We are MACHINAE SUPREMACY, back with a new album and video game; AMA!

Great to see you on reddit! Been enjoying your music for a while now and thrilled for the new album.
Also hoping to see some information about the tour outside of the frigid norths, specifically the Netherlands.

Now I had a couple of questions, considering your music is influenced by video games (and you creating those awesome soundtracks):

• What are you guys' favourite video games?
  
• And specific game influencing your songs?
  

And my personal:

• Where are you going to play in the Netherlands and why is that the Baroeg in Rotterdam?

Thanks for the awesome metal \m/

Metroid. All of us. Yes. Executive decision.

All awesome and epic games influence our music. Especially ones with awesome music, but that's not necessarily always the case.

And yes, why are we playing the Baroeg in Rotterdam, that's a good question. We're probably looking to do pretty small venues for this though since we can't know for sure how many people will show up for the first headline tour we do outside of the northern-most European countries. Got any suggestion or any person who can help with that?

Heh, I knew it. Metroid all the way :)

Baroeg is a pretty small venue, I think it can hold like 200 people max. It's a venue for mostly alternative music like death/doom/heavy though. They're contactable on [email protected]

Another smaller venue is Tivoli in Utrecht (they have a smaller and larger IIRC), which is pretty popular I think.

There's also Poppodium "De Kelder" in Amersfoort, you would have played there (in 2011), but sadly Dead by April moved it and thus you guys weren't able to come :(

I'm not really too well-known with all the venues in our country, I just blurted out Baroeg since it's almost next to my house and a lot of metal bands play there :)

Thanks a lot for replying, you guys are my favorite band and can't wait for the new album and to see you play live.

Thanks for the tip, we'll definitely put this information to use.

Rotterdam would be nice :) The Heague would be even better! :P

Always wanted to see both!

Thank you guys for the time of my life! http://i.imgur.com/AiSJ2E4.jpg MAGFest rocked. Looking forward to your new album. Just one question. When are you coming to Canada? It's freezing cold here, you'll feel right at home. :D

We don't know, we'll continue to work on becoming more known so that we get that opportunity. Help us spread the word?

Is there a chance we'll see a re-recording of "Winterstorm", similar to how "Hero" was on Rise of a Digital Nation?

Heh, we actually already did that once. But it was never completed and not everyone in the band enjoyed it. But I've (Rob) not given up on releasing that some day.

You guys are fantastic, and I cannot think of a single song of yours that I dislike.

I liked what I heard in the "For my Brother" kickstarter, and pledged more for the music than for the game itself (Even though the game looks legit.) I really like the incorporation of Celtic folk themes into your usual style of music.

My questions are the following:

• Is there any chance you'll release a soundtrack even if the game itself doesn't get funded?

• Is the Celtic influence possibly going to make its way into your regular studio albums?

• What are your guys' favorite video game releases since your last AMA, and can we expect any lyrical influence from them on the new album, or is it strictly a concept album free of songs about specific games?

Hey, thanks!

1. No, sorry.
2. Who knows. We do like it and now that we've taken the time to explore that style it might influence future songs. One never knows.
3. The new album is a concept album around an original story, but there are some cultural references of course.

I first found your music through a song of yours someone did up for StepMania, that being "Megascorcher", which remains one of my all-time favorites of yours, which also led me to Jets N' Guns. I bought the Gianna Sisters game and have thrown funding at For My Brother. I hope to see you guys in yet more games as time goes on!

Do you guys get a lot of requests from game developers? I notice that all of these games have pretty much been "indie" - do you reserve your time for those games, or would you write music for a AAA title if given the opportunity?

/edit: Can't wait to hear Phantom Shadow, love your music!

No, we have way too few requests from game devs. And so far no AAA title has approached us. But that's fine, indie games need awesome music perhaps more so than AAA titles. But yes, we would definitely want to make the soundtrack for a AAA title, no doubt about that.

which album do you think best showcases what MaSu is about?

(side note: listening to A View From The End Of The World right now)

If only given one album to choose from, it's hard to beat A View From The End of The World. It truly is an album we are all so proud of. Some fans, especially ones who've been with us for over a decade, would probably cite Redeemer as the one that provides the truest Machinae Supremacy showcase. Luckily, we feel that most of the world we've done holds a certain standard and wherever in our discography you land post-Deus Ex Machinae will be a pretty solid showcase.

