Lars Eikind of Before the Dawn
by Cameron Edney
Guest Staff Writer
Forming in 1999 Finnish Goth metallers Before the Dawn, it would be four years before the world started to sit up and take notice of the band. Heading out on a very successful Scandinavian tour with Katatonia certainly opened up a lot of doors for the band, but the cracks within the band started to show and line-up changes were inevitable. In 2005 founding member Tuomas Saukkonen fired all his band members stating that they’re poorly motivated, hiring long-time musician and producer Lars Eikind, Juho Räihä, and Dani Miettinen in the hope of a new start. Within two years with a new solid line-up Before the Dawn released two studio albums and had one of their singles peak at #2 on the Finnish Top 20 charts.
Soon after the band recorded their fifth studio album Soundscape of Silence’ drummer Dani Miettinen left the band. Following Miettinen’s departure Soundscape of Silence’ cracked the Finnish Top 20 charts and the band hit the road with Atte Palokangas behind the kit, who officially became a member in 2009. Fast forward 18 months and Before the Dawn are going stronger than ever. Releasing their sixth studio album Deathstar Rising in February, the band has received praise from Metal fans around the world and critics have been very kind. Just last week the album smashed its way into the Finnish Top 10 reaching #8 on the charts and creating a massive buzz surrounding what is arguably the bands finest work to date!
I had the pleasure of catching up with the bands bassist last week to discuss Deathstar Rising, life on the road and what he thought of Tuomas Saukkonen prior to joining the band. Sit back as we find ‘Sanctuary’ with Before the Dawn’s Lars Eikind.
HRH: Hey Lars thanks so much for taking the time out to answer these questions for our readers. How’s everything been going?
Lars Eikind: Life’s been good. We’ve had some months off the road now, so it’s been nice doing other things than touring for a while. But it’ll be nice getting back on the road as well, of course.
HRH: Let’s talk firstly about the new album Deathstar Rising which was released in late Feb. How does ‘eathstar Rising differ from the bands previous releases?
Lars Eikind: First and foremost we have Atte playing the drums on this release, which gives the whole album a different feel than the previous ones. We also know each other much better musically in the band now, so it’s been easier coming to mutual creative decisions about certain details, arrangements and ideas.
HRH: All up, how many songs were written and demoed for the new album?
Lars Eikind: I’m not sure how many songs were written in the process, since Tuomas is such a machine when he sits down with a guitar. Let’s just say that there was plenty of material.
HRH: How has the response been from those friends and family that have heard the finished material?
Lars Eikind: This time around I’ve decided not to play the album to anybody before the release date, so I can’t really answer that. But the expectations are high, of course, and I don’t think anybody will be disappointed.
HRH: Let’s talk a little about the writing and recording processes. How much time did you spend in the studio laying down the bass and vocals for the new album?
Lars Eikind: The bass is usually done very quickly in my own studio. After I’ve gotten the drums and some guitar recordings from Juho, I just sit down and play through the songs once. And then I record the first thing that comes to my mind, since that’s usually what works best. Then I send the recordings from my studio back to Juho’s studio. So I usually do the bass alone in my own studio when I have the time and the peace of mind needed. The vocals are a different issue altogether, though. This time around we got together in the studio and improvised a lot. Tuomas usually has a clear idea when there should be clean vocals and when there should be growling vocals. So I just tried out different kinds of melodies for the riffs, and then we put words to them when we felt that it sounded right.
HRH: How did you push each other musically and creatively to get the best results possible for the new album?
Lars Eikind: Since we’ve been playing together for quite many years now, we know each other well musically, and we trust each other’s musical abilities and styles. So it’s a joint effort more than pushing our own ideas. We all have an idea of how we want the end result to sound, and then we just follow our hearts.
HRH: What different factors surrounded writing the material that’s been recorded for Deathstar Rising?
Lars Eikind: As always, the ideas of the songs are created by Tuomas. He’s writing about things the way he sees them, and, of course, the lyrics are always open for interpretation.
HRH: Tell us about the writing process for the new album … every band has their way of collaborating, how did the process work for you? Did you guys hold writing sessions; was it as easy as a few jam sessions etc?
Lars Eikind: The process of making a Before the Dawn album might differ a bit from other bands and albums. Usually Tuomas comes up with a bunch of songs that he records for himself, and then the rest of us put our ideas onto them. We hardly ever get together as a band for band practices and such, since we live in different parts of the country, but we did go through at least most of the songs once or twice before recording this album, just to see how the material works out with the whole band. But we’re seldom together as a group during the composing stage or the earlier stages of recording.
HRH: What are you hoping the Before the Dawn fans will take away from the new album?
Lars Eikind: I hope the fans will see Before the Dawn as a band that can deliver high quality music both on albums and on stage.
HRH: Lars I wanted to talk to you also about touring and life on the road … looking back over your career, can you recall the hardest time you’ve ever had as an opening act?
Lars Eikind: Oh, that’s a tough one. I’ve really never had a hard time on the road. I did get fired from a band mid tour many years ago, but I stayed on the bus as a part of the crew when the rest of my band went home. And I got a really bad flu when we were touring with Amorphis in 2009/2010, but we never cancelled any shows. I sounded a bit hoarse for a couple of shows, but we got through it. So I can’t really say that I’ve ever had any hard times on the road yet. I’m sure they’ll come eventually. But I’m a quite mellow guy, so I don’t let a bumpy ride ruin my day.
HRH: When it comes time to go out on tour… how many guitars do you usually take along with you?
Lars Eikind: I usually bring two basses. I’ve only needed my backup bass once in my life, though. We were playing a festival in Finland, and the nut of my bass broke off. But otherwise I hardly ever even unpack my backup bass.
