Beast In Black Interview

After a successful 2019, Beast In Black was ready for new opportunities but the pandemic changed their plans. We had the opportunity to have a chat with the mind of the band Anton Kabanen and talk about their music and what is coming in the near future.

Hey Anton, how are you doing?
I’m fine thank you.

“From Hell with love” was released in 2019, what can you tell about the composing process?
I work always like this first of all I go through my old songs and ideas, I select 20 or 30 and do some new ones, so it’s kind of a bridge between old and new stuff. When I have chosen 20 songs, I play them to the band members and they give me feedback and say which their favorites are, then we finally get the last 10 or 11 for the album. My way of song-writing is different from most rock bands as I write all the songs, it’s really personal to me, that’s why I take care of everything but I want everyone to feel part of it working together as a band.

Are you working on a new album?
Yes, I’m always working on new albums, it’s an endless process.

What can we expect from the next album?
It will be good (En. laughs). At least I hope so, we just do our best. It will definitely have the Beast In Black sound so when you will listen to the songs you will immediately recognize that it is our songs, I have a strong feeling that our trademark is really present there.

2019 was a successful year for you, if you had to sum it up with one word what would it be?
Success.

Due the Covid19 pandemic almost all tours have been cancelled, but many bands have opted for live stream gigs, what do you think about it? Is it something you would do too?
I don’t think Beast In Black would ever do this kind of isolated live stream, I mean no audience, it’s not something we’re excited about. There is so much work to be done in the artistic field, I prefer to spend that time working on something that we can create and that remains after the hard work, for example the new album. I spend my time thinking about the songs and visual stuff for the next album and stage production instead of just playing for the empty hall and sending over the internet. If anyone wants to do it, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I just think we wouldn’t have as much fun as when we play real shows.

In short time you have achieved success and won the hearts of many people with your sound, how is your relationship with your fans?
I think the word that describe it is warm. Every time we meet fans there is dedication, enthusiasm and kindness, they are really honest with all their heart they support us. We always try to meet them whenever possible, take pictures and sign autographs.

What’s on plan for the future?
Beside the new album, we are always working to improve ourselves, making things bigger and more professional. It’s like growing up, as children grow up, they get bigger and more flesh on their bones, the beast must be stronger and bigger. We hope to do much more gigs and bigger tours, but no one knows when this is going to happen.

We have done with this interview, thank you for your time! Would you like to say something to your fans?
Thank you to all the fans that are reading this, we hope to see you as soon as possible whenever we get on tour until then stay tuned for Beast In Black news, check out our Facebook, we always update when there is something worth updating. Take care everybody, stay healthy.

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Battle Beast Interview

Over time, Battle Beast have been able to grow musically album after album and make themselves known around the world for their powerful sound and engaging performances.
After the release of “No more Hollywood Endings” in 2019, the band is working on a new album which is expected to be released later in 2021.
We had the opportunity to meet Noora Louhimo after their show at Rock In The City Pori and talk about their albums, her solo project and much more.

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Andy McCoy interview

Rock legend Andy McCoy was ready for a world tour in support of his latest work “21st Century Rocks”, unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything causing most of the scheduled events to be canceled or postponed. One of the few Finnish festivals to be organized was Rock In The City in Pori, where Andy and his band were able to perform. We had the opportunity to meet Andy before his show and talk about his music, concerts and more.

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ICEID Interview

Four talented musicians combined with the powerful voice of charismatic singer Suvi Salmimies gave life to ICEID in 2019. The Finnish rock band has released some singles and one step at a time is preparing for the release of their debut album. We had the chance to chat with the band after their performance at the Poristriimi fesival and find out more about them and their music.

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Jackrabbit interview

It was 1991 when four young Finns shared similar visions and musical influences, from that moment Jackrabbit was born. The rock band is ready to celebrate their 30th anniversary next year with some surprises. We had the opportunity to meet the band after their show at Poristriimi Festival and talk about their music, live shows and much more.

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Uniklubi Interview

Uniklubi is considered as one of the biggest bands in Finnish rock scene. The band recently started working with producer Rauli Eskolin (Apocalyptica, CMX, Haloo Helsinki!) and together they’ve managed to create a new perspective to their songwriting. Their new album “Ajan piirtämät kasvot” will be released on September 25th via Playground Music. We had the opportunity to meet Jussi Selo, Teemu Mäntykorpi and Tuomas Lepistö before their show at Poristriimi Festival and talk about their music, the new album and much more.

