Finnish hard rock/heavy metal act SMACKBOUND are back with their sophomore album, “Hostage,” to be released on April 21st, via Frontiers Music Srl. We talked with vocalist Netta Laurenne about the album. Read the interview here…
Hi there! It’s been a while since we last chatted about SMACKBOUND. Your new release, “Hostage,” is being released at the end of April. How are you feeling about the upcoming release?
Netta: We’re happy of course to get the album out.
Typically, a debut album establishes a band’s sound while a sophomore album is taking it further. How do you feel SMACKBOUND developed as a band with “Hostage?”
Netta: We don’t think about things like “band sound” or analyze our doings in any way. We just make music with a really free state of mind.
You mentioned the previous record was written in 5 years, so what was the timeframe for this record and did you change anything in your approach to the writing process?
Netta: About a half of the album was written in 2020 and the other half in a month-to-month-and-a-half before delivering the master to the record label. We were really pressed for time, so we analyzed even less than with the first album. But basically we worked the same way as with the first album; myself, Tuomas and Vili composing the songs together for the most part and me doing the lyrics to them later.
During our previous interview, you mentioned the importance of the lyrics in many of the songs. The theme of the previous album was about being honest with yourself and others. A lot of these songs are perhaps a little bit more melancholic than the previous record, did the themes of the songs change a lot or are they still about similar things?
Netta: I never plan or think about themes for the lyrics… listening to the song in hand makes the lyrics. It is about capturing the feeling in the music. That is what I mean when talking about honesty in lyrics. They have to be honest to the song and to the writer.
“Hostage,” as a word, has a very heavy load to it, which makes me wonder whether this album is a lot more personal for you than the previous one? In that sense, were the lyrics more difficult to write?
Netta: Both have been similarly personal, I don’t feel the lyrics were harder to write this time. I just had to write all the lyrics very quickly because of the industry deadlines so that pressure really also affected my writing.
I thought it was actually great that, despite the heavy load the word has, the song and title track, “Hostage,” is actually pretty uplifting and motivational. Is it an empowerment song for you?
It’s not my own empowerment song but I hope it will be for others. For me it is “Change.”
I was surprised by the opening track, “Reap,” because of the previous album, we were used to a little bit of ‘80s influences, but this track has some pretty cool ‘90s/early 2000s alternative rock vibe. Is there anything you can say about this song musically or lyrically?
I think with this album we went to the time period in music that is my personal favorite… the ’90s. Vili and Tuomas also like the ’90s a lot, even though they are too young to really have lived that time period in music.
Another highlight for me that has a more metal-vibe to it is “Razor Sharp.” Any stories related to that song you can share?
Netta: We had the most weird and hilarious demo lyrics in this song, so I really had to go a long way to get them out of my head and hear the song for what it is.
I also have to ask… Who is “Rodrigo?”
Netta: [laughs] I think everyone knows a ”Rodrigo”… a player.
Vocally, I thought “Hold the Fire” was a pretty cool song and maybe a bit more experimental for you. Even though you are a professional singer, do you feel there are still more aspects to your voice that you get to know each day?
Netta: I don’t think about my voice from that point of view. It is an instrument that is supposed to pass on emotions, melodies, and stories and the execution varies. Other instruments are capable of doing that too. “Hold the Fire” was actually recorded for “20/20” but didn’t make it to the album and this time we felt it fit the album perfectly, serving the purpose of tying “Hostage” stylistically back to “20/20.”
Last time, we talked about your “crazy” video ideas and how the rest of the band has no choice but to commit to them. You were joking about what you were going to do for the next video. Where did the idea come from to do a pink music video for “Change” and did the guys not agree to also dress in pink?
Netta: I never asked them to wear pink. I asked them to show up for the shoot dressed in black. The guys don’t know beforehand what we are shooting. And by the way, there would not have been any budget for pink clothes for guys. [laughs]
Any other crazy videos that are coming up that we should know about?
Netta: Can’t reveal the future! [laughs]
What other plans do you have other than releasing the album? Are you planning a Finnish/European tour?
Netta: I wish we will be able to perform outside Finland but it is so expensive to tour and we have no tour support from the record label so in reality it’s quite difficult to arrange. Maybe, hopefully, one day. We have our album release gigs in May/June, then festivals, and let’s see what we come up with for autumn.
Thanks so much for your time for the interview. Do you have any last thoughts you want to share with our readers/your fans?
Netta: Listen to music you love and live an honest life listening to yourself more. That usually leads to a happier life.
Interview by Laureline Tilkin
