To celebrate their new release, the band is going to stream the entire album on their facebook page, on the day of the release (31st october) from 11:00 to 23:00 CET, through
www.facebook.com/STUDofficial
Meanwhile after reviewing the album, I had the great chance to interview the band via Metal Revelations.
Hello guys and thank you very much for your time, thanks also to Marjo from Metal Revelation.
Stud is not a Nobel band, your history begins in 1986 with the golden age of melodic hard rock and heavy metal, and also the evolution to a more extreme metal rising in Finland, how Stud was formed? Tell me about the band's name origins.
Hello, and thanks for the opportunity to share our thoughts on the band and the new album.
The name STUD was basically chosen after listing lots of different options. The idea was to have a short and striking name that is easy to remember. Of course we were aware of the different meanings of the word, but thought that everyone can choose their own interpretation.
The band originally was based in Finnish language, how did you live the change of singing in English?
We actually started singing in English, but switched to Finnish when we got a large record company interested by providing them a demo with Finnish lyrics. After making a single in Finnish we switched back to English. That was also the time when we had another singer in the line-up.
Have you ever thought in adding a Finnish version of any of your new tracks?
No, but releasing the ’86 single in digital format could be an option. There’s even a song that was recorded at the same time with the two songs on the single, that has never been published. We haven’t heard it either since the 80s, but it’s somewhere there in Warner Music’s archives.
However, the main thing is to make albums that are accessible to audiences worldwide, and English is the natural choice for the type of music we play.
The rising of more extreme metal influences was a reason for the band to split in 1989, how did you live that situation and what do you think about the actual metal scene, now that death and black metal among other new kind of metal styles are globally extended?
Today we’re just doing music that we like, without any pressure of what is popular at the moment. Good music is always good, no matter what genre of music it comes from. There’s great bands and artists in different genres. However, we like our music to be melodic and energetic, because it makes us feel good playing it.
How is the heavy metal scene now in Finland? What differences could you find when you look back to the first Stud era?
We really come outside the Finnish metal scene, but from a normal listeners point of view, there’s so many bands that have really mastered the style of music they play.
When it comes to STUD, there really are no bands that are similar to us, in good or bad. We believe that we have our own style and sound. One part of that is, that we have songs that vary from hard rock to power metal and to slower pieces. Even then you can, in most cases hear that it’s us playing.
What do you think about all the new bands that are forming, included in the new wave of traditional heavy metal?
Traditional heavy metal at it’s best makes you feel good. If they can achieve that, then it’s all good. In the past too many bands were doing the same thing, and the music wasn’t always good, even though the hair was ;)
The album is going to be released by Crancksonic, what can you tell about this company? How many albums did you signed with them?
Cranksonic is actually a label owned by our guitar player, and it was established to enable making STUD-albums in the first place. Let’s see what else can follow in the future.
How is it going with Metal Revelation? Is the band being promoted effectively?
We’ve been with Metal Revelation for almost two years now. We’ve really learned a lot from them about the music business, and the way to promote bands today. We couldn’t have had our music heard by so many people without them. You have to do your own good share of work too. There’s no way that you through the ball to someone else and wait for the results to come. You have to work hard for the band in all areas, if you want to be succesfull.
How was the process of creating, recording and producing the new album Rust on the rose?
It was fun, but hard work. Lots of hours were put in for doing demos, basic tracks, vocals, solos, etc. But it was the mixing of the record that took us most time. It’s very easy to spend hundreds of hours for mixing only. But you have to let go at some point.
We’ve been lucky to work with amazing professionals like Puke Kataja, who’s done most of the recording and mixing for both of our albums. The albums were produced by our guitarist Mika Kansikas.
We have also learned that the mastering phase is very important also. You can spend as many hours of time as you want making a great mix, but it can easily be ruined in the mastering stage. We used a great pro Svante Forsbäck from Chartmakers to do mastering. He's also done mastering to bands like Rammstein and Volbeat.
You had a really good feedback from their last album, how was the metal scene responding to that album?
The reception has been really good, and we hope that it gets even better with the new album, which we believe is a step forward in many ways. We would hope, though, for some more attention in Finland. That would help us to book more gigs to play live for larger audiences.
What are the main influences in the band?
So much good music has been made throughout the years we’ve been around. So, it’s very difficult to name just few. Each member has their own favorites too. It wouldn’t be hard to quess that Purple, Maiden, Rainbow, Heep, Van Halen, UFO and such, have been on the list at some point. The music they made back then still sounds good today. You could easily add bands like Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and U2, that are from a whole different genre.
You combine power metal influences, seen on Freedom call and purely hard rock preferences on Promised to be mine, what style do you enjoy the most?
We like doing both. Of course there are some songs that you like more to listen, or to play live, but it doesn’t depend on the type of a song. What is great, is that we’ve had almost all of our songs played on various radio stations. That’s really cool, and shows us that there’s potential in most of our songs. You never know which song would be the favorite among fans.
What is your favorite Stud song?
While making the album, it's usually the one you're working on. Looking back at both albums, there's great moments on them both. It's obvious that the singles chosen from the albums are picked for a reason, but fans should also check out songs like Reach Out from the debut and Freedom Call from the new one. There's also songs like Secrets Of Love and We're Gonna Strike that are more traditional heavy rock, and Renegade and Raise Your Fist if you're more into straight forward hard rock.
If you had to choose one band to share stage with, which band would it be?
Deep Purple with Blackmore on guitar would be cool ;)
Are you preparing a tour after the release of the album?
We have gigs booked and are booking more of them at the moment, but you can't really call it a tour yet. We're also trying to focus on next summer's festivals.
Do you aim for a national, European or global tour?
Short term, it depends on what kind of opportunities we're getting, but the ultimate goal is certainly to tour as widely as possible. So, we're really open to all kind of offers.
Which countries would you like to visit?
The most natural countries to tour would be the ones that have most STUD-fans. We've had good reception from many countries like Germany, States, France, Holland and UK, to name a few.
Could you describe a special memory you had while on tour?
It must be the tour we made to Estonia back in the 80s. Estonia was still part of Russia then. The atmosphere was a bit strange, but there was some really cool people we met. It would be interesting to visit those same venues now when everything has changed.
Last question, can you send a message to your fans to promote your new album?
If you're a fan of feel good rock'n roll and melodic metal, you should check out our new album "Rust On The Rose". If you already liked our debut album, you should be pleased with this new one as well. For a rising band like STUD, that don't have a big record company behind, the support of the fans means everything. If you like our music, let your friends know it too, spread the word. To keep updated visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STUDofficial, and push that like-button too. Rock on!
Thank you very much for taking the time and hope to see you soon on the stage!
Mika Kansikas (guitar)
Matti Jalonen (bass)
Stenda Kukkonen (drums)
via Pure Rock Records last 22nd August 2014.
