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INTERVIEWS
GUESTBOOK
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DOOM DEATH FROM FINLAND -
Interview
October 2011
1. Hello! SOLOTHUS is a new band, so a little introduction could be a nice idea... What kind of metal do you play, and what should the readers know about you?
Solothus: Greetings! We are an Old School Death/Doom Metal band. We started out already in the year 2007, but due to a lot of different reasons and members living far apart, we weren’t really that active… But in the year 2010, our guitarist moved to the same city with the rest of the members, so we put on a whole new gear and the metal has flown without a stop after that!
2. Your first demo "Ritual of the Horned Skull" will be released in few days... What could the metallic listeners expect from this first recording? How do the inner entrails recollected and gathered for this first release taste, and under which format will this be materialized?
Solothus: “Ritual
of the Horned Skull” will have three songs of Death/Doom Metal.
One song is a bit faster and the rest doomier. The process went
pretty naturally, we first wrote songs that we deemed great, then
went to the studio and now will have it released as a CD. Other
formats haven’t been thought about yet. We shall see. But you can
expect something morbid, fetid and putrid coming from the speakers.
3. Since your band name means something like "And so, you're in solitude", one could wonder what are the reasons for this solitude... Is it about decease, volunteer social reclusion, or it's simply the usual state of mind in Finland?
Solothus: Haha, this we find interesting, for the name doesn’t actually mean anything; it does come from somewhere, but that is a secret for now. It is great that people can interpret it the way they do, as you found the meaning of solitude in the name. We will promise to reveal the secret when we have been around for 30 years.
4. Did the members of the SOLOTHUS play in other bands before, or is this your first serious band with a recording? Maybe you occurred to change name a few years ago? Some of my readers are voracious for this kind of infos, and like to locate musicians in space and time, so it could be a nice idea to satisfy their curiosity...
Solothus: Vocalist,
bassist and guitarist have had bands before Solothus, but all do
consider that this is their first and most important band. And this
is our first serious recording, with all of us combining our efforts
and creating the music. Not just playing some other people's songs.
As stated, we started around 2007, we had several different names,
until later that year when we decided to stick to Solothus. But
we do consider 2010 to be the year when Solothus really was formed
or at least got active. So, sadly, no long histories with different
bands.
5. You're influenced by Death metal, but in your songs there's no use of fast parts or no double bass drums: This genre mostly materializes for the low vocals and some guitars... It's something a bit surprising for a doom death band, or does it show the evidences of some holes in my doomy knowledge? :) I remember the first doom death records of MY DYING BRIDE or PARADISE LOST had these elements...
Solothus: Well, we just can’t play fast! Heh. No, just kidding. It’s not something that we came up with intentionally. The songs just turned out like that. We prefer the crushing doom feeling in our songs, but we do like some faster stuff too! We may reveal to you already that the new tracks do have a bit of double bass drumming.
6. Would you say you're musically, or spiritually, influenced by the old Finnish Death metal bands from the 90's? Most didn't play pure Doom, but some of them had quite good doomy parts, with low tuned guitars and some interesting atmospheres...
Solothus: Definitely! Bands like Abhorrence, Rippikoulu and Demigod are awesome! Especially Rippikoulu with their doomier parts. A big influence to us for sure. We always thought that old Finnish death metal bands really had the right sound!
7. Some of your lead guitars and small epic touches remind me of PARADISE LOST (The pre "Draconian times" era... Maybe rather "Shades of god"). Would you say you listened to this band, or is it a coincidence?
Solothus: Paradise Lost is not really an inspiration to us. Not really a band that we tend to listen to, so any similar feel is just a mere coincidence. We too think that the epic touches are there. The songs we are now creating may have even more epic feeling in them. We think that bands like Candlemass have inspired us to put these “epic” riffs in our songs. We even thought about covering “At the Gallows End”, but it fell apart. We didn’t want to rape the songs of such a great, legendary and influential band!
8. There exists many sub-genres in the doom world, from the early Sabbath influenced records to the most recent funeral stuffs... Which ones would you say are your favorite? Do you enjoy monolithic stuffs like WINTER, or do you need a bit more of class and melody à la early CANDLEMASS?
Solothus: As
we earlier said… Candlemass is a huge influence! We prefer our doom
to be something between that traditional sound to death/doom. To
name a few, we have to say bands like Asphyx, Cianide, Autopsy,
Runemagick, Cathedral etc. Also newer bands like Hooded Menace and
Druid Lord are great! Whenever a band introduces keyboards, violins
and some weepy stuff, we lose interest. As long as the band keeps
the sounds heavy, epic, crushing, twisted, raw or ugly, we are happy!
9. How is the metal scene in Finland? Are there some cool bands to discover, and are you in touch with other cool Doom bands?
Solothus: We haven’t really made any gigs yet, so we haven’t met any other doom bands. But to name some, we have to say Cataleptic and Ever Circling Wolves. They both have great stuff! Cataleptic's vocalist/guitarist sang some backing vocals on our demo. They are also releasing their first full-length sometime in the future. Check that out. Awesome, a bit more melodic doom. Ever Circling Wolves have a rougher sound. Very good too. We believe they are releasing something too in the near future.
10. Some of your guitars could remember of some black metal... Is this genre a part of your likings, or would it be due to the guitar sound during the sorrowful arpeggios?
Solothus: We have been listening to a lot of black, death and doom metal bands among others, but we would rather say that the sound of the guitars (be it leads, melodies or rhythms) are all a mix of influences we have gathered throughout our lives. All members do enjoy good black metal though!
11. How old are the members of the band? I would say you're still at school, or left studies a few years ago... Is your everyday life rather made of avoiding school, listening to a lot of music, or working in the frozen Finnish mountains (Or something else)?
Solothus: We are all between 21 to 23 years old. 3 out of 4 members are at the moment in working life. One member still studies. We try to spend as much time listening to music, playing music and going to gigs as possible. Sometimes boring life just comes in the way of heavy meta…
12. Conservative against original modern music, which is the winner?
Solothus: Old
school all the way! Modern “über technical“ music has nothing
to offer to us. It is just boring and lame. We aren’t interested
in hearing how fast or good you are at playing a million notes in
a second. Seems like many bands just try to compete with each other.
13. If I tell you "Doom with blastbeats", what do you answer? Do you think it could be good?
Solothus: It can be good when made right! We don't have current plans to add real blastbeats into our music. Just some faster stuff. More like mid tempo, when compared to real fast death metal bands.
14. What are the future plans of the band? Feel free to tell us more about something, and conclude... In a doomy mood.
Solothus: “Ritual
of the Horned Skull” will be released 31.10.2011. After that we
will actively start looking for gigs. There is also a couple of
split releases planned. New music is in the making. The demo has
gotten very good feedback so far. Let’s see how people will like
it when it is really out.
Thanks a lot for the interview! This
was our very first one so far. Nice experience indeed.
Remember
to stay DOOMED!
http://http://www.myspace.com/solothus