HRH: Besides the obvious of course… what’s the one item you always take on tour with you?
Lars Eikind: My travel pharmacy. I always keep a stash of painkillers, flu medicines, stomach medicines, caffeine pills and that kind of stuff with me. It’s very easy to get sick on tour when there’s a bunch of guys living on top of each other in a bus. And you never know where or when you’ll find a pharmacy. Somehow I always seem to be the only guy who actually brings medicines, so I’ve been the “hero” quite many times by now.
HRH: As a bass player and vocalist, before a show do you do anything specific to warm up and prepare?
Lars Eikind: I usually just walk around a bit, getting the feeling of the venue and the work in front of me, and then I have a couple of beers and a few cigarettes before I go on stage. I don’t do anything else to warm up, unless I really have to.
HRH: Mate, over the years you’ve shared the stage with many great artists. Whilst on the road who has given you the best advice and what was it?
Lars Eikind: I don’t remember who said it, but the best advice I’ve been given is to know your place and your role on the tour. If you’re a supporting band, don’t act like you’re the headliners. And be nice to the crew. They’re the reason why you’re able to do your work, and they deserve to be treated with utmost respect.
HRH: What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you whilst performing?
Lars Eikind: Apart from the normal “fan related craziness” there hasn’t really been many crazy incidents. There was one time, though; in the early 90’s when my pants ripped open in the crotch while I was playing. The audience might have gotten a bit more than they paid for that night. And I think I learned to lower my bass a bit after that show.
HRH: With the new album out soon, are there any plans in the pipeline for a possible Australian tour?
Lars Eikind: As I always say to people asking if we’re coming here and there on tour, it’s of course possible. Touring is expensive, though, and Australia is far away from Finland, but never say never.
HRH: Lars we’ve hit the part of the interview where our readers get to find out more about the real you… what was the first concert you ever attended and how much of an impact did that have on you musically?
Lars Eikind: I grew up in a musical family, so I’ve seen a lot of gigs in my life. But I think the first big venue concert I went to see by myself was Prince in 1988. He was doing the Love Sexy tour, and I got a ticket from a classmate of mine. It was a pretty good gig. The sound was good, the lights were extraordinarily well done and the stage performance was really well choreographed. I’d say the impact of that gig on me was basically that it made me want to pursue music as a career. I just loved the professionalism of the show. But, of course, purely musically I don’t know if that gig made such an impact, since I play a very different style of music myself.
HRH: Growing up did you always want to be a bass player or were your goals different?
Lars Eikind: I’ve always been a bass player at heart. I started playing piano when I was two, and picked up my first guitar when I was six. But I always wanted to be a bass player. I think my parents didn’t like the idea, though, since they felt that bass guitar isn’t the kind of instrument you can just pick up and entertain your friends with at a party. Which again; makes me wonder why it was totally okay for them when my brother wanted to be a drummer?
HRH: Do you come from a musical family?
Lars Eikind: Yes, my father was a guitar player and my mother was a concert pianist. They both stopped playing actively when us kids were born, though, which was a shame. My father was still very supportive when us kids wanted to start playing, though, so I owe a lot to him.
HRH: You joined Before the Dawn back in 2005, looking back now what were your first impressions of the bands founding member Tuomas Saukkonen?
Lars Eikind: The first time I met Tuomas was when he was recording some demo material for The Ghost, I think. He had eaten something bad, so he was pretty much just lying flat on a sofa in Juho’s makeshift studio. So I didn’t really get an impression of him at all then. But when I was asked to do some clean vocals on the album, and we met in the studio, I thought he was a nice guy to work with. He knew what he wanted from the music, and he also gave me the freedom to do the clean vocals as I saw them best. So the first impressions were good.
HRH: Before the Dawn aside… what else would you like to achieve musically?
Lars Eikind: I haven’t really set any goals when it comes to my music. But it would be nice if people would remember me after I’m gone, of course. I’d also like to work on movie soundtracks, game music and stuff like that. But it’s a tough business with way too many big dogs fighting over just a few bones.
HRH: There’s no doubt that recently many rock and metal artists have been releasing some very impressive albums.. are you currently listening to any new albums if so what ones?
Lars Eikind: Actually no. I’m working so much with my own projects that I never really want to listen to anything when I have a few hours off from work. I do listen through albums if I’m requested to do so, of course, but I never put on any music at all myself when I’m at home. Silence is sometimes the sweetest form of music.
HRH: If you could put a band together consisting of musicians passed and/or present who would they be and what would you call the band?
Lars Eikind: That’s yet another very difficult question. But to ease my way out of it, I’d put Led Zeppelin back together in its original form. Those guys did magic, and they all filled each other out musically in a way that was truly amazing.
HRH: Just before we wrap it up… the new album is due to hit shelves soon and no doubt you will be doing quite a bit of touring in conjunction with that! What other immediate plans are in place for the band?
Lars Eikind: We’re just going to make the best out of everything that comes our way. We want to play in countries and at venues we haven’t played yet, and when the time is right we’ll start working on the next album. It would of course be nice to headline a tour at some point, but I don’t know if the time is right for that just yet. So the plans are just to play as much as possible, sell albums, have a good time and make our mark on the musical map.
HRH: Lars thanks again for your time today, it’s been a pleasure. Do you have any last words for our readers?
Lars Eikind: My last words are, as always, come to our shows, buy our albums and support your local bands. Music is a tough industry, especially these days with all the downloading and freeloading going on, so support the bands you like so that they can afford to keep on entertaining you for years to come.