October Falls Interview up 10/17/2008

http://koti.welho.com/mlehto4/of/of.html

1. The band went through a very big change in 2007 in sound what made you move from a more acoustic/ ambient sound to folkish Black metal / Pagan metal sound?

The main reason for the decision to split the expression into two paths, an all-acoustic and a harsher one, was the fact that I felt some of the new material worked better with a harsher approach, so I didn?t want to limit the expression to acoustic only. It may have been wiser of me to release the harsher material under a different name, but since I felt both paths carried the same ideals and themes, I didn?t want to create a side-project, but rather release both directions as October Falls.

2. What does the name Octobers Falls mean? Why was the name used?

This is a question that always rises, but sadly I can?t give an exact answer, as I can?t really recall the days the name was chosen. November Falls was also considered, but for some reason beyond my recall, October Falls was chosen instead.

3. Debemur Morti Productions has been your label since 2007 what made you move from Corvus to Debemur Morti Productions.

I guess when I decided to record and release the harsher material I wanted to look for labels oriented more towards that kind of music. A few labels were already showing interest towards the new and harsher material, but when Void from Debemur Morti wrote me telling he was interested in releasing ?The Streams of the End?, I chose them because I thought that would be the best option for October Falls. Now after a few years of collaboration I can still stand behind that decision.

4. Does October Falls perform live or are you just a studio outlet

In a way I think it would be misleading to call October Falls a studio outlet, because basically I work with this every day; it?s not like with these normal so called studio bands, where people just gather once a year, write and record an album and that?s it. On the other hand it?s an appropriate term, as I have no real desire to perform live. If I ever decided to do so, I would need to gather a session line-up for the event, so it?s very unlikely to happen anytime in the foreseeable future.

5. There seems to be a strong heathen/pagan element to the music, art, logos are you following a heathen belief of is it just part of you Scandinavian history that makes this come about.

There are no specific movements that I follow, so all the themes, music and lyrics come from my personal views and ideals. I don?t subscribe to the way of thinking where you read a few books on a given subject and swallow it all without any further thinking, and later deny any other knowledge available elsewhere. Personally I?m very inspired and interested in my heritage and the older cultural elements of my homeland. That has been a huge part of what October Falls is about and hopefully it can also be seen and heard on the records.

6. Being from Finland a more isolated names has this also influenced the sound as some the most unusual sounding metal projects have come from there Thergothon, Skepticism, Dolorian, Korpiklaani, Amorphis etc

If you?re referring to the fact that Finland is a fairly isolated place, and that having an effect on the sound of many groups coming from here, I guess you have a point there; it has also had an effect on how October Falls sounds.

7. If you were asked to explain the sounds of October Falls how would the band do so.

I think the sounds of October Falls echo nature, melancholia, sadness and anger, but never complete hopelessness. If I were to take a simpler way and just compare the sound to other bands out there, October Falls sounds a bit like a crossbreed of Ulver, old Behemoth, older Katatonia, with black metal and some neofolk-elements.

8. What are you thoughts of the digital age Mp3, Webzines, Myspace. are you fans of the 21st century ways or do you miss the ways of old radio, print zines, tape trading etc.

I?m generally more towards old fashioned ways, but I have nothing against mp3?s or webzines. Mp3?s are an excellent way to get to know a new band without using your money on something you wouldn?t really care for. Webzines are also good, but at least for me they will never be better than printed zines, as I like to be able to read the zines wherever I want. I have a rather strong negative opinion regarding MySpace, Facebook and similar sites, because I can?t understand all these so called friends and their ?hope you?re ok? messages, which to me feel disingenuous. I dislike that kind of communication with people, but I realize sites like them can be a great platform for promotion for bands and labels. Still, I?ve decided I don?t need that platform to promote my music. If they can?t find my music elsewhere, they can find something else.

9. Is there a running theme on The Womb Of Primordial Nature CD?

The whole lyrical concept deals with the womb of primordial nature, which is basically an analogy for humankind that hides the true face of the beast. It?s about the fact that every human has a beast inside of him/her, and when conditions are extreme or rough enough, it will burst through, no matter how pure or innocent the human is. The world is filled with perfect examples, where a certain circumstance, like war, has completely changed people?s behavior, and turned even the gentlest human being into raging beast. It?s like a hidden flame within the passive mind, which only needs a spark to light the hibernating fire again and to break the balance between the human and the beast.

10. Do you feel that the underground music scene is growing and taking new life or is it slowly fading away to the mainstream.

I think there will always be an underground scene. Some bands ?grow out? of it, or at least people assume they do, but when one band has moved towards the mainstream, there are a lot of new bands taking their place in the underground. So in my opinion the people who think the underground is dying, it?s more about the fact that they?ve grown out of it than the scene itself dying.

11. What are some of the things October falls are currently listening to or reading. Please share this to us.

I?ve recently been listening to the strong new split release by Absurd, Grand Belial's Key & Sigrblot and of course some other records like the debut of Totalselfhatred and an older classic, Heart of the Ages by In The Woods... Sadly I have very little time to read these days, but I?m just starting to read Suomalainen Samanismi (Finnish Shamanism), a topic that interests me a lot, so I can?t wait to really focus on this one.

12. Your website is very minimal is there do to lack of caring or just the music to do the talking

The only reason behind a simple website is that I didn?t want to include a lot of personal information on the site, so there?s no biography or anything like that. There are the latest news, discography and a few links to samples from the latest albums and that?s it. I even took out the email address, as I felt it was there for no reason.

13. thank you for your time any closing thoughts here

Thank you, kiitos.