Line Up:
Niko Perakorpi On Vocal\Bass
Samuli Kaakinen On Guitar/Backing Vocals
Joonas Kinnari On Guitar
Sami Selkainaho On Keyboards
Tom Israels On Drums
Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
We speak again of our editorial office, where we will have in all your emotions, the interview 178 of the Aristocracy.Aristocracy arrives at its second nocturnal interview of the week. This time, we talk with a band that is debuting its Melodic Death Metal.However, it all started as a duo. However, the complexity of their songs, in addition to a neoclassical structure, demanded something more complete, combined with a dark atmosphere and a lot of melody.We're talking about Clamoris and they present us their debut album entitled Opus Limbonica. Sami Selkainaho answered our humble, but important questions.Big thanks to Sami, the whole band and of course Inverse Records for introducing us to the band.Let's go to one of their songs so that we can start this unprecedented interview with the Brazilian press.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Opus Limbonica?
Sami Selkainaho:The composition for the album commenced back in 2017. Our singer Niko suggested to me about setting up a band and I agreed to do it. I was writing a lot of music back then and saw a possibility to experiment with neoclassical stuff on an extreme metal setting. While I had dabbled with classical music for years already I had never went full-on with the influences from that area of my tastes in the way I did with Opus Limbonica but I had felt for years that it'd be something that would be interesting to do if the right opportunity presented itself. So I spent some time researching neoclassical chord progressions and practicing songs from bands with a similar concept and then spent the summer writing the album on weekends until we had enough songs to constitute for a full-length album.
Originally I didn't really set out to be the one to do all of the writing, I kind of prefer the band experience where there are multiple collaborators as I find it more creatively stimulating, but I was on a good creative flow so at one point Niko told me that if I wanted to do all of it, then go for it. Which I ended up doing.
A2:What kind of paradox is dealt with in the third song?
Sami Selkainaho:The paradox of deception. It's a story about a deceiver presenting a courteous face to someone whilst in reality having very opposite thoughts and sentiments towards them, so the paradox is the misalignment of how they act and what's really underneath.
A3:In addition to keyboards, are there other symphonic tones played by the band?
Sami Selkainaho:All of the symphonic instruments have been played on the keyboards, so there are no actual symphonic instruments on the album. None of us can play such instruments.
A4:Some literature or film inspire the band?
Sami Selkainaho:A few. What we were going for was a sort of musical equivalent of Hannibal Lecter, ie. something that's brutal, malicious and aggressive yet at the same time also sophisticated and intelligent.I was fascinated by the Machiavellian types of villains, eg. ones that rely on the use of subtlety, cunning and deception over brute strength, despite being very well capable of brutality when necessary.You could say there are a few characters from various films and literature that have a similar thing going that had a level of inspiration for the band.Additional examples of inspiration in addition to the aforementioned Lecter would be Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars, Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter and Sang-drax from The Death Gate Cycle.
A5:I really like the dark force of the band, but how and why did this decision come about?
Sami Selkainaho:I'm not sure if it can be called a decision per se, as there is no singular moment where I sat down and thought about it consciously really. It's more of a natural continuum of various factors.Some of the reasons are more long-standing, for example I have liked dark music in general for a long time now and it feels natural to extend it to my own compositions at this stage.I'd actually say that musically the album isn't even really all that dark if I compare it to the stuff that I listen to the most.Lyrically, it ended up being a bit more on the meaner side than what I perhaps had originally set out to do, which has to do with various frustrations around the time it was written on pushing their way to the lines.
A6:Why does anger inspire the band's fifth song?
Sami Selkainaho:One can get caught up in anger,especially if you hang out in the wrong company and get kicked to the head once too many. In this particular song, the theme of anger has been taken to a point where the desctruction of harmonious being is not only viewed with indifference, but in a liberating light, which it can appear as once you're far enough on that road.
A7:Is the snake that the band refers to in their music literal or metaphorical?
Sami Selkainaho:It is metaphorical.It's used as a symbolic expression of the destuctive elements of being.
A8:How band arrive to Inverse Records?
Sami Selkainaho:We were aware of Inverse from some of our previous affiliations, so we decided to present a demo of one of our songs to them and they took us on board.
A9:What kind of subject don´t deserve a Clamore Song?
Sami Selkainaho:I wouldn't outright rule out any subject, but I'd rather stay away from the overtly clichéd or cheesy subjects. "Brotherhood of metal" kind of stuff.
A10:In the second song, the band talks about a tight structure. Could the band explain better what a tight structure is?
Sami Selkainaho:This is mainly in referral to a strict verse-chorus structure and in our case also to a compact solo section, as most of our songs have lengthier solo sections within them.
A11:What would the title song of the album be about?
Sami Selkainaho:When it comes to life, we have to create our own meaning. We set our own axioms that we go by. Sometimes, whether due to reason of arrogance, despair or plain spite or some combination of multiple factors it's possible to find yourself in a position where you have not lived by an axiom that you have set for yourself. When that happens, you go somewhere. One word to describe that place could be the Limbo.
A12:What´s bands influence ours?
Sami Selkainaho:Children of Bodom, The Kovenant, Symphony X, Korn, Sigh, Dissection, Limbonic Art, Wintersun & a bunch of others.
A13:Even angels have evil plans?
Sami Selkainaho:Maybe.Or maybe they're just devils posing as angels.Or maybe, more interestingly, they are angels posing as devils.
A14:I don't necessarily mean the songs on the album, but do any of your songs contain personal experiences?
Sami Selkainaho:Sure. Art is a way to express yourself, so all of it is in some way tied to ones personal experience.Some people keep themselves detached from their expression and rely on the more distant and abstract themes, such as philosophy or fantasy and some people like to give their woes as is, plain and raw.Personally, I find the former to be somewhat unsatisfying and the latter somewhat cringey. So I try to walk somewhere in the middle in this.
A good portion of our album plays out as a sort of fantasy/horror story but I have no qualms admitting there are lines here and there aimed at certain directions.
A15:How and when was it realized that your music is demanding?
Sami Selkainaho:It was obvious from the get-go that the music that I had cooking up was rather tricky. I tend to gravitate towards complexity as it is, and when the whole neoclassical concept came about it just exacerbated the demands of the music.Additionally, since I am a keyboardist primarily I tend to approach chords and melodic lines in a slightly different way than guitarists usually do, which results in phrasings that are somewhat unusual and awkward from a guitarist's point of view.
A16:How is Clamoris different from your previous or other bands?
Sami Selkainaho:For me, it's different in that I'm working with very capable musicians, more so than ever before which gives me very free moving space as a songwriter.At times, when writing the album I was thinking that what I'm writing might raise some objections, or requests to simplify it but that didn't happen.There were even a number of places where I re-arranged the original compositions to be even more elaborate than what they originally were.So far, I haven't been able to come up with anything that the guys wouldn't be able to tackle. It's quite incredible, actually.Frankly, I still haven't fully grasped that the album is an actual thing now, and not just an exercise laying within my personal archives.
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