With:	Eero Pöyry (keyboards)
Conducted by:	Lucas, Deadsoulman (in person)
Published:	05.11.2008
Band profile:	Skepticism

During the Dutch Doom Days, we thought it would be cool to do some interviews. After all, some of Doom metal's biggest and most important bands were going to be there. The first of the interviews we have for you is an interview with Skepticism, conducted by Collin and Lucas. After some effort in locating the members, since we had no idea what they looked like, we found ourselves back under a small roof sheltering from the rain with the keyboardist of Skepticism, Eero Pöyry. These were the words that were uttered...




Lucas: First of all, thanks for doing the interview. So well, what can you tell us about Skepticism? The history, the band, to get us started.
Eero Pöyry: We've been playing together for seventeen years now. For the past fifteen years and a half with the same line-up. We released the first album back in '95. Three full-lengths after that, and three mini-albums as well. So that is four albums and three mini-albums in seventeen years.
Collin: What's taking you so long between each album? There is usually a five year interval between each album. Is it because you all have lives besides the band?
Eero: (sighs and laughs) Not so much that. We don't rush. We don't have any deadlines besides the one we set ourselves, it seems better to us to let things mature.

Lucas: So it took you four years to release "Alloy" after the previous release. Does that mean you really spend four years writing the record, or do you guys relax for two years and then start writing again?
Eero: A bit of both really. We didn't stop writing or rehearsing at any point. All the songs from Alloy are from rehearsals, so pretty much immediately after Farmakon and the latest ones were written this year.
Collin: And you still manage to keep the same direction when the songwriting process is over four years?
Eero: The latest song is "Antimony", which is uhm… well I wouldn't say it's different. But it's different in a way. So we do change. We could write faster and sound a little more consistent, but we think that if we would write faster the songs would miss something. For example, "The Arrival" is three years old but we kept modifying it and adjusting it up to this year. The thing is, when we get a new idea, it often sounds good but for it to sound really good we let it mature for a bit and then we can use it.

Collin: "Alloy" was released last Monday and as you probably know: it has already been leaked on the internet. Is that something that bothers you?
Eero: Well it's something you can't avoid these days. If you want to prevent it from leaking you can try, but you can never completely stop it from happening. The promo CD's for the new album were send out on a Thursday by Red Stream, and the album had leaked on Friday, but for us it doesn't really make a difference. We're not selling millions anyway. A couple of downloads here or there doesn't hurt us.
Collin: And you don't live off your music anyway.
Eero: No. But it would be really cool if we could, but once we would live off the music we couldn't do this. We couldn't release one album every five years. No way.
Lucas: There would be too much pressure?
Eero: Yes, yes, exactly. We would have to make the music more beautiful or appealing. I'm not saying it's bad to live of your music, but not for Skepticism. We're not planning to, at least. Some really strange bands manage to make a living out of their music, so it might be possible for a band in our style too, but we find making money with music far less interesting than trying to write good songs.

Lucas: You and Thergothon are often called the pioneers or the creators of Funeral Doom. Do you see it that way as well?
Eero: Well I don't actually know what "Funeral Doom" means. It's true that Thergothon and Skepticism appeared roughly at the same time, and with some similarities in sound. Thergothon and Skepticism are the usual couple used in this sense, but I think Unholy (Finnish band, Lucas) have had much influence too. I couldn't really say how much because when we started, basically everything slow was labeled as doom. Since then everything has become much more fine grained in sub-genres and I lost track, a long time ago. The bands mentioned had their influenced and although we weren't so big in the nineties from the year 2000 and onwards the style exploded and Funeral Doom has become the term to describe this sound.

