Behind The Veil's interview with Danne

1. Congratulations on “A Farewell to Nothing – The Diary Part 1”! I loved it, but I’d like to know how you feel about it now that it’s over. Did it turn out exactly as you wanted it?

Hey Christine, thank you so much. Well there is always something that you want to change afterwards but what the hell… overall I am very pleased and satisfied with the album. And if we look at all the awesome reviews that are coming in… I can’t be anything but happy.


2. It’s been a couple of years since your previous release, so I’d like to know what has been going on in the band.

Soren left the band due to personal reasons a month after he had finished the album so we had to search for a new singer again. Luckily we found one in Ronny Hemlin and that guy can really sing. An amazing vocalist and a great and funny guy. When Soren still was in the band we did some shows here in Sweden. Then he quit and we had to rehearse like maniacs with Ronny because we were going on a UK Tour in October 2011. The tour was really a success and we are going back there in 2012. Otherwise it has all been the same, writing new material, rehearsing… and having a few beers.


3. You are labeled as a power metal band. Personally I don’t agree with that term and frankly I can’t think of a term that encompasses 100% the INMORIA sound. What do you think? What do you answer when you are asked to describe your music?

We have talked about that several times and the only conclusion we can come up with is atmospheric dark power metal. We all hate that they say that we play power metal because we don’t.


4. In which ways does “A Farewell to Nothing – The Diary Part 1” differ from your debut album, “Invisible Wounds”? How and in which ways has the band’s sound evolved and progressed? Have you brought in any new elements to your music?

There is a huge difference between the first album and this one. On the first one there was only one simple guitar solo and on the new one there are solos on every track. The songs on this one are more “well thought through” because it took a lot more time writing the new one. I wrote “Invisible Wounds” basically within a couple of weeks and “A Farewell to Nothing” took me about four months. Also there is a much bigger sound on this new album, more complex and bigger keyboards but still the pounding guitar riffs. Well I don’t think that I have brought in any new elements actually, since we had such a success with the first album I wanted to keep the atmosphere but take it to a higher level.


5. I’d like to stand a bit on the song “Why”. It’s the last song of the album and yet it’s the most diverse from everything you’ve composed so far with INMORIA. It has a symphonic and classical approach to it. Why did you leave it as the last song of the album? Does this mean that this is where you’ll begin with your third release?

I wanted the last song to be totally different from the rest of the tracks on the album, so I came up with the song “Why”. I wanted it to be slow and with a classical approach. I thought that it would be perfect to end the album with a slow and mystery song. I did not have in mind that it would be a “to be continued” song but the fact is that I have already started writing material to a third album.


6. You’ve released two albums with two different singers. On the first one you had Charles Rytkonen and on the second one the ARTILLERY singer Soren Nico Adamsen. They both left and now you have a new one the STEEL ATTACK singer, Ronny Hemlin. Doesn’t’t this create a lot of problems for INMORIA since the fans are acquainted with a new frontman every time?

To be honest it creates a whole lot of problems for us because when a singer leaves we have to put everything on hold and spend months trying to find a replacement when we actually have other stuff to do. With Ronny we have finally found a singer that is “on the go” all the time, and he lives near the rest of us and he always tries to help out getting gigs and stuff. Even though we have awesome management in ADL Management from England, it is nice that we all pitch in and help each other out. That is just proof of how much we actually want the band to take another step upwards. So Ronny has given us more energy to work even harder. I am really sorry to all of our awesome fans that they have to put up with a new singer all the time, but I can promise each and every one of them here and now that Ronny is here to stay and the fans will love him.


7. Were you faced with any criticism or skepticism from fans who loved and got used to Charles’s vocals when Soren Nico Adamsen became the band’s singer? Have you talked with any of them? What did they say before and after they listened to the new songs?

Charles has got a huge fan base all over the world from his time in MORGANA LEFAY, and I know that some of them didn’t like it when he left INMORIA. I have talked to some of them and they said that with Charles it was darker but they didn’t hate Soren but there was something missing. But after they had listened to the album a couple of times they changed their opinion and said… “fuck, it is really good anyway”.


8. You’ve also got some really beautiful female vocals in some songs. Who’s the singer and how easy was it to add her enchanting vocals with the gloomy and eerie atmosphere that your songs give off?

