Backstage Pass - Apocryfal - Interview

ATP

What is the title of your upcoming CD? How did you come up with the name?

APOCRYFAL

Our EP is entitled Aberration Of Mind. I tried to reflect how I see man's faith in higher power and how they put their trust in something that will stay forever unknown to humans. You have to hit the bottom to "find" god or whatever people call enlightenment and that is a huge part of the problem - you would not trust a human being that has fucked up his life entirely (from outer causes or by themselves) with decisions that really matter. So why would you trust them with things that cannot be proven to even exist? Its like a phantom straw that people reach out to when they cant handle the world that objectively surrounds us. Beliefs = errors in human thinking.

ATP

Is this your first CD and if not, how is this one different from the others?

APOCRYFAL

Our first demo was entitled Ravens and its more straightforward ass kicking death metal in more old school form. I would like to quote DBL's review on this: "The concept is as straightforward as getting your ass kicked at the hotdog stand, it?s bashing like there is no tomorrow and all this with the maximum aggression." (Read the full review at: http://www.damned-by-light.com/reviews/696.html)

ATP

Did you write all the songs before going into the studio or did you write them as you were recording?

APOCRYFAL

We had our stuff together on both records when we arrived to the studio. I guess there will always be some form of polishing involved when you start recording. For example, you can experiment with layering different kind of vocals together, or to have a massive wall of sound on some parts.

ATP

Walk us thru the process of writing your music?

APOCRYFAL

I make the lyrics as a vocalist. That is very important for me, since it would be like singing karaoke if you couldn't REALLY relate to what someone else is writing. Also the topics are very personal for me and it is always a pleasure if someone really gets what I'm trying to express. We arrange the songs together with the whole band and everyone has their opinion and it is important that Apocryfal really represents exactly the things we intend to. We never think what other people would think of our music, we make music that WE like to make. Its a never ending swamp if you try to please everyone and you will never succeed in it. When you bow in one direction, you simultaneously show your ass to the other. So its best to stay true to yourself and make what you think is real and worth making.

ATP

Where did you record and why?

APOCRYFAL

We recorded "Aberration Of Mind" in Studio Watercastle which was a local studio. We had heard good things about the studio and their main man Arttu Sarvanne and the rumors were exactly true - the recordings went better than well and we are all more than pleased with the outcome. They have moved away from Jyvaskyla to Punkalaidun. You should check Arttu's works, he is amazing at what he does.

ATP

How did you pay for your recording?

APOCRYFAL

With doing drudgery of course. Jokes aside, we saved up the money and loaned some since not one of us had a good steady income. The monetary sacrifice was totally worth it since we achieved something so much bigger (I know its a cliche, but that's the truth from our point of view). Some people are pleased with a sound that you could make with equipment available from the flea-market and I hope they are really fine with it. Still, you shouldn't be surprised if no one wants to really listen to your shit recorded in your basement. I don't mean that it is necessary to make over-polished stuff to make good records but I think that everyone would rather listen to well produced records than some tapes recorded in your rehearsal place.

ATP

Did you have a producer or did you self-produce? If so, what kind of input did the producer have. If your self-produced, why?

APOCRYFAL

As said above, we make our own stuff because we want to make music that primarily pleases ourselves. Simple as that.

ATP

Did you try to capture your "live sound" or did you go for something else?

APOCRYFAL

I don't see any point in doing records that sound exactly the same as the live performance. One of my biggest let downs in any live concert was the Malthusian's gig at the Black Flames of Blasphemy V. Their record is flawless and more than crushing and so was their live gig. Sadly, nothing more, nothing less. I personally think that bands should give you something more when playing live since there is no point watching live shows if you get the exactly same experience from listening to the album.

ATP

Did your record label have any input into the music you recorded?

APOCRYFAL

We don't have a label, so I guess this question will be deleted.

ATP

Are you pleased with the final product?

APOCRYFAL

I personally wouldn't change a bit of it. It reflects itself just as it was meant to.

ATP

Where will we be able to pick up a copy?

APOCRYFAL

The album is sold out but we are thinking about repressing it if it has demand. You can check our Bandcamp (http://apocryfal.bandcamp.com/) where we have both of our records for sale in pay-what-you-want method

ATP

Will you be touring to promote your CD?

APOCRYFAL

We opened the Saturday of the sold-out Steelfest Open Air 2014 and that was a big thing for us. Its an extreme metal festival with both out and inside stages. There was over 1000 people there on both days. There were some pretty big acts including INQUISITION (USA), DESTR?YER 666 (NED), NIFELHEIM (SWE), MAVETH (FIN), PRIMORDIAL (IRL), VADER (POL) etc. We got to play there by winning their Demoni-contest which was hold. There was over 60 bands listed and we won it easily, as the organizer expressed it. We have also made some smaller gigs at Tampere and in our hometown, Jyvaskyla.

ATP

Would rather be recording or playing live shows?

APOCRYFAL

I personally prefer recording over live shows. I know some folks from our band think otherwise but thats the beauty of this - Apocryfal represents different things to each one of us and it still gives everyone of us what we want from it. Of course you get more coverage for your band by doing live shows but that is not the bands function for me. The main function for me is to have a way to express myself and my thoughts with some tunes that go hand to hand with how I feel. I mainly write my lyrics based on the instrumental versions of the songs and that works very well for me.

ATP

Anything you would like to say to your fans?

APOCRYFAL

Stay true to yourself and you will thrive.