In Vain are a cracking progressive metal band from Norway with a fantastic new album that saw the light of day this year. Thanks to the band for a great opportunity to dig deeper into what makes the record tick.
Introduce yourself and In Vain – who are you and what do you do?
Hi! My name is Alexander Bøe. I play bass guitar in In Vain, and I’ve been a member of this fine group of gentlemen since 2013. I’ve contributed my low-end sound to both the Currents and Solemn albums, and I even wrote some of the music and vocal arrangements for the latter. In Vain is an extreme progressive metal band from Kristiansand, Norway, that was formed around 2003 and has released five albums.
What’s the most important thing to you about your music? What meaning does it give you and what purpose does it serve in your life?
Music is basically everything to me. I live with my AirPods in my ears or headphones planted on my head, constantly trying to absorb as much as I can. The most important thing is that the music moves me. Whether it’s a technical piece that impresses me with the craftsmanship of a talented musician, or an emotional piece that makes me cry, laugh, or get frustrated, I just want the notes and rhythms to hit me and make me feel something.
The main reason I mostly listen to metal, or other music that is created, written, and performed by the band members themselves, is the direct communication from creator to listener. I’m not one to bash pop music, as I know many people do, but I often feel a greater sense of distance in that kind of music.
In recent years, I’ve been really into Jacob Collier, and his way of conveying meaning and emotion through music has been a huge inspiration for me. I’m not too preoccupied with genres, but I believe that music with a lot of thought and effort behind it carries a certain extra spice and weight that some popular music today might lack.
Tell us about your latest album Solemn, and why people should listen to your music
In my opinion, Solemn is In Vain’s best work to date, both musically and in terms of production. It’s a great mix of fast, heavy, groovy, and progressive elements. In Vain has always been open to exploring different aspects of the metal genre and isn’t afraid to strive for uniqueness. Most of our music has been written by Johnar Håland over the years, and this album is no exception. However, I’ve contributed more this time than before.
As a bass player, my goal is to be the foundation beneath the heavy guitars, steering the ship into interesting directions. But I’m also a big riff-writer on the guitar, so the middle section of the first track, Shadows Flap Their Black Wings, was written and performed by me. In my opinion, it brings a fresh perspective to what In Vain’s music can be while still retaining the essence that makes In Vain the band our fans know and love.
People who find the listening process an integral part of the experience should definitely check out our music. Some of our songs have a lot of different sections that might be challenging to process on the first listen. I find that aspect really exciting, especially when listening to bands like Periphery, Meshuggah, or other modern prog bands, where I discover new favourite parts the more I listen. We also love incorporating extravagant vocals and arrangements, so if you’re a fan of that, I think you should definitely give In Vain a try.
Is there an overall concept around Solemn? How does the title and artwork link to the songs and overall feel of the release?
We usually don’t focus too much on an overarching concept for an entire album, although that would be fun to explore in the future. Our process is more about gathering the songs we have ready for an album—sometimes even a bit more—and then organizing them based on their overall tone and how they complement each other. This helps us create a cohesive feeling or meaning, which the album art then reflects or expands upon.
There are some particularly emotional songs on this album, especially Season of Unrest, which Sindre wrote about his battle with cancer—a fight he’s unfortunately facing again right now. So, even though we don’t plan in advance what we want the album to be about, we naturally work towards making everything fit together during the process, ensuring that the tracks complement and enhance one another.
Was there anything new you consciously decided to do for this record, or anything you deliberately avoided?
On our last album, Currents, we had a lot of shorter songs, so this time we wanted to go back to being ruthless with song lengths. We didn’t want to “self-censor” ourselves in the music-making process. We aimed to be brutal, fast, and create the kind of music that we, ourselves, would want to listen to.
I also wanted to contribute more to this record so that my identity as a part of the band would shine through more clearly. With that in mind, I made a conscious effort to bring something new and fresh to the table, and I feel we achieved that across all the tracks.
When writing and/or recording this new album, what were the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge with this album has been the same challenge we’ve faced with all our releases in recent years. We’re not a full-time band, and most of our communication happens online, with ideas being sent back and forth. This can lead to some miscommunication and a slower process. Ideally, we’d meet in person to discuss and jam out ideas, which might make the process quicker.
