Interview с Sentenced : DARKSIDE.ru

How many reporters have you been talking to today?

This is my seventh interview, but we’ve already been doing the promotion for six days. We’ve done a lot of the talking.

Oh, you must be very tired from the same questions!

Yes, but we are here to explain the reasons why we are ending it all and to talk about our last album.

We’re not going to ask you about the reasons why you’re splitting the band, as the funeral statement says they won’t be disclosed. But what kind of reaction to this news did you expect from the outside people?

We have received hundreds and hundreds of messages to our question forum on our website, and it’s been really great and overwhelming to see how much this band has meant to so many people. There’s obviously some expressions of sadness and even anger, and all those people are, of course, entitled to the feelings they have, as they have been living through our music and feeling love with the band throughout the years. There have been many ways how people are handling the end of our band.

What can you tell to the people who take the news of the band’s breakup too personally? There were already postings on your website saying something like, “How can you do this to me?!”

Those people have to understand and respect the fact that we also have a life beyond Sentenced. Personally I’m married, and I’m a father of two little boys. They have to realize that this is only the end of the band and not the end of the world.

Your funeral statement seems to be very hard about future prospects of the band. It says, “There will not be a re-union, come-back or any other pathetic soap-operish circus that seems to be in fashion these days.” Does it mean that you don’t like all the reunions that have happened lately?

Usually those reunion things don’t turn out very good. Personally I feel that those bands don’t really have to offer much musically anymore. But obviously I can only speak for our band, and to us it’s always been like: we do this band to the fullest or we don’t do it at all. At least we have tried to stick to this principle through all our career. We wouldn’t have even announced this decision if we hadn’t been sure about it. It’s not something we made up last week, we have been thinking about it and talking about it for the last two years. When my second son was born, to me that was a kind of breaking point, I really started to think what is important in my life and what I am willing to offer and sacrifice for the band.

As far as we understand, the breakup of the band has much more to do with personal than musical circumstances…

This decision has nothing to do with music. We don’t feel like we have nothing to say anymore, because things like playing live and creating music together are something that we’re gonna miss. It’s those other things that revolve around the music, such as being away from home so much, living in buses for weeks and weeks, trying to be part of this so-called rock’n’roll way of life, that have never been our cup of tea, if you know what I mean.

Let’s now pass on to the latest record “The Funeral Album”. Who is responsible for the cover art this time, and what meaning does it have?

The whole art is made by our drummer Vesa Ranta, who also did the booklet and everything for “The Cold White Light” (2002). We feel that Vesa has created a kind of vision of the music that is on “The Funeral Album”, he came up with these funeral images and pictures which are really influenced by the music that is on the CD. We wanted to have the artwork that doesn’t contain much color, that is more or less black, so that it kind of reminds of the funeral.

How

was it like writing songs and knowing that this was going to be your last album as a band?

We made the final decision last summer, and it was halfway of the writing process, so the other half of the songs was written when we already knew that it was going to be our last album. Obviously it affected the songwriting, and you can hear the ending of the band in almost every song on the CD. Recording-wise it was the hardest album mentally to do in the studio. We hadn’t experienced anything like that before, because you can only do your last album one time, and it was a really nerve-breaking thing. But still at the end when we listened to the final result, even though it was an emotional moment, it was kind of rewarding that we succeeded in expressing everything that needed to be expressed on the final album.

For “The Cold White Light” you wrote two songs. How many songs did you come up with this time?

Also two songs – “Consider Us Dead” and “Drain Me”.

By the way, we remember that before going to the studio you announced that there are 14 songs written for the album. But “The Funeral Album” only contains 13 tracks. What happened to the 14th one?

We decided that it does not really fit with the rest of the songs on the album and decided to leave it out. On every album that we have recorded there are some songs that didn’t make it to the final CD.

Will there be any bonus tracks on any limited edition of this album, or any special releases this time?

Not really. The only special thing that we’re gonna do is the final show that we’re gonna play in our hometown Oulu in September. We’re gonna record a live DVD there, and we’re gonna play for at least two hours. That’s the chance for the people who can’t come to our last show to at least watch it on the DVD. There will also be all our videos, of course, and we have a lot of material which we have recorded with our personal cameras throughout the years in the buses, backstage, in the studio and stuff like that. We will try to make it as best as possible for ourselves and also for the people who have enjoyed our music.

What additional musicians did you use on “The Funeral Album”? We heard that there was a children’s choir involved in the recording… And how did the children from the choir react when they came to the studio to record for such a thing as a funeral album?

Yeah, that was a new experience for us, too, when we had a studio full of eight- and ten-year-old boys and girls asking stupid questions and pushing every button there. (everybody laughs) It was a funny moment for us. They learned quickly what they had to sing, but obviously the first time when we put the music on through the speakers, they were like, “What is THIS?!” Nevertheless, it turned out OK. We also used nearly everything we could find in the studio kitchen, things like spoons, scissors and even zippers, to break out of this intense work in the studio and do something totally different for one day, not to concentrate on music all the time. Still we ended up using those weird sounds on the album, too.

