Artist: Omnium Gatherum
Herkunft: Finnland
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Century Media Records
Link: https://www.omniumgatherum.org/
Bandmitglieder:
Gesang – Jukka Pelkonen
Gitarre – Markus Vanhala
Gitarre – Nick Cordle
Bassgitarre – Erkki Silvennoinen
Keyboard – Aapo Koivisto
Schlagzeug – Tuomo Latvala
Time For Metal / René W.:
Hello, dear band,
today we have come together to talk about your new EP, Slasher, and the upcoming tour in the fall.
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
Yes we have.
Time For Metal / René W.:
Shall we start directly with Slasher? Are the four tracks a harbinger of the next studio album or meant to amp up the upcoming shows?
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
It can be seen both ways. Whilst standing on its own as an individual release the Slasher EP is, from one perspective, a little glimpse of things to come. Especially the title track can be seen that way. Lovelorn and Sacred are originally from the Origin album sessions so they belong more to that soundscape. It is always a pleasure to release new music whether it be an album or „just“ an EP. We proud ourselves to have high standards when it comes to songwriting and therefore every release is important. When it comes to playing live of course these songs which we will play live will boost the live experience both for the fans and also for us. It is a shared experience and some new juicy songs in the mix never hurt anybody.
Time For Metal / René W.:
On Slasher, you continue down the path of the good old melodic death metal from the early days, while still managing to incorporate modern elements, as seen in the songs Slasher and Sacred, delivering a powerful and atmospheric sound that blows the listener away. How important are these connections to you?
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
Although for us the musical path is to re-invent ourselves this does not mean we discard our past. Marrying these two is one of the most important goals for us. If done with passion it can really harness the best of the both worlds and keep the music relatable as well fresh at the same time. We respect our roots by keeping a certain Omnium Gatherum wibe in the songs and coming up ways to compose and arrange them in a style that is seen as not repeating too much of the same. This is so at least for us. All of them who choose to listen to our music are free to make their own interpretations of course and judge themselves, is the thing so. So I can say that for us these threads to the past and future are important connections for us. They go aligned and thus the sound is born.
Time For Metal / René W.:
With the final track, Lovelorn, you take a noticeably darker and even progressive approach, further proving your extensive sound, which is topped off with the cover of Michael Sembello’s „Maniac.“ How do you come up with ideas during the songwriting process, and what led to your unique interpretation of the hit?
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
Oh, you see this song that way. Interesting. It does have some progressive elements in it but I see it pretty straight forward song for the most part. You may be on to something when saying the song is a bit darker. That is true, but it still contains those glimpses of hope which shine through in many Omnium Gatherum’s songs. When it comes to ideas for riffs and songs in whole I want to say that the inspiration is all around. In our interests, in nature, in movies, good books etc. Where-ever it can be catched. That is how it works for us at least. Then after the inspiration begins the hard work. That is arduous but in the long run will have ist rewards of course. When it comes to Maniac this originally was Marcus’s idea. I think it went something like he heard/was listening to the original song and it dawned to him that here is a song which can be greatly moulded into Omnium Gatherum’s melodic death metal style. So he went on and made some demo versions and I learned the lyrics. Aner that I just sang on top of the demo. So we listened to it and both thought this really is a good and original idea to cover this song. We were aware of the fact that more than a couple of groups in the metal genre had made a cover from this song before but we were not inOmidated by that because it is a great song and we managed to do a version of it that really does sound like Omnium Gatherum. When covering other musician’s songs, it is always a delicate process where in our opinion one must have a certain respect for the original but also enough bravery to mould it into something special. That way the music of the song conOnues to thrive in a whole new area and potenOally for a very different audience than it was originally designed to reach.
Time For Metal / René W.:
You released the four compositions not only on CD but also made vinyl enthusiasts happy. Vinyl records have outsold CDs for the first time in decades. Do you mainly lean towards records or do you also utilize modern digital media?
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
We use both the classic and modern media for our releases. So there are the streaming platforms, the CD’s , the vinyls of course. This is beause we feel that in metal genre at least people still want to get the physical copy of the release despite of the fact they may have some streaming service. Especially on tour people do like to purchase a vinyl or a CD from our show. To get them signed is something we never say not o, so if we are asked to sign some stuff we definitely and gladly will. This is something we are happy to do and for some people it may be super important so why not.
Time For Metal / René W.:
In the fall, you’ll be going on tour again as part of the Ultima Ratio Fest 2023, alongside Primordial and Paradise Lost, throughout Europe. It’s a really strong line-up. When did you receive the invitation, and how are you already preparing for the various gigs?
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
These kind of tours are planned ahead pretty much a year before the tour takes place so I can‘t remember exactly the time when we were offered this tour but it must have been like a year ago give or take a month. It is indeed a strong line up and we are happy tob e a part of it. The preparations are simple. Weg et some good merchandise for the fans. Practice our setlist hard and we hit the road!
Time For Metal / René W.:
You probably don’t like to give too much away, but can you tell us anything about the set for the tour? Will „Maniac“ make it onto the stage? I have to admit, I’ve had your version stuck in my head for days!
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
Well the setlist is not decided yet but I can tell that there will of course be songs from the Origin album and Slasher because they are the latest releases. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Beyond album so there might be a couple of songs from that album for sure. As for Maniac I really can‘t say if we will be playing it on this tour. We have now played it on the summer festivals and people seem to like it live a lot. Let us see, maybe we will play it on tour too.
Time For Metal / René W.:
Thank you for your time. The final word is yours, and you can address your fans and our readers freely. Enjoy the new record, and all the best for the upcoming tour!
Omnium Gatherum / Jukka Pelkonen:
Thanks our brothers and sisters! WE will see YOU on the road!