Interview to OCCULT MASTER (Finland)
• 1. Your music seamlessly blends the crushing weight of Doom Metal with the groove of classic Hard Rock. How do you balance the dark, introspective atmosphere of the occult with the raw, high-energy drive of rock and roll without losing the gravity of either?
It´s a question of trying to keep the pieces in balance. In Occult Master, we try to make interesting and versatile music to our tastes and vision. Gladly, we`re not forced to be put in a one particular style of metal, but we can combine elements from here and there, thus creating our own kind of mixture of eerie, heavy and melodic traditional metal. I find it pleasing that there is versatility in music, for example that after a slow, melancholic part comes a crushing riff or faster stuff. We couldn`t be playing pure doom, because we are all lively and cheerful boys and like to rock and roll more than to be gloomy and grim all the time.
2. Finland has a legendary reputation for producing some of the most profound and melancholic heavy music in the world. How much of the Finnish landscape, folklore, or cultural psyche influences the thematic DNA of Occult Master?
Maybe unconsciously, yeah. Of course for us, living in the northern part of Finland where the summer is short and most of the year is cold, damp, rainy, dark and snowy, it might have an effect to the music we create. And of course the bleak spirit and merciless humor of Oulu is in a big part of Occult Master`s mental landscape. But mostly I think that our musical and lyrical influences come from all over the world, of course Black Sabbath being the main inspiration for us. But I`ve listened to all kinds of different music styles very much: Prog, Jazz, Classical, Ethno etc, so I think our music is a melting pot from various places and styles from all over the world. In our lyrics, stories are reflecting things in life and this day in general, for example about mental issues, domestic violence, loneliness, losing a loved ones and friends and pure fictional horror- style stories. So themes are quite common and universal. We don`t sing about Finnish lakes and Kalevala- folklore, there are other bands who do it better. It`s not our thing.
• 3. The word "Occult" implies hidden knowledge and esoteric truths. When you are songwriting, do you view the music as a vessel to explore existing esoteric philosophies, or are you creating a personal mythology unique to the band?
To be frank, not very often. Maybe we are not very esoteric guys. In our music there is depth, in lyrical- wise but as I said earlier, the topics are more universal and ordinary. Although some of the darker literature is familiar to me, for example Black Bible, Malleus Maleficarum and works of Madame Blavatsky, I`ve not dived in too deep into those works although they are a good read. We try not to preach for anything or support any kind of ideologies and isms. We just try to make lyrics suit our music. We are not gloomy grim band enough to deal with those satanic, esoteric topics `cause we`re not into those things at all. But it is important for us the lyrics to fit the music so it`s not the generic “Warriors fight in the night, swords are shining bright” - styled run of the mill- heroic lyrics.
• 4. In Doom Metal, tempo is not just a speed; it is an emotional weight. How do you approach the pacing of your tracks to ensure that the slower, repetitive riffs feel hypnotic and ritualistic rather than stagnant?
I think that we are not a doom band, more of a heavy rock/metal with doomish parts here and there. We do have heavy riffs in a slow tempo, but not all the time. Maybe our overall tempo is more of a mid- tempo than slow. I like our songs to have different moods and tempos that suit into the song`s context. I think that every song is a journey of its own, some kind of a musical road trip, where the landscapes change during the trip. And there is quite a small amount of long- lasting stucks in our stuff, parts move on quite fast.
• 5. Production plays a massive role in vintage-sounding heavy music. How do you achieve that warm, analog, and organic texture in the studio while still ensuring the mix has the modern punch required for today's listeners?
We try not to over produce our stuff. We played all of the album`s songs live in the studio, as a band. We rehearsed songs to the level we thought it was good enough, and then recorded 1- 3 takes of each song and picked the best version. We used minimum amount of overdubs. Some obvious mistakes were corrected afterwards but you still can hear many mistakes and stuff on the recording. Vocals were recorded afterwards, and few solos. Most of the solos are live takes, as well. Some second- guitar overdubs and additive backing vocals/ harmonies were added afterwards. As for the mix, we were happy to find Kimmo Lukkari to mix the record, I think he captured our sound very well and did not over polish it to death, he understood our stuff. Modern day technology corrupts the natural sound of music, it doesn`t let it breath anymore. Ev`rything is so big and massive all the time, so you tend to loose the nuances and humanity.
• 6. The guitar tone is often the spiritual backbone of Hard Rock and Doom. Could you pull back the curtain on your sonic laboratory? What specific vintage gear, fuzz pedals, or amplification techniques are vital to creating the signature Occult Master wall of sound?
