M. Lehto (October Falls) interviewed
January 7, 2011 Chris Dick
Featured, Interviews
Drudkh, Empyrium, Hades, Katatonia, October Falls, Opeth, Primordial, Tenhi, Ulver.

You write long songs. At what point do you go, “OK, I’m done. The song is complete.”? M. Lehto: A Collapse of Faith and also the previous album The Womb of Primordial Nature have long songs on them, no question about it. It’s something that worked for me naturally as I usually like to make conceptual albums instead of just individual tracks. It has been something that just happens, not something I’ve really planned in advance. However, I felt that A Collapse of Faith takes that path as far as I can reach, so since it was recorded, I’ve demoed much shorter tracks for the next album. I still always want to keep things tied together, but I also want to reach something a bit different next time. To answer your question, a track is done when it feels that the highest point has been reached.

Most bands have a Myspace or Facebook to promote their music. You don’t. Why is that?
M. Lehto: I cannot understand what leads people to use such channels for communication, especially with all those “Hope you’re fine” messages, adding people to your friends and commenting how you like their posts, etc. After all, you don’t know those people, you have no real contact with them and the overall atmosphere is just as plastic as it can be. I have nothing against emails and am open to communicating with people, but I have no urge to support or be a part of that MySpace/Facebook/Twitter circus, no matter how much easier it could make some things.

Would you call your non-Myspace and non-Facebook stance unique?
M. Lehto: Not really, as there are a lot of groups with the same attitude towards social media like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook, but there are also a lot of groups and individuals who have had the same attitude earlier, but eventually broke down and opened sites to get more exposure and promotion. I’m sure it can be a successful promotion channel, but I have written earlier that October Falls will not participate in anything like that and I’m going to stand behind my words, no matter how much the decision limits worldwide promotion. I don’t believe in jumping from one wagon to another.

A Collapse of Faith means what exactly?
M. Lehto: Basically, I took the title from the lyrics as I felt it fit perfectly for the aura around the time when the album was been made and it’s also about the theme of the concept where the old traditions are slowly fading away. It’s not really that one dimensional, but a bit hard to describe in full.

The album is divided into three parts. How are the parts connected?
M. Lehto: For me, it could’ve been only a one track album, but I wanted to separate it in three different parts on the CD index, mainly because it’s not something you can call an ‘easy listening’ album and I wanted to leave the option to choose which part to listen to. That was the main reason, but it was also about the fact that if and when it will be released on vinyl, it would’ve been cut into parts anyway because of the play time limitation for each side, so I thought it was better to cut down also for the CD. Overall, the whole album is a big concept in every way and not just three different tracks.

All of your CDs use roman numerals as titles. Is there a reason for this?
M. Lehto: For me, all the albums are more like one big picture than just single songs and that’s why I’ve mostly only named the album and kept the tracks without actual titles, other than the name of the release and the number of the track. There have been a few exceptions though, the first version of Tuoni had titles and so did the tracks on The Streams of the End, but those are also the albums that contained material from a longer period of time instead of a more conceptual approach.

Musically, October Falls is melodic and dark metal. Initially, you were inspired by Katatonia and Opeth, but you’ve moved on. What drives October Falls musically at this point?
M. Lehto: Those influences were basically around at the very beginning, however those very first recordings are quite hard to come by and none of the official releases have that obvious influences from either of them really, maybe a bit of old Opeth here and there, but other than that, not that much although I like pretty much everything Katatonia have done and also older Opeth and also some later material. Overall, the inspiration comes from everything surrounding life itself, but if I were to think about the music itself and to mention few names, I could mention bands like Ulver, Hades, Empyrium, Tenhi, Drudkh and Primordial. I don’t care to be a copycat but to use the influences and mold them as part of my own vision.

