An influential name in the underground Doom Metal scene, the band manages to establish its unique sound of sorrow, and its grieving, aching rhythms. Mostly of Doom Metal lovers initiated their listening career by listening to "Wish", "Eternal Autumn", "The Silent Cry". And after a 10 year of absence, Forest of Shadows is back with a new strong album "Among the Dormant Watchers"
Today, I had the honor to interview this great band, the band who influence me to go deeper into Doom Metal music.
1-Thank you guys for giving me this chance, and to make my dream of chatting with you come true. Firstly, I want to start with the gap between "Six Waves of Woe", and "Among the Dormant Watchers". Where have you been?
I actually started working on material for what would become “Among the Dormant Watchers” just after “Six Waves of Woe” was released but the progress was slow. The following years it actually almost came to a stall because of other things like family and work. Then it all took a turn. I updated my gear and returned to the material with the determination that it would become the next full length album, which apparently it did.
2-Is there any concept story behind your latest album?
Not really. The instrumental part of the album was composed over a period of many years and each songs has its own backstory and set of influences. The lyrics on the other hand do share some similarities between songs.
For instance most of them are inspired by the state of the world and feed on the atrocities and darkness that is out there and the guilt and shame of being a part of it all. Still, not really a concept and nothing that goes for all songs but I guess it’s as close as it gets.
3- I want to go back to the idea of forming the band, How did you choose the name of the band "Forest of Shadows"?
I was a big fan of Opeth at the time and they had a song on their first album called “Forest of October”. I guess I liked the title and simply swapped october for shadows to make it a bit more dark and doomy. That’s basically it.
Later on I found out that “Forest of Shadows ” was a common name for places in role playing and computer games but that didn’t influence me in picking the name. At that time you didn’t really google the name to see if it was taken.
4- What are your main musical influences in general?
When I founded the band it was mostly classic doom/death metal but over the years I have moved more in a direction of post rock/metal, black metal and all kinds of dark music that take it to extremes. They all influence in different ways and there isn’t one type of music, or a single band or album that I use as style guide for everything.
For lyrics I normally don’t get influenced by other bands lyrics at all but rather use books or, as mentioned earlier, the state of the world, normally as told by various documentaries.
5- "Six Waves of Woe" is one of the greatest Doom Metal releases ever! Specially "Selfdestructive", please tell us more about this album and the process of writing it?
Thanks! I also find “Selfdestructive” one of the best song on that album. So, while “Departure” was the first album I did all by myself, or at least completed by myself, “Six Waves of Woe” was the album where I learnt from my mistakes and perfected my visions, or at least took it all to the next level.
There was more confidence which resulted in more focus on composing and recording and less on tweaking the sound and editing recordings. I also knew from day one how it all should sound and used the same references during the entire production. In terms of lyrics I started to move away from the classic doom metal thematics, something that has continued on “Among the Dormant Watchers”.
Instead I found new inspiration in real life events and the true darkness that is out there instead of over dramatic novels and poetry.
6- Why does the musician drive his inner feelings into sad, gloomy music?
Catharsis I guess. You need a way to ventilate your inner darkness and for me it has always been through listening and composing dark music. Somehow those feelings give the songs an extra dimension and more meaning. It makes each and every song personal and something I can relate to.
7-Is there any live performances soon?
No. Previous to “Where Dreams turn to Dust” we did two shows and that was during a time when there was a “we” in the band. It was fun but it never did the songs justice. I sometimes play with the idea of doing some live shows with guest musicians but I’m quite confident it will never happen.
8-What do you think of your Middle Eastern fans? Are you on contact with them?
They write and I answer, just like fans from other parts of the world. I really don’t care too much where my fans come from. Still, for some mysterious reason the majority of my fans do seem to come from the Middle East and I still struggle to get why? So, maybe I should pay those fans some extra attention.
9-What are the most difficulties that face underground Metal bands?
As of today, acting in Sweden there isn’t really any difficulties. I guess the fact that there is so much music out there could be an issue as it makes it harder for your own stuff to be relevant if you haven’t picked a very unique style.
I am perfectly aware of that the situation is different in other countries, especially some of the less free countries in the Middle East.
10-How do you the see Doom Metal scene now?
Quite diverged. There are so many different styles and directions where some share very little so for me it’s not that relevant to talk about the Doom Metal scene at all. I’m not even sure if my own music classify as Doom Metal anymore. I quite often find music that is doomy sorted under Black Metal or Post Rock/Metal and when I browse the stuff sorted as Doom I quite often get disappointed.
For music, to keep making relevant music and to continue to perfect the visions I have for Forest of Shadows. Being a DIY artist there is always room for improvement.
Thank you!
Originally published on 17/11/2018 at 4:33 am
Originally published on 17/11/2018 at 4:33 am
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