1. Greetings to Finland. How are you doing these days as the winter is drawing near? A friend of mine living in Finland sent me a few photos and from what I can say, it seems that for you, the winter is not that much "drawing near" as it is already raging...
Morior: We're doing fine despite the winter trying to take us all into an early grave. Indeed, winter doesn't "draw near" in Finland, it comes like a ten ton truck out of a blind angle. You might have +5 celsius in the evening, and the next morning it's -10c and everything is covered in snow. These very sudden and dramatic changes in weather have been quite common in Finland in the last few years. And it's great for a while, but after six months of snowy misery, it's more of a drag. Too bad we can't go into hibernation like the animals do, I wouldn't mind that at all at times.
2. As DRAUGNIM are not that known band in Czech Republic, I would like to ask you under what circumstances did you begin your career? What was the initial impulse and what is that, that drives you these days? Just, please, no biography... :)
Morior: Well, if you really want me to go to the very bottom of this, so be it. I started to listen to heavy metal nine or ten years old, the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Sepultura and so forth. Then, when I was 11, we got the possibility of trying out and play various instruments in school. We were fiddling around with the usual types of instruments between classes, trying to imitate the bands we liked the best we could. That got me and the circle of friends I was around back then started. I can't tell why, but the drumming somehow fell for my responsibility. So, there I was, haplessly playing drums, which I did without any major success, most likely because I couldn't obtain a set of my own. At the same time our musical tastes got more extreme with our discovery and revelation of black metal and the likes of Darkthrone, Marduk and Emperor, and of course we wanted to be something like that as well. That was in -93 to -95 I think. Then what happened was that the group of friends I had and played with grew apart, which effectively ended my aspiring career as a drummer as I was dependant on somebody else's drum kit. Around that time I experienced one of the very few lucky strikes in my life as I got a computer with a sound card (that wasn't very common back then). It had some kind of program to create music, so that's what I started to do. I didn't have a fucking clue about notes or anything so I had to start from zero. As you can imagine, without any knowledge of composing, it felt like going through a twelve inch concrete wall with a dull spoon. I have no idea where I got the perseverance, perhaps out of sheer stupidity, but I went on and learned little by little. So there I was, trying to write music, and then out of a lucky conincidence I got acquainted with Chimedra, who was a brother of my friend. This was in 1999. I gave him some songs I had put together, and pretty soon we agreed that he would write the lyrics and do the vocals, which I could not do. We recorded the first demo in 2000, and after that Turms joined as the bass player. That formed the core of the band and it has remained that way ever since. The demo rewarded us with a pile of rejection letters from the labels, so we continued rehearsing and made two more demos during the years. It didn't seem as we were making any progress, and to add an insult to and an injury, the rehearsal place was flooded with sewage water. I guess that kind of broke the camel's back, and we silently agreed to take a little timeout from the whole band-business. I continued writing stuff anyway at home and after a few years had passed, we decided to make one last shot at it. I guess the pieces somehow fell into place, the songs started to have more sense in them and the lyrics were good. So we asked Repe from Impaled Nazarene to play the drums for the next demo, he agreed, and the drums and vocals were then recorded in Henri Sorvali's garage. We named the demo "Sworn To Waves", and it finally landed us the album deal.
As for what drives me forward, I'm not that sure. I never cared for fame or had any illusions of making big money with music or anything like that. I'm also quite a reserved person and I don't like to play live that much. But I guess the thing that drives me is the need to create and the will to become better at it. Everything else is trivial.
3. Two years ago, when I was passing your debut "Northwind's Ire" to a colleague for review, I was really pleasantly surprised by your music on the album. Could one say that the album was a reflection of your progression since the year 1999?
Morior: Absolutely. I've many times wondered what would have happened, or how would our music had turned out if we had got the deal earlier, let's say with the third demo. I'd say we would be talking about a whole different band right now. In a fact, I'd say it was for the band's benefit not to have gotten a deal at an earlier stage of our career. It helped to mature the music a lot, and the members as well, even though it was a bit of teethgrinding at times.
4. Now, let's talk about the presence – about "Horizons Low". On the internet, one can (just as the last time) read genre descriptions like pagan/black metal, paganized black metal etc. All this is nothing but bullshit, from my point of view. Yes, there is a certain touch of pagan metal in your music, but I would dare to label DRAUGNIM's music as epic metal (or black metal). How would you describe your music to the readers? What do you mostly focus and place emphasis on during the composing process?
