SCORNGRAIN – Interview with vocalist B.B. Enema

Scorngrain is a heavy ass Death/Thrash band out of Finland who have just recently released their second album on Dynamic Arts Records called “0,05%”, which has undoubtedly got my vote for the best album of 2006. It’s a heavy ass rhythmic, thrashing, with some good electronics thrown in that just pounds the hell out of me every time I put it in my cd player. Add the brutal Death screams of B.B. Enema and Scorngrain have become planted at the top of Tgod's Heavy Ass Shiiiiiiaaaaattt List!!!! I was able to get some good words from the bad ass vocalist B.B. Enema himself:

Tell me about your hometown and what the music scene was like growing up there.

I lived for a long time in Joensuu. It´s a small town near the border of Russia in eastern Finland. It was quite ok I think even if there wasn´t that many gigs or anything. There was one rock club and of course we use to drink there and listen to some live acts. Back then there were few older metal bands like Mordicus, Phlegethon and Sarnath but they started to slowly fade away and bands form my age group started to emerge. I had my first band called Flauros and then there was Insomnium but that´s it basically. We had a great rehearsal place in an old basement we shared with a good punk band and had great parties there. Good memories. Insomnium just finished their third album and is really worth of checking out.

At what point in your life did you decide you wanted to be a  musician?

I am not sure can I describe myself as a musician since it is really just something I do while I am off from work and other everyday activities. We don´t make any money out of this so it is more or less just to please ourselves. I became interested about playing in seveth grade or something. We were watching a live recording of Deicide and it really got me. It was so fucking aggressive and violent that I got hooked up right away. I called a friend of mine and his cousin recorded a shitty sounding tape copy for me. After that there was no turning back. It was metal since that blow.

How did you go about developing your musical skills?

Just playing and listening to music. I am not that good in playing instruments since I always wanted to be in a band where all other members are better players than I am. Also I am quite lazy. It felt useless to try and play Metallica solos when there was a guy I knew who could do it perfectly. Well, it´s not that black and white, but I never had interest of studying notes or songs of my favourites. I just took a guitar and made my own material, took it to the rehearsal place and made a song with my bandmates.

What were your favorite bands when you were a teenager?

Deicide absolutely, the biggest of ´em all. Also Morbid Angel and Kreator but sometime later I really got into the Scandinavian black-metal. Bands like Emperor or Impaled Nazarene really made an impression. It felt like there was so much more going on than just music.

How did you meet your band mates and how did you all come together to form Scorngrain?

The guitarist Dr.Mike and our drummer mister -E- who are the founders of the band came to study in Joensuu. They met in school and began to write material together. Both of the guys have strong metal roots but they wanted to try out something a bit weird and started to mix their stuff with strange sounding samples. They booked some time from their school studio and since they didn´t know anyone else, they asked me if I could scream my lungs out on the recording. I was interested of course because it felt and sounded so bizzarre. Herman (bass) was also involved but he didn´t play at that time. He recorded and mixed the promo. Later on, it felt natural to ask him for the first album since he knew most of the songs already and we knew he´s a good bass player and a friend. Also another guitarist A.I was around since the first gig.

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Tell us about the band name and how you came to choose it.

It was -E- that came up with the name for reasons unknown to me. If I don´t remember wrong, first he was thinking just just the word “scorn” but like we all know there is one already so he added “grain” at the end. It may have some meaning for him but I think of it like a trade mark. It´s like, if you would like to sow something and go buy some seeds. There´s many kinds for sale but then you spot a bag that states that the seed inside won´t grow no matter what you do and the brand of the seeds could be “ScornGrain”. Well, that´s how I like to explain it but anyone can make their own version of the happenings. So, mister -E- had a name ready and as he told it I was ok since I was more like a session member back then anyways. It felt like a hard word to pronounce correctly if you don´t speak english as your mothers tongue. Even one Irish guy said it´s hard word to deal with. It doesn´t matter that much. A name doesn´t make a man.

Tell me about your first release the writing, the music etc. and how you hooked up with Dynamic Arts.

After that first recording we sent few copies around but none was really that interested. I am not saying we were too weird but maybe we didn´t look the deal from right places. I remember one Finnish label sent back a note saying that it´s not commercial enough and it felt funny as the label is known better from its artistic side. Business is business and there´s nothing wrong with that. Of course the label looks for profit for their work. Anyhow, we took part in a competition named Eliminator that was put up by a major Finnish web zine. Response was great and we stayed on the playlist for several weeks. If I remember right the guy from DAR heard the songs and contacted us offering a deal that we accepted without a doubt. It was a big risk for a label since the investment made on us is much more than we are able to bring back in short period of time. Perhaps it wasn´t labels intention either or they didn ´t think it through.The first album “CyberWarMachine” was a bit different than the new one I think. The songs were more spontanius and in that sense, quite raw if compared on material of 0,05% album. We didn´t care nearly as much how it sounds, we just did without hesitasion. On another hand the album is very “pure” because everything on it have come straigt from our dirty minds rather than we would done any sort of filtering on all those “brain-farts” on it. Somethings simply doesn´t work but that doesn´t mean you shouldn´t try everything out. I like the album and there is nothing really wrong with it. Great production helps alot in that case.

