In the latest Inferno-magazine (in finnish) Katatonia is on the cover and they have nice interview of Jonas. There is also part where Jonas describes each Viva Emptiness song. So I thought that you'd be interested in hearing what he says about them and translated it in english.
Ghost of the Sun
Song is about betrayal, but betrayal refers to way of life nowadays. The song tells about the feeling of loneliness, that might surprise you even when you're with people. The name of the song poits out to feeling yourself hollow. In lyrics there's also references to people, like lovers, that don't feel loneliness. Anders wrote the song, which for his part originated from sheer frustration. Daniel takes care of backing vocals since I can't growl anymore.
Sleeper
When I heard this song for the first time, I knew I should create a kind of horror story of it. I wanted the lyrics to be very desperate and telling of losing someone dear. And the song does end pretty sadly. A sort of feverish mood is dominating the song, and also it's quite chaotic.
Criminals
The chorus sounds a bit like material from Tonight's Decision album. Very Katatonia-like song. There's very intensive midpart in the song and after that there's returning to rhytmic stuff. I wanted the lyrics to tell a very creepy story with realistic language. Songs atmosphere has also a lot of fear and doubt in it. I wrote this song basically by myself. I'm not very good guitar player, but I can play music I like listening to.
A Premonition
This is the only Fred's song that ended up on the album. The message of lyrics is pretty clear. I left the ending unclear on purpose, so that listener don't know what a premonition is about. The song has falsely calm feeling.
Will I Arrive
This song is about religions, to be more exact, about a kind of cult. There's a rather clear message in the statement "I will never arrive". We used double basedrums in the songs coz we have wanted to use them for a long time. Mood in this one is pretty weird.
Burn the Remembrance
This is the only song that deals with love. Basically it's about relationship that has died. When you split up with someone, you might say "surely I'll miss you" even though you don't mean it. Daniel is testing Turkish percussions in the song.
Wealth
We wanted to make one song that you can mosh by. It'll great to play this one live. Some parts sound like Opeth, but so what. They also have parts that sound like Katatonia. Lyrics once again are about emptiness of life. You can lie on your couch and order everything you need from internet. The machines do your work and you don't even have to go outside. Wealth refers to Western world, where you can get anything within minutes.
One Year from Now
Anders got his inspiration from movie music. The song resembles music from police-series. The lyrics tell about uncertain future, as you might have guessed.
Walking by a Wire
This song has a good rhytm in it. When you're young, you evolve into person you are now. When I was young, I was pretty shy. I never wanted to be in limelights and hang with popular people. I kept aloof and only minded my own business. I missed drugs, booze and women. I had a view of deserted landscape, where long road is shadowed only by telephone line. The scenery came to my mind from my childhood.
Complicity
This is my personal favourite. It starts with piano melody and then has an exploding follow-up. The critique for Society continues in the lyrics. The phrase "I have no name" is a statement of what we are - no ones. Only names among millions. No one really cares about you or what you do.
Evidence
This is my song, which is favorite song of many people. The lyrics are about two people that are meant to be together. They do something wrong together. At the end of the song they depart and one of them is being caugth. Once again realistic language describing abstract complex things.
Omerta
Last minute composition, that I wrote just couple of days before the record was completed. The song ends so suddenly because the person of the story realizes that he/she is going to die. "Omerta" is a Sicily Mafia code for secrecy. "If I'll live, I'll kill you. If I'll die, your sins are forgiven." Mafia has always fascinated me and I like Sicily. Italy is very beautiful county.
Inside the City of Glass
Instrumental by Anders. Epic movie music, that has a lot of longing and feeling of doom. Fitting ending for the album. It also states, that there will be follow-up.
Hopefully you'll understand everything. My english ain't perfect as you can see.
Ghost of the Sun
Song is about betrayal, but betrayal refers to way of life nowadays. The song tells about the feeling of loneliness, that might surprise you even when you're with people. The name of the song poits out to feeling yourself hollow. In lyrics there's also references to people, like lovers, that don't feel loneliness. Anders wrote the song, which for his part originated from sheer frustration. Daniel takes care of backing vocals since I can't growl anymore.
Sleeper
When I heard this song for the first time, I knew I should create a kind of horror story of it. I wanted the lyrics to be very desperate and telling of losing someone dear. And the song does end pretty sadly. A sort of feverish mood is dominating the song, and also it's quite chaotic.
Criminals
The chorus sounds a bit like material from Tonight's Decision album. Very Katatonia-like song. There's very intensive midpart in the song and after that there's returning to rhytmic stuff. I wanted the lyrics to tell a very creepy story with realistic language. Songs atmosphere has also a lot of fear and doubt in it. I wrote this song basically by myself. I'm not very good guitar player, but I can play music I like listening to.
A Premonition
This is the only Fred's song that ended up on the album. The message of lyrics is pretty clear. I left the ending unclear on purpose, so that listener don't know what a premonition is about. The song has falsely calm feeling.
Will I Arrive
This song is about religions, to be more exact, about a kind of cult. There's a rather clear message in the statement "I will never arrive". We used double basedrums in the songs coz we have wanted to use them for a long time. Mood in this one is pretty weird.
Burn the Remembrance
This is the only song that deals with love. Basically it's about relationship that has died. When you split up with someone, you might say "surely I'll miss you" even though you don't mean it. Daniel is testing Turkish percussions in the song.
Wealth
We wanted to make one song that you can mosh by. It'll great to play this one live. Some parts sound like Opeth, but so what. They also have parts that sound like Katatonia. Lyrics once again are about emptiness of life. You can lie on your couch and order everything you need from internet. The machines do your work and you don't even have to go outside. Wealth refers to Western world, where you can get anything within minutes.
One Year from Now
Anders got his inspiration from movie music. The song resembles music from police-series. The lyrics tell about uncertain future, as you might have guessed.
Walking by a Wire
This song has a good rhytm in it. When you're young, you evolve into person you are now. When I was young, I was pretty shy. I never wanted to be in limelights and hang with popular people. I kept aloof and only minded my own business. I missed drugs, booze and women. I had a view of deserted landscape, where long road is shadowed only by telephone line. The scenery came to my mind from my childhood.
Complicity
This is my personal favourite. It starts with piano melody and then has an exploding follow-up. The critique for Society continues in the lyrics. The phrase "I have no name" is a statement of what we are - no ones. Only names among millions. No one really cares about you or what you do.
Evidence
This is my song, which is favorite song of many people. The lyrics are about two people that are meant to be together. They do something wrong together. At the end of the song they depart and one of them is being caugth. Once again realistic language describing abstract complex things.
Omerta
Last minute composition, that I wrote just couple of days before the record was completed. The song ends so suddenly because the person of the story realizes that he/she is going to die. "Omerta" is a Sicily Mafia code for secrecy. "If I'll live, I'll kill you. If I'll die, your sins are forgiven." Mafia has always fascinated me and I like Sicily. Italy is very beautiful county.
Inside the City of Glass
Instrumental by Anders. Epic movie music, that has a lot of longing and feeling of doom. Fitting ending for the album. It also states, that there will be follow-up.
Hopefully you'll understand everything. My english ain't perfect as you can see.
