SOURCE – Skinwalker is probably your most evolved record even though you do something different after each record. However, what made you go in this direction with the new album?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – I don’t think its such a different direction, but it is probably the combination of the people playing on the record, we have a new rhythm section with Jan Rechbeger (Drums) and Niclas Etelävuori (Bass), I think the four of us took the concept of the band and were very collaboratively able to take the songs and the sound further, yes the band has always evolved after every record but I guess the combination of the four of us have evolved the sound somewhat.
SOURCE – How was it working with Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis), Santeri Kallio (Amorphis), Sami Yli-Sirniö (Kreator) and Albert Kuvezin (Yat-Kha) on the album and what did they bring to it and its sound?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – The guests on the album all did a great job, they are all extremely nice guys and easy to work with, obviously Tomi & Santeri are in Amorphis with Jan so the relationship was already there. Jan recorded the vocals with Toni, Tomi is the best death growl guy around so that was an easy choice to get him to do those parts as my strength is really melodic vocals. We needed some Hamond Organ on ‘Under the Black’ at the last minute so we sent the track off to Santeri and he sent back his part in a few hours which sounds super cool and gives the track a lot of energy. I believe Albert is in Russia so once again we sent the song ‘Skinwalker’ off and and he sent back these amazing throat singing tracks. Sami is a really sweet guy and I guess for Kreator fans it might be odd he played sitar, but he does it so well!
SOURCE – Was it an easy decision to figure out what songs to premiere from the record – and how do you feel the video shoots went?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – I guess starting with ‘Deathlike Silence’ was easy, it’s dark and catchy and it’s a good gateway into the album for new listeners. The video are done by Red Tape Pictures in Queensland Australia, so we did out band parts and sent them off to Clint, he did the rest, so we did not even have to be at the shoot for all the artist elements, which I think is kind of cool, it leaves Clint at Redcap to make his own artist interpretation. The track ‘Skinwalker’ is a bit of a dark horse as far as singles go, but we wanted to give a look into some of the darker sounds we make, ‘When the Fire Dies’ was also an easy choice and the video came up fantastically.
SOURCE – As you make more and more albums, does it get more difficult to break new musical ground and do new things?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – Not really, I guess this is album number seven but the sound always seems to move forward or evolve, I think if you think to hard about it, it can be harder, we have already written a heap of new material and that just came very quickly and naturally, as long as you focus on doing what you like and not what you think other people want to hear I think it is quite easy to just keep refining your sound. I am very happy with the result on Skinwalker.
SOURCE – How do changing consumer behaviors and preferences contribute to the perception of oversaturation in the music industry?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – I think over saturation takes place because of the rise of recording equipment to work at home, it is better an more affordable than ever, and in many ways this is a great thing, but of course it leads to a lot of people flooding the market place as you can record, mix and have a song streaming a few hours later, I mean its really amazing, but in some ways when everyone is using the same tools and samples etc music can become homogenised which is not very exciting and it it is maybe harder for all the great music to float to the top when streaming services are busting at the seams with new music. I think in many ways the Internet has taken some of the mystery away which was an awesome part of metal music!
SOURCE – How has Spotify’s rise as a dominant streaming platform contributed to the decline of physical music sales globally?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – Spotify make it easy and excusable for everyone to get music, and lets face it it is allots impossible for anyone to make a living now without touring on a large scale, when no one has to pay for music, recording studios close, labels close and bands can’t afford to make music or tour. So in many ways it’s the feline of the old business model. Now that can be interesting if we can all work out how to navigate this new landscape, I mean what I love about our label Reigning Phoenix Music, is they have a focus on physical product and they do beautiful work, I really think people are wanting that hands on experience with their music again, which is fantastic.
SOURCE – Which is more important in music – being intentionally novel and innovative or being consistent?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – Just making music that makes you feel something and make you feel satisfied as the creator, if it resonates with other people that is fantastic, I’m not really into all the gimmicks and costumes etc, but each to their own, what every works for the artist and what ever helps them express them selves, I do think it is however important to keep releasing music and letting people know you are still around.
SOURCE – What’s planned following the release of Skinwalker?
Mark Kelson (Guitar, Vocals) – We plan to tour for the album and we are starting to plan these ideas now, also we have started working on our next album which is coming along really well, so don’t expect it to be to long before you see us on tour or we hit you with more new music, lost of great stuff ahead.
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Photo Credit: band
NOTE:
Parts of this questions were generated by ChatGPT, an AI tool developed by OpenAI, on Augutst 2024. The AI was employed to aid in generating ideas and drafting text.