The title "The Secret Of Death" suggests something hidden and ancient. What does that phrase represent for you as a band?
Much of the new album's themes are things around the fringes of existence. Death is the final event horizon for mortals. It conceals the ultimate secret.
Looking at the cover art and the lyrical themes, how do you manage to keep the visual aesthetic so consistent with the music without repeating yourself?
There are repeating themes, but each cover art comes from meditating around the essence of the album and how it could be visualized. In this one you can see the head in the low middle as the present. Behind it the past generations fading into time. On its left side in the background, there are ancient architecture, such as temples and obelisks. On the right side, contemporary or perhaps futuristic buildings. All that on a landscape with finite borders draining into eternity. Above the head you see the light of consciousness and below it is the darkness of oblivion. There are dark worlds behind, ones we do not know. The shooting stars bring future events and cyclical reoccurrences from the past. Also, the inner pages of the CD and the LP lyric insert have a visualization of the themes of each song presented in them.
Your music often is like it exists in a world of tombs and forgotten places. Where does that imagery come from?
Many of the themes are about the mysterious aspects of dark worlds and secrets hidden in them. The Imagery is evoked from the same place as the music and the music accompanies the scenery of those realms.
The album has a much unified identity. Do you plan everything beforehand or let it take shape naturally as you write?
It's very important to have concistant style in the riffs and the atmosphere they bring to surface. It would be easier to play mishmash of styles and run after every musical idea that pops up. It takes a lot of planning to maintain that balance on the album. Many riffs, leads and even whole songs end up being cut off from the final result. The outcome is achieved by collecting together the pieces that work together, connecting and growing them with ideas like time signature transitions.
"I respect bands who develop their own style and continue without abandoning it."
There’s a strong atmospheric direction on this album. How do you approach building that kind of environment through sound?
The album combines brutality by distortion, rhythmic changes and low frequency sound to having an atmospheric undercurrent throughout the recording through more tranquil soundscapes. The balance between these elements is an important part of this recording.
Your sound avoids modern trends in death metal. Is that a conscious decision or just the natural outcome of your influences?
I don't go out of my way to avoid modern influences. I'm not trying to create nostalgic retro sound of past decades, but the death metal I grew up with from the 90s is implanted in my mind, so it does come through naturally.
Working alone gives full control, but also full responsibility. What are the biggest challenges of that approach?
Perhaps the music can become so niche to my own liking, that it repels some listeners. If I sent my tracks to a producer for more standardized sound, some of the intended expression would be lost in the process. The challenge is to deliver a sound that is true to me while being approachable to the listener.
After nine albums, what keeps you driven to continue exploring this sound?
I may be possessed by some kind of death metal demon. I just have fascination in working on songs and recording them. I respect bands who develop their own style and continue without abandoning it. It is my sacred quest follow this musical path and not to jump around after whims of the time. Sometimes when recording something unrelated just for fun, even that morphs into death metal.
Finland has a strong legacy in extreme metal. How do you see Desecresy fitting into that scene?
I don't necessarily see Desecresy having that strong connection or interaction with the Finnish scene. Bands have come and gone in through the years (and some remained too of course). Past few years there has been surge of good new death metal bands in Finland. I'm just happy to be able to record death metal and that the outcome can heard by anyone who is interested.
Having released nine albums through Xtreem Music, how has that partnership influenced the way the band has grown since the debut?
The biggest influence of Xtreem might be that Desecresy is even making physical releases. The songs of "Unveil in the Abyss" were just made available online without intention to be released. It wasn't until Dave Rotten asked me before I warmed to the idea of making it released on CD, vinyl and cassette. When approached I would have moved on to record "Deserted Realms" album, but Dave wanted to release the songs that became "Unveil In The Abyss". I might have stayed on the non-releasing path otherwise.
Many death metal bands today focus on speed, but Desecresy focuses on the "weight" of the sound. Why is the slower, more suffocating approach more effective for you?
Certain tempos have become the frame for where Desecresy’s music operates giving its distinct sound. The direction towards weightier approach started already in my previous band and I have kept on that with Desecresy.
When listeners step into "The Secret Of Death", what do you want them to experience or take away from it?
Cathartic relaxation after the album releases its tension in the end. Or just having good time listening to some death metal.
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