EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Symphonic/Gothic Doom Metal icons SILENTIUM

Interview with Silentium

Silentium is one of the very good Symphonic, and Gothic Metal bands in Finland. The band is formed in 1995, and it has a huge discography. "Unbroken", "Painless", "Shame Forever Mine", "Revangelis", "Flame Still Burn", "My Heart Unyielding" and others shaped the fame, and   popularity of Silentium

Egypt's Metal Reviewer contacted Silentium for having its first interview with the Middle 

Eastern/African/Egyptian Media, and to be its earliest interview after the band's return to action.

ANSWERED BY: SAMI BOMAN, AND RIINA RINKINEN

INTERVIEWED BY: RANA ATEF

Guys, thank you for accepting our invitation for an interview, actually I am a big fan for Silentium band, and its music, Can you tell us more about your history?

(Sami): In the early 90’s I joined a death metal band called Funeral with Matti on the bass and vocals. After few years Funeral came to it’s end and immediately after the final show me and Matti had an idea of a new band with heavy, bombastic, doomish and melancholic sound.

We were huge fans of My Dying Bride and were absolutely certain that we wanted a violin to play a key role in the band. A metal violin player wasn’t a self-evident thing in a really small town of 8 thousand people, but still by chance we happened to know there was one. After he (Jani) accepted our invitation to join our new group the idea of our band had turned into something more concrete.

Soon after this we asked if Jari was interested to play the drums. He was. Then when Toni heard me and Matti talk about our new lineup, he offered his services as a guitarist. This time we accepted. Matti had some suggestions of the name of the band and we came up with the name Silentium. 

At that point we thought our lineup was ready, but then this one time I didn’t have a ride to get all my gear to one of our first rehearsals,! one of my oldest friends offered to drive me there. He happened to have his guitar with him and so we asked if he’d like to jam with us. This jam ended with Juha joining the band. Now the original lineup was really ready and the story of Silentium began.

In my point of view Altum is full of Silentium's greatest hits such as "Revangelis" and "Into the Arms of the Night", Can you tell us the story of this album?

(Sami): I didn’t have any specific concept or theme in mind when I started to work on the music for Altum. Back then I just had a period of wanting to write the most mournful and melancholic music I could without losing the drama and grandiosity which have allways played a key part in the music of Silentium. After the compositions were ready, Matti wrote the lyrics to fit the mood of the music.

Regarding your upcoming album, what are the themes of it, and how does the process of writing go?

(Riina): The themes on the coming album have to do with all things painful in life. Injustice, loss, despair, the mistakes we make that have a high price to pay. The lyrics I've written deal with both my personal life and the state of this world we live in. It doesn't seem like we'll ever run out of sad subjects to sing about.

(Sami): The process of writing goes pretty much the same way it has always gone with us. First me and Juha write the music. Then when a song is ready, or at least the main idea is hearable, Riina and Matti start to write the lyrics. They either get the subject from the music or they have a basic idea ready and they start to mold that to fit the atmosphere of the song.

What are the main influences of Silentium upcoming album?

(Sami): Musically I’ve been lately influenced a lot by John Williams, Nightwish, Orphaned Land, Damien Rice, Carl Orff, Leprous, Septicflesh and Richard Strauss just to name a few. Some of these might or might not be hearable on the upcoming album.

Do you plan to have any guest musicians in your upcoming album?

(Sami): Yes there are quite a few plans regarding guest musicians, but it still remains undecided who will those musicians be.

In your point of view, How do you see the Finnish Metal Scene, currently?

(Sami): It’s not as crazy as it was ten or fifteen years ago. Back then metal was absolutely the biggest musical genre in Finland. But of course there are still dozens of great bands in here, although I don’t think it’s the most popular genre manymore.

Do you contact any bands from the Middle East or Egypt? And Would you mind to perform in the Middle East?

(Sami): We haven’t been in contact with any bands from that part of the world, but of course we wouldn’t mind to perform there if the right conditions were met.

Send a message to your fans.

We use our music to work through difficult, painful issues but we don't think being miserable is a desirable goal in life. We hope you can use the music as an outlet for your pain, but encourage you to concentrate on what is good in life. It's the only way this messed up planet will ever get any better. We wholeheartedly greet all the Silentians out there and hope that at some point our paths cross in one way or another. If not in person, then at least through our music. It’s all for you.