SOURCE – Congratulations on the new album, Firebride. How much planning went into it? Were these songs you had been playing around with for a while or was the process much quicker?
Riku (Vocals) – Thank You! Writing process started almost right after the release of the first album “Lightbringer” In 2018 and we were making riffs and building raw songs in between gigs and tours. And actually, at first we decided which kind of mood we wanted soundwise and the overall theme lyrically supporting that feeling. All the songs on “Firebride” were freshly made for this recording and it took about a year from the start to finish, all the way to the studio when it was recorded. In general, we write stuff all the time and we simply make a schedule on when we want to start making new songs for the next release.
SOURCE – With the new album was it a conscious decision on a musical level not simply to repeat the previous album Lightbringer but to actually explore even more creative possibilities?
Riku (Vocals) – Yes, you nailed it perfectly!
It really was our main goal to do a different kind of second album and NOT to copy everything we did on the debut album because it would have been an easier way to do it. And for that, it wouldn’t serve our passion and devotion. I mean, we have our own recognizable sound and we know how to make it bigger, but to remake songs by the same previous ways and patterns is NOT the way we do music. In “Firebride” we have this dark melancholy basic vibe underneath the songs and we wanted to build everything on top of that evil and bold, uncompromised sound. We really succeeded in that region considering what was our attempt and our plan. This time we sound more ‘live’ and straightforward in – your-face, comparing to “Lightbringer” which was more epic sounding, astral voyage kind of journey.
SOURCE – How important to the final result is the producer and how do you work with him?
Riku (Vocals) – Actually we don’t have an outside producer. We’ve done it by ourselves on every release, so far. For what comes in composing the songs, we always try to think the arrangements through in very different ways and try to look for a various solutions and paths within the each song. So, I don’t think we need help in that region. But surely we asked some advices from a soundguy in the studio or we got some hints from a mixing and mastering personnels, but in generally we know well how to build a proper basic sound that fits in our purposes and how to variate the sound in the songs if it requires it. We are learning more along the way but we are really pleased in the sound on “Firebride”. Anyway, using a producer could work for us in the future as well, but for now it is not in our plans.
SOURCE – The album cover is fantastic. What’s the story behind it?
Riku (Vocals) – Our trusted cover artist Samu Peltola came up with that image when hearing the album and reading the lyrics. He has a great vision and amazing skill to paint how our music sounds. Landscape reminds of a Scandinavian lakeside forest swamp and that combines it to the overall story of the lyrical content of the album with the war between early Christian doctrine and an ancient pagan mythology.
He has done four previous covers for us and they are all perfect images of the songs in those releases. We have built a mutual trust over the years and for sure we are hiring him for the next art in the future.
SOURCE – Where do you see the state of heavy metal stateside and worldwide currently? What changes (if any) would you make for the benefit of the scene as a whole?
Riku (Vocals) – Heavy music in general has become very popular in all over the world and that’s a really cool thing. But what I’ve experienced is that with that popularity the whole business has become bigger and demanding for bands, bookers, organizers and club owners, in Finland especially. Don’t get me wrong, – growth is good and the more people like metal the more they are buying albums, tickets and merch, but I’m afraid that the real underground cannot flourish properly in this situation where only the bigger bands get the most attention. And there’s no big acts without the abundant underground.
When metal music was more in the margin, smaller bands had lots of shows all the time, all around. The community of bands arranged shows together and there was always something going on. It was smaller scale but it was happening every week, all around. Now, I feel that nobody cares of the underground because people are buying expensive tickets to a huge festivals with 20 world class acts. I guess it’s a two bladed sword, – popularity can bring more people who acknowledge more new bands but in the other hand it can distort the metal scene to a washed out, boring stadion size nothingness.
Metal being mainstream is a wonderful thing and globally there’s hundreds of really cool bands, festivals and events. I’m only concerned about that when the industry has sucked dry all this ‘metal hype’ will there be any proper scene left and will the smaller bands be able to survive and keeping their music alive regardless of the lesser chances to do shows, tours and spread their name.
SOURCE – How’s the underground scene doing in Tampere/Pirkanmaa at the moment?
Riku (Vocals) – Really good! We have plenty of cool bands in every style of metal and they are all trying to push their music further. Some of them are well known acts nationally and some are about to break in bigger crowds and venues. Many of these bands have been working hard for their success and its about to happen soon.
We have a really good fuzz in the underground and for that the companies, agents and bookers are now looking for the next possible acts that are in the brink of a larger knowledge.
Still, arranging shows is a struggle for everyone and there’s not enough venues where the bands could play live. And I think that’s a big problem everywhere in Scandinavia.
SOURCE – Once this coronavirus situation is in check, what will your plans be?
Riku (Vocals) – At the moment we are planning to do a new video from “Firebride” album, let’s see how that comes along. We also finished recording a new song that was originally done for the album but didn’t make to it. There’s some plans regarding that song in the future as well.
But, when the borders open up again, we are going to tour as much as we can to promote the album more. Our tour in Finland and in The Baltics was cancelled because of the virus so we want to reschedule that one. Events and festivals were postponed to next year so we are aiming to participate in large amount of places then. In the meantime we are checking some new tunes, building songs and collecting new riffs. We are using the spare time in creating stuff and planning the future and deciding schedules.
SOURCE – Is there anything else you want to say or add about the album?
Riku (Vocals) – Well, it seems that you guys are loving the album and we are so honoured! We have been building our name for couple of years now and on every album we get more attention worldwide. So, HUGE thanks to everyone who have bought our music, merchandise and for spreading the Black Royal knowledge!
Contact:
Black Royal
Videos: