SOURCE – What can you tell me about the start of Mansion, as I believe the band started around 2012? What do you remember about the early days with the band?
Jaakob (Guitars) – In the very beginning, in 2011, we started as a trio and started writing the first EP. Then our lyricist, Mikael, was playing drums in the band. But he later heard the calling to focus on writing lyrics based on Alma’s sermons.
Mansion was formed to spread His word to the lost sheep, the sorrowless, who indulge in listening to dark music. We are bringing light to where there is none. It’s everyone’s own choice whether to see the light or forever be lost in darkness.
SOURCE – Second Death is the second album for Mansion. What can you tell us about the recording and songwriting sessions for this album – and where do you see the differences or growth of the band compared to the first two eps Uncreation and Altar Sermon?
Jaakob (Guitars) – Second Death is, as the title suggests, about the ultimate punishment for sinners where they are denied an afterlife. They die again in the afterlife before it even begins and are lost forever. The hymns reflect these facts.
It was a slow process: We started writing in May 2019, drums were recorded in the early days of the plague 2020, then guitars and the rest in various sessions between 2020 and Alma’s last vocals were recorded in august 2022.
Toughest part must have been the arrangements, as the songs usually changes a great deal in the studio environment.
As for the growth, the main difference in comparison to our EP´s (We Shall Live was our first EP, mind you) is that we´ve evolved, both the vision and in technique. We are also more experienced in the studio.
SOURCE – Second Death is the latest album for the band. How would you describe the songwriting and recording sessions for this set of songs – were there any specific surprises, obstacles, or challenges that came up during the process? How do you feel about the final product now that everything is done?
Jaakob (Guitars) – The songwriting was the lighter part of the journey. Recording is always challenging, mainly scheduling them, because of the sheer number of our musically gifted devotees.
SOURCE – You’ve chosen to self-release this record Second Death – what do you see are the advantages these days to keeping things in house and on a DIY basis versus signing with a reputable record label?
Jaakob (Guitars) – No label has offered us anything reasonable. That´s the main reason for releasing this one independently. The best thing about DIY is the total absence of compromise. The rest is plain elbow grease. Signing to a label might make things easier for us, but also a kind of double edged sword. It is business and business is evil, plain and simple.
SOURCE – What would you say are some of the essential elements that need to be in an ideal Mansion composition?
Jaakob (Guitars) – Dynamics is key in our music: contrasts between hard heavy riffs and more laidback, yet dark passages are widely used in our work. The changes in dynamic structures of the compositions give more room for Alma and Osmo to spread the truth very effectively.
SOURCE – What sort of topics and feelings do you try to evoke in the listener with the lyrical content for the band? Are you pulling from personal experiences or taking fictional topics and putting your own twist on things?
Jaakob (Guitars) – We’re not trying anything. This is not an attempt. We are part of His plan. The Lord speaks through us and we serve Him. We sing about the perils of sin and the importance of discipline. The Devil is the one, who puts twists on things and the Devil spits out fiction, a.k.a. lies.
SOURCE – Are you surprised by the power of social media today as far as influencing people in the world? How does Mansion approach their own social media content?
Jaakob (Guitars) – Satan works in mysterious ways. We try to keep things as simple as possible.
SOURCE – What’s the message you want to bring out?
Jaakob (Guitars) – Basically that all sinners shall burn in Hell and we shall live forever by His side.
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