Huge Redeemer fanboy checking in. :P

A View From The End of The World is fantastic too of course. Funnily enough, I'd have to say that "Through the Looking Glass" is still my favourite song, probably because it was the first of your songs I heard.

That's understandable, it's pretty great. :)

RoaDN was awesome, A View was awesome, everything else was awesome, and... uh, I don't really have any good segues into the next bit. Things kinda go downhill from here.

Anyway: Universal Music Group made headlines recently for fishy business on SoundCloud, directly taking down uploads, mixes, and bootleg remixes that feature their artists. As major musicians that crusade for a progressive attitude towards intellectual property, how soon do you think the backlash will get so big that the music industry powers-that-be (mostly major labels) will finally stop the bullshit and embrace the Digital Nation?

It'll take a while, probably. We even saw something get worse recently. We, as part of Spinefarm, owned by Universal, used to be able to just email them and tell them to release claims on YouTube and the like so that we and fans who requested it could use the music without being penalised for it. However that's become worse and we can't get a full release of those claims anymore. And to top that, they admit they're wrong and say they're probably going to change it come fall.

The biggest labels have the hardest to change. We'll see smaller companies lead the way on this and eventually the big ones will follow. As we've chosen to be on the inside in this (as opposed to our completely DIY ways before we got signed) we try to give them our perspective as often as we can. Sometimes it ends in good dialogue, sometimes, as when we released our Assembly Live DVD on The Pirate Bay ourselves, they call us up and say "What the fuck is this?"

We try to do our part in this, to speak out and also influence from within.

As the producer, director and editor of the MaSu Assembly gig video I'm extremely happy that we had both the change and privilege to do the live recording. Thanks!

\m/

I wasn't aware that the Assembly video caused that much fuss. How did you resolve that in the end?

Oh they told us we couldn't just do that because there are rights and whatnot attached to the songs and even if we don't monetise it we can't just go about releasing it whichever way we want.

I told them this is marketing, we're doing their job, and we'd rather have a thousand downloads than a hundred DVD sales, and they kinda said "Well, hm, okay then." :) ... Short version, hehe.

Should be mentioned that Spinefarm are more liberal than UMG, so we have a buffer between us and Universal that make things easier. They pretty much told us that "ok, but we have bosses too and if this becomes a shitstorm from above we'll have to take some sort of action". :) ...

I've been following you guys for several years now. When are you coming to the West coast of the U.S.? I keep seeing you post tours in Europe but man I can't just up and fly to Europe!

Also, you have a VERY unique vocal style - how did that come about?

No data on the west coast yet, sorry. :( We need help if we're going to book something in the USA, and we have no booking connections yet. With more fame comes more will to invest in us. Help spread the word?

I'm not really sure about the vocals, hehe.. It's just what I do. One of my inspirations though used to be Tina Root in Switchblade Symphony. I believe some of her vocal quirks have rubbed off on me. //Rob

Will there be a new "March of the Undead" song? Redeemer and Remnant remain to this day your two best songs, in my opinion, so I'd be delighted if more were on their way.

The last and final March of The Undead will come. But it is not on Phantom Shadow.

To your knowledge, has anyone produced any chiptunes (SID or otherwise) based on your music?

Also, I (regrettably) missed my chance to see you guys at Magfest. Do you have any plans for future US concerts?

It seems one of the questions have already been answered. :) And yes, we do have plans for future US concerts but we can't divulge those yet.

In which country you've toured so far you've found the best crowd?

Keep up the great work, i've been hooked on your music since Jets'n'guns OST :)

Russia, Finland and Italy.

Thanks!

Where did you take the lyrical inspiration for the song "Through the Looking Glass" from? Its not just one of my favorite songs of all time, but its also really beautifully lyrically.

Also, where can I find the notation for the piano part at the beginning? I'd love to be able to play that.

Sadly we have no notation or tabs, it's all in our heads (and on our recordings). The lyrics are not from anything in particular, they're just my thoughts jotted down on paper and turned into a song. //Rob

When it came to "Rise of a Digital Nation", why did you choose Hero to be a song you redo? And will there be another older song you re-record that may feature on the new album?