The songs on “The Funeral Album” contain a lot of references to your older material – song titles like “Ever-Frost” and “Where Waters Fall Frozen” bring in mind the song “Awaiting The Winter Frost” and the album “Frozen” (1998). Was that intentional, and if yes, what is the meaning of such references?

Eh… (pause) I think it’s more or less subconscious. Actually we found out about those references to the past when other people outside the band pointed them to us. For example, “Where Waters Fall Frozen” is a kind of burst of anger, a one-minute dive to the roots of Sentenced, but the story behind that song is that the guys were waiting for me to show up at

the rehearsal place, and maybe they were angry with me, because I was late or something, so they started to jam on that song, and we all decided that it deserves to be on the album. It works like a shocker between two songs, nobody is expecting that. I don’t think that we did this to point out, “Hey, these are our roots, this is where we come from,” but when I listen to the album now, this is a reference to the past, to the early days of Sentenced.

Did you consider writing lyrics to “Where Waters Fall Frozen”?

We never really felt that it should be a full song. We left it the way it was at our rehearsal place – a short burst of aggression. We never had an idea to write words to it.

What videos will you shoot for this record?

We’re gonna do two videos – for the songs “Ever Frost” and “Despair-Ridden Hearts”. We’re gonna start shooting the “Ever Frost” video almost
immediately after we go back from this promotion tour – in a week or two weeks. I’m not really sure of what they will turn out to be like, because I haven’t seen the script for the videos yet, but I guess we’ll create something depressive once again. (laughs)

And will there be a single or anything like that to support the videos?

Yes, we will do singles for “Ever Frost” and “Despair-Ridden Hearts”, but I think they will be released only in Scandinavia. To us a single is not that important, we have never really cared about that, because we want the albums to be perceived as a whole, and not through a single song.

You are going to play your last show outside Finland at Germany’s Wacken Open Air in August. But why this particular place? What makes Wacken so special for you?

We have nothing but good memories of Wacken Open Air, everything is really great there playing-wise and organization-wise, and we also get to see a lot of old friends there. It’s really great for us to play there. We’re gonna record the show with our own personal video cameras, which will also happen at all the last festival shows that we’re gonna do. Maybe it’s not gonna be live stuff in its pure sense, but some behind-the-scenes things. You will see it on the DVD.

A lot of your songs contain typical Finnish humor, but a lot of people may take it very seriously. How often do you feel misunderstood outside Finland?

A lot of times. (laughs) That’s also the richness of music – people can see different kinds of meanings to it and find different kinds of feelings in it, even though we only express what we think about love, life, death, depression or whatever, and it doesn’t mean that everybody has to get the exact meaning. We get to be misunderstood a lot of times, some people might take our songs too seriously, and that’s not really healthy.

You said in a recent interview that Finns as a nation “dwell in self-pity.” But don’t you think that it’s a kind of paradox that bands from the country that dwells in self-pity now dominate the heavy metal scene?

Yeah, it’s a kind of paradox. It’s weird because dominating the scene with the depression that we as a nation contain is a kind of funny of us as Finnish people and Finnish bands. We are spreading the depression throughout the world at the moment. (laughs)

A lot of younger Finnish bands name Sentenced among their main influences. What feelings do you have when you listen to a new band and hear typical Sentenced riffs or atmosphere in their music?

It’s flattering if some young kids start a band influenced by our music. But I as a musician feel that every art form should be an expression of an artist, you should at least try to get influences from the inside, not from the outside. Still it feel

s very good if our music, career and everything mean so much to some people that it makes them start playing music or create the same kind of atmosphere. But those bands shouldn’t base their career on sounding like somebody else, they should try harder to do something on their own.

You recently participated in the recording of the new album by the band Negative “Sweet & Deceitful”. How did that happen? You do not appear frequently as a guest on albums by other bands…

Yes, that’s right, I don’t do it very often. I met Jonne, their singer, a couple of years ago at a festival. He just phoned me and asked me if I wanna do something, sing one song with him on their album. I was like, “First I have to hear the album and the song.” He sent me the demo of it, and I agreed. It was a funny experience – I flew to Helsinki for one day, sang the song and then we went to get drunk.

As simple as that? Then what is required from a band that wants to have you as a guest? Is good music the only requirement?

Yes. Basically at that moment I had nothing to do, I heard the song and it was pretty good. But I wouldn’t have done it if it had been a cheesy ballad or something, I can’t even sing ballads.

And speaking more about guest performances – Vorph, the singer from Samael, did backing vocals on your album “Down” (1996). How did you get this guy to sing on your record?

