The Inquisition: 003.Outwailed

1. How did you came up with the name of the band?

When we first started playing together the band didn't have a name and we were mainly just jamming together to see if it's going to be any good. After about 1,5 years of head scratching we figured out it might be time to release something. We came up with a brilliant name, but soon found out that it was already taken by an East European europop girl band. Bummer. Outwailed was our second option. It sounds good, it reflects the nature of this project, it doesn't have any strong connotations, and most importantly there are no bands with the same name.

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it?

Every song is a result time-consuming twiddling and group effort. The process usually starts with a riff or a melody and a vague idea of the structure. That draft is then repeated over and over until everything falls into place and everyone feels they have given their contribution to the end result. In most cases, the resemblance between the original idea and the final result is next to none.

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?

We all come from somewhat different musical backgrounds, so there's no single answer to this question. What is in common between all the members of the band is that no one is particularly picky or faithful to a certain genre. Good music is good, never mind the box it has been stuffed in. One album from the recent times that we've all shared an interest is Year of No Light's Tocsin.

4. What is the first record you've ever bought?

Wow. This is a jump to the deep end. Collection is: Alice Cooper - Trash, Greenday - Dookie, Metallica - Ride the Lightning, and last but not least Roxette - Crash! Boom! Bang!

5. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with?

There are a ton of great bands in Finland that all should receive recognition and have an opportunity to tour and gig. It would be great to see as many as possible in one event and be a part of the line-up as well. Kurouma, Mother Susurrus, Lurk, Katakombi to name a few.

6. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to?

It's absolutely mind blowing how far music can spread by simply uploading it to the web. We've done very little to promote our music (mainly because we don't have any commercial goals), and still we've reached listeners all around the world. For some reason, heavier and gloomier stuff from Finland seems to be really popular in the Baltic countries and in Russia. That's been some what surprising to notice. Blogs and web zines are a great source to find new music from all over the world that otherwise would remain local and underground in their origins. All those people writing blog posts and reviews are doing an amazing job. We salute you!

7. Do you support the idea of Bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like Spotify?

Bandcamp is a great service since it is so easy to use as a release platform for digital music. There's also the possibility to pay for the music you like, directly to the artist. We strongly believe that there will always be people that are willing to support the bands, by either paying for the downloads or buying records. Spotify on the other hand works as a tool to listen and discover albums you'd like to buy. It's been good to see that small DIY bands have found their ways to Spotify as well.

8. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

Making music and having fun, just like so far.

9. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?

Starting from the golden age of vinyl records, album artwork has developed into an art form of it's own. It takes a shit load of changes to wipe out an entire form of art, developed over multiple decades. The output might alter but the message is still there. Album art will always be needed in provoking feelings and images that support the music. We see it as a inseparable part of music and releases, no matter the format.

10. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format?

As it can be perceived from our recordings, we like things analog. It's just great that people have found vinyl again. There's nothing like unwrapping an album for the first time and blasting it while fiddling with the covers.

11. What's the funniest story or moment as a band?

Recording the vocals for our latest album, 'Observant', was surely a an occasion to remember. We built a home studio to our rehearsal space, a relatively small windowless bunker located underground. There were four of us plus a dog observing two gents screaming and growling their lungs out. The dog might have been the only one who survived without ruptured abs and/or lifelong source of nightmares.

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