Interview with SinKone
Introducing Scorngrain
How did you come about obtaining the band name?
I think it was mister -E- who came up with the name. I am not sure exactly what he meant by it, but I have explained Scorngrain myself like this: if you want to grow something and buy seeds that you know won't sow, but still for some strange reason want to buy dead seeds, the brand of the seeds could be Scorngrain. Written on the label, you know - 'Scorngrain - The bad seeds'.
How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?
We play extreme industrial and electronic influenced metal. There's the industrial part strongly presented but basically it's still guitar riff based metal with screaming and growling vocals.
What one thing do you feel sets you apart from the rest in this genre?
I am not sure. We just make music that sounds like us. At the end the listener decides if he finds some points of originality from it.
SinKone - Vocals
Joined shortly after Mike and previous drummer -E- made songs for the first demo.
How long did it take to record ‘Utopia.Paranoia.Perversions’? And is there any particular message you are trying to relay to your audience with this album?
We did most of the recordings during the Spring of 2009 and mixed it in the Summer. I think it was ready in October of that year. There´s no message as such.
Which label, if any, have you produced this album through? Do you think record companies actually make the recording process any easier?
The album was released only as a digital release and as a free attachment in Finnish metal magazine, Miasma. We didn’t find a label worth putting it out, so rather than forgetting the whole album we wanted to give it out for free. Our previous albums have sold something like six hundred each so we didn’t see any point on giving it to a label that wouldn’t be able to spread it widely enough to the public. Right now we have pressed and handed out over 1500 albums in Finland alone, so things that are important to us will be reached better. We want people to come to our gigs and want people to hear the album and the situation was that through a label it wouldn’t have been possible. Of course bigger labels could get the album out there much more, but we are an underground act. We´ve managed to get people interested in us, at least in Finland. The album will be released by a small Finnish underground label later on, but right now the only way to get the new album is from us, Spotify or iTunes. (see links below interview)
What are some of your favourite Australian acts?
I have to admit I am not that familiar with Australian metal in general. Bestial Warlust and The Amenta are the only acts I am familiar with. Oh yes and of course Berzerker!
Herman - Bass
When you go into recording mode, do you find it easy or challenging?
It's boring mostly, especially if you´re in a studio. We recorded the last album by ourselves, piece by piece. There's two sound engineers in the band so it wasn’t such a problem. For me the studio is not the best place to record since we don’t rehearse weekly, so I need more time on the lyrics and vocals. Studio is very expensive so you must perform in a rush. With the new album we recorded vocals for a week in my farmhouse and it felt much better than ever before.
Any plans for a music video? And, if applicable, which is your favourite video thus far?
No money to shoot a video really. Of course it would be great but it's not possible. We made a video back in 2004 of the title song, 'Cyberwarmachine' but no such luck since then. Check it out in YouTube - it became quite good.
Who’s responsible for the bands artwork?
Mr. Villberg aka H.V does most of our graphics. The cover of the new album was made by a Finnish artist based on my instructions. Our logos seems to have a life of their own. They grow into something new with each recording.
Have you ever had any Mystical experiences?
I am not sure. I´ve become too sceptical about everything weird, so my brain tries to explain it rather than blame it on something supernatural. Can´t say I´ve experienced anything I could describe as mystical.
Mike - Guitar
Founding member of the band. Been around since the day one.
What got you into metal in the first place?
The song Deicide, from the album Deicide, by Deicide. I was in eighth grade when I saw a documentary about Satanism - stating that all rock is basically from Satan. They were proving that The Beatles worshipped Satan and then after there was a short clip of a live performance from Deicide and man... I just sold my soul to the devil! It´s strange how much influence fanatic Christians can have on the mind of a 14 year old.
How hard has it been to get to this point?
It is hard to fit all the different personalities under one flag but as we still exist I guess we tolerate each other enough to keep the band alive year after year. We´ve had some changes in the line-up but not so much disputes or anything. Mister -E- was hard to cope with but he had his good sides too. Strong opinions aren´t always a good thing when it comes to working as a group. We grew bitter toward each other until there was no other way but for him to walk away. Mike and I also have our differences but we get along very well.
