NIGHTRAGE - Antony Hämäläinen

\r\n"Nightrage are reinventing themselves and they are trying to revisit their past. But make no mistake here they are not copying themselves. "Wearing A Martyr’s Crown" is one of the most fresh-sounding albums of the genre. There are reborn indeed. Melodic death metal music needs melodies and  addictive riffs. You have that and you can’t fail. You‘ll find plenty of it in this album believe me!" wrote the review of the album and we had no other choice than to talk with the band’s new vocalist Antony Hämäläinen so we can dig into all the info about the new Nightrage album and many more. So go on and read what he had to say..Oh and yes, I almost forgot - Stin igia mas Antony!  \r\n

\r\n

\r\nMetalzone: How are things in the band at the moment ?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: Things are really good! Having a lot of work for the promotion at the moment and everyone in the band is working together.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: First album with this lineup. What are the gains and what are the losses in your opinion?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: No losses. All gain. The reviews for the album we have gotten haven been amazing. This line up for me is a dream. These guys are amazing players and Marios, Olof, and myself write songs that we feel real passion for.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Tell us a few things about the guest appearances in the album and how they turned up?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: We had Sakis from Rotting Christ sing a back up vocal on "Mocking Modesty". That was killer. We sound brutal together. We have Elias Holmlid from Dragonland (Olof’s other band) and he composed an amazing classical meets industrial intro for "Shed The Blood". It really added a lot of anticipation for the beginning of the song. And the last guest was Gus G. He did a couple solos on the instrumental "Sting Of Remorse" and I think it’s one of the best solos the guy has ever played!
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Now that the album is finished what is the taste you get out of it?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: It’s still really fresh to me. We did an insane amount of pre-production for every single song. So when we got into the studio we knew exactly what we wanted to change for the demos. So the album is still really fresh for me. And over all it is a brutal Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal album. Just straight up and in your face.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Did you face any difficulties recording? Tell us a few things about the recording process- for example you live in the states and Marios lives in Sweden…
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: Nope, no difficulties. I flew in to Sweden for one week and recorded the vocals. It was very fast and creative 24 hours a day. The distance between the band members honestly has no effect on us at all. We just work really hard at what we do. So the results are always perfect. You don’t have to live on top of each other for that perfection to happen. You just have to be a professional and know what you’re doing.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: To my ears the album is a new beginning for the band. Do you see it that way?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: I would say yes and no at the same time. (Laughs) It to me sounds like the glory days of Nightrage musically but then there are all different people in the band. And even the writing process is different from how it just used to me Marios. Now it’s me and Olof thrown in to writing every song with Marios. And it still came out sounding old school (laughs)
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Many elements from the past have resurfaced. In my opinion successfully – as I also wrote on the album review. Were you scared of that? Sounding repetitive?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: I’m not scared of anything when it comes to my music. I write what I like. I don’t do things in a calculated way at all. If it sounds old school to people then that’s cool. Because all I do is listen to old stuff (laughs). If they think it sounds modern that’s cool too. I don’t really care. It’s all about what I like, I would never have written or played on something I didn’t like.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: How do you see the melodic death scene nowadays?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: A hand full of bands from Scandinavia only. Everyone wants to hear this kind of music but not a lot of people really play it. It’s kind of weird.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Upcoming plans? Touring? Any dates yet?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: We are getting offers right now and we hope soon to announce some fun tours and festivals.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Would you recommend your album to someone? What would your review be?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: It depends on what they listen to. If they listen to the right bands then yes I would. I would tell them they "might" like it (laughs). If they like Atrayu or some shit like that I would not recommend it all.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: What about your label and the promotion you are getting- are you satisfied?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: You can never be satisfied (laughs). But so far they are doing a great job!
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Do you feel you’ve found your place in the band- what do fans of the band tell you nowadays?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: I love being in this band. From the very first rehearsal we did in Sweden I just knew this was going to be one hell of a new band. The fans are just amazing! Everyone is comparing me to these legendary singers and it is truly a dream come true to be in the same breath as them. So yes, it has been 100% positive through and through.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone:  How can we get the cover of Holdier than thou you did for the Japanese edition? How come you decided to do such a cover?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: You can get it I’ m sure off the Lifeforce Japan site. People will just have to order this edition. We came up with the idea from Olof actually. It was his pick. Everyone in the band had a small list of songs we wanted to cover and for the feel of this album that Metallica song just felt the best. I wanted to do Hypocrisy but maybe on the next album I’ll fight for it a bit more (laughs).
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: What are the cds you bought lately?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen : Old man’s Child - Slaves of the World, Wolves in The Throne Room - Black Cascade, Darkane - Demonic Art and Sotajumala - Death Metal Finland... This album and band are fucking amazing! Just got into them.
\r\n
\r\nMetalzone: Is there anything else you want to add?
\r\nAntony Hämäläinen: Thanks for the support and I hope to have another great time with all of you in Greece soon! I miss it very much there and we will give you guys the best show when we come. Stin iya sas!!!
\r\n
\r\nInterview: Vassilis Tserpes \r\n

\r\n