That said, the process for this album was pretty smooth overall, and we ended up with a product we’re all very proud of.
I’m always interested in how bands decide what elements of songs are going to be done when, how, and by whom. For example, as you have two people providing vocals, who gets to do which part and why?
When it comes to the vocals, it’s pretty easy to decide who takes which parts since Sindre and Andreas have such different and distinct voices and techniques. Sindre handles all the clean vocals and growls, while Andreas delivers the blackest and grimmest parts. Johnar does most of the musical writing, so he usually gives us demos and asks us to contribute specific sections, like a middle part or a heavy riff between the chorus and the end, for example.
Arranging the songs often depends on what we’re trying to convey throughout the track. It can be tricky, especially for a band like ours that has A LOT of riffs and parts to juggle. The final arrangement usually comes down to whether something feels right or wrong in the context of the song.
Across Solemn you have a range of different musical components, (including horns and saxophone) – how did you decide how these would be incorporated into the music?
Horns and saxophone have been a significant part of In Vain’s sound from the very beginning. In fact, the opening of our first album features a big, majestic horn piece! For us, these instruments serve as an extra layer to express the tone of a song. Metal is inherently heavy and loud, so it only makes sense to expand the sound with the grand, roaring presence of horns.
The saxophone is an incredibly versatile instrument that can add both screaming lines and beautiful, emotional solos. It acts almost like a second fiddle to Kjetil’s (lead guitars) magnificent work, complementing and enhancing the overall texture of the music.
My favourite songs on Solemn are the first and the last, (and there are some scorchers in between these too!). What is your favourite song from the album and why?
Well, not to sound biased, but my favourites on this album have to be Shadows Flap Their Black Wings and Where the Winds Meet. The first is a powerhouse from start to finish—it just kicks off and doesn’t let up until it’s done. It features beautiful vocal lines, heavy riffs, and cool grooves.
The second takes the listener (or at least me) on a journey. It surprises, evokes different emotions, and has a very unique build to it.
Where do you think Solemn fits into the In Vain discography? How will its creation inform where you potentially go in the future?
I think Solemn deserves to be placed at the top, at least as far as I’m concerned. It has everything the fans love about In Vain, while also introducing new flavors to keep our sound fresh and ever-evolving. The key takeaway from this release is that we shouldn’t be afraid to continue developing our sound. We don’t need to turn into a pop-rock band to create music that people will want to listen to. We’ll keep making music that we enjoy, and we’ll strive to make the next one even better!
Imagine yourself 20 years from now – what would you like the impact of Solemn to have been?
Oh, jeez, that’s a tough question. I hope the biggest impact of this album is to spark more interest in metal and in In Vain. My hope is that it helps get our name recognized, allowing us to continue growing. And maybe, in 20 years, when we’re in our 50s and 60s, we’ll still be able to churn out a good song or two!
Tell us a lesser-known interesting or funny anecdote about your band or music
This one is a tough one too… I guess the funniest thing I can think of is that many of the musicians who have been part of In Vain, or who are currently members, started at the University of Agder’s conservatory of music. For instance, drummer Baard Kolstad and I were both hired at the same time for our first European tours, and he has since built quite an impressive musical career with Leprous and various other projects. Our newest member, Tobias (also a drummer), had his first major metal performance with us in 2015, and he’s also gone on to have a fascinating career in the metal scene, working with artists like Ihsahn.
So, you could say that In Vain is like a musical “bird mom,” nurturing exceptional talent and then watching them spread their wings and soar to new heights. (Not really, but kind of… haha).
Blue sky thinking – what’s the one thing you wish you could do with In Vain, but that’s incredibly unlikely to happen, (for any reason)? Dream collaborations, playing at the Superbowl, first concert on the moon, etc.?
The moon, definitely! But, as I mentioned, since we’re not a full-time band, a bigger American tour or simply having the time and resources to elevate the band to the next big level would be a huge dream for most of us.
Finally, what are you listening to at the moment that you especially enjoy and wish more people knew about?
Right now, I’m really into bands like Plini, Intervals, TesseracT, and Arch Echo. But as I mentioned earlier, Jacob Collier is also a huge inspiration. His interviews and Logic breakdowns of his mind-blowing projects are absolutely worth checking out. It’s truly something else!
Cheers:)
Beers 🙂
Wonderbox Metal 