Hero is a very popular song and we sought to revive it. It's an all time fav with many of our hardcore fans of old but not very know among newer fans. With this, we aimed to bring it with us into the future.

There are several songs we'd love to redo, but there's a cost to that as well. It takes effort and time that could be spent making new songs instead.

Hey Rob, what's the general story for the new album? Can you give us any character names?

I'm assembling a text to explain the most relevant parts, and characters, which I hope to have ready by the time the album is released. The gist of the story is as follows:

"In Europe, in the near future, a select few have the ability to grant superhuman powers to those willing to pay the price — a piece of their soul. The main protagonist, a psychopathic former assassin, finds herself responsible for the lives of two young activists — one with an important destiny to fulfill — and hunted by the authorities and a dark enemy from her past."

Having listened to Cybergenesis roughly a hundred times by now, and never being able to quite figure out what the lyrics is about i'd love if you could shed some light on it, so far what im getting is that its about sattelites and/or spaceships, is this true? Also i absolutely love your work, cant wait to see you in Denmark.

It's about humanity building machines to take down God. :) Thanks! Cya there!

How much do you guys love Oulu?

Pretty fucking much. :)

Hi, long time fan here. RoaDN showed you guys venturing out and evolving your unique style of music, how have you continued that evolution when making Phantom Shadow?

In many ways Phantom Shadow is what ROADN is not. ROADN is very easy to get into, very simplistic (in a good way) and short. Phantom Shadow doesn't make the effort to be easy or accessible. Song structures are more complicated and the instrumentation is more complex. If Phantom Shadow is an evolution it may be more beneath the surface, that what has evolved is what happens now that we have two really talented lead guitarists, while the songs themselves on Phantom Shadow are more a rubber band effect to the simplicity of ROADN.

Will you ever play Sidology on gig?

We have played it live, but it's not part of our show anymore. As great as those songs are, instrumental medleys tend to not really provide the best live experience. People have nothing to sing along to and even if everyone loves it, it tends to slow down the crowd.

That being said, we might do it again if the nature of an event calls for it.

Who came up with the idea to put the Ghost in the Shell soundbite in Cryosleep? The line that goes "It's like staring into the sun..." I think, it's from the second movie.

It's from the first movie. I actually used a lot of samples back then, they inspire me and create atmosphere and mood. Also, I love Ghost in The Shell. One of my all time fav movies. //Rob

Love your stuff! Thanks for the great tunes and memories.

What are you guys listening to lately?

Behemoth, Ayreon, Santa Cruz, Otep, Iwrestledabearonce, Halestorm, The Algorithm, Celldweller, Soilwork, Within Temptation, Bossfight, The Birthday Massacre, and lots and lots of stuff.

It makes me so happy to know my favorite band of all time (MaSu) is listening to my second favorite band of all time (halestorm)

:) \m/

I just discovered you guys recently thanks to my recent interview with Crooked Tree Studios. You guys rock!

What was it like working to make a soundtrack for a video game?

Have you ever written a song about something that happened in your dreams before?

Making soundtracks is sweet because the constraint of a context like a video game both gives you something visual to pair the music to, and provides limitations that increases the challenge of creating something that really works together with the game. And in our case, we've been fortunate to always deal with really great people in these game dev studios.

Hard to say. Dreams are elusive and may provide inspiration subconsciously.

You guys are known for using the commador sound chip in your music. Why that one in particular? Why not another sound chip like the genesis chip? Have you ever considered using different sound chips?

Swedish synth manufacturer Elektron enabled Rob to do this when they created the SIDStation, a synthesizer based on that very chip. Since then, we're using more and more virtual instruments (since they are becoming better and better) and that has introduced more "chips" into our arsenal. You'll find the original Nintendo (NES) sound chip in songs like Violator (on Overworld), and even some Amiga scene-style sounds here and there.

However the fact remains that out of all these sound interfaces, the SID chip is one of the most unique and versatile chips ever made, and sounds like nothing else in the world. If we were to only use one, we would stick with SID.

First, I'm a long time fan ever heard a couple of your commodore synth tracks, Death from Above in particular. But mainly your music has evolved so much over the years, and I was wondering what do you find are the things that inspire you the most in your shifts in musical direction?

