Paara is a melancholic, bleak and complex-yet-raw black metal band from Finland whose style and theme revolves around stories of Finnish poltergeists, myths and the darkest of ages from centuries past. We wanted to introduce you to them, so we checked out their 2012 self-titled track and also caught up with their lead guitarist Lempo to find out a little more. Check it all out below…
How did you get started?
In 2011 Zvartus and Helmouth formed Paara as a duo. With session musicians they recorded the self-titled digital single and released it online. Now Paara has grown from duo to a full line-up and we have a debut album coming next year. We still have a lot of recording to do, mixing and mastering, new promos to take, etc. but everything is going as planned.
You used to be a duo but now have a full lineup – what made you decide to expand the band?
As told by Helmouth:
Zvartus and Helmouth started the band as a project that filled their urge to create music that they wanted to play for a long time. As duo it was easier to lay grounds for what was to come. The band was never intended to a live performing act – but as the music started to grow bigger than the duo, it was imminent that so would also the line-up and need to play live. The additions to the line-up have also brought depth to our music.
You’re currently working on your debut album – what can people expect from it?
Melancholic black metal sung in Finnish with traditional Finnish theme. Good production and epic songs.
Would you say the new material leads on from your single from 2012 or would you say it’s a standalone piece?
Style and theme is followed by the first release. There is also something more and something less, something new and something old.
How would you describe your writing and recording process?
Zvartus and Helmouth are the main songwriters. We have practiced the songs with the new members and each have added something of our own as a topping. In future we are planning to compose as a full band, but it’s not mandatory. We basically do a decent pre-production to every song as a band.
For recordings we booked Deep Noise Studio from Kouvola, Finland to record drums and percussions. We are about to record guitars and bass at our own rehearsal lair/studio. Vocals will be done in a cabin in the woods, located somewhere in Finland. Our main recording, engineering and mixing guy is Hykimys (he handled also the previous release) and he has done really impressive work already.
How is the recording going so far?
Waara has done the drums and percussions and they turned out to be really great. We are now scheduling to record guitars and I can’t wait to get my hands on them! After guitars we’re going to record bass and vocals (with some special guests). Then it’s mixing and mastering time. But I think more details of the whole recording progress will be found at our facebook site – sooner or later.
What inspires you?
Traditional Finnish stories from the dark side of nature and men.
Who are your role models and idols?
All those good ol’ 90’s Scandinavian black metal bands, mainly. The bands and musicians we listened to when we first started to play metal.
And what is Paara’s plans for 2015?
To release our debut album and music video, write new material and tour around Europe. See you at the gigs!
Paara Review
Released in 2012, Paara is a self-titled track from the outfit and it’s a good offering that shows a lot of potential. Although it’s quite a ‘standard’ sounding track in the sense that it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table when it comes to black metal, it’s done especially well and in all honesty, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to create great-sounding music.
It’s a very atmospheric track and as it’s a fairly long track, Paara have left no stone unturned and it almost feels like they’re taking you on a journey; taking their time as they progress through the song. There are a few times where it does inevitably mean the track drags a little but aside from that, the vocals are guttural and powerful, and the instrumentation is meaty and dark – which makes for a formidible offering, and you can’t ask for more than that.
As mentioned earlier – there’s a lot of potential to be found within this track, so it will certainly be interesting to see what sort of direction Paara takes with their upcoming album.
7/10
Give it a listen below and let us know your thoughts!
Paara: Facebook
