"All About The Album - 15 Questions" - the Q&A section at the RockUnited site where a recording artist with recently released CD is confronted with the 'album'  questions (15 of them, duh!). If you'd like to have your material here, email: urban "at" rockunited.com (simply replace "at" with your standard @ )

RECKLESS LOVE: "Animal Attraction"

Finnish "Merry Metal" merchants RECKLESS LOVE came, saw and conquered last year with their debut album. Now they're back with their second effort, and here's guitarist PEPE.

How has the reaction to your latest CD been?

it's been really great. of course it's a bit different this (second) time around because people now had some expectations. with the first album we came out from the bush and everything was like a big surprise. but for the most part we get feedback that we've managed to up our game. and that's all that counts. you need to step it up and do better every time! we've also managed to stir things up especially with the single HOT. people need to scratch their heads a little when they form their opinion on us, but that's the way we like it. musically we're pretty much genre-free and constantly on the move. who knows what the future third album brings?! I don't, but it will be kick-ass again haha!

How long did this CD take to make from start to finish, recording-wise?

not long at all. all the drums were recorded in two days, bass in just one. guitars in two weeks and vocals in another two weeks or so.

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind, prior to entering the studio?

we had no limits. we were gonna go in and do each song justice with the production. just focus on the key-elements. on the first album I usually did just one rhythm guitar track per song and that was the approach and philosophy then, but this time I wanted to do all the overdubs required to get the exact sound I hear in my head. also, we wanted to make the overall sound bigger, that's why we did all the drums in the big spaces of Finnvox studios. I also think you gotta have an open mind and improvise in the studio with different arrangements for fresh sounding results. but in a nutshell, initially we wanted to bring more modern elements to our 80's metal sound.

What kind of input did the producer have during the process?

He held the strings. He was the puppet master haha. But seriously, he was the only guy who is involved in every single step of the process. So he has to see the forest from the trees. But Wirtanen had gained our trust from the making of the first album so it was easy for us to let him do his thing.

And are you pleased with the final outcome? (sound - production wise)

Totally!! I really wouldn't change a thing.

Did the producer use any (weird) experimental miking and/or recording techniques?

When it comes to us, I think the most important techniques a producer can have are psychological ones haha!

How did you go on about capturing your 'live sound' in the studio, or perhaps you didn't

It is actually pretty close to our live sound except for the overdubs of course. After our last live show in Spain some people were saying it sounded so close to the album at times they thought it was playback, which it wasn't of course haha!! ...

Please inform us about your favourite songs and lyrical highlights and why?

I think the song Animal Attraction sums up a great deal of our band, musically and lyrically! naturally that's why it's the title track. It could be my favorite of all our songs! Also Wild Touch from the first album. It's still a crowd favorite on our shows everywhere we play.

Any overall theme of mood that you're trying to capture while writing songs?

I just try to capture the things that I hear in my head before they disappear. I usually don't plan any of it. Once I get a new idea I try to hold on to the initial mood and base the line of drama around that. Afterwards Olli then usually gets the challenge to capture that mood with the lyrics.
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Does your vision for coming up with music get affected at all by time?

Do you mean by getting older haha??? nahh... actually time affects my head and my creativity so that the less time I have, the more I get done. if I have plenty of extra time I just get lazy. that's why I loved that we got to make the second album so fast. actually we're already in the process of writing the third one. I never wanna make a Chinese Democracy. I'd get bored of the songs prior to release.

Did the record company interfere with anything on your "sound" and songs?

nope. none whatsoever. the first album was already done when we got signed, and the second one was finished when we played it to the company.

Are there any 'crazy' behind the scenes anecdotes from these sessions that you can share with us?

Well our producer actually insisted that both me and Jalle drink beer in the studio, because we were playing too accurately while fully sober. So now we can blame him for our alcoholism haha!

How would you describe the sound of your new CD to any potential new fan?

It's the soundtrack to the big party that is your life, so don't miss out!

Who are your influences and heroes? (music-wise)

guitar-wise my biggest heroes are Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen and Pete Townshend. Also James Hetfield influenced my rhythm playing a lot. Band-wise the biggest for me are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen.

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do:

I'd like to say a big thank you to the fans all around the world for the continuing support! We salute You!!

Bonus question: whoever decided that the bonus tracks "Young'n Crazy" and "Push" weren't worthy of a place on the album? They're pretty damn good songs!

We all decided. It didn't have as much to do with the quality of the songs themselves but more with the continuity of the album. The flow of an album from start to finish, even today in the digital world, is a matter of high importance to me.

Interview questions by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Bonus Q by Kimmo Toivonen
Photos by Mira Suutari-Toivonen

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