My guitar sound is quite simple: Two electric guitars I used on the album are both my self-made Gibson SG- styled guitars with both having the same pick- up configuration: I use Seymor Duncan Jeff Beck- humbuckers in the bridge position and Seymor Duncan Jazz- humbuckers on the neck position. The other guitar`s JB- and Jazz - humbuckers are old, from 1990`s and the other pair are about fifteen years old. My amp is an old, year model 1983 Marshall JMP with 1980`s Marshall JCM cabinet with four original 4x12 celestion speakers. In my pedal board I have a Boss HM- distortion pedal, Boss CH- chorus and Boss equalizer. That`s it, quite minimal but Bossy set! We specced the amp`s sound by test- recording all the speakers separately and together, and found the sound by finally using just one speaker, microphone placed as close you could put it, placed in the middle of the speaker`s center and outer edge. And we played loud in the studio, to get the real saturation of an old valve amp. Drums were recorded normally, with few overheads and a kick- drum mic. We experimented with bass sound, and the best sound was straight line in, which was then re- recorded through Toni`s laney amp with microphone.
• 7. Walk us through your collaborative songwriting process. Does a song usually begin with a singular, monolithic riff, or do the lyrical themes and vocal melodies dictate the musical architecture of the track?
Good question! Answer is : Both. It depends on what happens to happen. Sometimes I`ve got a song title to start with, sometimes some lines, lyrics, and sometimes I come up with a riff worthy enough, end then I`ll start to develope around that. It is a varying process I`ve got no one certain formula but I use different approaches. In vocals, I usually come up with some kind of “chorus”, a refrain to start with. Most difficult for me is to create verse melodies, because my high- register vocal abilities are limited and I can`t reach high notes. My natural singing range is bass, bass- baritone. And working on the middle register only, it takes some effort to come up with interesting melodies. Especially in heavy, distorted parts I have to try to reach my highest possible notes that vocals cut through the heavy riffing and all the noice we create. Using Type O Negative- styled low vocals wouldn`t suit to this kind of music and they wouldn`t pop out. That`s why my vocals are so untrained and harsh `cause I`m not a real singer and I`m yelling my lungs out. But in general, we try to make stuff where the vocals serve the music. And as a three-piece band we are, the singer won`t get frustrated during the long instrumental sections...
• 8. Doom Metal often relies heavily on the bass and drum pocket to create a sense of impending dread. How do the rhythm section and the guitars interact in your band to maximize that low-end seismic impact?
We tune our instruments down a whole step, standard D, which gives us more low- end register to bring extra umpfh to our music, but not to get too mushy you couldn`t tell the sounds apart from each other. Usually the bass follows guitar riffs in unison to get the big wall of sound. But sometimes bass interacts with guitar more complexly, putting some interesting counter- point sounds to guitar stuff. It all depends on the riff. Drums follow the musical structure and give a heart beat to all the stuff on top of them. Because our drummer Jussi is a lively player, besides a steady and organic beat, he comes up with these simple yet musical and rhytmically pleasing solutions. In instrumental parts and behind the solos, bass and drums lock in to create a steady and interesting base for guitar to fill in.
• 9. Your lyrics carry a strong poetic and cinematic quality. What literature, poetry, or classic horror cinema serves as the primary inspiration when you are penning down your tracks?
I´ve read books and different kind of literature and publications through all my life in massive quantities. Earlier, when I was younger, I read a lot of horror , violence and gore books and magazines and all kinds of twisted stuff. That`s where the foundation was cast. I was a keen fan of gore and violent, sick trash movies for example Cannibal Holocaust, Necromantic and all the Lucio Fulci stuff. Nowadays I can`t watch that kind of stuff anymore, it`s too hefty for me, as I´ve become older and softer during these years. Nowadays I read lots of books about Finnish Wars, Finnish politics, religious magazines, car magazines, biografies, old british crime/agent books and so on. I read almost everything what pops in front of me. I love reading. I don`t watch tv almost at all, `cause I don`t have time, but if I do, I like to watch car and music programs and old French and Italian movies and I absolutely love old Brit- comedy series.
• 10. Visual identity—from album artwork to stage attire—is crucial for an occult rock band. How closely do you work with visual artists to ensure that your artwork is a faithful visual translation of the music inside the record?
Yes, the visual appearance is important. Especially the album covers and inlet art. We were lucky to find two skillful guys, Jarno Vesa and Kimmo Lukkari, who helped us with artwork. Jarno made the front cover from the photographs we took at one photo session and Kimmo took the pictures and made the inner sleeve art work from those pictures which were taken by him from the old spanish derelict castle. Kimmo also made the layout of an album. There were few meetings and breefings and boys did their job professionally. I`m quite happy how it came out.
• 11. There is a fine line between theatricality and genuine cosmic horror. How do you maintain an authentic, menacing atmosphere in your concepts without falling into the predictable clichés of the genre?
I hope we`we managed to avoid the most obvious cliches in our stuff by being original in our music and not to take the most ordinary path. Maybe it is the song writing and lyrics in general, I think they differ a bit from the mainstream modern heavy of today thus not being too alienating for ordinary listener to enjoy our music. I think that some people might find some of our music soothing, uplifting and enjoyable, and lyrics some listeners might relate to. We`re not the most extreme but we`re not the most ordinary, as well. I hope our fans like this kind of approach when there is a mix of familiar sounds but sometimes surprising turns and twists. And I think that our lyrics are not too vulgar or alienating for common listener to like even though they deal with sometimes dark subjects.
