It has been quite a while since I was so pleasantly surprised with a debut CD as I am now with ´Frozen Chambers´ from this Finnish quintet Force Majeure. The band should fit perfectly with all these other talented Finnish acts that normally sign record deals with the Spinefarm label. Not this band however, so it is therefore time for a closer acquaintance. Guitarist Jussi Reuhkala took the opportunity to provide us with all answers to our questions.
For most of our readers Force Majeure will be a quite unfamiliar name, can you give a them short run through the history of this band? Force Majeure’s roots go back to late 1998 when me and Eemeli (band’s guitarists) met each other in a small town called Järvenpää in southern Finland. We both loved heavy metal and therefore it was quite a natural decision to form a band. It was 2001 when Force Majeure became really active. During the years 2001 – 2005 Force Majeure made a couple of demos and self-financed EP’s, played several gigs and developed the foundations to playing and compositions that can be heard in the ´Frozen Chambers´ debut album. The album has succeeded pretty good so far, it charted in official album chart in Finland (#37) and reviews have been overall positive all over the globe.
I have reviewed your debut CD and it was a surprise for me, though the style of metal you play is not quite unique. Still you have managed to give it a different feel, how did you manage that? I can imagine that many people are not waiting for the next Finnish band with same sound, you whatever you did, you did it well. The sound and feel on ´Frozen Chambers´ album is the Force Majeure sound at the moment when the album was recorded. We did not aim for any certain sound. We did not use any reference albums for example in search of right sound atmosphere. All in all, it all went pretty naturally – this is just the way Force Majeure sounds on an album. Of course Nino Laurenne, who mixed the album, did pretty outstanding job with mix trying to avoid the biggest clichés of melodic metal/ power metal sound. We will see what kind of feel will the new album create when it becomes timely.
Not all however sounded super. Your singer Ricky Tournee sounds unique and give the whole a different approach, but in some parts he sounds somewhat insecure without, is this acknowledged by the band as well, or am I the first to notice? I think that on the whole Ricky did amazing job with the vocals. Vocals on ´Frozen Chambers´ are versatile, from high-pitched and razor sharp to soft and tender. But on the other hand, you cannot ever be completed as a musician – there’s always new things to learn. These new challenges that lies ahead is the driving force for us too. Our second effort will show that we have learned some of that previously mentioned “new stuff” and developed even more as musicians.
Although the overall sound was good, I have this feeling it can be done even better next time. What are the plans for the next release, because the potential for sure is well-around. The plan is to make an album full of ass-kicking heavy metal with killer but catchy as hell songs and superb musicianship! We are working our asses off to get that plan fulfilled. It is too early to say anything concrete but the album is been composed and so far we have pretty good feelings about it. Time will tell what comes out of it, but I am sure that it will not leave you cold…
The drummer has been replaced apparently just after recording of the CD; can you give more insight information about this replacement? To me it seems quite disturbing to have to replace a member when you are on the brink of having an album released… We had our share of line-up changes. Of course, it is always a bit strange and uncertain situation when a band member gets replaced but this time the change was on all levels towards better times. Jaakko Nylund is THE ultimate drummer for Force Majeure and he has quickly learned to play all our songs. We’ve also rehearsed a bunch of new ones so everything is looking cool and exciting. But if you’re looking for drama and unbelievable situations behind our line-up changes (like there is with some bands), so far the amount of drama’s been circulating around zero. Life goes on, people change but good music is forever.
Also a surprise for me was the fact that Force Majeure was not signed by the Spinefarm label (one of Finland’s biggest labels), but with Low Frequency. How did you guys ended up with them? Low Frequency Records seemed like a good choice among those companies that had an interest towards us. It is the usual story – we recorded an album and send the master tape to record companies. A couple of record companies showed interest towards Force Majeure and we chose Low Frequency Records among those options. I am sure that our material and band would fit also pretty well for Spinefarm’s roster. So in that case, you’re totally right.
The dream of every band of course is getting out and promote the new CD with a bunch of live shows. Can we therefore expect to see Force Majeure live in our regions soon? Let us see what the future will bring. We would love to come to play in the Netherlands or its nearby regions. Hopefully this will happen after our next release sometime in the future. Force Majeure is at it’s best live – so readers – if you notice that Force Majeure is coming to your hood, don’t miss the show!
As mentioned before I have enjoyed the CD tremendously and I am looking forward to your future releases. Do you have anything that you want to tell our readers? The space below is yours… While waiting for news concerning our second offering, check out our MySpace site for two new non-album tracks (B-sides for Endure the Cold –single) and mosh your socks off! All the latest info and gossip can be found from our official website www.forcesite.net. Keep it metal, folks!
For most of our readers Force Majeure will be a quite unfamiliar name, can you give a them short run through the history of this band?
Maak home
Bookmark