This interview took some effort. If you pop into this web site sometimes (probably when we tag you on the socials, hopefully, otherwise I strongly doubt we belong to your daily to-do list), you might have notice we don’t do many interviews anymore. We simply have no time for this, with too many albums to be reviewed popping daily into our inbox (Musicians! Stop it! I love In Vain because they put at least a lustrum between one album and the next). And as the guys in In Vain, as you’ll read, we got daily jobs, families. Said this, my choice usually tends to combine business with pleasure: I do interviews when I go to gigs, meeting the bands face to face. When In Vain decided I wrote the best review for their new offer (read it here), they wanted me to interview the band. I refused, claiming all the above: no time, only when you play a gig here, let’s meet up someday etc. I even tried to ignore their email. Nothing. They were almost stalking me, they wanted a Skype session (I uninstalled it!) or a mailer. So one day, after yet another mail from the band, in a fit of rage (really?), I wrote down the damn questions, listening to their damn music loud. And I hit sent… email out on the ether. They immediately reply asking me when I wanted the answers back… and I replied nothing else but a ‘ask yourself whenever you want the damn intie online!’. For fuck sake, THEY WANTED IT! So this interview is a mailer one, as we call it. I sent questions, they sent answers back. I did not meet the guys… and given the fantastic atmosphere that was nevertheless established, I just hate this to be a mailer. Because if this turns out to be full of interesting information and so damn funny at the same time, I just hate I couldn’t (yet!) sit down in front of these dudes, sipping a drink, asking questions (I had more) and a enjoy our common sense of humor!
Ladies and Gentlemen (and whoever other gender is out there nowadays), this is Mr. Johnar Håland and Mr. Kjetil ‘new guy’ D. Pedersen from the Norwegian band IN VAIN! (Leggila in Italiano)
MH: Hello up there, from down here! I recently reviewed your new work, “Solemn”. So, you reached the fifth album threshold. It has been a 20 years long ride. What was this band target back then in 2003? How was the path that took you here today? Did you manage to accomplish whatever you had in mind?
IV, Johnar: When we started it was simply to have fun and make music. After we released our first EP in 2004, I guess our goal was more or less to get signed and then to release an album, with professional production. Since then we have had goals such as going on tours, etc. But the core goal has always been to create great music. Nowadays I would say a goal is to get to do more festivals, and it would be great to play in Asia or South America one day. But we all have families and full-time jobs, so that puts a limit on how much we can do.
MH: Line up: the core (Johnar Håland, Sindre Nedland & Andreas Frigstad) seems steady, but also the ‘newer’ guys have been in the band for a long time now. What is the key to keep you together aiming toward the same direction?
IV, Kjetil: Well, speaking as one of the ‘new’ guys, with merely 15 years in the band (of course he laughs about this, editor’s note)… I think basically that our common passion for the music, our particular sound and style of songwriting, and a collective urge to keep creating and evolving, is what’s pushing us forwards and keeping us going. Not to mention the fame and shitloads of cash, of course… (more laughs, editor’s note). And while we work hard together in periods, we also allow each other space in more quiet periods, hence perhaps the six years wait for the new album. But who knows; if we’d been hanging out together in the rehearsal room every damn week, we might had grown sick of each other by now. Furthermore, I think that the addition of our even ‘newer’ members Alex and Tobias (2014 and 208, respectively, editor’s note), has meant a huge deal for In Vain. They’re both great guys and extremely skilled musicians, and have brought lot’s of new vibes into the band, both musically and socially. Hats off to them!
MH: The fact that most of the band used to play live for Solefald, did this put some influence to the style and the evolution of your sound?
IV, Kjetil: Well, with Sindre’s relation to Lazare, and Johnar – as our main songwriter – being a long time fan of Solefald, it’s not unlikely that In Vain all from the start have drawn some sort of inspiration from their music. I don’t think there’s been any intentional development in our sound or style in a ‘Solefaldish’ direction, but helping Cornelius and Lazare get their asses back on stage a couple of years ago surely was great fun and a good experience for us all.
MH: I do remember the great “Ænigma” (review here). Apparently “Currents” was another step ahead, but this “Solemn” seems to be your masterpiece, the non plus ultra, the highest peak of your creativity… even the title hints at this! So, the questions pop up automatically: what will happen next? Where do you plan to go from here? Is there any higher level, starting from the actual excellent one?
IV, Kjetil: First of all, thanks for your kind words, we highly appreciate it! But from now I guess we’ll start degrading, and probably release more or less the same album over and over again, just to rob our fans of their hard earned life savings… No seriously, as mentioned earlier, we all strive to evolve and regenerate, add something new into the mix while keeping some of the old, but while listeners often might assess our music in light of our previous efforts, our main focus is basically to write good songs. Even great songs! Finding that great riff or melody, the perfect transitions, and refining everything into the best song possible… That’s where the magic lies, in my opinion. So who knows where the road might take us next? I don’t see us evolving into jazz or Eurodance in the foreseeable future, but hopefully we’ll be able to continue evolving our style of songwriting, while maintaining the high quality and attention to details that people expect us to. In plain English: make some more killer albums, I hope!