Her name is Helena Bylund and she lives here in Bollnas. Actually it wasn’t so hard to get her in “in the mood”. Me and Tommi sat in the studio explaining to her how she should feel when she laid down the vocals, we just told her to think about misery, depression and death and she did and the result was awesome. She is a nice person and she has a voice that fitted perfectly with the INMORIA sound.


9. Give reasons to our readers to check your work out. What will they find in it?

If they want to experience something totally new in the metal scene, they must check us out. They will find hard pounding guitar riffs together with atmospheric keyboards and huge strong choruses that will infect their minds. There is something within the music that will transfer them to another dimension.


10. Which song do you think sums up the whole energy and essence of your new album?

Two songs, “Blinded” and “My Last Farewell”… two fast songs with very strong choruses and with a huge amount of energy.


11. Which are your sources of inspiration when it comes to the lyrics of your new album? Which are the main topics you deal with?

I just float away in my own head so the inspiration comes from myself. All the lyrics are about depression, suicide and that kind of things. Not that I am a depressing guy but for some unknown reason it is the only thing that I can write about. Maybe there is something hidden deep within me that awakens when it is time to write lyrics. I have tried to write about other stuff but it doesn’t work, so I just write about things that I know how to handle.


12. “A Farewell to Nothing – The Diary Part 1” is an intense and gloomy title. Why did you choose it and what do you want to say with it? Moreover, you titled the album The Diary Part 1. Does this mean we’re talking about a general concept story that will continue and unfold on your third album?

Basically the whole album is a suicide letter and a diary. If you listen to the lyrics you will find that out. And yes, there will be a follow up to this album and that album is already in the making. So maybe I will write a diary for the new album from “the other side”.


13. Who created the cover artwork? If I’m not mistaken you have the same female model in the middle. Why? What does she represent?

I did the album cover and yes, it is the same girl as on the debut album. I think that she represents life in general these days. Her face looking down, all naked and somehow wanting everything to end. She can’t handle the pain and suffering that surrounds us all nowadays and in this hectic lifestyle that everybody has, I think that more and more people feel the same. They all want things to stop and slow down instead of focusing on money, stress and beauty. I mean there is something wrong with this world when news media focus more on some idiotic celebrity that has lost some weight instead of writing about, for example, the fact that about 3000 children die every day in Africa because they don’t have food, clean water and medicine. That kind of tragedy just ends up as a 2- minute coverage on the evening news and then it is forgotten but they let “The Kardashians” and other completely stupid celebrities have three fucking shows each night on the television. So I hate this world and what it has become!!!!


14. Have you got any plans for live shows? How easy is it for you to play your songs live and reproduce the energy, intensity and dark atmosphere of the songs? Do you have to be in a certain state of mind in order to create the right atmosphere and feeling?

Our management is working hard on getting us gigs all over, and hopefully we can come to Greece very soon. Our shows in Sweden and our tour in the UK went totally great. We had no problems whatsoever bringing the dark atmosphere to the stage and the crowd loved it. So hopefully we can come to Greece very soon to show you what I mean.


15. Have you made any video clips? With YouTube I think videos have started becoming a necessity for bands again. How helpful is the Internet?

Yes, we have a few video clips and of course our official videos. A tour diary is in the making as well. The Internet is basically crucial for every band nowadays because bands can interact straight away with fans all over the world. And we got our first record deal through the Internet, when a label spotted us on one of our official websites.


16. What kind of feedback have you received thus far? Can you mention a comment, be it positive or negative, serious or funny, that impressed you?

So far all the reviews and comments have been phenomenal, I mean we can´t believe what people and reporters write about us. We just received “Best Album Of 2011” from one magazine and those kind of reviews just keep coming so that is just awesome and makes us want to work even harder and bring our music to the masses.


17. You are a signed band, but still do you think that the contemporary metal scene has a place for record labels? I mean more and more bands do everything on their own and more and more labels don’t support the bands or pay them any money… What’s your view on this phenomenon?

Well I think that having a record label behind you opens up more ways of getting your music heard especially all their distribution is crucial. It is true that there isn’t a lot of money involved these days and the only way to make any money is to play live and sell merchandise basically. But the company’s contacts and distribution is very much appreciated.


18. Thank you! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

THANK YOU!!! Yes… I really hope that we can come to Greece and give the fans one hell of a show. So listen to our music and join us on Facebook or visit our official website to keep up with all the latest news.

Interview: Christine Parastatidou
http://www.behindtheveil.hostingsiteforfree.com/index.php/interviews/258-inmoria-interview