We try to change the way we record and the way we compose every now and then to find the "fun" again. Sometimes it's easy to just use presets and the same instruments but we try to drop everything every now and then and find new ways, or new DAWs, and that influences the results of course. Also, just getting better at production and performing makes a huge difference. To us, A View From The End of The World isn't that different from Redeemer, in spite of what many people would claim. The biggest difference, as we see it, is our level of skill.

I just discovered you guys recently thanks to my recent interview with Crooked Tree Studios. You guys rock!

What was it like working to make a soundtrack for a video game?

Have you ever written a song about something that happened in your dreams before?

It's awesome to work on music that connects to something, like a video game. For one thing you get to work with (fortunate as we are) awesome people and get to see your music in a context with visuals once it nears completion. And it's fun to venture out of our comfort zone as with the Celtic influence prescribed in For My Brother by Crooked Tree Studios.

Our inspiration comes from everywhere, movies, games, life, dreams, daydreams, people, conflict. You name it.

What is the best computer of all time and why is the Commodore 64?

Because SID.

I loved your songs in In The Groove, they were usually my "secret songs" to challenge stronger people on. Thank you for that. Did you guys play the game yourselves ? Sweden has had very strong players in the game. Also, please do come back to Toulouse, France. Vi ses !

Sorry we've not played any dancing games at all. But it's cool that we were in that game, a lot of fans have reported finding us through ITG.

Dear Machinae Supremacy, what would you look like as a japanese cartoon and what would it be about?

Somewhere between Death Note and Attack on Titan, and it would be about Hubnester, his companions and enemies, and their journey through Time and The Universe.

Ask any fan of metal what band got them into metal, they'll tell you metallica, or iron maiden, or avenged sevenfold or slipknot, or any of the usual suspects. You guys got me into metal, and gave me love for music at a time that I was growing weary.

A couple of years ago, you finally came to the UK, supporting Children of Bodom and Amon Amarth if I remember right, and I got my ticket immediately. The ticket stated that doors were open at 7, and since I finished work at 6 that day I figured I could push that to get there at exactly 7. Upon arrival I found that you had gone on at 6:30 and just finished as I got there. I was devastated, and talked to arena staff and ticketmaster in the coming days with nobody being able to offer me a satisfactory response or refund, though none of that would have made up for me missing the first UK show of the band that got me into music, that I'd been following since before their first album. What did make up for it, though, was meeting you all behind the arena. I don't remember who, but one of you was wearing a Miz "Awesome" t-shirt, we chatted wrestling a little bit, and you all signed my copy of Redeemer which I told you with no shame at all that I'd copied for every single person I knew when it came out and made everyone listen to. You were all really apologetic that I'd missed the show, but I was just pleased to have met you all and to tell you all what your music had meant to me over the years. You were all so fucking cool and appreciative of the dedication of your fans, that even not getting to see you play, it was a huge positive experience for me.

So with that said, I only have one question... When are you announcing the World Tour dates?

Heh, Jonne was the one with the Awesome shirt. :)

We have begun announcing dates, but we've yet to announce the UK dates. But they are in the works, being planned now.

Big fan from Texas, USA here! ROADN was the first CD I bought but I've been listening to you guys' music for years now.

I have a couple questions! First, is there any chance of accompanying materials to the story of Phantom Shadow (a la Rhapsody of Fire)?

And second is more out of curiosity, are you guys involved in For My Brother beyond the soundtrack?

Not familiar with Rhapsody of Fire, but if you mean that we'll provide story material of some sort then yes, we plan to. We're not sure to what extent yet, but in the very least we'll try to explain the story in broad strokes. Best case, we'll create artwork or sequential art that can be made available in the months following the release.

Do you ever play Minecraft?

Yes. We even had a fan server for a while (via the MachineTribe group on FB) where the band and fans played together. We haven't played in a while, though.

Hey guys! Thanks for doing this, i'm a medium-long time fan! I'm a guitarist, so forgive me if my question go beyond what you expected on here :P

1) How do you write stuff like Machinae Prime, my alltime favourite song of yours? Listening to it is like going through a medley of games you like and used to like. Are you inspired by certain games/scenarios?

