Rapture pour l'album "Silent Stage"

Hi! With the end of your website, we didn't have any news from Rapture for a year. What happened to the band? What is the line-up today?

Hello! The website was offline because Spinefarm changed their server and didn’t bother putting our pages back up. Go figure. Not much has happened in the band in that time. Sami Hinkka joined the band right after “Songs For The Withering”, taking over the bass duties so the line-up is now: Petri Eskelinen – clean vocals, Henri Willberg – vocals, Tomi Ullgren – lead guitar, Aleksi Ahokas – rhythm guitar, Sami Hinkka – bass & Samuel Ruotsalainen – drums. A new website is in the works and should be online soon.

Before talking about the present, I would like to come back a few years in the past. Your first album, "Futile" was often compared to the "Brave Murder Day" of Katatonia. Was it a good thing or a subject of irritation (or both) for you? Do you know (and listen to) this band?

It did irritate at first but doesn’t bother us anymore. People can say what they want, we know that our music comes from the heart and we did not set out to write music that sounds like Katatonia. We all listen to Katatonia, they are a great band. Anders & the boys are fans of Rapture, you know…

What were (or are) your influences?

Life and being human, vulnerable and sentient. Musically, I really don’t know. We listen so much different music. We all love old Paradise Lost, though.

Your second album, "Songs For The Withering" marked a significant evolution in your music with the integration of much more clean vocals and slow parts. How came the idea to vary your style on this way?

The vocal thing was just something that seemed like a good idea. The guys tried to make me sing more clean stuff on the first album as well, but I didn’t have the guts to do it. It took a couple of years before I could do it. It’s just something that adds nice dynamics to the music. The same goes for the variation in music, having slow parts and mid-tempo stuff. It’s all about dynamics. The first album was written by Tomi and Jarno, our old guitarist. The second was written by Tomi and Aleksi and the new one is done by Tomi and Henri. I guess that’s where the differences came from.

How spent the writting of "Silent Stage"? How long does it last?

Tomi had been writing stuff all the time. So I guess I would have to say that it took three years to write this one, just like it did the last time around. We really don’t like to rush things that much… Or then we’re just plain lazy.

What are the themes approched in "Silent Stage"?

We talk about human emotions and the death of them. It’s really all about humanity and the pain that comes from being a part of it. Henri writes a bit different stuff than I do, but I still see the similarities in certain areas. There’s not really an overall theme to the album, we just write about stuff we feel and see.

On "Silent Stage" and "Songs For The Withering", the artwork is very beautiful. Is it important for you? What do you think it can bring to your music?

The artwork is obviously very important as it sets the mood for the entire album the first time you see it. It should fit well with the music, an album is always a package, both aural and visual. I think they should complement each other, thus bringing depth to both.

What do you listen to at the moment? What are your favorite albums?

As I’m writing this, I’m listening to Pelican and their latest album “Australasia”. Amazing stuff, check it out. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of electronic music, drum ‘n’ bass mostly, there’s so much aggressive and dark stuff there. I’ve also been listening to the new Jesu album a lot. It’s absolutely breathtaking. One of the best albums to come out in years. My favourite albums of all time (at the time being) are W.A.S.P.’s debut, the first Black Sabbath and Neurosis’ “Enemy of The Sun”. All of those represent growth and change in the way I listened to music.

Any gigs planned?

Not at the moment, but hopefully soon. We need somebody to book us shows and tours and stuff. Our label sure aren’t helping us out on that…

Thanx for the interview and DO NOT hesitate to come in France :) The last words are yours!

Thank YOU for the support! It’s very important to us. We have been talking about coming there in April but right now it seems that nothing much is happening in that area. We’ll see… Thanks to all the people who are enjoying our music. “Without music life would be a mistake.” -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. Take care of each other.