“0,05%” is an amazing album and has become my favorite release of 2006. Tell me how this album all came together and how the band has grown since the first one.

That´s nice to hear! I think we have grown, mostly mentally, as a band. We understand each other better now than before. The construction of the songs has improved as well as the whole concept. Simply, the songs are better, lyrics are better and atmosphere is better. The album came out quite easilly as we really started to work on it. After the first we all felt tired and even if we made some gigs it was somekind of break. Once new songs started to finish it didn´t take that long untill we wre in studio again. First plan was get it out before the summer but luckily the deadline was way too strict and we had time to open all the files again and remix whole shit again. In first version the sound wasn´t that great and as our recorder/mixer/producer Kimmo Perkkiö agreed, he did it all again. It was totally worth waiting for since I really think we did get the best possible sound for the needs of ScornGrain. We had also some problems with the artwork but change of graphic designer two weeks before the press was a right thing to do. H.J. Villber did great work with covers.

How is the Metal scene in Finland and the rest of Europe these days.

I would like say great, but then again, it´s always been that way. Tons of good bands. Almost too many to listen to. All good shit though. Today there´s lots more big gigs in Finland than lets say ten years ago. Many metal festivals in summer and all in all lots of activity in metal generally.

Tell me about some past live gigs you've done and some experiences you've had, so far, doing them.

We had this one gig after the first album and there was honestly one person watching. That didn´t matter that much since he went absolutely wild. We played the songs best we could and banged our heads together with him for fourty five minutes or so. That was great and surely one of the best memories I have from that period of time. We

haven´t done that many gigs after the new album. All in all we´ve done maybe twenty gigs or so but there´s about five worth to mention. There was a gig in Russia about a year ago and that one was great. It was a small indoor festival with about a thousand people. It felt really worth playing since they sucked every drop of our show. I like playing live because I get to see my bandmates as well as other new people to me. Also if you´ve got good stage, lights and live sound it's a great feeling to play the songs. The rush of adrenaline is very addictive.

What are your current plans for touring, if any?

Atleast for now we haven´t got any plans since we have none to sell our gigs. We have kind of been waiting if DAR would get us somewhere but I understand the problem in it. We would need to get on with some bigger band that would be from same metal genre because it´s useless to tour with some death-metal band for example and there´s not that much options I am afraid.

What other bands do you guys listen to these days?

I am not sure about the other guys but I like metal generally. There´s some great bands hailing from Finland and because I usually get some promo copies I listen to the bands of my friends alot. Much cheaper that way. Actually I can´t remember the last time I bought an album from a store. Few to mention; Insomnium´s new album is great, some Archgoat to get in the mood and Torture Killer to bang my head on a wall. Just few to mention here.

How do you spend your free time when not touring or in the studio?

Quite usual stuff I guess. Spending time with my friends and my woman. Warming up sauna for my friends at weekends. I live in the countryside so I never have to go anywhere to meet my friends. They usually come to my place to chill out from the city. Right now it´s winter so there´s not that much to do outside, but in summer we barbeque alot and have great parties. You´re invited too! Just take a plane and get here next summer man!

When do you guys think Tgod will be sweatin' and stompin' in a live Scorngrain pit in the U.S.?

Hopefully soon as possible but it is not up to us I am afraid. We are still a small band and getting a U.S tour would be too much of an investment for any organizer right now. Only possible way would be to get on tour with some European act that´s coming to the states and still it feel like a long shot. If it would be up to us we could pack our things and get in the next plane. It would be absolutely amazing and hopefully reality one day. Hey, I´ve got an idea! You could buy 10 000 pieces of our new album so our label would think we got some potential over there and would get us on the road, heh.

Who would you most like to go on tour with?

It would be great to tour with Ministry. Also bands like The Kovenant from Norway would be great to play with since I think that our music could work for same headbangers.

Is the band line up solid and how is your relationship with DAR.?

We have great relationship with the label. Actually the guys live quite near me and we get together now and then to grab some beer or go sauna at my place. We are very happy with their work on us and most certainly release the next album through DAR too. Line-up within the band is also very solid and I feel we just found each other with the new album. Chemistry works between us and I can´t imagine anyone else on drums or guitars than those that are involved in ScornGrain right now. I personally had some hard time with mister -E- before, since we both are very strict with our opinions, but that has changed during the years. We are more band now than with the first album since we understand each other and work for the same goal. There´s no “I” in a team like C.Montgomery Burns once said.

What can we look for from Scorngrain over the next 2 or 3 years.

2-3 new albums hopefully, some videos and something special for collectors. Maybe we´ll get that U.S tour too one day.

Much thanks to B.B. for his time spent with us and I'll surely do my best to spread the word about Scorngrain in the U.S., because it would surely be a thrill to get to see these guys live.
Check out the band's site at www.scorngrain.com and their MySpace at www.myspace.com/scorngrain and hear some brutally heavy tunes.