guitar/galloping rhythmn that could remind to MAIDEN, and I haven’t foud those atmospheres that evoked anything that King Diamond has done. Do you think with this new opus you will show, more than ever, you are just IN SOLITUDE? Could you say you have managed to solidify your own essence for most of your listeners?
There was definitely a feeling of reaching a place where things were just In Solitude and nothing else. But then again, I think we felt like that on the two first albums as well. But on the first two there was an element of finding our way, I guess, which was more apparent there. But to me, this has very little to do with Iron Maiden or Mercyful Fate influences. The process of finding that place has far more to do with us as people playing together and not what we’ve been listen to outside of that.
– It caught my attention there are no harsh vocals on the album. Why did you feel they weren’t necessary on the record?
It was nothing we though about actually. And now when you say it, its actually nothing I’ve thought about at all up until now. So I guess it wasnt necessary. I mean, if it would have been, it would have been there in the first place.
– As I said earlier, you are a really emtional band, maybe even spiritual. Due to this I think musically we can only expect the unexpected from you, still being iN SOLITUDE but, can you foresee the direction a next album will make you head to?
No, not at all. And to me thats a wonderful thing. I mean, we know what we’re aiming at, but we can never foresee how it’ll sound.
– The first single for the album was the title track, «Sister», which I think is one of the strongest songs on the album, and a track that sums up quite good what this album and IN SOLITUDE is all about, as «Inmost Nigredo» but, why did you decide this song should be the first single off the new CD?
I cant remember our reasoning exactly when we were talking about releasing it first, but there is definitely something about that song that feels sort of representative for the sensibilities of the album. Then again, when you hear the rest of the songs you’ll realize quite fast that the album is quite diverse and that there’s many more sides to it as well.
– For your previous «The World. The Flesh. The Devil» you did an awesome video for «To Her Darkness». Are there plans for a video for any tune of the new album?
There are some forces aiming for that, but I’m personally not interested in doing that at all for this album. And I’m not sure if I really wanted to at first with «To her darkness» either, but eventually that one really worked out and it was an interesting process. But a lot of things have a tendency to get lost in such a translation and I’m not sure if thats something I want to do again. As I’m writing this, I dont think so.
– All this about «Sister» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Change my mind.
– Last August I had the chance of seeing you on stage on the WATAIN’s new album release show, also with DEGIAL. Three bands from Uppsala with different music styles. In fact it’s surprising the great amount of Metal bands hailing from that city. Is there some kind of «brotherhood» feeling between Uppsala Metal bands? As most of them share the same members.
To me, its really about the group of people that surrounds me and not as much about Metal music per se. The important thing is what we gain from eachother. This incorporates a numbers of bands, like Reveal, Degial, Watain, No Future and Vorum (in which most members live in Uppsala and the rest are here frequently) and so forth. I mean, we’re a very close-knit group of people that share a lot of the same obsessions and sensibilities when it comes to most things in life.
– And next October you will be playing with WATAIN again, touring the US. How are you feeling about it? This won’t be your first time over there so, are there any real difference between the American and European crowd?
We just came back from that tour and it was a really amazing adventure. There is definitely a difference between the crowds to some degree, but it’s really hard to put once finger on what it is. I guess the whole thing is not as centered around Metal-culture per se in America, and there is a very diverse crowd in overall compared to how it is in Europe. To me thats great. Not that its better than anything else, but its always interesting to play for diverse crowds.
– And after that, are there any plans of touring Europe? In fact it has been a while since you haven’t come to Spain, any chance of seeing you anytime soon around here? As the interest for IN SOLITUDE seems to be increasing really fast.
I definitely hope so. The last gig we did in Spain was something very special to us that we talked a lot about for a long time afterwards. So we really want to come back. As far as Europe goes, we’re going on a tour in early 2014.
– 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.
