1. Hello my friend, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.
- Hey there and thanks for having us on Rotten Pages! I am doing very well.It’s my favorite time of the year - autumn. Right now, Finland is showing off its brightest colors, and I’ve just returned from a long walk from the forest near my home. That always gives me a lot of energy so I am ready to share my thoughts with you guys. I am doing this interview in my home studio where I like to hang out quite often playing my guitar and recording some random riffs.
2. To become a musician in Finland where almost everybody plays some musical instrument and has three bands at least – it’s a challenge, or is it something you Finns are predisposed to at birth?
- For me, it hasn’t really been a challenge. Music isn’t my day job, it’s more of a hobby and a lifestyle. Because of that, I focus on projects I genuinely enjoy and which gives me more than they take. If a band starts to feel like a burden, it’s easy enough to walk away and focus on something else. I think freedom makes it easier to balance multiple projects here. That being said, currently Qabr is my main band and the only one I’m involved in.
3. Both of you were former musicians on a Melodic Gothic metal band, how so you decided to change radically to play Black metal?
- Actually, both of us started out in extreme metal bands during our teenage years, so in a way, this shift to black metal is more like a return to our roots. The gothic band you mentioned, For Selena And Sin, was more of an experiment where we wanted to explore something different from what we were used to do. It was a very different experience in terms of both composition and lyric writing, which helped us grow as musicians. I believe it even gave us new perspectives on how to approach writing black metal.
4. What is it about black metal that has to be anti-Christian? Where does that come from and how do you take it one step further for it to not be seen as a cliché?
- I don’t think black metal has to be anti-Christian, but it’s fundamentally about rebellion against traditional values. In that sense, religions, especially those that have shaped societal norms, become natural enemies. As for clichés, the key to avoiding them is to focus on writing music for yourself, from your own deep emotions and thoughts. When you do that, you don’t need to give a fuck what anyone else thinks. There will always be people who see metal lyrics as some kind of joke, but they’re missing the point. It’s not about shock value, it’s about raw expression, and if that’s lost on them, so be it.
5. With 4 years between your foundation and the release of your debut EP, how do you feel you have progressed as musicians?
- Four years may seem like a long time, but it actually felt short, especially since there were periods when we weren’t playing together very actively. Still, I think you can hear some subtle progression between the earlier and later songs. For example, Unleashed was the first track we wrote, and it’s probably the most aggressive song on the EP. On the other hand, the last track we composed, Morning Star, has more of a rock 'n' roll vibe. It’s also the only song where we used keyboards to create that symphonic ending.
6. Are both of you involved in the composition of your songs and general artistic choices? Can you tell us a bit more about your own creative process?
- I’ve written all the lyrics so far and composed the majority of our songs, but we both actively contribute to each other’s songwriting. We share feedback, ideas, and have equal say in deciding which songs make it to our releases. The creative process works like this: each of us writes songs and riffs on our own, then sends them to the other. From there, we suggest changes or add new elements until the song takes its final shape.
As for the lyrics, I usually write them after the song is mostly complete. I’ll listen to the track repeatedly and write down any words or phrases that it brought to my mind. That’s how I usually discover the theme and potential title, which then evolves into the final version of the lyrics.
7. Talking about “Blasphemous Perversion”, what can you tell me about the recording process and what kind of sound you were going for? Are you satisfied with final results?
- We recorded Blasphemous Perversion this summer at Music Bros Studio in Imatra, Finland. We spent four long days and nights there, taking our time to find the perfect sound for us. We didn’t use any digital plugins but instead did it old skool using amps and distortion pedals. We wanted to have an authentic and raw black metal sound. Some kind of combination of traditional and modern sound.
Since we lived at the studio during those days, we could spend evenings doing some final polishing to the songs and then relaxing in the sauna while having some “refreshments”
I have to admit I’m very satisfied with the final result. I’ve listened to the EP many times, and I still can’t find a single thing I would change.
8. How much time did it take to put this record together? Do you have extra material that’s left out after choosing what fits you most?
- We started writing songs back in 2020, and as I mentioned earlier, Unleashed was the first track we created. After that, we wrote quite a few songs that didn’t make it onto the EP because they had a different style than what we were aiming for. However, we have a ton of riffs from those tracks that we can repurpose for our upcoming releases. The last song was basically ready just a week before we entered the studio, so you could say we took our time as it took pretty much four years to put those four tracks together.
