Frozen Factory: An eclectic mix of rock, prog and metal from
Finland release new album ‘Of Pearls & Perils’ Weaved with Frozen Factory’s signature mixed sound of alt-rock,
metal and proggy elements, ‘Of Pearls & Perils’ marks their second
full-length album and third LP/EP release. Its 12 songs, including their
traditional short intro & outro tracks, explore topics of equality, life,
the afterlife, and the climate crisis. The sound twists and turns through a
range of heavy and light soundscapes that draw careful influence from classic
acts such as Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, Iron Maiden & Depeche Mode,
while nodding at many others. The album starts with a voice recorded by one of our most active
fans, Angela C., whom They've never actually met in person, as she lives
abroad! Her voice also features in several other little moments throughout
the record – it’s a delight to include people who support us! Two of her
lines are in French, a language the band also featured on ‘The First
Liquidation EP’. Stephen chose to use some minor French moments for these two
records, because the French language includes some absolutely killer phrases
that don’t work so well in English. Angela’s opener for ‘Murder in the
Depths’ translates as “Only a fool would never change their mind”. ‘Of Pearls & Perils’: https://open.spotify.com/album/4eGID7yLzTPVrV4wgANg1z The lyrical themes are dark tones of the album reflect Vocalist
Stephen Baker’s inner struggle with the behaviour of much of the human race,
including himself. ‘Of Pearls & Perils’ is written entirely by Bassist Tomi
Hassinen and Vocalist Stephen, however, but they must credit teir Drummer
Marianne Heikkinen for completely levelling up the songs with her immense
drumming skill. They’d also like to highlight Guitarists, Mici Ehnqvist and
Joni Koivumäki, for adding their excellent flourishes on Lead and Rhythm
respectively. In this new interview, we talk with the band about their new
release, inspiration, music influences and future plans. Check it out below:
Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or
came out just like that? Hi! This is Stephen, Frozen Factory's singer, and I can tell you
that the name of our band, Frozen Factory, was chosen by our former drummer,
Mr. Eddie X. When the band first came together, it was only intended to be a
quick and fun project with a few sessions in a studio in Lahti, Finland. Our
bassist, Tomi, called the project 'Alice in Chains in Lahti' just for a laugh
and because he absolutely loves AIC. When the studio session went well, Tomi
and Eddie X decided that the band should continue making music, and that was
the moment when Eddie suggested 'Frozen Factory'. If I remember correctly,
Eddie has just always loved that name, or then he plays a lot of Sonic the
Hedgehog? I guess we'd have to ask him! Why did you want to play this genre? Our genre is really hard to pin down - yes, I realise a lot of
bands say that - but seriously, we're very fluid with our style. We're
definitely a rock band though, there's no doubt about that at all. I think
everyone in Frozen Factory loves rock music, and rock is what comes naturally
to us. It's the kind of music where you can get deep and serious and other
people will appreciate it, instead of asking where the party is. Personally,
I got into rock for the grand stories, epic singers and fantastic
instrumental sections. Did you know each other before the band was formed? Our lead guitarist, Mici, and our bassist, Tomi, have known each
other for many years, I think since school. I've known our rhythm guitarist,
Johnny (Joni), for about ten years, since our other bands have played a few
nights together and we've been playing together in an Iron Maiden tribute
band. Otherwise, we've all met through Frozen Factory. We found our drummer,
Marianne, from one of her online videos where she was playing along to a Muse
song - she was so damn good at it that we were determined to get her into
Frozen Factory. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for
beginners on how to beat that? Personally, I haven't suffered from it in a very long time. When
I was really young - a kid - the thought of getting on stage terrified me. My
confidence was very low, yet it changed a huge amount when I practised
singing and recorded myself doing it. The moment that I realised I had
nothing to fear, I stopped being afraid of it. So, I would say to anyone with
stage fright that you can work on it; you can make progress. Being afraid of
performing today doesn't mean that you cannot go out tomorrow with nerves of
steel. Practice and listen to yourself improving, and let that feed your confidence.
What bands have inspired you the most? We're inspired by a huge amount of music. We usually only talk
about a few of the bands that have inspired us, and those are Pink Floyd,
Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains, Muse, Rage Against The Machine.
There's so much more, and I think you can count just about anything that has
deeper meaning in the lyrics and well-thought-out music. Have fun looking for
the sounds of our influencers in our music! What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? We have awesome fans who ask for really understandable things! I
can't think of anything weird, at least in Frozen Factory. When I've been
singing somewhere else, an old lady in the audience called me over and I
thought she wanted to tell me something, however, she took my hand and forced
it down her shirt! Ha ha! That's the weirdest fan moment I've had! What do you think of your fans? We really appreciate every single one of them, and we hope to
meet all of those that we haven't met yet! Thank you to all of you! Something to add? Please take a moment to follow Frozen
Factory on Spotify or wherever you listen to music, and also be a little old
fashioned and tell your friends about us! We hope you'll do this for every
new band you like, because it makes such a huge difference for new acts when
people follow and spread the word. We love you for it! Peace and happiness to
you! Cheers! |