SilenT LinE Interview Continued...
instead of writing a cacophony where it's a bunch of different noises striving to be heard over another. Wow, that was a lot longer of an answer than I expected to give, sorry!
Who had the idea for a concept album? Was the lyrical content a joint effort?
It started as a suggestion I made, like “hey guys, I think this would be cool, but I don't know if it's something you want to do”. To my surprise, everyone was pretty on board with it from the start. I grew up listening to a lot of Coheed and Cambria – still do – and I really found that the albums felt more cohesive and complete when they were centered around a single topic or idea. After the base concept was laid down Andy ran with it and wrote the lyrics for Into the Chasm and Embrace the End, and helped with several others.
I read that the bass and synths are somewhat of an afterthought. Not in any negative way, of course. Can you elaborate on that part of the album structure?
Perhaps I used the wrong word to describe that before. Bass and synth aren't so much an afterthought as they are “glue and glitter”. The bass guitar is incredibly important in mixing no matter what jokes are thrown around. It's just not a main writing tool. It comes in after the majority of the song's structure and riffs are laid out and provides a bridge between all the instruments so that everything sounds cohesive. It's not a simple job, and writing a bassline that works with guitars, vocals, and synth while at the same time locks in to the rhythm of the drums can be incredibly challenging. Synths are used less on this album although still present in several songs – we used orchestrations and choirs quite extensively instead of copious amounts of synths. They usually double up a guitar lead like in Black and White's intro, or function as a percussive pitched instrument like in the verses in Erosion. They're really fun to play around with and can make or break a song. Synths usually come in when a riff sounds empty in comparison to its surrounding parts, has no orchestrations, or just to add a hook-y feel to a riff like in the intro of Summersong.
parts, has no orchestrations, or just to add a hook-y feel to a riff like in the intro of Summersong.
Musically, I believe that you guys have outdone yourselves in attaining the Gothenburg sound. What are your your current feelings on the comparisons to In Flames, Dark Tranquility, even some older Sentenced?
Honestly it's quite alright with us to be compared to those bands' sounds, we did grow up listening to them! We've looked up to them since we first started playing, so naturally elements of their styles will find their way into our music. To be frank, in our early years and the first album we were trying to emulate those bands and write in their styles, which isn't the best way to make your music original. I think everyone goes through a simple...contuned next page...ilar phase. Now we just sit down and write what comes to mind without trying to be like anything in particular, but we are glad it has that Gothenburg Sound!
your current feelings on the comparisons to In Flames, Dark Tranquility, even some older Sentenced?
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