SOURCE – Congratulations on your fantastic album, The Bereaved. Could you please tell us a little about it? What is your strongest memory from the recording process?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – Thank you! Musically, we wanted to expand the horizon a bit, to make different kinds of songs that still sound like they are coming from the same band, and we wanted this to show in the story as well. The theme is death and letting go of someone or something important. As we all know, these sorts of topics have been thoroughly explored in metal. It seemed fitting to challenge ourselves a bit and see if we could add something to the mix. Our take was to concentrate on the many different aspects and emotions of grieving.
The recording felt like an exploration. We did everything we possibly could ourselves, so there was a lot of new stuff to learn, and a lot of unease as well.
SOURCE – When I interviewed you in 2023 for the release of Auer [https://www.sourcewebzine.com.br/marianas-rest/], I noticed that you shared extensive information about the bands that influenced you during the process, including detailed insights into the songwriting behind Auer. For The Bereaved, which new bands have influenced you in the creation of a new album?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – Well, lately we have mostly been listening to Scooter. Hopefully you can’t hear it on the album, though. All of us have our own tastes, so it’s difficult for me to say what the influences were regarding the other guys. Listening to it afterwards, I hear some Finnish “iskelmä” in the guitars, which is a new thing, I guess. Iskelmä is this sort of schlager-type of music that is typically melancholic and pretty popular in Finland.
SOURCE – The album cover of The Bereaved is often the first visual element fans encounter. What message or emotion were you hoping the artwork would convey?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – We hoped it would have a mystic feel to it, you know, to represent the different sides of death and the emotions that come with it. But we could only hope, since we actually let the artist, Kjetil Karlsen, decide how it should look. We just gave him the story, lyrics, and the songs, and he got to paint the picture from them. We are very happy and proud of the results. I find something new in the covers every time I look at them.
SOURCE – What role does technology play in your music creation process, and how do you stay up to date with evolving tools and software?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – If you are asking about AI, we use none of that stuff regarding the music or album art. Well, I guess some parts of the recording software use AI internally, but we will leave it at that. I think AI has its uses, but I don’t want it to take space away from the real creative process or people whose livelihood depends on it.
That being said, it’s a good thing to keep up with where things are going and what kind of possibilities new tech brings. Luckily, some of the guys understand that stuff. I can only press “rec” and “stop.”
SOURCE – You recently filmed some videos for the tracks “The Colour of You,” “Diamonds in the Rough,” and “Again Into the Night.” Could you tell us a little bit about them?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – We made every video with a different director. Maybe that turned out to be a good thing, since each video has its own unique vibe. “The Colour” and “Again” are emotionally dark and hopeless. “Diamonds” is the silver lining in the dark clouds. We had a lot of fun doing the videos, and all of them turned out better than we had hoped.
SOURCE – Do you feel that music videos still hold the same cultural influence today, or has their significance changed with the rise of streaming platforms and the dominance of short-form content?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – Times have changed since MTV and broadcast music videos, but I hold them in high value no matter what the platform. The sheer quantity has made it harder to stand out, and I hope that pushes creators to find new creative solutions. If you know what you are doing, an iPhone might be all the equipment you need. On the other hand, money is scarce, so you might have to do the video with an iPhone even if you don’t know what you are doing. I am interested to see where the music video industry will go next.
SOURCE – Streaming platforms like Spotify have dramatically changed how music is consumed. How has your relationship with these platforms evolved over the years, and do you feel they’ve had a positive impact on your career?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – It’s really hard to say if streaming platforms have been a plus or a minus for us, since I can’t look into a different timeline. It’s probably safe to say that we would have a much smaller audience in many parts of the world, so it has definitely helped us spread the word. At the same time, I find the income distribution to be a bit unfair. Now, with the rampage of different types of AI “bands,” there are a lot of problems to solve if we want to have a healthy artist community in the future.
SOURCE – What are your plans for connecting with fans following the album’s release and the end of its promotional cycle?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – Live connections are the best, so we are very keen to get this show on the road. We start with the home turf here in Finland and advance to Europe in spring. After that, we hope to get to other parts of the world as well. Maybe Brazil?
SOURCE – Beyond album promotion, what other plans do you and the rest of the band have?
Jaakko Mäntymaa (Vocals) – Well, we have already started to write new demos, so there’s always that. I hope to get to skiing, skating, and enjoying the Finnish winter. Cheers for the interview!
Photo Credit: Lassi Karhulahti
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