NERLICH

Who are you and what do you do in your band?

We are Nerlich and we play death metal. No need to mention any names, since what we’re together is what counts and makes us what we’re, not who we are as individuals.

When/where was your band formed? 

Nerlich was formed in autumn 2003. We did several demos during the first couple of years, those were later re-released by Nihilistic Holocaust and Conqueror Of Thorns Records. After this we recorded our debut album "Defabricated Process” which was released in January 2007 by OSM Records. Soon after this we recorded one more demo/EP and eventually split-up in 2008 due to lack a of motivation… Then a couple of years ago we decided to reform the band and now we just got a new EP ”Eternity’s Gate” released on October 2nd via FDA Rekotz.

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

No specific reason, I just enjoy playing in bands and making my own music. I guess it’s basically just self expression. We like a lot of different styles of music and death metal is one of those. When we were younger that was probably the genre which we listened the most, so it was natural to form the band. And we still enjoy doing it, so why not keep playing.

How do you compose your music? Does only one guy do everything or does everyone contribute?

It depends a lot. Usually the songs start from different riffs or guitar parts, which are then arranged further until achieving the hoped end result. Usually the lyrics come last, but the vocals patterns are arranged at the same time as composing the rest of the song. On this new EP music was done by the guitar player, but lyrics were done by other members too. But in general we just use the material that’s the best, it doesn’t matter who wrote it. The end result is all that matters, to make great songs.

While composing the songs we try to make them a bit different from each other, so that all of the songs would have their own identity and that there would be good amount of variation on the record. We took our time time to make the material as strong as possible for the EP. And we will do the same with the next full length album. There's no point in doing something average, we want it to be killer…

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

This new EP is somewhat a concept record lyrically. The songs are stories about different mental problems that people might be facing. They're not true stories, but something that could be real. Kind of real life horror stories… The songs can also been seen as a story about one person going through these paces, though the songs are not in a chronological order. You can decide the order by yourself. 

Unintentionally our Cartilage cover (the last track on the EP) fits the concept perfectly. And as for more details, I guess it’s better to let the listeners discover and interpret the stories by themselves. Better not to spoil all the fun.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

Well not really. We have our values, but they’re not that prominent in what we’re doing. Some of it you might be able to read between the lines, but mainly we’re just writing about stuff that we find interesting. We have a clear idea what fits for Nerlich music and lyric wise, and what doesn’t, so in musical sense you could see us having this some kind of clear idea of what we’re about. Thought that can’t really be called as an ideology.

How do you see the state of Death Metal music these days in your country and in general?

Finland is supposed to have the biggest amount of metal bands compared to any other country, though most of them don’t play death metal. Few years ago there was a growing interest to this genre, though around this time Nerlich was split up (seems like we’re around only when death metal is out of fashion). But during the last year there hasn’t been too many new death metal releases. Good or bad? Hard to say, but atleast there are some good bands that are worth to listen!

What are your long term plans as a band? What do you want to achieve?

Our contract with FDA includes one mini album and one full lenght album. So this obviously means there’s a new album coming out at some point. Perhaps we’ll also do some smaller releases as well, but it’s too early to speak about them yet. And I think it’s important to play gigs, festivals, mini tours after getting new stuff released.

So yeah, we’re writing songs for a new album, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Musically, we're going to continue where we left with the new EP, just taking it one step further. Stagnation and doing the same thing all over again isn't for us. For me, development is important. And for expectations, hopefully as many people as possible will hear the new EP and enjoy it. And it would be great to get some offers to play gigs abroad.

Name an other Death Metal band from your country that everyone should hear.

Hard to name just one, and it depends what you’re after. If we speak about some old classic bands, then I guess it could be Demigod or Demilich. Mordicus and Abhorrence and also definitely bands that deserves to be mentioned. Classic death metal bands from Finland. But if we speak about bands that keep on writing new music, have top-notch songwriting, years of history and several albums under their belt - then my answer would be Torture Killer. If you’d asking for some new bands, then maybe Krypts or Stench of Decay. And for something a bit underrated, then Mordicus for sure, that was a really great band…  There’s already too many names, but it is hard not to mention the first finnish death metal band that I saw live - Deepred. They were really something special, especially on their last record. 

Free word.

Thank you for the interview. The new EP ”Eternity’s Gate” is out now, you can check is out for example at bandcamp: https://fda-rekotz.bandcamp.com/album/eternitys-gate Hope you like it. Cheers!