We know the Samael guys, some of us are still in contact with them through phone and e-mail. On that day they were playing a show in the same city where we were recording, so we called him up and asked him if he wants to do some shouting on our album. He was there in 30 minutes, growled something on tape and left. (laughs)

When can we expect a new album by your second band Poisonblack? As far as we understand, you are already recording it…

Yeah, it was recorded a few months ago, but it still needs some remixing, and maybe we’re gonna record three or four new songs for it. It will be out in October or later this year, so to me playing music and touring will continue for one more year, but after that I will end this part of my life completely. There won’t be a third Poisonblack album.

Does it mean that you’re going to quit the music scene altogether?

Yes.

What are you going to do then?

I’m pretty interested in producing and recording, because I have produced both Poisonblack albums. I’m kind of learning to do that, and it’s something I want to do in the future. I can’t really leave the music completely, maybe I will form a kind of therapy band, but it won’t even have to have a record deal, it will be just friends jamming and having fun.

You said that the new Poisonblack album will be heavier and have a dirtier sound. Does it mean that you are not fully satisfied with your first album “Escapextasy” (2003)?

No, it doesn’t. The way I do music is how I feel at the moment. When I wrote those new songs, I felt heavier and dirtier, so I wanted to express myself that way. It doesn’t mean that I’m unhappy with the first album, I just always try to find something new to do with music.

Both Sentenced and Poisonblack use very catchy visual images for their music – for instance, one will remember the old man from the video for “Killing Me Killing You” or the girl from the cover of “Escapextasy” even if he/she doesn’t like the music. Who is responsible for the visual aspects of your records? Do you come up with everything yourselves or are these the ideas of video directors, photographers, etc.?

No, usually the ideas come from ourselves. Of course, a good photographer can help to bring the idea alive, but

mainly the ideas come out from ourselves. We just need to use some help from professional people, who can bring those visions alive.

We remember that half a year ago a Canadian guy called Christopher said on his website that he nearly became the new singer of Poisonblack. Can you comment on this story?

(pause) After J-P (Leipaluoto, also the singer of Charon – ed.) left the band, I was still feeling that I don’t wanna do the vocals, so I made an announcement for people to send me their tapes. Christopher was the best one of all those, but I was still writing songs for the new album at that time. Soon they were getting heavier and dirtier, and this guy’s voice is not the right kind to bring out those lyrics and everything. I tried it out myself a couple of times at the rehearsal place, and we all felt that my vocals would fit better. Then I e-mailed this guy, “I’m sorry, but this is the way it’s gonna be, and he was really angry and spreading shit about me in the Internet. But it’s his problem, I don’t really give a fuck.

We remember him saying that your label Century Media prevented him from joining the band…

That’s bullshit.

OK, but in general, how much are the record label and the producer involved in shaping your records?

The record company has nothing to do with it. The producer is the guy who helps us do the best that we possibly can in the studio, he helps us with the sounds and all that, but all the music is done before we go to record it, so nobody shapes it except us. With Hiili Hiilesmaa, who produced our last few albums, if we give 150 percent in the studio, Hiili will kick us for the rest 50 percent, if you know what I mean.

If you had had to record “The Funeral Album” with your previous producer Waldemar Sorychta, would it have been different?

Yes. I have nothing against Waldemar, he’s really good and professional in what he does, and he’s also a very good friend of ours, but this is our third album with Hiili, and we have also become good friends. He knows the way we do music and work in the studio, he also knows what we want to express through our music, so he was a natural and obvious choice for this last album. And he was also kind of honored and really worked hard to get this thing done properly.

Looking back at your time with Sentenced, what do you consider the highlights and the lowest points of your career?

Oh, that’s a hard one. I think every album in a way is a kind of highlight, and the good moments are every time you finish an album and you listen to it for the first time. Of course, we also remember some really good shows, so it’s really hard to point out any particular event. And as to bad moments, now when I look at them, I can laugh about them, and they don’t really feel that bad anymore. It’s just how life is, you can’t experience only good things, there have to be bad things too. To bring out one or two highlights is not really possible.

And do you regret doing or not doing anything with the band?

Not really, because every experience we have gone through made us as we are, as a band and also as persons. It would be a waste of time and energy to start to regret anything, because you can’t go back and change it anyway. I won’t waste any time even on thinking about this stuff, it’s just experience that you go through in life.

There were plans for Sentenced to come to Russia a few years ago, but that never happened. Is there still a chance that you will play a gig in Moscow or St. Petersburg before you break up?

Our management is still booking the shows, so the shows that are on our website are not everything that we will do. The album isn’t out yet, but we have told our management that we wanna play in as many countries as possible. I remember that Russian thing, we were ready to go, but it all went down because of this business side, this money thing or whatever. That’s also a part of the music business that I really hate – everything revolves around money way too much.

Special thanks to Gerrit Mohr (Century Media Records) for arranging this interview

Roman Patrashov, Natalie Khorina
April 18, 2005
27 май 2005 the End

Sentenced

Killing Me, Killing You