Is "Project Earth - Deathcult Ritual" ready? How is the music on it?
VESA: Yes, the lyrical and compositional wholeness have been very clearly in our possession for some time. But until the final mixing, the opus "Project Earth - DeathCult Ritual" can't be reached in it's ultimate physical essence which will be incarnated in form of a full length album. And the final embodiment of this work also needs someone to release it, which we still don't have.
MARKKU: The music on the album is a mix between extreme chaotic hate and gloomy depressive melodies. The album consist of nine songs and has duration little over 50 minutes. We released a couple of months ago "Promo 2002" with three rough mix songs as a sample of what the album is about. The promo can be downloaded for free from our website, so check it out!
How would you compare your new music with the one in the "Alone" MCD?
VESA: The hate has grown deeper. The depression has grown heavier. The agony has grown more painful.
MARKKU: Referring to the reviews that we've received from "Promo 2002" so far, our new material is much more original compared to "Alone". And besides the things that Vesa just mentioned above, the whole production (songs itself, playing skills, sounds, etc.) is more mature compared to earlier material.
How was the process of composition of the songs in "Project..."?
VESA: It was very painful, mentally and physically. Markku got literally sick with the pressure of the burden of making this album. We have travelled through really thick fog with this. At the beginning of the recordings Astray had full line up as a band and now there are only me and Markku left, just like when we started this band. But what can you say, only the strongest survive. Our songwriting process has always followed the same pattern. Markku composes all the material all alone. He makes some kind of demo version of it and gives it to me so that I can start planning the lyrics and vocals for it. And that goes also for every track at "Project Earth - DeathCult Ritual".
MARKKU: Well, in fact the composition process of the songs was easy, I composed all the material in a few months, but everything else since then (I mean the recordings) has been very difficult (I guess that's the thing that Vesa meant)... You know, it's not very easy to record everything just by yourself in studio, so that's the reason why the recordings has took so long time.
How important is the dark and melancholic atmosphere in Astray´s music?
VESA: The words "dark" and "melancholy" are the keywords along "hate" and "agony".
Do you have still ties with Beyond Prods.?
VESA: Astray has nothing in do with Beyond Productions anymore. We have nothing against them neither.
What are Astray´s lyrics about?
VESA: Human kind is very destructive unit which seems to have one common goal. In spite of it's attempts to give some value for life and hope, nothing can't help me seeing things from the point of view that gives me a good look to the whole race as a one big crawling suicidal animal, which' destination is nothing but death. In this cult of the mortals (we're all in) is one thing we are apparently trying to avoid but what we actually do is that we are unconsciously trying to reach it. It's not really hard to see the mankind with it's drive of death as a great cult of death, is it? That's what the lyrics of the "Project Earth - DeathCult Ritual" are all about.
What do you think of the progress the band has done since the "Until I´m Cold Enough" MCD?
VESA: I said it once and I will say it again: The hate has grown deeper. The depression has grown hevier. The agony has grown more painful. We know better how to express these things and we are more skillfull to fullfill ourselves.
Which is your equipment live and in studio?
MARKKU: Well, as we are not able to play live at the moment, so here's the gear that I used in studio (and I use at home): Jackson Soloist guitar, Jackson bass guitar, Zoom multieffects for guitar, Korg N5 synthesizer, Tama drums with Paiste and Sabian symbals, Laney and Marshall amps.
Which are the feelings that you want to transmit with Astray´s music?
VESA: Hate ...and the inner smile of the sick mind when all hope is lost. The Devil is doing his deeds and we paint the picture -where we're all in.
Any final words?
VESA: Just serve the Cult for we're all in. All hail Death!
MARKKU: Thanx a lot for the interview and support! Visit everyone in our website at www.astrayband.com and download our "Promo 2002" for free! Stay cold!
