With the silent passing of a former webzine that I wrote for in Living For Metal, I would like to first, give thanks to Barry and Jessica Van Beek for giving me an opportunity to contribute to their part of the metal world and to Jodi Michael, for whom this chance would have not been possible otherwise. An obituary for Living For Metal will be written soon, so stay tuned. This bit of sadness had me thinking about some of the interviews that have been posted on the website, and since I managed to save a few interviews, I will be posting some of them here as they were on LFM. Today's interview is with Battlelore keyboardist Maria and it was originally posted in November of 2008.
Peter Santellan: It was only last year when Battlelore came out with Evernight, an album that is seen as a breakout of sorts for the band. In relation to the new album The Last Alliance, were the expectations higher for the album than on any of the previous albums?
Maria: I don't know what others expected of us, we don't really care about stuff like that. I think that our own expectations were quite high since we all were really much into making music and inspired and happy about writing new songs - and I have to say that the end result has fulfilled and exceeded our expectations! The Last Alliance is, in my opinion, the best of Battlelore so far, so I couldn't have expected anything more. I suppose others may have expected something, but our song writing always comes from the heart, we don't really think about anything but the music. I guess that's stupid, but that's how we are, hehehe.
PS: The Last Alliance features production work from Dan Swanö, who is one of the more well-known producers in metal music. How did the band get in contact with him and what did he bring to the band's sound?
Maria: Actually, one of Tomi's (Mykkänen, vocalist) friends told him that Dan was starting to work with his Unisound studio again, mixing and mastering albums, and told
Tomi that he should contact Dan. Well, that's what he did - and Dan Swanö turned out to be a great fellow, totally into this project and agreed to take this task. He did mention that mixing us was like mixing 156 death metal bands at the same time.
He created the perfect sound for The Last Alliance - he put the vocals and orchestrations further front and the guitars a bit back, without losing the guitar groove. Also, he managed to create the kind of sound that was perfect for the atmosphere of the album and of the whole Battlelore sound. So he did a great job and I'm sure we'd be more than happy to work with him again!
PS: Who did the cover art for the album and what concept, if any, does it convey?
Maria: Ingo Römling, a German artist, did the cover art for The Last Alliance. He created the sort of "tribal" tree for the digipack cover and painted the warrior for the booklet.
With the glowing ring and evil look, it is Sauron - very suitable, considering even
the name of the album, which refers to the great war.
PS: Given that the band has shot a video for the previous two efforts, Third Age of the Sun and Evernight, is there a possibility of a video for one of the songs off of The Last Alliance?
Maria: We have actually already shot a video for the song Third Immortal. The video should be ready in about two weeks or so, so you won't have to wait much longer!
PS: Seemingly, the vocals, male and female, are getting better at working together. How much of that can be attributed to having a set lineup and are there any other factors?
Maria: I guess you have a point there - the fact that Tomi and Kaisa have been working together for the last three albums has given them both the opportunity to learn from each other and learn to work together a bit more. I also think that with time, Tomi has found himself and his place, using the clean vocals as well as the great growling. He has actually proven to be quite a genius when it comes to making clean vocal lines!
PS: In support of Evernight, Battlelore performed at the Metal Female Voices Festival last year. For those who may not know, what is the MFVF and where is it normally held?
Maria: The Metal Female Voices Festival is a Belgian festival that celebrates metal bands with female singers. I don't know if it's always been at the Oktoberhalle in Wieze , Belgium
PS: Are there any plans for future shows in support of The Last Alliance?
Maria: We have been touring Finland Europe , so we're really looking forward to it! It'll be a blast touring with these great fellows, partying and playing music all night long!
PS: Any words of wisdom that you would like to impart on anyone reading this?
Maria: As I feel I'm the perfect person to say something wise (sarcasm, party of one), I'd just like to say listen to the album, come and see our shows and have a few beers with us! There's nothing better than the distinctive taste of hangover in your mouth and head (and neck) in the morning, after a great music performance and party the night before! Just enjoy life and the music it brings you! (Works the other way around, also.)
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