2) The bridge riff of Return to snake mountain, you know, the one that first played with a synth and then joined by guitar. I learned that but i can't seem to get the sound right. It sounds like its played in the lower frets, but it feels the most natural on 8-12 on the E and A string. Pleeaaaase?

3) What kind of Synth do you use? Have you ever used a downsampled guitar sound? I thought i heard a few passages that sounded like an 8bit downsampler.

4) Would you consider doing an epic videogame-themed Electro/Metal Crossover with Basshunter? (only half-joking...)

I'm amped as hell for the new album, can't wait to hear it! Thx guys :)

1) We are inspired by everything, but yes, games and movies to provide a lot of inspiration for creating atmosphere.

2) Yeah, E and A sounds about right. Remember, a lot of the guitar tone comes from your wrist. You might have to play it firmer and tighter.

3) We use all kinds of synths but no downsampled guitars iirc.

4) No.

Let us know what you thought of the album once you've heard it!

Last year you came to throw a gig at 45Special in Oulu, Finland. It was awesome and I'm really looking forward to see you again here.

You probably won't remember but the next morning you came by the GameStop where I work. You really made this girl's day at work so much better!

My question: Are you sure you won't be able to squeeze in a gig in Oulu in your world tour? We miss you!

Hey! We do remember! We're sorry we can't come to Oulu, we weren't able to book that this time. But the first chance we get we'll come there so maybe we'll find our way there in the beginning of 2015.

Will we ever see any more re-recorded webography songs? :)

Seconding this. If you had to choose one right now to get re-recorded though, what would you choose?

Hubnester Inferno, or Winterstorm! :)

And yeah, maybe Winterstorm. Maybe, but not just rerecorded but also remade in some way.

Probably.

How do you go about writing songs? Can you talk us through a day in the studio?

We write collaboratively. We make parts, melodies, riffs, and upload those to Dropbox. Then we iterate, mould and sculpt and craft until songs happen. We live in 3 different cities so we're rarely in the same room together. When we are though we try to make the most of it.

Thanks for replying! Also just wanted to say thank you because Through the Looking Glass was one of two songs that inspired me to become a musician. So, uh, thanks for that.

Awesome, thanks for letting us know! :)

I've always wondered

WHO IS STEVE?

Anyways, tons of love from Canada, got a bunch of my friends into your songs. You guys should tour here soon!

Steve is a hero. More will be revealed. We think.

When are you guys coming to middle/South of Sweden next? I havent had the chans to see you live yet. And where can I order a signed copy of Phantom Shadow?

Come to the release party September 5 in Stockholm? It'll be awesome (our release parties always are)!

Love your guys' work, I've been listening to you since before you've been doing albums.

One small thing I miss from some of your older work is how some of your songs would switch to instrumental-only for the second half of the track. The track 'Nemesis' comes to mind and is one of my favorites because of it. It makes it a more powerful and personal song to me and I hope you do some more like that in the future. 'Fury' would have been a bit more amazing for me if it didn't bring back the vocals near the end (not saying I don't like the vocals). Please? :p

Hope to hear a longer preview of the new album soon.

It's true these things have been missing but in the case of both View and Rise albums we've done the opposite, put an instrumental part before (World of Light + Shinigami as well as Cyber Warfare + Republic of Gamers are really one track, just an option to skip).

On Phantom Shadow however, I believe you'll find both longer songs on average as well as more parts without vocals. Hope you'll enjoy!

Rob, when are we gonna get some sneaky previews of the album!? :D

We'll find a way to make that happen. Haven't brought it up with the UMGuys yet but we will.

Hey Machinae Supremacy!!

You guys are my favorite band since TotalBiscuit linked one of your videos! :)

Question 1: Any information on the dates of your world tour? Especially the date in the Netherlands is of special interest to me :)

Question 2: What is you guys' favorite song to play live?

Greetings!!