MH: I feel the use of the two voices has changed somehow. It’s no more the ‘clean vs harsh’. It’s no more a death/black metal band using some clean vocals to be more impressive or to share a more powerful feeling. As I wrote on my review it’s a form of art of its own, it’s like that both the styles got their own dimension, and both are equally crafted in a very detailed form. Can you talk about this?
IV, Kjetil: Well, I’d say that we’ve always taken great pride in mixing all these different kind of singing styles into our songs. And as you say, I feel that the cleans and the different harsh vocals are equally important, and though it’s a good tool to create variation for the listeners, for us it’s more about finding the right way to substantiate the feel of the song or part of the song, and to convey the lyrics in the best possible manner. So we don’t really plan on having some awesome clean vocals to make just that chorus extra catchy, and neither do we really worry that people might be disappointed if we do this or that… We sometimes make songs with more or less no cleans at all, or vice versa, whatever fits the songs and the atmosphere I suppose. But I know that Sindre has been burning the midnight oil working on perfecting the vocal lines and harmonies for this album, so I’m sure he’ll appreciate your seal of approval!
MH: I just love the brass on this album. Again, it’s no more some production detail added to make the song cooler, it’s again a form of art of it’s own. And indeed, strings apart, you have good range of guest musicians playing sax, trombone and trumpet. How were those parts crafted? Who wrote them? How were them arranged into the song? Did those parts existed before the song was complete, or have they been created to complete the given song? Because -as an example- in “Season of Unrest”, or even in the opening “Shadows Flap Their Black Wings”, they simply are not some filler, not at all!
IV, Johnar: Thanks. We have always utilized guest musicians wherever we would deem it to add value to a song, not for the sake of just adding some extra spice. For instance, on our debut album “The Latter Rain” (2007) we were 20 musicians in total. When it comes to the string and brass sections, I wrote the melodies, and then our drummer Tobias arranged them for musicians to actually play it, and also added some modifications himself. The parts came along naturally as the songs and riffs developed, it was not something we added in the end.
MH: Lyrics. They feel dark. They feel personal. But also they seem transmitting some message, like they are delivering a form of strength that the listener shall be able to capture. Well: the album is out, the lyrics are there… this is you chance to explain in simple words the message hidden inside “Solemn”, whatever you wish to tell to your public or whoever listens to the album.
IV, Johnar: On previous albums, Andreas and I has written the lyrics. On this album, Sindre contributed with four lyrics and I think he did a really good job. We have no general theme for the lyrics, but we touch upon topics such as personal experiences, life’s ups and downs, nature, the mystery of the human mind and soul, etc. We try to write lyrics with meaning, but that also fit the music. Our lyrics can have a dark or melancholic aura to them, but I also think many would find them uplifting.
MH: So, after all this, after all these years, those five albums… did you finally understand what genre In Van are supposed to play? People say you play death metal, black metal, progressive metal… or -of course- progressive death and/or black metal. I claimed that all those labels do not fit you anymore. What’s your say?
IV, Kjetil: (laughs, editor’s note) We totally agree with you (here’s the reason why they loved my review, editor’s note!), it’s difficult, and I’ve seen lots of different descriptions that struggle to capture the true essence of In Vain. Wow, that’s pompous, sorry… When people ask, I might go with something like progressive extreme or melodic extreme metal, but the rest of the time I don’t really care (smiles, editor’s note). Now, I wouldn’t claim us to be the most unique band on the planet or anything, but it’s kinda cool isn’t it, to be just a tad challenging to define? I’ll take it as a compliment at least.
MH: Live: upcoming interesting gigs and festivals? Will you come playing down here south, in Italy?
IV, Kjetil: We’d sincerely love to return to Italy again, we’ve had some awesome experiences there in the past, and the dedication and level of sheer heavy metal craziness of the Italian crowds is hard to come by up here in the cold North (I disagree, when I go to Beyond the Gates up there, all I see is pure madness also up there, editor’s note). We have booked a few dates in Norway this summer/fall, but at the moment there’s no shows abroad I’m afraid. But we’re working on it, we’re more or less dying to get back on the road again, so we’ll give you a heads up as soon as we know anything for sure!
MH: Thanks for your time. Please, end this interview with something you wish to say to your current fans, your future fans, and whoever will read these words.
IV, Kjetil: Well, thank YOU for your time and your insightful views and questions! And for everyone interested in ‘difficult-to-define-metal’: you can find In Vain on Instagram, Facebook or invain.net, you can check out our latest album “Solemn” on all the usual platforms, while at bandcamp.com you can even order one of those round, spinny-thingys with music on it! We really appreciate all your support, it warms our frost ridden Nordic hearts. Be kind, keep listening to good music and… STAY METAL!
(Luca Zakk)
