Interview with In Vain 2007

By Bradley Smith

Being a relatively new band though with some experienced members, can you give us some insight into what was involved with the formation of the In Vain and what the members’ backgrounds are?

Andreas and I formed the back in 2003 and since then the band has released two highly critically acclaimed EP’s;  Will the Sun Ever Rise and Wounds.  Both EPs received fantastic feedback and reviews from metal fans and journalist alike.

Our debut album, “The Latter Rain”, was released in Europe 29 May.  The album features about 20 guest musicians including singers like Jan K. Transeth (In the Woods...) and Kjetil Nordhus (Green Carnation).  I can also mention that we were on our first tour (and had our live debut) in March/April 2007 Battered and Vreid (UK, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany).  

All of the members, except for Andreas, have backgrounds from various local bands from our home town Kristiansand.

Your new album The Latter Rain is getting ready to be released.  What all went into its recording and writing?  What studio did you use and why did you choose it?  Are you having a release party/performance?

The recording was a long and, at sometimes, tough process.  Actually, from time to time, I thought that we would never get the album finished.  All the music was written before the recording, but we did some improvising in the studio. 

We recorded the CD in DUB Studio in Kristiansand because it was practical since we all lived and worked in that town.  We’re having a release party in our hometown 8 June and we’re also playing in Oslo 2 June.

How does it feel to be touring as a young band?  I know your tour with Vreid was pretty much the first shows you guys had ever down as In Vain.  How was that experience and how do you feel you developed over the course of the tour? 

The whole tour was excellent and we enjoyed every second of it!  All of the participants on the tour got along really very well and we simply had a really good vibe!  Both Vreid and Battered are excellent bands are really nice guys!  Being a young band on tour was great.  We were not familiar with playing live so it was a new situation we had to adapt to.  We learned a lot and gained crucial experience.  We developed a lot as a live band on the tour.

Who within the ranks of In Vain is responsible for composing the music and will you get the newer members more involved in song writing in the future?

Up to this date I (J. Haaland) have written and arranged all the music.  This is not because the others are not allowed to, it’s simply because no one else have written anything.  Our new guitar player is working on songs now though.

With such a diverse musical tapestry that you guys have created what are you’re your Musical inspirations both in the forms of bands that you derive guidance from as well as your surroundings that influence your compositions?  Also what sort of personal philosophy affects how you approach your music?

Some of my all time favorite bands are (in no particular order) Extol, Emperor, Opeth, In the Woods, Shai Hulud, Strongarm, various gangsta rap, etc….  I guess all of these have influenced my way of songwriting in one way or another.  Otherwise I get inspiration from things that goes around in our society, from friends, just watching TV, reading, etc..  No special form of philosophy affects how I approach my music.

You guys signed with upstart label Indie Recordings.  How did you guys develop your relationship with them and how has it been working so far?  What made you choose a label that is so new as opposed to going with one that is more established?

They listened to our EPs and really liked it.  The cooperation has been great so far.  We choose this label because these guys are some of the best in the business and we got a deal we’re really happy with.

As a fresh band do you think that it is harder or easier for young bands to make it in the music scene these days?  What do you think of the current extreme music scene in Norway and how do you see it developing in the near future?

It depends… In the end it comes down to whether the songs are good enough.  But of course, it often happens that really good bands never get noticed at all and that horrible bands get a lot of attention.  The extreme scene in Norway consists of many quality bands that have been around for along time and lot of new bands that pop up…  Hopefully we’ll see new metal bands in Norway taking the music into new dimensions.

Your sound is so diverse and expansive.  Do you think bands in the extreme music scene are too narrow-minded in their approach to writing or do you enjoy bands that are more straightforward? 

I have sometimes thought about this and came to the conclusion that all the bands I have ever enjoyed are either original and have good songs, or they simply have really good songs if you know what I mean.  But I seldom like bands that are not original unless, as I said, their songs are of really high quality.

I don’t think bands in the extreme scene are too narrow-minded.  All bands just have to do what feels natural for them.  But certainly it could be hard for me to be in a band where we would not experiment with various music styles.

Why do you think that Metal is such a global experience/phenomenon that transcends cultural, economic, and geographic divides?  Do you think that it will continue to stay pretty much in the underground or do you ever see major labels attempting to sign extreme acts again like when some major labels flirted with some of the bands from Earache’s roster back in the 90s?

I haven’t really thought about this..  Well, metal is music and people all over the world enjoy music and there will always be a part of the mass that enjoy the extreme side of music.  I don’t consider metal to be an underground phenomenon anymore, it’s seems to be more and more except (if you exclude some of the black metal bands) and have been for some years already.

Major labels may be more interested in metal bands in the future, and one of the reasons for this is that metal fans are loyal to their bands and actually buy their records…  So that might educe more record companies to expand towards this kind of music.,

What’s next for In Vain?  Any new musical output on the horizon or possibly more shows and touring?

We get request about this and hopefully something will be arranged.

I’ll leave the last words to you.

Thanks you for the great review and the interview.  All you others check out www.invain.org and check out some of our songs!  Cheers!!