NOMINON is one of those solid Swedish Death Metal
bands that have kept their sound extreme and underground ever since their
inception without ever succumbing to trends. This includes a string of mandatory
releases under their belt worth checking out. Elements of Thrash and Black
Metal can also be heard in their sound. The following interview was done with
guitarist Juha Sulasalmi.
Hails! How did the recent compilation release
“Yesterdeath” come about? Will NOMINON release any new material in the near
future? What have you been up to over the years?
In
2015 we did a couple of mini-tours and a German festival, then the band went on
hiatus. I guess the main reason was
different views on the band’s overall commitments. We just didn’t find the
energy needed at the time. Then the spark was lit again 2018 and since then
we’ve been regrouping with a really strong line-up and started writing some new
material.
We
don’t want to rush things since we are older now (and wiser hopefully) and we
all have various life situations to take into account. We thought it would be
cool to release something quite hidden and obscure, just to give people out
there a sign of life and to get some buzz going. “Yesterdeath” is a compilation
of stuff from the many 7” splits we have done through the years. I think it’s a
convenient way to get hold of material from releases that have been sold-out
for a long time.
Do you think the fact that you’ve had so many line-up
changes has helped to maintain a degree of variety throughout the band’s
career? What are the factors behind such a consistent discography?
Variety
is important to keep the music interesting, both for the fans as well as for
the band. There’s no point in writing songs that sound alike, unless you’re
AC/DC. Of course each individual brings his unique influence into the band.
Also the different formats such as 7” splits, albums etcetera do contribute to
the sense of variety, since they often are recorded in different sessions under
different conditions.
We
like to put out releases every now and then just to give a sign of life, even
when we’re in a period of less activity. Another aspect is that we don’t like
to rush things. This is a lifetime commitment and we’re in no hurry. The
consistency and unhurried approach could also be regarded as one of the reasons
for the many line-up changes. Some are restless and eager to move forward,
looking for their true purpose within other genres. NOMINON isn’t about
achieving success. This is about satisfying our own musical hunger.
To the reader, how would you best summarize your sound
and what NOMINON is all about?
Basically
its death metal rooted in the thrash metal heritage, occasionally with some
black metal elements. We often integrate ideas we like regardless of genre or
subgenre. All of us have personal influences and they all mix together within
the framework of our sound. Musical dynamics are important to us. We don’t want
to make albums that sound like one long tune. Nor are we interested in
following any trends. Honest death metal with no gimmicks, that’s what it’s all
about. Lyrically it’s about hatred, death, pain and suffering.
Looking back, what were your main determinants for
starting a band, and what have you learned over the years playing with NOMINON?
Are you happy with everything the band has achieved?
In
my first band we played thrash metal and when I started NOMINON in 1993 my aim
was to create and play death metal. My mission has always been to entertain
myself. It’s great when people understand and appreciate your music and prove
to be on the same wavelength. However, my first priority isn't to be seen or
heard, this is just out of plain egoism. Other bands and individuals seem to be
on a mission and they try to convey their beliefs or whatever. I’m not into
that at all.
Yeah,
looking back I’m very proud of what we’ve done. Some of the early recordings
were very DIY and could have deserved a better sound production. But at the end
of the day - this is death metal. What I regard as the perfect sound, somebody
else may think is crap and vice versa.
Your last album “The Cleansing” shreds pretty hard. In
retrospect, what were the main elements that determined the style and sound of
that album?
Yeah,
we’re really proud of that album. We got a lot of new energy in the writing
process and I think a big reason for that was Alex Lyrbo, a great lead
guitarist and riff maker who was our newest member at the time. He wrote a lot
of stuff which had that extra spark in it. Alex left NOMINON shortly after the
album and joined the Swedish hard rock institution BULLET (which also he left
recently).
Today
we have a killer line-up and I sense that the same energy can be found in the
songs we’re putting together right now. You learn what’s really good and refine
things along the road and that’s just awesome. “The Cleansing” did indeed bring
that extra power to our songwriting onward.
What do you personally regard as the ultimate NOMINON
album and why?
It’s
impossible for me to select just one album. It depends on the mood and what
aspect I’m into at the time. It might be the lyrics, riffing or song
structures, maybe drum sound, intensity vs heaviness and so on. I really
treasure both “The Cleansing” and our debut “Diabolical Bloodshed” but there’s
one album I keep coming back to and it’s “Terra Necrosis''. It has got a lot of
heaviness but also speed and I’m very fond of the drum sound on that album. It
has some of my favorite songs in terms of riffing and also our vocalist Daniel
wrote some very cool lyrics on that album.
Could you please tell us a little about your split
with Peter Nilsson's black metal project FAFNER back in 2004? In your opinion,
should black and death metal do more splits together?
When
Peter and I parted ways in 1994 Peter started his one man project FAFNER to
which he brought some of the material we’d been writing together in NOMINON.
NOMINON had a lot of black metal tunes in the early days. The FAFNER songs
sounded much like the songs on the second NOMINON demo “Daemons II”. This was
also the last demo we did together before Peter went on with FAFNER.
So
the FAFNER/NOMINON split had a natural origin in that both bands had the same
songwriters and a common history. I'm not sure black and death metal bands
should do more splits in general. I can't see why there should, if it isn’t
obvious the bands have something in common.
In terms of your sound, did you ever feel the need to
have an original sound? How do you feel when ignorant fools compare you to
bands like DISMEMBER and ENTOMBED?
