Interviews

'Dreamcrusher' is the second album form the Finnish band Naildown. And although it all may not be too original what they bring at the moment, the bands knew again to release a cd of good quality and it shows the potential of these Young Fins. I had a conversation with vocalist Daniel Freyberg to hear how they feel about their new album, the tour and the continuous comparison with Children of Bodom.

Overall, are you pleased with the outcome of the songs at 'Dreamcrusher'? What are your own personal feelings about the actual end result of 'Dreamcrusher'?

Yes, we are really satisfied for the outcome and the result as well. We managed to capture certain atmosphere to the album that we really like. In the end the songs became very well arranged. We didn't planned every single detail in the pre-production so that gave us more room to do last minute changes in the studio and it turned out to be a successful thing.

What were your intentions for this album style-wise? What were the goals you had in mind when you started to record 'Dreamcrusher'?

The main idea was to make something different than World Domination. And we think we managed to do that quite well. We wanted to make a statement that would crush all the expectations.

How hard was it to come up with a follow-up on your so well received debut album 'World Domination'?

We started the song writing process in same way than before, only this time everything was done much faster. We never think any reviews or sales when we are writing songs just did what we wanted and here are the results and we are going to keep up the same way. So it wasn't hard at all.

How difficult was it to fit in new comers Asko Sartanen and Janne Jukarainen? In which thing(s) on 'Dreamcrusher' can one hear their influence?

It was not difficult at all, the guys fit in the group perfectly. In addition Asko wrote one song for the album, Save Your Breath and played some awesome guitar solos. Jannes' banging is indeed awesome in Dreamcrusher as you can very well hear. He has maybe more "straight forward" and accent style than our previous drummer had and it fits these songs perfectly.

The production has been done by Janne Saksa. What made him the perfect producer for 'Dreamcrusher'? In which things/songs of the new album can one clearly hear his vision and ideas?

He produced the album with the band and his job can be heard i.e. in some vocals and guitar/synth melodies. For example in the chorus of the title song he came up with some great vocal harmony stuff and he didn't allow any mistakes. So, sometimes we worked for a lifetime to improve just some little thing. As you will listen the album again and again I'm sure you'll notice every kind of little things within the songs.

The new album has been well received by both magazines and fans? Dou you care about positive response magazines or your fans? Why (not)?

It's always nice to hear that somebody likes our stuff but it won't affect our writing process. But of course it is fun and sometimes cheerful to have feedback from the media or fans as well.

Your music is often being compared with a band as Children Of Bodom. Does it not bother that people do so or do you feel this as a compliment?

Yeah, sometimes it bugs as, especially nowadays with our new album out, it feels pretty weird even we like COB. Dreamcrusher is a step ahead for us, and we feel it means away from the age-old influences. And nowadays so many bands are often being compared to COB so it's something that we can't take as a compliment, not anymore...

Well, that is a tough task and we are well aware of it. But for us it has always been about having fun, playing gigs and writing songs that we like. So to answer your question, no we don't worry about those kinds of things. Instead we try to renew our sound and play music that we all love. And eventually you will see that Naildown will grow far away from normal "Melo-death" genre.

You are currently (April '07) on tour with Ensiferum and Suidakra. How are you experiencing this tour so far?

Yeah! So far the tour has been even better than we expected. Crowd has been so awesome and so many people have come to the show for us and that's insane you know! The guys from Ensiferum and Suidakra are really cool, and the parties we are throwing are insane …

Your previous cd 'World Domination' was your first cd to be released through Spinefarm Records. With 'Dreamcrusher' being the second one released by Spinefarm, it might be a good moment to have a brief retrospective view; do they deliver what you had hoped for?

Yes they do. Record label has been very co-operative indeed and we are really looking for future collaboration with them.

How do you combine your daily routines with all the things involving Naildown? Are you capable of making a full living out of Naildown? I assume you have other, daily obligations besides Naildown. Would you, if the opportunity ever occurs, all be willing to make it a full-time job? What is a typical day like for you?

Well, we all work and some of us study as well. But if the situation would occur that we could make the living out of this music-thing, I am sure we would all go for it. So far there have not been any major problems in combining our casual live and music-life if you use your time wisely. But it's keeping busier day after day so naturally making a full living out of Naildown would be just perfect. Usually we do the practising in the evenings and weekends so It's basically a full-time double-job.

How important is these days to have an internet site to be able to communicate with your fans?

Indeed internet nowadays is a very important for artists. Therefore we decided to put effort in our website as well. Even though www.naildownrock.com is our main site and will always be, you can't underestimate the power of MySpace nowadays. It's cool you know...

Artists can put their music there for everyone to listen and spread their word all over the world. So in that sense, MySpace is for Naildown a huge opportunity to get new Nail-fans.