Hi guys! How did Hope Is a Lie form, and what led you to post metal?
Hope Is a Lie is partially a reaction to the pandemic, and the related feeling of isolation and the lack of a meaningful future. It made us write some pretty bleak music. It is also an experiment that was brewing for some time until the band members finally decided to give it a go and see what happens if we get together to play music. We don’t define ourselves as post metal per se, although it’s clearly there as one sonic reference. We wanted to play music that is dark, slow, heavy, and in some way cinematic. Music that sounds like being lost in a dark forest and not knowing how to get out.
What influences shaped the band’s sound?
David Lynch is definitely the cinematic or visual influence. Musically, bands like Oranssi Pazuzu, Amenra and Mogwai were our go-to references, but I’m sure people will hear all kinds of influences in our songs.
What does the name “Hope Is a Lie” mean to you?
It’s a very conscious choice. There is no happy ending on the horizon, instead, we’re just getting more and more lost, deeper into the dark woods.
What’s the story behind the album title Hope Is a Lie?
We considered other album titles too, but went for the classic choice of a self-titled debut album. In addition to being really bleak, it is also saying that nothing changes with hope alone. Hope is meaningless if we want to fix some of the big problems in our world today. Just like thoughts, prayers, and faith in general too. Thinking or feeling really hard about something won’t change anything. Actions are the only thing that matters.
What are the main themes explored on the album?
It varies from very personal reflection and trauma to global themes like climate disaster and politics. Songs like ‘Suits’ and ‘Pure’ deal with issues we see causing problems to our democracies and societies across the world today, whereas songs like ‘Rot’ and ‘Shadow’ go deep into real, personal memories and emotions, and act as very public therapy to some extent.
What emotional response did you want to evoke with this album?
To be honest, we didn’t write the songs with any specific intent of this kind. We never though about how would people react to the lyrics, the riffs or the sounds. We didn’t necessarily even write the music, it just came out this way. Once it was clear what the overall mood was going to be, the lyrics and the arrangements just play along to that without any consideration of how the music will be perceived. That said, when I (Lasse) was playing the final mixes to a few of my friends, I noticed a very strong emotional reaction, almost to the extent where I thought we had gone too dark. The songs really are bleak, and the lengths combined with unhurried tempos, allow the emotions to grow pretty deep for those really listening to the entire album. You have been warned.
How would you describe your sound to someone new to your music?
First of all, we use the term “unhurried” i.e. the tempos are slow. It is largely guitar riff based metal with most inspiration taken from post and doom metal, but listeners should hear elements of sludge, industrial and grunge too. Vocal styles range from clean to very low growls. Some reviewers describe our music as “progressive”, which sounds odd to us, but there are some short psychedelic elements in some of the songs, a little bit of spoken word and noise, and maybe that makes it progressive.
How was the collaboration with Markus Alavire and Owe Inborr for mixing and mastering?
Well, Markus is one of us in the band so it was a huge benefit to be able to jam, create, and record iteratively at Markus’s studio at Saarni Music. We never had time pressure to complete this album. This was not the first time we collaborated on recording music so that also allowed us to go a little further into the sounds and the mixing, and Markus really took the time to make those walls of guitar sound thick and rich. The songs are big without being pompous.
Owe Inborr at Wolfthrone Studios is a metal guy through and through, and he makes music sound loud. There was a good number of iterations with the mastering as we wanted the songs loud enough, but still sounding organic and true to the original mix, and eventually we got there.
What was the process like working with Amber Shadows on “Suits”?
Lyrically, ‘Suits’ was a song that would really benefit from a femal vocalist, and since we didn’t have any rules or constraints to how we created the music, we went for a female vocalist! Anne (Amber Shadows) is someone we know from other musical projects and we knew she can sing hard and loud, but this was her first time screaming and doing vocal effects, and she just totally delivered everything and more! Anne and I (Lasse) went to her practice space with lyric lines printed on paper, and I asked Anne to just go for it and not think too much, just feel the words. She did five takes, each one more intense and insane than the previous, and it was just a pure moment of passion and emotional therapy happening there. There was quite a lot of editing done afterwards because there were so many great takes of mostly improvised screaming, but it was definitely one of the greatest recording sessions I have ever done.
How do the album cover and visuals reflect the music, and why are they important in telling the story of the album?
Visuals are very important to us and, as mentioned, our whole premise was quite visual to begin with. Tuomo, our drummer, is also our art director and has designed the covers, etc. It’s obviously quite dark and bleak, but it’s not overwhelmingly busy. Just like our music, our visuals are dark in a calm way. We also intentionally resisted the temptation of a death metal like logo and instead went for something simpler to make sure our message gets across.
How have fans and critics responded to the album so far?
The reception has been mostly very positive. It’s only been a few weeks now but the few reviews we’ve seen are surprisingly encouraging. Remember, that we didn’t really set out on any specific mission so we had very few expectations too. A friend of mine just this morning messaged me to say that the album provided her comfort when she was feeling very dark, and there really isn’t anything better an artist can hear than that.
Where do you see Hope Is a Lie heading musically in the future?
If we only knew! We’re putting together a live set at the moment and hope to play some shows later this year in ways make the songs justice. I think we’ll do more new music, but at this point we have no idea how we’ll approach the creative process or what the outcome will sound like. It’s a really exciting place to be in, honestly!