• 12. Many bands in your genre describe their live performances as a "ritual" rather than just a rock show. What kind of energy or collective consciousness do you aim to evoke in the room when Occult Master takes the stage?
I`d describe our live gigs exactly a rock show! We are energetic and cheerful pack and our aim is to give our audience an uplifting, hard- rocking balls to the wall- experience. Our audience is less or more music lovers, metal heads and rockers who like no frills, no grims but a good heavy music with some occasional prog parts and crushing riffs. Our live gig`s between the songs chatter is laden with dark, sarcastic humor and interactivity with our audience. All and all, I think we deliver a good- time heavy- show for our audience so everybody can go back home with good spirits and a smile on their face. Our set`s two last songs are always those on the faster and cheerier side of our catalog. We like to build our gig`s drama`s arc so that good will and rock juice will flow and our friends are happy minded after our show.
• 13. Looking back at your discography, how do you feel your sonic identity has evolved from your very first rehearsals to your latest material? What did you have to unlearn to become the musicians you are today?
At first, 2012 when I formed the band, me and a drummer Jari started jamming heavy rock stuff. We found a bass player, but he was so bad player, he couldn`t play the songs which were very simple at that time. So I had to let him go. Luckily, we found another bass player, Tapani, and he was good enough to play such a stuff. We were looking for a vocalist and found Markku, who was really enthusiastic and a nice guy. We did some gigging locally and then we recorded a three- song single. But quite soon it was obvious that Markku wasn`t the right guy for vocals, because he had very bad problems to stay in tune, he was very inconsistent and it was always a bit too exciting what kind of a day he had when gigging. It was a real shame and I felt so sorry for him and for us `cause we had to sack him. But that was the only one right decision. Then we tried several different guys and a one girl as a singer, but there was always something wrong. So then I had to step in as a vocalist, and we had to trim our music a little bit that I could do the vocals. At first it was a real pain for me, because I am a guitar player, not a singer. But we kept going and maybe I evolved so we could continue. That`s when our music changed from heavy rock towards more into doom and dark stuff, to suit my voice. After few gigs and a maybe about three years with this line- up, the band split. We`ve come to an dead end and it was no use to keep going anymore. But quite soon I found Jussi Risto as a new drummer and Toni Mäki as a new bass player and voila, things started to roll! New boys made it possible for me to write more complex, versatile and faster stuff. Since then, I think that true spirit of Occult Master has been found. There`s always a positive, cheerful and enthusiastic vibe in rehearsals. Boys are very quick to learn, and they have great ideas and they don`t have a negative attitude towards more complex and odd stuff. I think we`ve found and are still refining our voice as a band. Main goal is to try to make good and interesting music. With this line- up we`ve been able to bring new nuances and sounds to our stuff.
• 14. In an era dominated by fast-paced, digital, single-driven media, Doom Metal demands patience and immersion from the listener. How do you view the relationship between Occult Master and the modern digital music landscape?
It is very difficult to pop out and to be found by people, because media is pushing new music massive amounts every day, so you get very easily in a place where you are not noticed. It definitely is a problem for us, I don`t think we`ve been found by the people who could possibly like our music. And the musical style we`re in, is marginal. We`re not for everybody, but I believe in our music and think it deserves more attention and fans. Despite that, we are happy that our first album is out and it has gained some response and recognition. But gigging is also difficult, because a no- name band is hard to sell. Bars and pubs, festivals and different happenings don`t want to hire a band they are not familiar with. And they don`t want to pay. Money is tight nowadays. And we are not young boys anymore and we are not willing to gig for free, it makes no sense. Locally, we`ve been playing gigs with minimal salary, but you can do it only in your hometown, there`s no use to go further to play, say a saturday gig for pennies, because cost of travelling and accommodation, food etc expenses is so high and you waste your saturday and sunday for that and get pennies in your hand and maybe a warm beer and a cold pizza! Sad to say, but that`s current state of things. If we could find a good manager or a booking agent, who could sell us for a sensible price that we and a venue organisation would be happy with, that would be a different case. Then it would be sensible to gig. But we can`t do it for free, unfortunately.
• 15. Finally, as you look toward the horizon, what uncharted territories—musically, conceptually, or spiritually—is Occult Master eager to conquer next?
We have been working on the new material, and will start recording in a few weeks. It is crushing, monstrous stuff with very dark and sentimental lyrics. Topics are heavy as hell and the horror is oozing out from our new songs. There will be 2-3 short and fast attacks and rest of the material is mammoth stomping heavy doom progressive brutal assaults! We`ve got one song which is quite a light and positive, we`ll have to think about it, will it make it to the next album. But really heavy and sinister stuff is coming next! We continue to pursuit new territories and new, different dark landscapes and topics. We, Occult Master wish to thank you for this great opportunity and your kind attention and this interview. It`s been a pleasure to answer to these fine questions. And we hope all the best for you and to all of our friends in Peru! Keep on rocking the South American Way!
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