Morior: I have never liked to categorize our music in any way, because tight categorizing brings forth tight limitations. I usually just call it metal and let the listener determine what kind of metal it is. But you are right though on the point that one has to be able to describe music in definitive terms for people who haven't heard the stuff. So, to be more elaborate, our music is epic metal with roots in older black, viking and heavy metal.
When I write songs, the first thing I try to keep in mind is the atmosphere. If you look at Ulver's older stuff, Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal for example, the atmosphere there is extremely intense, not to mention the melodies that are amazing too even though the melodies are quite simple, but there you have it. It's just sheer brilliance, and Nattens Madrigal was probably recorded on a four-track! It's not the high-profile studio equipment that does the trick, it's the music and atmosphere itself, and therefore it has to be the most important thing when writing new stuff. It takes time though to find the right kind of atmosphere, and usually I have to produce a lot of material, before the right kind of stuff starts to form. When I finally manage to create the key melody or riff, I continue writing melodies around it. But most of the stuff is of course total crap and is discarded, and I don't usually go back at them looking for ideas.
5. "Horizons Low" is a bit more mature when compared with "Northwind's Ire", yet you still were able to keep your specific sound and character. I very much appreciate the fact that you, in contradistinction to most of the bands that run for the horrible, modern anti-dynamic sound, decided for a bit rawer and "dirtier" sound which really enhances the atmosphere. Am I right to describe the music of DRAUGNIM like this?
Morior: Yes, that's true. We definitely wanted to keep the sound natural and not trigger and sample everything to fuck. Also we didn't master it into "dogshit" (you can google that), like it is common nowadays, but left a little room for dynamics on purpose. I have been thinking about going for even dirtier sound the next time (if there is a next time) we record something, but on the other hand a lot of that is determined by what kind of songs I come up with. You know, it's not necessarily the best idea to go Mütiilation soundwise with the trumpets and all, but who knows, maybe it is? We'll think of something interesting...
6. I mean, you know, that you really do not try to just hop on the band-wagon. That is great. Seen from the musical side, you still do things your own way. Could you please describe how the new album was born; from the composing process to the release?
Morior: Well I started to write new material after Northwind's Ire, and it first seemed that I'm not going to come up with anything more than a pile of crap. I guess it took a while before I started writing music again. Then there were some unfortunate events going on in my personal life that plunged me into depression, but fortunately for the band it unleashed a wave of creativity as well. So at first I thought it's going to take years before I manage to put together an album-lenght worth of stuff, but when it started to flow, the it came together in a year and a half I think. Actually there was so much stuff that something had to be dropped from the new album. Maybe we'll hear it later on some album, maybe not. Like I said before I don't usually go back to the old stuff. Then we contacted the label and told we're ready to start recording the new album as soon as possible. They wanted to hear demo versions of the songs, so we recorded the vocals in our rehearsal place, and put it together at my home. Then they gave us the green light, so we agreed that Ville Sorvali would join as the producer, which was good as he brought with him some fresh ideas that were then utilized. The album itself was then recorded in various places, at my home, at a summer cottage in Lahti, and in Seawolf Studios in Helsinki. It was a fun way of doing it, with plenty of time to do all kinds of things rather than rushing it all together in a few weeks at a studio. I mixed the album in two weeks with Ville at Seawolf and that was it basically.
7. I really like the melodies on the new album as they are somehow connected. They have their own specific character. Thanks to that, the music seems to be very compact, yet definitely does not bore. Pretty much in every track, there is a strong moment, no matter if the track is one of the slower or faster ones.
Morior: I try to write songs in such way, that there wouldn't be any melodies just to fill empty space, you know. All melodies have to maintain some sort of quality, an idea. I'm not saying everything I write is good, on the contrary, most of the stuff is quite bad and doesn't end up on any records. I try to retain somekind of standard. Eventually, it's your own ears that tells you what works and what doesn't, everything has to be listened critically.
8. How do you usually compose? Do you write the guitar parts first and then add the keyboards, if you feel they fit into the given moment? I ask on purpose, as I have not heard probably a single moment where the keyboards would be drowning the guitars. They work more like a background for the other instruments that push the music forward. Flawless!