There are two sides to October Falls. A metal side. An acoustic side. You’ve separated those sides with different releases and different logos. Why the separation?
M. Lehto: It was after I recorded the debut full-length album, Marras, when I started to write some new material and felt that it worked better with a harsher apaproach, so I decided that it was not wise to limit the expression to only acoustic music, but I also didn’t care to form another group, but instead I decided to keep both paths under the same name and just use different logos for them and to use Finnish titles for the acoustic material. Maybe it would’ve been clearer to form another band for the harsher material, but I felt and still feel that the music itself is not that different between them anyway, it has the same atmosphere, only the approach differs.

Do you envision a future where October Falls combine the two to form a singular October Falls musical entity?
M. Lehto: No, I still want to make all acoustic albums too and it would be too limiting for me to make them as one. I use a lot of acoustic elements on the harsher releases too and there will never be an album without the strong presence of acoustic guitars, but I’ll also make fully acoustic releases in the future, just like I’ve done in the past.

Where does the band name come from?
M. Lehto: It’s been nearly 10 years since October Falls was formed and honestly, I can’t really recall why the name was chosen. I personally enjoy the cold autumn days of October, but it’s not really about that.

October Falls was originally a solo project. Why the change? Do you find working in a group dynamic better for your musical aspirations?
M. Lehto: Basically, it still is a solo project, as I still write all the music and lyrics, make the demos, the artwork, etc. But I’ve also given a bit more space for V. Metsola and M. Tarvonen. V. Metsola basically wrote most of the bass lines for A Collapse of Faith and M. Tarvonen contributed ideas in song arrangements and drum lines. Overall, I’m not good at making compromises, so October Falls will never turn into a ‘normal band’, but will always be a channel for my personal vision and I want to keep it that way.

In your view, A Collapse of Faith is a progression from The Womb of Primordial Nature in what ways?
M. Lehto: I thing A Collapse of Faith is more focused in every section; it has better compositions, better performances and also better production, I could say that in many ways it’s a more mature version of “The Womb of Primordial Nature”. Still, I also think that it’s a harder record to listen to and needs more patience when listened to. It’s strongly conceptual, with long parts that take time to grow, so I feel that it’s not as easy and fast to digest as “The Womb of Primordial Nature” was, but if you have the patience to let it grow, it will give much more to the listener.

A forest means what to you?
M. Lehto: In many ways, inspiration. I love roaming in the woods. There is so much going on all the time if you just quietly look around. It has every side of life, from the cold cruelty of nature to the peaceful warmness away from the modern haste.

Interviews: October Falls
October Falls created one of my personal favourite records from the first half of this year with The Plague of the Coming Age - which was reviewed here - and the combination of gorgeous sounds and black metal aesthetic is a truly a wonder to behold. Mikko Lehto (vocals, guitar) took a little time to answer a few questions about the album, the evolution of October Falls, and where they go from here.

Scene Point Blank: The Plague of a Coming Age is a little bit of a departure from 2010s A Collapse of Faith. What drove you to change the style in terms of the layout of the songs (long running times, the titles, etc.) to what we hear on the new record? Was it a conscious decision or something that happened naturally during the writing process?

M. Lehto: It certainly was a planned change and I had a quite clear vision where October Falls would go with this album. However, although I had a certain focus when I was composing it, the songs still evolved naturally. If some of them would've worked better with longer or more complicated structures then that would've happened, so it wasn't forced into this. My goal was to make an album that would be more about single songs rather than just pieces that make the album a concept, like it was with A Collapse of Faith. It was quite challenging for me to write short songs with more normal structures, than just compose long pieces that are tied together. Along with the more song-oriented material came the titles—as every song can stand on their own without the rest of the album backing them. I also wanted to name every song individually and not just use the album-title and numerals like on the previous full-lengths. In the end the album is still quite conceptual, but in a different way than before.

"Every mistake we make will be a burden for tomorrow's world, we are the plague of the coming age."
Scene Point Blank: As well as the album structure taking a different turn, the artwork is something new for October Falls. Does this signify a new chapter in the October Falls legacy?