You
can easily tell when someone has really listened to a NOMINON album. They will
pick up the unique things going on and sense the variety of influences in the
music. On the other hand, when someone compares us to bands like DISMEMBER and
ENTOMBED, you know they either haven’t listened or it’s just out of plain
ignorance.
When
you get that response from someone who has really understood, then it’s just
like: Yeah, he saw it! He’s one of us!
We
knew from the start that we had an original sound, it was nothing we planned
for. But sometimes a particular production can make it hard for our sound to
fully come through. Maybe that’s why we sometimes are being compared to those
Swedish old-school acts.
Who are some of your favorite bands, as well as your
biggest influences? Also, what bands influenced NOMINON's sound?
IRON
MAIDEN has been my godz since the age of ten. Other important bands are
WHIPLASH, CANDLEMASS, early EDGE OF SANITY, IMPALED NAZARENE, DEMIGOD, MYTHOS,
ADRAMELECH and SHAARIMOTH to name a few. Since my family has Finnish roots it
was natural for me to follow the early Finnish death metal scene and it has
influenced me a lot personally.
In
NOMINON we all are big fans of American death metal. Bands like MALEVOLENT
CREATION, INCANTATION, MORBID ANGEL, IMMOLATION, SOLSTICE, DEMOLITION HAMMER
among others. Naturally also the Swedish scene has been an influence to us, and
not just death metal but also in a much broader sense. We’re all big fans of
the eighties Swedish heavy metal scene with bands like TORCH, EUROPE, UNIVERSE,
220VOLT and PROUD to name a few.
What do you think of the trend of new bands trying to
sound old-school to the point where the music sounds dull and utterly devoid of
passion?
It
seems some bands decide to sound old-school because there might be a trend
going on. Judging by what I hear they could just as well have chosen to play
melodic death metal or metalcore. I guess its part of the scene as its evolving
and as the underground is becoming mainstream to some extent.
To
my relief there are a lot of young bands that sound really great. Bands whose
stuff sounds like it was recorded thirty years ago and whose members weren't
even born in the beginning of the 90s. I like to support bands with the right
attitude and sound. After all it’s better with a vital scene with a lot of
bands, out of which some are really good, than a small metal scene with just a
few uninteresting bands.
How do you stay inspired as a musician? Also, in terms
of quality, how critical is it not to stagnate musically?
There’s
a lot of bands out there still inspiring me and my fellow band members. When
you discover great bands it makes you want to pick up your guitar and outmatch
your latest riffs and improve your own songwriting. The creative process is
really fascinating in so many ways. One could easily believe that the more you
pour out from the well of ideas the less there is left and in the end you run
out of creativity and stagnate as a riff maker. It’s quite the opposite. The more
you let yourself be inspired by your favorite bands and the more you are in a
state of flow when riffing and composing, the clearer it becomes that the ideas
will never end. Of course the inspiration also gets a boost every time someone
shows appreciation to your music, e.g. on social media or an interview in a
webzine like yours.
Stagnation
is always a factor to take into consideration, especially as we’re not
youngsters anymore. But I don’t think it’s a big issue as long as you’ve got
the passion, inspiration and creativity.
You've been with the band since the beginning, although
I am quite curious as to why you didn't participate in 2016's live album,
"Chaos in The Flesh...Live!"?
We’ve
used live musicians from time to time. Actually the band did a couple of tours
without me some years ago. Looking back it seems somewhat odd that the only
original member did not play on those live shows. The only thing I can say is
that back then when I had to choose between going on tour for three weeks or
being with my family and kids and keeping the income coming from my job, I chose
the latter. We used to have different views on the importance and desire for
playing live. Looking at it now it seems a bit strange I admit. Nowadays we
have agreed on a more common approach to things.
When
it comes to the live recording of “Chaos in the Flesh…Live!” I was going to
play that show but got sick the day prior to the gig, that’s why we ended up
using a stand-in on that gig.
How important is the compatibility of the artwork and
music? Do you think a good metal album can be overlooked due to a shitty
artwork?
I
think the artwork plays an important part of the whole package, at least when
it comes to extreme music. The artwork should tell something about the music.
The first albums that got my interest as a ten year old kid was IRON MAIDEN -
KILLERS and THE RODS - WILD DOGS. As a kid I used to sit on the floor, knees
crossed with the album cover in my hands, being sucked into the artwork. And
through the speakers came this fierce and powerful music. Of course it was a
lethal combo. The cover art is a world of its own.
On
the other hand, if the music is really good, you might be able to overlook
crappy artwork. You just don’t pay attention to the cover, and as a result your
overall impression of the band’s work won't be as strong as it would otherwise
have been.
Are there any Swedish bands you recommend we check
out? Do you support the music scene in your country?
I
would recommend checking out these bands from Sweden: KVAEN, ENVIG, THE MALICE,
REINCARNAGE and ARMAGEDDA. Also the bands DESULTOR and PAGANDOM have put out
some cool stuff.
I
like a lot of the younger underground death metal bands but we don’t have many
of them here in Sweden. I think nowadays there’s a lot more cool death metal
coming from Finland, Denmark and also the States. There’s a great underground
scene both in Europe and in the U.S. Right now thrash metal is getting bigger
here in Sweden.
Whenever
there’s a gig in my area I go and support the scene and buy merch and CDs.
What's next for you and the band? Thanks for agreeing
to do this interview and all the best to you!
We’ll
be focusing on getting our new songs ready for an upcoming release, most likely
a full length album. Would be awesome to get it out before the end of this
year. We’ll see what happens. Thank you so much Jim for your support and best
of luck with all your endeavors!
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