-Hey guys, how are you doing?
Jussi: We’re doing great! Today we play at the Poristriimi Festival, this is our first festival of 2020.
Teemu: First and last for this summer.
Jussi: We are thrilled to be back on stage at a festival.

-In Finland you are one of the biggest bands in the rock scene, but for those outside Finland who don’t know Uniklubi, would you like to briefly introduce the band and give us some biographical hints?
Jussi: We play melodic rock, our songs are sung in Finnish and we are ready to release our eighth album. About 10 years ago we played in different European countries such as Germany, Austria and Czech Republic. When 2000 started, bands like HIM and The Rasmus became famous all over the world and people, mainly from central Europe, started traveling in Finland and they found us. I think Finland has a good rock scene.

-Your upcoming album “Ajan piirtämät kasvot” will be released on September 25th, what can you tell about it?
Tuomas: It’s excellent! (En. laughs)
Teemu: It’s a bit different from 2004 album “Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa”.
Tuomas: We have a new producer and the album sounds different from the previous ones, and I think it sounds better. We are satisfied with it.
Jussi: “Tulennielijä” came out 2 years ago and “Kultakalat” 10 years ago, over time you grow as a human, as an artist and as a band everything is different, your mind is different. So, we have grown as a band in a good way and you can hear that in our music. In the future I hope that we will do many albums and each album will be different from the previous one. Change is part of the artist’s growth process.
Tuomas: It is like for painters, they do not always paint the same canvas.
Jussi: The funny thing is that even though our album isn’t out yet, my mind is ready to move on and start working on new songs.

-From the upcoming album 3 singles have been released “Huojuva siltä”, “Bailaten koko elämä” and “Siipirikko”, they have all different moods, what can you tell about the lyrics?
Jussi: The lyrics are about a human being and his mind, about yesterday and tomorrow, and about being alone and with someone.

-The music video of “Siipirikko” is really intense, what can you tell about the making-off?
Jussi: Our good friends Timo Lepistö and Petri Kyttälä produced and filmed it. I told the producer I didn’t want to shoot it in Tampere, I wanted something different, so we went to Tenerife and found the right atmosphere.

-If you should choose one song to represent Uniklubi, which one would be? Or the one you enjoy most to play live?
Teemu: It’s a tough question because we’ve been making music for so long and a lot has changed.
Tuomas: Some songs are more fun to play than others, but when you listen to them it’s different. I cannot say.
Jussi: If I think about live shows, the ones that create the most synergy are “Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa”, “Huomenna” and “Kaikki mitä mä annoin”, people know the lyrics and sing along and it is cool.
Teemu: That’s old stuff, but I think from the newer stuff  “Bailaten koko elämä” and “Huojuva siltä” are important for us in term of live shows.
Jussi: Yes, those songs from the upcoming album are working very well in live.

-What are your main influences?
Teemu: This is maybe the most interesting part because we are 6 guys and we all have different taste in music.
Tuomas: I would say Guns ‘n’ Roses, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys. I don’t have any specific music style, I like music from synth-pop artists to Rammstein.
Teemu: In my list I have Judas Priest and Iron maiden.
Jussi: I like all kinds of music, but I think I was mainly influenced by my older brother Janne (En. guitarist of Uniklubi). Music has always been present in our family but when, as little boy, I saw Janne and his friends playing at a small party in Hämeenkyrö, I saw how much fun they had and I wanted to do the same.
Teemu: But what about Michael Jackson?
Jussi: Yes, that’s right, but my brother introduced me to his music. As kids, we shared the room and he had some Michael Jackson posters and albums, so I started listening too.

-What’s on plan for the future?
Tuomas: We hope to play a lot of show but because COVID 19 we can’t be sure. I think we are gonna play for the coming year and after it we will release some music, not an album but maybe some singles.
Jussi: If you want to support us, buy the CD, LP or cassette, making an album is a lot of work and it’s a difficult time if nobody listens to it. For the future we will continue to make music.

We have done with this interview, thank you so much for your time! Would you like to say something to your fans?
Jussi: To our fans who continue to support us I want to send hugs and all the best, music is an amazing thing let’s go on!
Teemu: Hopefully we will see you at the gigs as the situation allowed.
Jussi: Peace & love!

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Solaris Interview with Alberto Casadei

Italian noisy post-rockers Solaris recently released their debut full-lenght ‘Un Paese di Musichette Mentre Fuori c’è la Morte’ and we had a nice chat with guitarist & vocalist Alberto Casadei!