M. Lehto: I'm not sure what will be the next step, but this time I wanted to change the already ”safe and familiar” form and started by writing shorter songs. Along with that I also wanted to use a different kind of artwork and searched for the right artist quite a while. Eventually I saw some pieces by Santiago Caruso and that was it. He had a great style and was not an overused or household name that everyone's using and that was it. He was a perfect choice. The first time I tried a bit different artwork was with The Streams of the End and that was also a new step music-wise so, in a way, this followed the same path.

Scene Point Blank: There's a current of bittersweet sadness running throughout the record. Is that feeling easy to tap into? What is your process for getting into that kind of headspace? Are you inspired by anything in particular?

M. Lehto: Personally I don't see the album completely bittersweet, hopeless or sad. Music and theme-wise it's quite melancholic but, at the very end, there's still strength and hope although the future is unknown. I haven't really thought about all this or really see it as a process because everything comes out naturally and there's no certain mood I'd try to achieve before working with new material. I guess in certain aspects tomorrow's world is doomed in many ways, but who really knows about the future, so I could say that I'm inspired by the history, heritage, and how every current act will affect the future.

Scene Point Blank: The Plague of a Coming Age is quite the evocative title and could mean a lot of things. If it's not too personal would you elaborate on your choice for this title?

M. Lehto: To write it somewhat short, it's mainly about our current world and how we abuse it and too often forget and even shame our precious heritage and that [leaving] a very different starting point for tomorrow's generations than what we got. I still vividly remember my own childhood and it was very different from the childhood that today's children will get. Surely it's not all bad changes, but it's often hard to acknowledge...that everything we do these days and in this time will be reflected into tomorrow and that's the heritage we're spreading, every mistake we make will be a burden for tomorrow's world, we are the plague of the coming age.

of_pic.jpgScene Point Blank: You have Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis) on guest vocals on the album. How did that relationship and collaboration come about? Was the decision to include clean vocals made early on?

M. Lehto: When the whole album was already written, I had an idea for a small acoustic piece that I wanted to use on the album as an intro for the title track, but when I was recording the demo from it, it just evolved into a full track instead and that became ”Boiling Heart of the North.” At that point it was obvious that we'd need clean vocals for the album as the verse of the title track would also work better with clean vocals instead of the harsher approach, so I decided that we'll get a guest singer as I couldn't sing those parts myself. At some point Marko (drums) suggested that we'd ask Tomi to sing the clean parts and, as I really like his vocals, I thought it was a great idea. Marko knew Tomi so we contacted him, sent the demos, and he agreed. After that it was all about finding the right time so we could go into studio together. It all went very smoothly and I'm really happy with the result.

Scene Point Blank: In addition to that, you now have Sami Hinkka playing bass for the project. Was the transition to a new player difficult?

M. Lehto: To be honest, not at all. Our previous bassist V. Metsola was always working quite slow and had to be pushed into work and, personally, I'm completely opposite to that so, although he was and still is my oldest friend, it was the best choice for everyone. When Sami stepped in we had already recorded the drums for the album but, as the demos were without bass, he had free hands with the bass-lines and basically every bass-line you hear on the album was arranged by him. When needed he's a very technical, idea rich, and open-minded player so he was a perfect addition.

Scene Point Blank: How much do you look to the future with October Falls? A lot of bands follow a rough cycle but I get the impression that's not the case here? By which I mean, write, record, release, tour, write.... is not a groove you allow yourself to fall into?

M. Lehto: There's never actual plans for the upcoming activities. When there's an inspiration and time, something will happen again but as October Falls is not a ”regular band”—there are no live performances or rehearsals—things only move ahead when there's an actual reason for it. After all, the band has been active 12 years and this was only the fourth full-length. Things have always moved quite slowly.

Scene Point Blank: That being said, is there anything you still want to achieve?

M. Lehto: Of course. I always have some point of reference ahead, even when I'm not sure what will happen next. Currently there are plans to re-release all older acoustic material and I hope to record more acoustic material again in the future, but as October Falls has always been about the current inspiration it's impossible to say what comes next—acoustic record or a harsher one or something else, the only certain thing is that there's no end.

