Congratulations for your new album. It is a masterpiece. It is your first full-length album since “Zerfall” in 2019, with “Jenseits” appearing between them. How did those seven years change Finsterforst creatively and personally as a band?
Olli: Thanks a lot. Creatively I’d like to think we’ve just matured and improved while maintaining our curiosity. I think we’ve gone from realizing our boundaries to embracing them. Personally some of us have become dads which definitely changes your perspective on society, the world as a whole and life itself. Time becomes more important while losing its meaning at the same time because a part of you will be around long after you’re gone and your focus shifts to making sure it will be the part that you really care about.
“Still” lasts almost eighty minutes. What led you to this format, and how did you determine the scale of the album?
Simon: We didn't determine the scale. Actually, most of our albums turned out to be above the average considering the playing time, hehe. The songs are still a bit longer and we don't want to put only three or four songs on a full length album.
Titles such as “Obduktion,” “Herbstwanderung,” “Knie Nieder,” “Fels” and “Leere” suggest death, submission, nature and emptiness. Are these independent subjects, or parts of a larger lyrical concept?
Olli: In terms of planning for it to be a länger lyrical concept? No, we didn’t want to do that this time around. At the same time I’m very much into certain philosophical and sociological concepts that permeate through everything I write. What I can’t subscribe to is the submission part. We don’t submit, we accept reality and try to change what we can change. If we walk through the lyrics one by one, I think "Herbstwanderung" and "Im Wind" are an exception because they’re pure fantasy while obviously still providing a message.
Nature has remained closely tied to Finsterforst since the band’s beginning. Has the forest changed as a symbol for you, from a physical homeland into something psychological, political or spiritual?
Olli: Yes and no. I think it has always been more than just home but we’ve found better ways to use it as a tool to get our message across. The forest has become kind of the main actor of our cineastic music.
"That’s not art, that’s business. And that’s not our approach to music at all."
(on relation of playlists, singles and a full-length album)
Olli Berlin
Earlier releases examined displacement, freedom, human destruction and the conflict between mankind and nature. Which questions about humanity became central while writing “Still,” and were any of them influenced by current events?
Olli: I’m very driven by trying to understand fears. Not some personal phobia but societal fears that make us do dumb stuff. Let’s take climate change for example. We all feel it, we all understand it rationally and we still find ways to dodge the necessary moves to reduce our influence on it and protect ourselves. The reason for that is fear, just as fear is the reason for all those culture wars going on in western societies. So fear is kind of the common denominator here.
Finsterforst has continued to use German for most original lyrics, even with an international audience. How important are the sound, rhythm and emotional precision of the German language to the character of “Still”?
Olli: I honestly have a hard time answering this one. I obviously think about sound and rhythm while writing lyrics and I can be more precise. At the same time I often make concessions to the music by short-cutting a train of thought or using more words than it would actually need because the music calls for more. If we would write lyrics in English I think we’d also get much less shit from German media outlets for that. But if we want to stay true to ourselves and create real Finsterforst music and atmosphere it always comes back to German lyrics.
The album was produced at Iguana Studios with Christoph Brandes, continuing a relationship that reaches deep into the band’s history. What did that long connection allow you to achieve, and which parts of the production required a different method this time?
Simon: We know us since very long time. Since the very beginning of Finsterforst, Christoph is a part of us with his Iguana Studios. We know how to work together, we share similar kinds of humor, we share similar tastes for beer and meat, it simply fits perfectly. This friendship is also the reason why we reach these great results each time. Every single production with him was simply an amazing experience and always inspiring.
“Still” contains guitars, keyboards, accordion, orchestral arrangements, contrasting vocal styles and a large Black Forest choir. How did you decide which layers deserved space, and what had to be removed before the final mix?
Simon: It is always difficult when we get closer to the mix. Because indeed there are quite many elements within the music. But we rarely really have to actually remove things. It is simply very complex to keep the mix quite balanced and it certainly is way more difficult to produce this kind of music than to produce music that contains much less instruments, sounds and elements. But this is the way we chose. Throughout many years we developed more and more and somehow never really took a step back. Although I must say, that with “Still” we certainly deliver more compact song structures. But the sound is fatter and heavier than ever.
The closing covers come from Immortal and Pink Floyd, two artists from very different musical worlds. What connects “Beyond The North Waves” and “Another Brick In The Wall Pt. II” to Finsterforst, and why did they belong on this release?
Simon: Immortal always was a bit of an influence for me. Certain guitar riffing in our past was definitely having some touch of the Norwegians. So for us it was quite logical to cover a track of them. Pink Floyd on the other hand was simply the result of the search for a rock classic that we tried to perform. It was an experiment which was quite fun in my opinion. Both cover songs shall be simply a bonus addition for our listeners.
Finsterforst’s music depends on scale, atmosphere and gradual development. How difficult is it to translate “Still” to the stage without reducing the detail or emotional intensity of the studio versions?
Olli: Well, first of all there’s playback for all the synth and orchestral stuff, no need to act like we wouldn’t use that. In terms of emotional intensity I think it comes down to us feeling what we do. The first gig with the new material went pretty well, so I’m not worried about that at all.
Listeners now consume music through playlists, short clips and isolated singles. Does that environment change how you approach a lengthy album, or does “Still” represent a deliberate commitment to the full-album experience?
Olli: We’re creating music, art. We don’t compromise that due to consumers' choices but obviously we do promotion in that environment, so we’re not entirely free from that. But other than that, what would be the point of playing it safe? That’s not art, that’s business. And that’s not our approach to music at all.
With AI tools entering music creation, streaming platforms shaping listening habits and touring economics becoming increasingly difficult, how do you see the future of ambitious, long-form metal, and what must the scene protect before something essential is lost?
Simon: Fuck AI in arts. It has nothing to do there. Absolutely nothing. But I could already see that obviously quite many people have a different opinion about that. In my world, in my mind I simply cannot understand even the thought about using AI in music. What's the point of it besides that the whole soul and heart of this art will vanish totally. No magic anymore, no nothing. In general, AI is a complex topic, quite helping and dangerous at the same time.
Any tour plans or live shows to support the album?
Olli: Due to one of us becoming a dad in the fall we won’t do much this year. But since we’ve just joined Dragon Productions we’re sure there will be great shows in the future to play the new songs for our great Fans.
Add comment
Comments