9. Finland is home to the most recognized bands in extreme metal. What makes the music scene in Finland so different compared to other countries worldwide?
- I think it’s a combination of several factors. First, we’re quite an isolated nation with a unique nature and long, cold winters. Many of us enjoy solitude, and that kind of isolation shapes both our mentality and our music. There’s something about the darkness and stillness of Finnish nature that naturally lends itself to extreme metal. It fosters a kind of introspection and a connection to primitive emotions.
10. How would you define your relationship to local promoters and, more widely, the Finnish black metal scene in general? What would you like to see emerging in this microcosm?
- I consider myself somewhat of an outsider in the scene. I go to a lot of gigs and enjoy seeing other bands perform, but I’m not really connected to promoters or are involved with members of other bands. I’ve always preferred to stay focused on my own music rather than getting too wrapped up in the social side of the scene.
As for what I’d like to see, I think I’d like to see more black metal-oriented record labels and more opportunities for live gigs. It would be great if there were more platforms to support underground bands and help the scene grow even further.
11. How do you define “underground” and where do you see yourself and your band in it?
- The definition of "underground" has changed a lot since the '90s, when I first got into black metal. Back then, it was much clearer. Zine culture was strong, and tape trading was a big part of the scene. Now, with platforms like Spotify and YouTube, anyone can get their music out to millions of people. So, are you still "underground" if your music is easily accessible worldwide?
Maybe one way to define it now is that you’re an underground band if you're not widely known and you create music for yourself, without caring about making a commercial breakthrough.
In that sense, I see us as part of the underground scene, but I don’t really care about the categorization. I’m fine with being in or out of it.
12. Since music is universal and brings so much to the table, what is your philosophy and intake about what music means to you?
- This might be a stereotypical answer from a musician, but music has a huge part in my life. Whenever I am not working with my own music, I am listening to other bands. I like getting to know new bands, but I found myself most typically listening to the same bands that I enjoyed as a young metal head in my teenage years.
I think music is also the most persistent form of art, so as long as the human race exists, there will be music in some form.
13. Because the field of black metal is very wide, there is a lot of differences in the styles, sound, approach, etc… So which band(s)do you personally consider to be the treasure of the black metal genre and on the other hand in which ones do you see as the future of black metal?
- The first black metal bands that got me excited about the genre were the Scandinavian groups like Satyricon, Dark Funeral, Emperor, Marduk, and Immortal. Those bands still hold a special place in my heart, and given their massive influence on the genre, I’d say they deserve the "treasure of black metal" title.
The future is always hard to predict as the scene is evolving rapidly and new subgenres arise constantly. However, personally I have been listening to these “mysterious” bands like Mgła, Uada and Batushka. They all have unique and personal touch for their sound and look. Those bands have gained some kind of reputation and they are gaining more and more followers as well as plenty of imitators, so they must be at least some kind of future of the black metal.
14. Could you give us a little insight into the metal-scene in Jyväskylä ? Are there many bands that play metal, and especially black metal? And how are gig-possibilities et cetera?
- Actually, we live in different parts of Finland. Nosir lives in Jyväskylä, and he could probably tell you more about the scene there. I do know that Swallow the Sun, one of my favorite doom metal bands, comes from Jyväskylä.
As for me (Fozil), I live in a city called Kouvola. It’s not a big city, but we still have a strong metal culture here. There are several great bands like Soulwound, Chainmörder, and Diabolisher, to name a few. This weekend, we’re actually having a two-night metal event where a lot of local bands will perform. Unfortunately, since there are only two of us in the band, we’re not able to play live shows at the moment. That might change if we can find the right people to join us, at least as session members.
15. It might be too early, seeing as you’re working on it right now, but what can we expect from the forthcoming release?
- We’re aiming to release our debut album in the near future and are currently working on new material. The style will stay pretty close to what we did on the EP, but it’s still a bit too early to reveal any specific details. Hopefully, we’ll have it out by the end of next year, but we’ll see how things progress.
16. Thank you for taking the time to speak to Rotten Pages. Do you have any final words, or anything you would like to add?
- Thanks again for doing this interview with us. Check out our EP and feedback is always welcome. You can contact us through social medias or via email qabrblackmetal@gmail.com
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