 First I would like to say congrats on the new album "Lucifer Rising", due out on March 22 through Candlelight. Tell us a little bit about the band's background. How did the band form and what were the early goals of the group?
K - Thanks for the words about "Lucifer Rising". We’ve been working very hard with that album. Kaamos formed in ’98 in order to create DEATH Metal. Kaamos rehearsed and created 3 songs that ended up on a promo-cassette the following year. The same year came to see bassist/singer Johan’s departure from the band and a replacement was found in Karl. '00 the original drummer called it quits. The hunt for a new drummer spewed forth. Chris Piss that took charge of the battery. The writing process manifested in five new songs. And “Curse of Aeons” as the demo came to be called, was recorded during a weekend in studio SubSonic and released in early ’01. The demo resulted in that we signed with Candlelight. In November ’01 Kaamos once again entered SubSonic to record the debut album. With the aid of Messiah Marcolin and ten days, nine tracks were put down and released in May ’02. The album, self-titled as tradition holds, was received very well and Kaamos embarked on the swamp that is called record market. March ‘04 saw the abomination Kaamos entering Berno studio and ten new songs were put on tape. “Lucifer Rising” as the second album is called has now been released. And we are currently focusing on Live Masscare and promoting the album. We’ve never had defined goals in terms of “we must have done this or that within this timespan”. The main goal and entire reason for our existence is that we have devoted ourselves to creating DEATH metal. That is the most honest and noble reason for doing this kind of music so no other goals ought to be necessary in terms of fame or equal meaningless side effects. To channalize the spirit that was associated with DEATH is a big enough task.
What is Kaamos exactly and why did you choose this as the band's name?
K - Kaamos is the name of a phenomenon that occurs in the northern parts of Finland during the depth of winter. The sun fails to reach above the horizon and leaves the landscape in darkness. So in common tongue it’s associated with DARKNESS. Besides the fact that we find the meaning of the moniker very pleasing it has suggestive qualities that triggers the mind in the right direction. A lot of people believe it is a play with the words chaos and cosmos. And that is very satisfying if you consider what they denote and mean in a mythological/religious sphere.
How did the band get involved with Candlelight? Are you happy with the promotion they are doing for your this record?
K - At the time when Candlelight got involved we were already discussing deals with a couple of labels. Then when they contacted us we felt that they would be the best label to sign to as well as being serious and good to negotiate with. And the promotion for Lucifer Rising has been really good, especially when it comes to the US.
What sort of influences do you have?
K - To make it easy I’d say Typhonian magic and its current. Then it doesn’t matter if it manifests in art, literature, music, movies, etc we draw inspiration from there. But this current is vital in Kaamos.
| The press says that Kaamos will please fans of Hypocrisy, Incantation, Grave, and early Dismember. What sort of crowd or fan will enjoy Kaamos? What are you seeing at your shows in regards to crowds?
| "...it doesn’t matter if it manifests in art, literature, music, movies, etc we draw inspiration from there" |
K - Kaamos attracts people that have been in the Death/Black UG for quite some time. People that think DEATH and BLACK metal has something to do/or in common with crossover towards Goth or HC have nothing to gain from listening to KAAMOS. A lot of traditional Black Metal people are into Kaamos as well. And this serves to show that the genuine currents of DEATH and BLACK are more related than people often think they are. So the mentioned bands are quite a good comparison.
Your sound to me is sort of like Deathwitch crossed with Runemagick, with a bit of Sacramentum thrown in. How do you feel about those comparisons?
K - Well, by now we have heard pretty much every possible comparison that people can do. And I know that people use the references that are closest at hand. I don’t agree with it but I don’t mind it either. I don’t think that anyone in Kaamos has listened to these bands but rather Sadistic Intent, Grotesque, Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Order from Chaos etc. I have heard one comparison that I felt very much at ease with. They said that the sound is traditional Swedish but that the riffs are of the US satanic death character. And that felt quite accurate albeit I don’t agree with it fully either.
How does this new record compare to the debut?
K - Always difficult for me to describe this since I haven’t gained the distance to it that I want. The most striking thing I’d say is that this is a band effort with the line up that we have today and that is noticable. Meaning that we have all contributed with music and arrangements making the album sound more homogenous. Also the production is much rawer and vital than the previous one due to change of studio. So the sound is very “basic” with as little digital manipulation possible. This results in that you can hear the sound breathe. Also I think that we on a general note have become better songwriters since the songs differ quite a lot from each other yet remains true to the style we play.
Is the debut record still available for fans?
K - Yes it is.
What are your touring plans to support this album? Are you guys doing any festivals this year?
K - There are no tours planned. But hopefully there will be some offers of interest in a near future. But we are doing some gigs here and there. And it looks as it can become quite a few. We are doing Party-San but so far that’s the only festival we’ll be doing.
Are any members involved in side projects?
K - Nope, no side projects.
When will writing begin on the next record?
K - Indirectly it has started. We are a band that writes continuasly and when it’s time to record another album we simply choose between the songs we have. But we do not sit down and say, ok, let’s start writing material for the follow up. Also, now we are busy with the release of Lucifer Rising so time and energy is focused mainly towards this album. Everything in due course as they say. NOX est LVX!
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