1: We're hammering to nail the dates. We'll announce them as they get confirmed. 2: Truth of Tomorrow is one totally awesome live song, as is Through The Looking Glass, Dark City, Laser Speed Force... :) There aren't really any songs that are boring, hehe. :)

Hey guys! Many thanks for the many years of amazing music. :D

How much of an effect did the Rise of a Digital Nation promotion on the Pirate Bay have on your sales and popularity? Do you think you'd do something similar in the future?

nearly 300 000 page views that weekend and something like 3000 likes on FB. Those are the measurable numbers, anyway. What effect it had for us in the long run is hard to say.

Sure, but it seems like TPB isn't quite as pleasant place to be anymore. Too much porn and weird shit going on there, sadly.

What's one of your favourite songs to play on tour, and what songs often get the biggest cheers from crowds? Love the music, got introduced around the time of Digital Nation and have slowly worked my way back from there.

Indiscriminate Murder is Counter-Productive, Through The Looking Glass, Dark City, Rocket Dragon, Nova Prospekt, Player One, Gimme More, Skin, Rogue World Asylum... Big crowd pleasers :)

Hey MaSu, Aussie poster here, long time fan. The trinity was my first tattoo ever and I've listened to all your albums more times than I remember. You're huge musical influences on me and for that I can't thank you enough! My question is if I can ever expect an Australian tour in the near future?

We don't see that in a near future, sadly. But given the opportunity we're there. Probably a matter of time and fame. Help spread the word about us?

Hi Rob et al, can't believe it's been over 10 years since I first joined the Machinae Supremacy forums - eventually becoming a Moderator (VisionThing / Outboundlight was my handle)

Thanks again for all the great music, any special memories from those early days?

I remember those times when a new song was released. To sit there, refreshing the forums and checking IRC to get people's impressions as they happened. And back then we didn't announce anything anywhere, social media wasn't born yet. But still, people found the new release within seconds of us updating, as if some had some auto-refresh going on. Those were the days... :) And of course the regular conversations and everything around it.

Hey Rob, just one question. Do you still work (or intend to work) on the (I believe) awesome story of Jovi and Johanna (hubnester inferno)? I'd even support that project financially. (sorry for brackets)

I do want to work on that. And in fact, Phantom Shadow is a part of that very story. The character Jovi (aka "Hubnester") is a supporting character, and the last song is his genesis in a way, called "Hubnester Rising". Phantom Shadow is set before "Hubnester Inferno", but after the image of Jovi and Johanna (Johanna is dead before Phantom Shadow begins). But in short, I'd love to make a graphic novel from this story. The moment I think I can commit to the time it would take, I'd go for it.

Hello, guys! Been loving your music for years now and your gigs have been one of the best I've ever experienced. So energetic and the atmosphere is just awesome. Not forgetting the awesome music of course :)

I have two questions:

-Are you going to be performing the whole story in the Phantom Shadow in the gigs that are taking place around the time you release the album?

-Have you ever thought of performing a gig where you would tell a whole new story using the songs you have created over the years? I have often wondered and I think it would be totally possible considering the huge variety of your story-driven songs...

Thanks and can't wait for the new album and your future gigs in Finland!

1) No. 2) Interesting idea. Some of them already have parts of the same story Phantom Shadow is part of.

Are there any plans whatsoever for an anime themed album (or at least some songs)? I asked because I've read somewhere that Nausicaä and Ghost in the Shell are some of your favourite movies.

Sure, but what would that mean? To do something as a fan album, directly coupled to some existing anime? Or, if we go original, our own story, what's to say Phantom Shadow isn't already an anime themed album? :)

I've been a fan of Machinea Supremacy for so long already! I have all your albums at home and my boy-friend and I are really fans of what you do. To us, it is truly unique and amazing!

We're from Quebec Canada and we were wondering if you were planning to give a show around here, maybe in Québec City or even Montréal? We wouldn't mind the 6 hours drive just to have the chance to see you live!

We have no plans for Canada but should the opportunity arise we're game! Help spread the word about us and maybe we'll soon reach the recognition necessary to make that happen?

I saw you all play at MAGFest this year, then got to meet you after the show. It ended up being like 3:00 in the goddamn morning and you were still taking pictures with fans. I've been listening since about 2002, when Giana Sisters in StepMania led me to your old flash website and I started downloading tracks on my Grandma's dial-up modem. (it's not like she was using it, right?) That entire evening was a fucking dream come true. I don't have any questions, I just wanted to get that out there. \m/

Thanks for stopping by! Keep listening. <3

Been a fan since forevers. I still have my very worn Masu sweatshirt with the red trinity on it.

