Pic courtesy of: Norther "This album is the one that sounds really Norther and we produced it our-self. We didn’t want anyone to produce it; we made that choice long before we went to the studio. So, this is really us, Norther!!!!"

CR: Norther will be releasing its new album at the end of January, how’s the general feeling of the band before you launch this new production?
Petri Lindroos: We are very satisfied with it, the way it sounds and for all the songs too. We are also very anxious to hear what people think!!!

CR: Why don’t you introduce the album “Till death united us” your upcoming release, any specific details that you will like to share with people?
Petri Lindroos: This album is the one that sounds really Norther and we produced it our-self. We didn’t want anyone to produce it; we made that choice long before we went to the studio. So, this is really us, Norther!!!!

CR: I recently heard Till death united us, I like it, I can definitely hear some changes in the overall approach of the music, is heavy yet very melodic and with some slow songs, it also has some songs with clean vocals, any particular sound that you guys were looking for in this album?
Petri Lindroos: “Till death us unites” was recorded in Sweden, Gothenburg and the reason why went there was to get a totally new sound for this album and to get away from the sounds in our other albums. The songs on this album are very “stripped” in a way, all the unnecessary guitars, keyboards and vocals are taken away so it sounds cool!!! The sound is wide-open on this album and you can hear it too!!!

CR: If I’m not mistaken you guys use some piano in this album, if I’m right, why? What do you wanted to achieve with this?
Petri Lindroos: Yes, we use some piano in a few songs just to get the real piano sound to those songs and the real thing is the real thing!!!

CR: The guitar work, the keyboard work in this new record if very well done and planed, I really enjoy a band that follows a more polished way while not forgetting their roots, do you think that in the future this style of playing would become Norther trade mark sound?
Petri Lindroos: Yeah, I think we will keep working, writing and recording the songs this way; we hope that in the future it could be our trademark sound.

CR: The first song Throwing My Life Away, has a very familiar Norther sound, something like a good introduction for people not to forget who they are listening to; but right after that song we can really hear the change, how do you guys pick the order in which the tracks should go on the record, how important is that order?
Petri Lindroos: I don’t know how important the order is, but that was the best order we found for those songs, the one you hear in the record; and it works for us very well. Hope everyone else likes it too.

CR: You guys picked the song Scream to be your single, why? What elements do you think this song has that may interest people that will hear Norther for the first time?
Petri Lindroos: To put the song “Scream” as the single was our record-labels idea and we thought… why not!!! It has many different parts that are new to us and probably to our fans; it is also the first song with clean-guitars.

CR: The song Wasted years is some sort of a “heavy ballad” what can you tell us about this track?
Petri Lindroos: In a way it’s a “ballad” but not quite. This track is dedicated to the memory of Kristian’s brother, who passed away in the beginning of the recordings for this album.

CR: Who did the album cover and what is it all about?
Petri Lindroos: Killustration did the cover for “Till death unites us” and I think that everyone can see what the cover is about for themselves.

CR: Where and how was the recording experience for Till death united us?
Petri Lindroos: Like a said earlier, we recorded this one in Sweden and it was very nice to work there; everything went really well from the beginning till the end. The atmosphere in studio Fredman was very loose so it was very easy to work; we had no pressure about doing this album.

	Pic courtesy of: Kammio "This is not the first time we have this question in our face and we really don’t give a fuck about that!!! This is their problem if they can’t hear the difference between Norther and C.O.B."

CR: You guys have planned a few gigs for this year (at least that is what I can read in your web page) any large events or a big tour to promote Till death united us?
Petri Lindroos: We have a few gigs here so far and we would love to do a tour with this album so we have to wait and see!!!

CR: Many critics, and us in Leviatan use to see Norther as a Children of Bodom clone from time to time, but I can definitely tell you that with this album, that comparison or annoying comment is death, how did you guys respond when people or critics use to compare you with Children? (I’m saying this as polite as I can, I’m sorry if it bothers you)
Petri Lindroos: Heh, this is not the first time we have this question in our face and we really don’t give a fuck about that!!! This is their problem if they can’t hear the difference between Norther and C.O.B.

CR: Norther has toured with some big names in metal, like Dimmu Borgir and Hypocrisy, what’s the biggest band you think Norther has played with, and what’s the best about playing alongside the big names in metal today?
Petri Lindroos: The biggest tour we had was with Dimmu Borgir and Hypocrisy and the good thing about that is that they do gigs in very big places with big audiences so a lot of people can hear us too.

CR: Why don’t we talk a little about your previous releases? Death Unlimited was very death metal, hell even the title is very death metal! And in a way I hear a more strong presence of the drums as well as a faster keyboard, can you remember in that time what was the exact goal behind that album?
Petri Lindroos: We wanted to do a very tight, hard and very melodic death metal album and that was the goal. On that album there are a lot of keyboards in all of the songs as you can hear.
We also wanted to get a better and heavier, after the Mirror of Madness album, because the songs were a lot heavier and more into death metal.

CR: In the album Mirror of madness, there is a cover song from Offspring, why did you pick that song as a cover?
Petri Lindroos: We have been fans of that band for a long time and that was one of our favorite songs from the Smash album!!! Punk rocks!!!

CR: Even though Norther USED to be compare to Children of Bodom your album reviews were always pretty good, and many predicted a good future for the band, are you happy with the path Norther has chosen to follow?
Petri Lindroos: First of all, we haven’t chosen any path to follow, except the “Reaper”!!! Hehe…
We have done everything that we wanted to do and we will do what we want to do in the future as well, and yes, we are more than happy on this rocky road in which we walk.

CR: Your album debut was Dreams Of Endless War, in that album you have a couple of Iron Maiden riffs that really stick to my head, can you remember what was like to write and record that album, have the goals you guys had at your early beginnings reminded till now?
Petri Lindroos: Yes I do, mainly me and Kristian were writing all the songs in our rehearsal room while drinking beer and just having fun with our riffs and finally getting them all together as songs, and then we went to studio. All our goals are still the same, what we want to record, we will record. We will never give in on that!!!

	Pic courtesy of: Kammio "We have done everything that we wanted to do and we will do what we want to do in the future as well, and yes, we are more than happy on this rocky road in which we walk"

CR: Any particular instruments that you would like to use in the future? By instruments I mean instruments that you guys have never used before, like for example violins or something like that.
Petri Lindroos: Maybe some acoustic instruments will come in the future but let’s see…

CR: Just how important do you think web site reviews are for a band like Norther? Have you ever had a bad experience with any press organization?
Petri Lindroos: Those are very good for all the bands in the world, not just for us!!! Because you can read our review from a finish site even if you live in Germany so you don’t have to order the magazine from here for example.
No bad experiences yet!!!

CR: Other than Till death united us, what other release are you waiting to hear this 2006? Any good release you could recommend from 2005?
Petri Lindroos: One that I’m waiting for is the new album from Amorphis and I would recommend the Funeral album from Sentenced!!!

CR: Are you guy’s just full time musicians or do you have day jobs?
Petri Lindroos: We study and work at the same time so we are not full time musicians.

CR: What do you think about what happened to Tarja Turunen, what do you think of the whole Nightwish drama when she was kicked out?
Petri Lindroos: For what I heard about that, I’m not sorry that she got kicked out from Nightwish and I don’t really give a shit, it’s not my problem.

CR: Well I just want to tell you that I REALLY enjoyed Till death united us, hope it does great in sales, it was a real pleasure for us in Leviatan, hope you guys could come to Costa Rica some day, if you would like to add something else, please do.
Petri Lindroos: Thanx to you and hope we can come there soon. Stay heavy and rock on!!!