The Offering: For those who are not familiar with the band, tell us a bit about your story.

Alberto Casadei: First of all, thank you for the review and for hosting us!

The band was formed in 2015 from the ashes of a former project called “L’oblio”. After a year of writing and live shows we landed in StoneBridge Studio to record our first EP, “L’Orizzonte degli Eventi” which was released in 2017, and we started gaining some momentum, playing some bigger venues with some amazing bands around Italy. Finally last year we met with Chris (Bronson Recordings) and talked about the possibility of recording some new material with legendary noise rock producer Martin Bisi. We already had some new material that we wanted to record and we couldn’t refuse this fantastic offer. What came out of the session is “Un Paese di Musichette mentre fuori c’è la Morte”, and here we are.

TO: Your debut album “Un Paese di Musichette Mentre Fuori c’è la Morte” was released on June 19th, what can you tell us about the songwriting ideas and the lyrical concept?

AC: We usually write songs all together when rehearsing, sometimes someone will bring in a riff or an idea for a section then we spend time adding to it and trying to incorporate changes and structure in a way that flows and satisfies us. After that I (Alberto) usually come in with the lyrics, trying to adapt and put together the things I wrote in a coherent and fluent way. Lyrically speaking I try to always gather from my personal experiences about everyday life but trying to give it a kind of “universal” meaning, so that the listener can still somewhat understand what I’m talking about. The last song on the album is kind of an exception since it was inspired by a book by Jean Paul Sartre called Nausea. On this album in particular I tried to make the lyrics work for different kind of interpretation, so depending on the listener mood they could have overlapping meanings.

TO: In terms of music style how would you describe the album?

AC: I would say it’s a good mixture of our influences and the classic NY sound of Martin Bisi. We all listen to lots of music, from jazz to space rock, to post-metal or math and noise rock, passing through prog and stoner, and even if I wouldn’t have the audacity to call our album all of the above, somehow I feel that when writing songs these influences come through even inadvertently, as a kind of reflex. Martin’s touch surely added a new dimension to the album, for example incorporating layers of metallic sounds from “playing” found objects, or with his unique way of treating drum micing and mixing.

TO: For you, how important is it to deliver a particular message through the lyrics?

AC: As clichè as it may sound, we think music is first and foremost a means of communication, be it some sort of catharsis and personal outlet or something bigger and more apt to a shared experience that translates to the audience. That can be expressed lyrically as well as be suggested by a certain atmosphere created with sounds. We like to think that the listener can somehow get the message or the general vibe even without understanding the lyrics, and form his own interpretation of what the meaning could be, and if he feels some sort of connection with our music he can then go and decipher the details. It’s a kind of hermetic way of writing that we hope goes beyond the literal translation.

TO: The lyrics are in Italian, would you consider writing in English in the future?

AC: I wouldn’t consider it for this particular project, for Solaris. I think that there are far better projects that use the English language in this context and style of music, I’d rather stick to what comes natural. If anyone is willing to discuss lyrics in front of a cold beer tho, we’re always up for it.

TO: You just released a new video for the track “Voce”, what is the inspiration behind the visuals?

AC: The video was put together by our drummer, Alan Casali, using footage from the 1920 German horror movie “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, by Robert Weine. We thought the dark intense visual style of the movie complemented well the mood of the song, as well as the ongoing themes of madness and losing one’s mind.

TO: As a young emerging band what do you find most challenging in the current music scene?

AC: Keeping a band alive is enough of a challenge as it is, without delving into the current music scene. It takes time, dedication, lots of your energies and the little money we got to keep the boat afloat. Speaking of us, I’d say that finding gigs is still the utmost priority and challenge as of now. As for the scene, keeping together some sort of community of musicians through mutual support and help is fundamental in maintaining a cultural and social fabric that is being chipped away by too many factors.

TO: Do you think social media really helps to reach a wider audience?

AC: It does help. In today’s world, social media presence, like it or not, is a necessary requirement for “being in a band”. Spotify, for example has become kind of a “business card” for bands in terms of attracting the attention of labels and agencies via the numbers of plays so there’s this race to get into playlists. I personally don’t use it as I kind of dislike the streaming aspect of it, but I can see the appeal of that for “talent scouts” or the likes as it makes things immediately quantifiable.

TO: Do you have touring plans for next year?