As for my question, what's been your favorite city to visit on tour?

Porto ranks highly, but Wein isn't half bad (we rode in a horse carriage). Budapest is wonderful. But honestly, so many great places, from Paris to Athens.

Hello! I have been a fan for quite some time and am very excited for the new album. My question is : I noticed there are two females on the picture of your new album that resemble the females on the cover of Overworld and View. Will these be characters that are involved in the concept work of the new album or was that just a picture?

Thank you and keep it up!

Hey! They are characters in the story, yes. The girl from Overworld is called Pearl (i.e. Edge and Pearl) and the woman from View is an activist named Agnes Cecilia, not referenced on View but the voice behind some of the songs there.

Hey MaSu, I love your stuff. Been listening to you for a looong time now.

My question is, who inspires you in music and just overall? Thanks!

Everything. Both music and anything else. But oftentimes it's not metal that inspires, but something else.

I once made a Theme park in RCT3 where all the rides were MaSu related, i hope to make that park a reality some day (not likely though)

question:

any chance you'll find your way to Australia one day? you guys are on my bucket of bands to see but i can't affod to travel overseas to see you guys just yet

Yes, we certainly hope so.

What's your favorite song ? :D

Does not compute.

Really excited for the tour this year, I'll be front and centre at a UK show. What can we expect from the setlist, mostly new album or a mix of all your best?

Maybe 5 tracks from the new album and then a lot of View, some ROADN, some Redeemer and Overworld.

How fast can you get Tomi from Finland to Sweden if necessary?

Can we expect some new musical changes/elements in the new album?

Thanks in advance!

Heh, he gets in his car and is in Luleå 10 hours later. Or Stockholm he can take the ferry (overnight) or a plane, 1.5 hour + wait.

The awesome that is Tomi is of course prevalent on the new album, as is the fact that Nicky is producing more music now than before.

Ant references to the infamous Steve in your new album?

Not by name.

Maybe by sound? ;) ;)

Yes. You'll probably know which when you hear it.

Where do you get the inspiration for your songs? They're incredibly diverse and it'd be interesting to hear where you find new ideas all the time

Lately? The Internet. :)

Can the US(west coast) get at least an album listening party before the release? ;)

Hope to see you guys back in the US soon. Hope the upcoming tour goes great for you guys.

\m/

Been a huge fan for the longest time after being recommended so many years ago (around Overworld I think?), and you guys have even help influence how I go about my own music. Heck, I even used your "Sharing is Caring" TED Talk as part of my University dissertation :D

• As you've stated that Phantom Shadow is said to be a concept album, would you say this had changed the way you approach writing the lyrics to your songs, given how you're now writing an entire set of songs around one particular narrative (assuming this is the route you're going down of course), or has this always secretly been the case?

• I've always liked to think that the songs in A View From the End of the World were all about particular video games (Rocket Dragon about Ridley from Metroid, Nova Prospekt about Half-Life 2, Action Girl about Tomb Raider, etc.) - are there any others that I may have missed, or is this a case of me imagining this in my head?

1) Yes, definitely. And it does also lock in the order of the songs in a different way. Otherwise we'd be free to order them whichever way we want but with a story, the order is more important, and based on the lyrics rather than the music. In some ways it's easier to write like this, because we know the story already and just have to put it into words, but it's also harder because some parts of a story doesn't always inspire good writing.

2) Actually none of those are about a particular video game, even though Nova Prospekt obviously is titled after Half-Life 2. Action Girl features a Buffy sample, but it is about female badass characters in both games and TV/Movies in general. We seldom do something that specific, but sometimes. Like Kaori Stomp, which is a direct reference to SSX's Kaori.

You guys ever gonna do more instrumental tracks? Those were the best songs you ever did imo

Also is it true that years ago your drummer used to play World of Warcraft on the server "The Maelstrom"?

Yes. And yes, that's probably true.

Hi MaSu, big fan!

I loved your cover of Gimme More (SID).
- Any chance we'll see more covers in the future?

I also love your game-themed songs. What comes to mind is Player One, Crouching Camper and Indiscriminate Murder.
- Will you keep writing game-themed songs?