October Falls Interview
Gönderi tarihi 15 Mayıs 2013 morguefanzine tarafından

1)Which of your other albums sounds the most like “The Plague Of a Coming Age”?
I’d say none really. This was the first album with the current line-up and also the music took a bit different step this time as previously the songs were very long and on the new album they’re much shorter than before. Also there’s a bit less folk-influences this time, mostly because I felt it would be useless to force the album into same mold as the two previous ones. Naturally some people think it was a bad choice to strip the song-structures a bit, but for me it was way more important to fully focus on naturally arranged songs than to force them into something that people would expect, just because of what we’ve done before. I think the most closest song on the earlier albums is part III from The Womb of Primordial Nature, as it’s also much more traditional and shorter track than the other songs on the previous 2 full-lenghts and the releases before those differs even more, as almost all of those were instrumental and acoustic.
2)Which are your 3 favorite songs from “October Falls”?
That’s quite hard or should I say nearly impossible to answer, but if I think all the ”metal full-lenghts” we’ve done so far, my personal favorites are part III from The Womb of Primordial Nature, part I from A Collapse of Faith and then it gets a bit difficult, the third would be either Bloodlines, The Boiling Heart of the North or Mouth of a Nation’s Harlots, can’t really pic one from those. With the exception of new album, all of them were so theme-oriented, that it’s really hard to pick only a certain part from those records. Also, many of my favorites are on the acoustic releases, but there are too many to mention really.
3)How did you guys decided to form a band? What’s the story behind it?
I formed the band 12 years ago by myself, so no real story behind it really, as it was only me back then and other members got involved a lot later. Earlier I had some projects, but at some point I started to make music under the name October Falls and that’s basically it, nothing more, nothing less.
4)Who would you mostly (dead or alive) like to do a song or play with?
Instead of obvious choises from heavier genres or classical music, I’d say singer/song-writer Nick Drake. He passed away quite young and had amazing skills as a composer and a musician, so I’d really like to hear what he’d still had to offer and work with him.
5)Which “October Falls” gig is your favorite?
We’ve never performed live, so if that ever happens, that will most likely be it.
6)What are the group members’ hobbies?
I can only speak about myself, but almost all my activities outside my regular work is involved with music. Sometime it’s about the music itself, sometimes it’s about making layouts to other bands or something similar, so overall there’s not that much time left to hobbies outside of music. For me, the music is always a hobby, naturally I’ll take it very seriously, but my real work is elsewhere, so there’s only a certain amount of time what a man can use in a day.
7)What is in the future for the band?
I think that at this point it’s a bit too early to say, but there will be some re-releases of old acoustic releases, but also some new material will get started when the time is right. What will it be style-wise is still too early to say. I’d like to work with acoustic material again, but at the same time there’s also an urge to continue the harsher path, so maybe next there will be more of both, but as said, too early to say. Right now it’s all about promoting the new album and get that done smoothly and then start to focus for the upcoming activities.

8)Besides the music you make, what kind of music do you like to listen to? Any guilty pleasures?
For me personally, I don’t think I really have so called guilty pleasures. Ok, some might see 80’s hair/hard rock to be a such and I do like bands like Hardline, Dokken, Lynch Mob etc, but I guess those are guilty pleasures for many others too. I also like some prog-rock, but it seems that these days many do, so that’s not a real guilty pleasure either. Mostly I listen (black) metal, but also some older guitar instrumental album like Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Vinnie Moore etc.
9)What are you guys thinking about Turkey? About music market, politic things or anything?
When I’m browsing about the current activities of different bands, sometimes I see Turkey on the gig-lists, but when I think about bands coming from there, not a single name comes to my mind right away. I know political activities from what I read/hear from the news, but not have a real insight of what’s happening in there currently and I believe the news only gives a small view of what’s going on there. One thing I do know is that Turkey is really into sports, especially football!