The Goth Rock Artistry of Lamori

The Goth Rock Artistry of Lamori

Lamori present their own exhilarating brand of gothic metal, dark wave and modern rock – and the results are absolutely epic in scope.  Fans of bands such as the almighty HIM and the long running Lacrimas Profundere are destined to meet their destiny when encountering the auditory artistry Lamori has to offer our great big world.  Lamori’s latest manifesto is entitled Neo Noir – now available worldwide through the WormHoleDeath compound – and it’s rapturous refrains will set the imagination into the throes of an intriguing darkness.  Highwire Daze recently interviewed the Lamori brigade to find out more about this amazing band and their journey into the Neo Noir.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Lamori, and how long the band has been together.
MATIAS: I am Matias Juselius, lead vocalist, lyricist and one of the founders of the band. We’ve been doing this for 10 years now.

MARCUS: My name is Marcus Pellas and I play the guitar.

JENS: I stand with the keyboards. Have been in the band from the beginning. Had our 10 year an anniversary last year.

EMANUEL: My name is Emanuel and I play drums, been doing that since 2009

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
MARCUS: We are based in Mariehamn, the ”capital” of Aland Island. A small society with some local bands. There are only like 2-3 places to play live here so most of our shows are in other places.

JENS: There are lots of smaller bands, troubadours and many singers at the theater and that kind of stuff. But not so many active rock/pop/metal bands. We are one of the few rock band who still are active at the local music scene.

How did you wind up signing with WormHoleDeath?
MARCUS: We were contacted by them actually. I guess they had heard us online and liked the sound.

JENS: We first thought it was a joke. We had sent our demos to so many different places and no one never answered. We are glad that we choose to work with WHD. We have come a long way since we signed with them.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Neo Noir album title?
MATIAS: Well the concept is that this is the new black. It is a move forward. It is also a takeover, as we wanted to depict with the cover art where this huge wave of infinite darkness engulfs everything in Neo Noir.

Select two songs from Neo Noir and what inspired the lyrics.
MATIAS: The Evil Inside of Me. I wrote the lyrics to this song as some sort of reaction to this black hole I found myself dragged into again and again. On the surface it’s a song about Werewolves or a Jekyll and Hyde type of character, but underneath all that is a song about depression and addiction. But it is not a desperate scream for help, it is a fight song about never giving up.

MARCUS: The Devil’s Mark. The lyrics are partly based on actual events that happened on our small island a long time ago. That makes the story more interesting for me.

What could one expect from a live Lamori show?
JENS: Dark, heavy, cool performance. Not too much, and not too little.

What are you looking forward to the most about the upcoming Flex Fest Open Air III with the legendary death metal band Vader?
MATIAS: This show is part of our upcoming Neo Noir Europe Tour this summer. This will be our first real tour, so we don’t really know what to expect, ha ha! But we are really looking forward to meeting lots of cool people and get to play with other awesome bands.

MARCUS: To play live for new fans and meeting people and other bands.

JENS: To play live in new countries, meet new people and listen to other great bands.

If Lamori could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
MARCUS: Metallica. There will never be a band like them again, they are like Elvis to metal.

If Lamori was invited to perform a song on a Tribute album to HIM, what song would you chose to record and why?
MATIAS: It’s all Tears. Definitely. It’s the perfect mix of mellow sweet melancholy and heavy punch.

MARCUS: Razorblade Kiss, just for that kickass guitar solo. I love it.

JENS: For You.

Has Lamori ever played here in the States or plan to do so in future days?
MATIAS: No, not yet. Nothing planned at the moment, but we would definitely be up for it.

MARCUS: Unfortunately not – yet. But we would love to bring our music to the other side of the pond at some time.

Are you or any other members involved with any other projects outside of Lamori?
MARCUS: Our singer has done the vocals for a band/project called The Way of Purity. Really cool – check them out!

What’s up next for Lamori?
MARCUS: At the moment we are getting ready for the Neo Noir-tour. We have some gigs in Finland and then we’re off to Europe for some more gigs to promote our new album.

Any final words of wisdom?
JENS: Believe in what you are doing, don´t hesitate. Everything works out in the end.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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