Line Up:
Saku Ahola On Vocal
Luukas Savolainen On Gutar/Vocal
Mikko Matikka On Guitar
Timo Tarvainen On Bass
Rami Laine On Drums
Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
We speak again of our newsroom, where in a little while, we will have in all its emotions, the interview 210 of the Aristocracy.This time, we talked to a band that comes from a place with a beautiful, rich history and a lot of commitment to Heavy Metal.However, this one does something extreme, brutal, furious and other adjectives along these lines.We are talking about a Finnish band that calls itself Raster Density and we arrived with a consolidated band history.
This story gains a new stage which is their third full album entitled Apothecary's Tome ov Depravity and Filth.We really want to thank the band, especially their vocalist and guitarist Luukas for answering our humble but important questions and Inverse Records, their label for trusting us with this wonderful work. Before starting this chat, let's go to one of their songs.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Apothecary's Tome ov Depravity and Filth?
Luukas Savolainen:Composing this album wasn't easy. It took suprisingly long and the oldest songs are from 2018! But this time we managed to combine different musical elements better than before and we think this album is the most versatile compared to our previous albums. The riffs are more brutal, more technical, the ambient sections are more focused.All bands say this about their newest album, but we think this one is the best.And one of the riffs is based on the rhythm of a washing machine.
A2:How does the band balance the delicacy of its melodies with the intensity of the lyrics?
Luukas:Well,the music is composed first and lyrics come afterwards.We look for a good story, come up with the lyrics and arrange the song.
A3:Is this pharmacist who we can call the narrator of your story someone the band really knows?
Luukas:No, the apothecary is a fictional character.
A4:What is Salt for the band?
Luukas:Salt refers to PCP.On our first album, Ov Hands and Bestial Pleasure, there is a song called Salt.This newest one is a concept album about drugs and the first single Eyewitness (Salt Pt. II) is a crazy song it sounds like it's on PCP,so we thought it would be a great continuum to use the same topic and name the song accordingly.
A5:What kind of problems are addressed in the fifth song?
Luukas:Illness, ailment, disease, agony, suffering, depression, pregnancy, nausea, exhaustion, hunger, discomfort and boredom.And there is a pill for every one of them.
A6:Some literature or film inspire the band?
Luukas:Not really.
A7:How is Raster Density different from your previous bands?
Luukas:Our previous bands played thrash metal, Meshuggah-style metal and death metal so guess we can say Raster Density is a combination of them all.
A8:Can we say that the seventh song has a psychological aspect?
Luukas:No, it's just about being on drugs.
A9:How band arrive to Inverse Records?
Luukas: We just asked different labels if they would be interested in distributing our album and Inverse took us under their wings.
A10: A lot of things are filthy in this world, but what filth inspired this particular album?
Luukas:It all started from jenkem, "the shit fume drug". We thought that's pretty filthy and we decided to base the lyrics on drugs.
A11:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Luukas: It's the leather cover of the apothecary's recipe book and the incover consists of old stained pages. So it's the tome. The CD has a picture of Pablo Escobar,the star of Bear with me.
A12:What kind of subject don´t deserve a Raster Density song?
Luukas:As long as it's based on a true story and it's violent or disturbing in some way, all subjects are welcome.
A13:Why this album is conceptual?
Luukas:The previous album Mother ov Mankind was a concept album about Africa. We thought it was a great idea and decided the next album would be also a concept.
A14:Why did your character ask for patience in the eighth song?
Luukas: Not sure if we understand the question,no patience mentioned in the song.
A15:The band feel difference between Mother ov Mankind and now in Apothecary's Tome ov Depravity and Filth?
Luukas: Yes,we feel there is a diffenrence.The basic elements are the same but this time everything is just bigger and more focused.The playing, compositions, the production etc.
A16:Why does the band claim these stories are unlike anything we've heard before?
Luukas:We claim no such thing. We haven't invented the stories behind the songs, so there is a good chance you have heard of them before. We do claim that you won't easily come across this kind of music coming from Finland.
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