H.V - Vocals
Joined after the new 'Utopia.Paranoia.Perversions.' album. Was strongly involved with the studio sessions and as we felt we needed another vocalist, we asked him to join. H.V also has his own band, Diablerie.
Lukifer M - Guitar
Joined after the new album replacing the previous guitarist A.I aka Seba Forma who was actually just helping us out. Now he does his own band, Axegressor. Check it out!
Latvala - Drums
Joined after -E- pissed off and left the band. Well known for his death metal activities.
Right now the line-up seems stronger than ever and we have made lots of gigs after a few years of silence. Actually, after the second album, '0,05%' things got a bit slow until the drummer issue was resolved. Now the band is starting to work really well.
Where does your main fan base / support tend to lie?
We haven’t ever really had a tour. The only abroad gigs we´ve had were in Russia. Also, there was a long period of time we didn’t do much at all so in a way we are only just now starting to bloom again. We are far away from the mainstream and there´s not that many people coming to our shows. Here in Finland I´ve recently noticed that the audience has started to know some of the names of the songs and scream along with the lyrics and that's awesome!
Can you recall a favourite venue?
We´ve had good gigs in the past but cannot point out just one place. A good light technician and sound engineer is the number one thing. After that, all else is just bonus; wide stage, some effects like a fog machine, audience and so on.
| RELEASES: |
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Utopia.Paranoia.Perversions
2010
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0.05%
2006
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Cyberwarmachine
2004
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Do you have any intentions to tour Australia?
That would be great but one has to be realistic about it. I don’t think we will find a label to pay our tour down below. It's all about the money. There is no label that would invest such an amount on our tour.
After a live performance do you tend to go and hang out with the fans or do you prefer to keep to yourself?
We like to hang out, especially if there´s another band playing after us. It´s great to meet people that enjoyed the gig and we don’t hesitate to chat after the show.
What would be your most memorable gig / performance to date?
Too many good gigs to pick just one. In the past, we used to hurt each other whilst drunk and for some reason the best, or at least the funniest memories, includes some violence. I remember we had gig in Kuopio after the second album and at some point Mike and former drummer mister -E- got an idea to grab me from behind, pull down my pants and freeze my genitals. Mike is twice the size of me so as he got a grip I wasn´t able to do much of anything. I saw mister -E- approaching and all I could do was just jump up as hard as I could trying to land on my ass. Mike was so drunk that he didn´t have time to react and so he came at me with all his body weight and flipped over me on the sidewalk with his face first.-E- said later on it sounded like throwing a water melon on concrete. Mike survived.
Have you got a favourite song you like to play? And is there one in particular your fans seem to prefer?
I like to do 'Cat ´o Nine Tails' from the new album. It's fast and straight forward.
Where can people purchase your music and merchandise from?
You can get it from mp3 web-stores like Spotify. The whole album is on YouTube and there´s some songs on MySpace. If you like CD´s just write and I can send it to you by snail mail. You want it you'll get it for sure. Right now our web-pages and merchandise section is down, but you can get some shirt designs to look at by getting in touch through our email.
What was the main reason you chose this career path and has it turned out as expected?
This is not a career. A career is something you do for a living. So far, at least, I have had to wake up every morning to make a living out of something way different to Scorngrain. It´s kind of like a lifestyle. Did it turn out the way I expected? Well, of course it would be great to tour and live that lifestyle more but I have no complaints really. I enjoy it a lot and have wonderful people around me and all the fukkers I´ve learned to know during the years because of metal. Hopefully we can continue doing albums and gigs. It's always a pleasure.
What words of advice can you offer anyone looking to enter the music industry?
I try to avoid it and really haven´t been inside the real industry. One should remain true to himself. It depends what you want. Do what you like but practice and do it better than anyone else and you´ll find your sound. When you are good enough other people will hear about it too.
Anything you'd like to add or say to your fans?
Get our new album for a listen, it shouldn´t be hard. Like I mentioned Spotify or Youtube could be the easiest places to get it.
LINKS:
Scorngrain Myspace
Scorngrain Website
Scorngrain Spotify
Scorngrain YouTube
‘Interview with Scorngrain’ by Déa di Morté © 05 December 2011
Hails! to SinKone for agreeing to participate and taking the time to complete this interview
All pictures courtesy of Scorngrain