Collin: About your lineup, as you said you kept more or less the same one from the beginning. Isn't there any time when one of you wanted to do something else or just let it go, during all these years?
Eero: Well... Not really. When we started, we originally had five members. One left and since then, there have been no tensions. It could be that someone lost the interest but thirteen years is kind of a proof that it's unlikely. It may happen but as we only do it for the music, it kind of helps. And also, often bands break up when they have different views on why they should be or what they should be aiming at. For us, the only goal is the music, so it's unlikely for us to get into arguments about that sort of stuff.
Also, one thing we have noticed in music is that, many bands are formed by a guitarist and drummer, and they're forming a band in the sense of a group of musicians, not a group of friends. That's not a band I would want to play in. Skepticism started as a group of friends that learned to play through rehearsing, I think that's one of the reasons we're here so far, with the same guys.
Collin: And for the same reason you're not going to take someone else, like a bassist for example? It would be hard for you to hire someone else?
Eero: Well, actually, it would be hard for anyone to join us. Because we've basically grown up together, and today we compose, today we play, it's all of us as one. So it would be hard to join us and fit in. Again, it wouldn't be a good experience, it wouldn't be interesting to us. I don't feel we need something extra.
Collin: It's like a natural process now for you to be as a foursome...
Eero: Yeah. And actually... Ten years ago I thought we'd need extra members for live shows, but then again, I've proved to be wrong, which is good. We have enough arms and legs on stage as we are and we really have understood how we have to do things in a way. So, we're fine, just the four of us.

[Turning to Lucas]: You're freezing. [It was cold and rainy and we were standing outside, away from the noise of the venue to do the interview.]
Lucas: Yeah... it's cold [shivers].
Collin: He's always freezing... [laughs]
Lucas: I felt a little ill this morning and I don't feel too well but...
Eero: Tomorrow morning you're going to be worse.
Lucas: I'll be having an exam so... yeah [laughs]
Eero: Good for you... [laughs]
Lucas: Thanks...




Lucas: One more thing, your basic influences, have they changed? What were they in the beginning and what now?
Eero: Well... Actually our basic influences are non musical. We're kind of a... We're not trying to be a metal band, actually I think we're trying to be a funeral band in a way, the kind of band that could play in a funeral, although we've never discussed that in that sense. But there are no bands that we'd like to sound like. Instead, there are atmospheres or emotional levels that we'd like to bring into the music. It's a bit different for each of us personally. So, I don't know how you find I'm answering your question but yeah, I can't name many influences [laughs guiltily]. I'm a big church organ freak myself. I enjoy the sound, the feel of that instrument. I listen to quite a lot of organ music. The others don't share that. That's an influence for me. Our guitarist, he's listening to a lot of different styles of music, just as long as it's well written and well done. Our drummer is kind of a self-made drummer. He's never played anything else but songs of his own, and you just really see it when he's playing, you hear how he does it. Of course some bands say their music is entirely original. Well, it isn't, of course our cultural background and everything influence how we do things, but still there are no direct influences. I can't find any and yet I was thinking really hard.

Lucas: Thanks anyway [laughs]. Ok, I believe you once said you'd never do a tour, only two or three concerts a year. And now you're on a tour with Pantheist...
Eero: For the second time, yes. It seems like I'm wrong in many cases. Well, ten years ago I thought we'd never do any live shows again. So, the thing is that when a reasonable opportunity turns up we take it. We've started with our first gigs in 2001, and the tours as well. And I think, there's not been lots so, why not? One might think, what if you get an offer from a big label to do more mainstream stuff? Now I'd say, well, it's not likely, but then again, we're not... quite honestly, it won't happen. But I've been wrong before.
Lucas: Changing your music is different from doing a couple of shows...
Eero: Yes, I was actually referring more to things that are outside of a band, and promotional stuff. But yeah, that's true. Well, I was wrong once again, when saying we're not going to do a tour. But, we're not likely to become a band that's playing a lot every weekend or, say, twenty times a year in Finland. There's no point in that. But a tour every five years is kind of a nice thing for us to do as well because...
Lucas: It's still unique and there will be lots of people coming...
E: Yes. And the thing is that, with the Internet, bands usually get an unreal picture of how the public's reacting to the music. There are like ten people commenting and that's a fractional part of what's really happening, so... When playing live, you'll hear what the people think of the music anyway. You can see what you've done and that doesn't happen at home with your computer. And that's why it's good to be around a bit. In general, I think all the meanings, all the things in music still happen elsewhere, not with the computers. And in that sense it's good for us to be on the road.

At that point the interview was over and we went inside again. Our thanks go out to Eero for doing the interview with us, and the rest of the Skepticism guys for helping us in finding him.