AC: Not at the moment, the situation here has pretty much been freezed due to Covid-19 so it’s not easy to organize live shows right now, venues have to face more expenses and can contain a limited audience to observe enhanced safety restrictions. Many small venues have been shutting down because of little to no help from the government during lockdown and this makes it even harder to book shows. We’ve been lucky enough to play a release party at Bronson in Ravenna with a live audience instead of just streaming it online. As soon as this all clears up a little we’ll surely look into touring to promote the record.

TO: What are your expectations for the future of the band?

AC: “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed”. We’d just like to keep doing what we’re doing, writing songs and playing them around. We’re already working on some new material and it’s coming along nicely. We feel we’ve been lucky enough to get to this point, so we’ll see what the future holds.

TO: Thank you for the interview and congratulations for the debut release!

AC: Thanks again to you, it’s been a pleasure!

https://solarisnoise.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/solarisnoise/

Sleeping Dog Interview

Sleeping Dog is an alternative metal band from Los Angeles, California. On June 20 their third  album “Portal” will be released and, even if they have experimented and combined new elements, they stays true to Sleeping Dog sound.
We had the opportunity to interview with Mat and get to know better the band and their music.

-Hey Mat, welcome to The Offering! Would you mind to introduce the band and give us some biographical hints?
Hi this is Mat, frontman of SD, speaking on behalf of Sleeping Dog.
We are a band from Los Angeles, California that was formed in 2012. We have two full length releases “Otis Empire” (2015) and “My Throneless Seeking” (2018).
Our third full length release “Portal” releases 6/20/20.

-What did you bring to choose “Sleeping Dog” as band name?
The quote “It is nought good a sleeping hound to wake ” originates from Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem, Troilus and Criseyde (1320). However I discovered this quote in a different form from William Shakespeare’s play, King Henry IV, Part II. The quote says “let sleeping dogs lie” which basically means to not cause problems.
A sleeping dog is in peace and to wake the dog will cause chaos and uproar. The dog will bark endlessly. Letting the dog sleep will grant you peace.
This name was chosen to hold the meaning true to the band. We value the peace in the band and do not bring any unnecessary problems into the fold. Sleeping Dog stays true to the music and speaks only the truth.

-Your new album is going to be released this month, what can you tell about its genesis and lyrics? And what are the main differences compared with your previous works “My Throneless Seeking” and “Otis Empire”?
Portal’s writing process started around late 2018. The album cover of an astronaut resonates with the story I was trying to tell. Briefly, the story is about an astronaut who leaves everything behind to escape in another world because of the true evil in the world he was living in. Thus escaping through a portal to create his own truth.
Mainly , the lyrics are about everything I have gone through. It’s about the music industry I can’t change and about the system I’m running a race with. It seems endless like a burial through a digital algorithm in an endless matrix. Everything seems so fast and irrelevant. Songs such as “New Blood”, “System”, “Don’t Pass the Torch if You Don’t Have the Flame”, and “Iron Lung”… explain this.
Some songs touch base on staying true to human interactions. Good and bad. Everything is a natural part of the human experience. It’s nothing I can change and it’s necessary to have both. Stay true to your emotions and accept them as a part of your life. Songs such as “The More You Want the Less You Get”, “War Machine”, “Pry”, “Throw It All Away”, and “The Good Times” explain this.
Portal is different in many ways. To start, the production is done in a completely different way than “My Throneless Seeking” and “Otis Empire”. The sound of the room became a huge instrument in the creation process. It sets up the mood and space you hear in these songs. Also, there are many elements that the other two albums never ventured into such as rap and a variation of different guitar tunings. The lyrics are different and hold more conviction to a bigger cause rather than personal ones.
That being said it still holds the same integrity as a Sleeping Dog album and stays true to the sound.

-We recently had a difficult time because of the corona virus, how did you manage working on the released of the album? Did this situation slow up your work?
Not at all. Quarantine gave me all the time to finish and polish the songs for the release.

– You describe your musical style as alternative, but what are your main influences?
Bring Me the Horizon and Linkin Park are the two main influences.

– You are from Los Angeles, how do you see the metal scene there nowadays?
Speaking locally, It is small and underground. I know just a handful of bands who play metal in Los Angeles.

– Even if in this moment everything is uncertain , are you planning a tour? And what are the countries you would like to play concerts in the future?
Things seem very uncertain in the music scene right now, however if SD could ever play in the future it would be Japan or Europe.

– If you could choose a band to tour with, which one would be?
It would be amazing to tour with Crystal Lake from Japan.

-We are at the end of this interview, thank you so much for your time! Would you like to say something to our readers?
Thank you for all your support. Stay true and never be afraid to speak the truth.

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