Is there any way I can kick your asses in any multiplayer PC game, like, say over steam?

Yes.

Yes.

We did have an Unreal Tournament event last year where we played with and against fans. It was awesome. :)

Hey guys. I started my adventure with metal music from Machinae Supremacy. I was... don't know, maybe 14 years old...? Yeah, something like that. I remember that it started with Jets'n'Guns. FanVaCoolt is my favourite song till today. Great instrumental. Next was Player One. Damn, vocals seemed a strange to me, but later I liked it. But question. Yeah. Are you planning a soundtrack to any game in the near future? (and I would sorry for my english, but I'm not so good in this language)

Well, if "For My Brother" gets funded (check original post for link) we're doing that. :)

With RoaDN video being the success as it is, will there be more fan created content going to be used by the band?

We'd love to do it again. But maybe with a twist.

What was the reason your music has changed past Deus Ex Machinae / Redeemer era? The first two albums were definetely in the purest sid-metal form (heavy, powerful, death indulging), whilst every new album starting with Overworld were written more in like radio-metal genre / format.

Also where's the Steve and who's he? I miss songs about him.

We disagree. Except for maybe Overworld, which you might have a point about. If anything, the older material is rawer due to the lack of refinement. Now, refinement might not always be a good thing, granted, but they way we see it, the kinds of songs we make aren't different now. How is Insidious, Player One and Through The Looking Glass different from Truth of Tomorrow, Republic of Gamers and Force Feedback?

Steve exists even if not mentioned. Due to Phantom Shadow being a concept album, Steve is not a part of it, but there is one song written in the spirit of Steve.

Hi. I was always intrigued by your logo. What is the story behind it?

It seems as all great things come in threes. Trinity. It's the perfect number.

What is up with the Japanese parts in some of your songs (Force Feedback and Gimme More come to mind)?

Love your stuff by the way. A View From the End of the World is fantastic.

We're fans of anime, and since we know Japanese people who are willing to provide voice overs, why not get that atmospheric element in there? We love it.

Thanks!

Follow up question then.

What's your favorite anime?

Nausicaä of The Valley of The Wind, Ghost in The Shell, Attack on Titan and Death Note.

Hey guys, I'm a kinda big fan of your music and the way you interact with your community. I've never seen a band being cool about people putting their music, which is still being sold, on Torrent or about students using their songs in a video game ;)

Now, since I'm traveling right now and I'm online writing on my phone I'll just go for this one question:

Since you've got PinkiPie as your websites 404-page.... Any pony references coming up in the new album....? :)

Yes.

Are you guys into any kind or harder electronic music?

Like Hardcore (Gabber or Hardcore Techno), Hardstyle, Schranz, Frenchcore, Terror etc. :)?

Also, you guys make amazing music, keep up the good work, when you have a gig in NL I'll be sure to visit :)!

Me and Kahl (the original founders of the band) used to make Gabber actually, back in our wild FastTracker days. It's been a while though. :) Thanks! /Rob

What was it that made you want to branch into doing a concept album?

It was time. We'd done a number of "fight song" albums and a fan wrote to Rob saying it was getting old, that he missed the story-driven songs that were more common before View and ROADN. And we felt that he had a point. On top of that, there was a story readily available, a story Rob had written 2002-2003 that he planned to make a graphic novel from but has never gotten around to it. So, enter Phantom Shadow, the album.

Just wanted to say that I've been a huge fan ever since my friend showed me Deus Ex Machinae nearly ten years ago. The anticipation is always equally high whenever you release a new album. Which one are you especially proud of? Redeemer (UG ed.) has been my most played album so far. Oh, and why are you not coming to Turku on your Finland tour? It was a blast last time!

We are very proud of Redeemer because that album was like our Appetite for Destruction, it set the tone for everything to come and had so many daring and awesome songs that we still listen to today. We are proud of all of our albums but after Redeemer, the one that really feels like it's 100% AAA quality and nothing is wrong with it is A View From The End of The World. It has become the one album we compare everything else we do to.

Tours have to fit together date-wise and we haven't booked these dates ourselves, but most likely it just didn't fit the schedule with a proper venue or something like that.