Morior: I don't really have a preference. Sometimes I start with the keyboards and sometimes with the guitar. It all depends on what the melody in my head is like. And of course there are occasions that I just start playing something on guitar or keyboards without any clear, thought out melody beforehand. When I get the core of the melody done, I continue by writing melodies around it. Maybe that's why we don't have too many guitar riffs, because everything is usually made to support the lead melody, and the leads can be played by the keyboards or the guitars.
9. I feel a bit sorry about you not using clean vocals, that could turn some of the epic moments into majestic moments. Have not you ever thought about using clean vocals?
Morior: There's a quite a bit of choir though on the album, but not any lines or verses sung. We did think about singing some verses, but in the end there wasn't really any good spot to do that. If we would have used more time on the recording process, it's quite likely that there would have been something like that on the album. A lot of that is dependent on the main vocals too, and that's something I have very little control over. It's Chimedra's department, and I trust him doing solid work every time. But it is likely that we would do something like that in the future.
10. The absolute highlight of the new album for me is the song "Bastion" which I somehow see as a great mixture of everything that is DRAUGNIM. Have you ever thought about choosing a path similar to the song (meaning longer footage, more motifs, changing moods etc)?
Morior: Possibly. I guess that song is a reflection of those feelings I had at that time, and The Weeper's Way was too. The as songs are usually reflections of my emotions, it's difficult to say what kind of direction the song writing is going to take. I try to follow my intuition, but writing similar stuff intentionally is not necessarily the best thing to do. Repetition is accidental but likely. Creativity and experimenting with new ideas is something to look forward to. I'm hoping the next album would be again a little different from the others.
11. Is there a lyrical concept on the new album? Are the lyrics anyhow connected? What is the main idea behind "Horizons Low"?
Chimedra: “Horizons Low” wasn’t planned to be concept album in any sense. I began my work with lyrics as I had with the previous albums, listening the demo tracks over and over again, absorbing the mood and emotions they nurtured. If I remember correctly the first finished demo tracks was the last song in album, Bastion, with the crushing impending end. That pretty much set the atmosphere of the lyrics.
In a sense they form a journey that has defiant beginning, man transcending himself over the ties of morals and flesh, kith and kin. He turns his back to the world and nature but is always part of them through his undeniable mortality. From there his descend continues through betrayal, loss, plague and decay. Until the end comes as he faces the inevitable demise on the crumbling walls of all he has hoarded and built, deserted by everyone, as we all are in that final moment.
12. Do you feel strongly inspired by the Finnish nature? What would you highlight as its main positives and qualities?
Morior: Of course it's inspiring when you are living quite closely to it every day. I love the nature and its serenity but also it's fierce power sometimes. The woods, the lakes, the sea, the summer - wonderful! I couldn't even think about living in the concrete labyrinths that the big cities are. We're quite lucky in Finland to have so much room for so few people. That means you're able to find beautiful spots of nature right on the edge of the town. If you're looking for peace and quietness, that's only a few dozen kilometers away. You've got to appreciate that.
13. I do not know how it is with you and live performances. Do you play often or rather occasionally? Is not that a problem as a trio? I would be concerned if all the aspects of your music would have the chance to emerge...
Morior: Rather occasionally yes. Hopefully there's a change in that in the future. Being a trio is a bit of a problem every now and then. Session members tend to join and quit in quite erratic fashion, so you're constantly having to look for new session members. So far we've managed to keep it together allright, and I don't think we'll be hiring any more permanent members. We're doing fine as a trio, even with it's drawbacks sometimes.
14. To close the interview – I would like to ask you if you know something about Czech Republic or if you have been here?
Morior: I have never been to Czech Republic, but I'm quite interested in slavic, as well as any mythology. It's fascinating to see a connection between slavic, nordic, baltic, finnish and other mythological gods. Veles and Perun, Loki and Odin, Turisas and Ukko and so on. I think it clearly tells a story about the amount of cultural exchange between peoples in europe in the olden times. It was not just about trading furs, but trading of ideas as well. But I'll visit your country as soon as possibility arises!
Chimedra: Yes, I’ve been in the country few times, mostly in Prague but also in Kutná Hora (enjoyed the lovely atmosphere of the bone chapel) and some other smaller town I can’t recall. Prague definitely is one my favorite capitals of Europe. The city has strong unique spirit and interesting history, not to mention your cheap and excellent beer and food.
15. So, that is it... I tried to make the interview the way so that the readers could get to know as much about you and your music as possible. I hope you enjoyed it. All the best and I wish you well!
Thank you & best regards!
