Personally I consider your music as black metal, others call it as "gothic doom" or simply "doom", so what about giving me your own description?

- Hmm... I would probably call our stuff kinda gothic / metal crossover, I'm influenced by both styles gothic and metal + other styles as well... I guess gothic / metal would be the closest genre to locate us.  About that black metal thing... We never called ourselves as black metal band, because we simply aren't that style. For some reason Adipocere Records who released our debut album advertised us as a gothic / black / doom band, so probably some people have a little misunderstood us as "black". Since the early days of our band I've been influenced by bands like CELTIC FROST and so are some BM bands, so that's probably where you might find a link. Anyway it's just musical thing and I definitely hope (and know!) that we sound different from today's standard BM bands.

"Let Me Dream" and "My Dear Succubus"... Why did you choose such names for your band and debut album?

- We needed a name that would give us chance to make emotional music
without any limits. So far it's been quite metal and quite gothic, but LET ME DREAM is a name that doesn't necessarily limit us just to these styles... So we were looking kinda wide and original name, because that's what our music is - I think.  "My Dear Succubus" came to my mind after I listened to a radio program about medieval myths.  Succubus is kinda dream lover who first appears as very sweet image but in the end turns to be real hell-breaks-loose bitch. At least that's how I'd like to put it when talking about this certain song (which also turned out to be the debut album title). I just mixed a bit myth and real life drama.

Lyrics were not included with "... succubus", wouldn't you mind telling me what they are about?

- Hmm... We kinda want to keep the music in front and not to print the lyrics on the CD booklet.  However people have been asking for lyrics, so we might put some to our homepage in the future. So check it out, something might show up there.

Here's something to give you a little picture:
"Centuries Of Longing" is influenced by the certain vampire story written by Bram Stoker, yeah Dracula... And especially the Coppola's movie version, which is damn great movie by the way. So it's about the "romantic" side of the story, fits our atmosphere.
"Throne Of Dominating Force" is about preparing yourself for death. About learning to know yourself before you die and about reaching another level(s) (in afterlife?)... quite similar stuff to Bo-Yin-Ra's writings, weird thing is that I wrote the lyrics before I read any of that stuff...
"Burnt Into My Mind" is about personal experience. About a perfect
mid-winter night ambiance, balance between ground (white snow, dark
forest) and sky (moon, gray clouds). A very impressive sight in certain mood.
Those are some examples from the debut album. Our lyrics are about our dreams, thoughts, emotions, everything that influences us in our everyday life.

As far as I know, you signed a contract with Adipocere for only one album - will you continue collaborating with them, or you have another deal already?

- Yes, the deal was only for one album and we're not going to release new stuff through them. We have done some demo stuff after the album and we're looking for a label to release our second album and future stuff. At the moment we have 4 brand new tracks recorded and we're planing to release those tracks as self-financed mini-CD or demo (depends a bit on our money situation, which is not too good... and printing MCD's is still quite expensive) which will be called as "Medley Rain". So keep your eyes and ears open!

If I am right informed, you have enough songs to enter the studio and
release a new effort shortly after, but I heard nothing of your upcoming (?) release... What will it be alike? Did you style change? How would you compare new compositions to the old ones?

- Yeah, you're right. We've something like 15-20 written songs ready.
There's been some progression in (almost) 3 years of course, but I think that there haven't been too big changes. Better arrangements, songs and production. The new stuff has more keyboards, or string performer to be exact, it will sound pretty much like "My Dear Succubus" should have sound if we would have got the needed equipment then.

What can you say about Finnish Metal scene? Any new bands, you would
recommend to listen to?  By the way, what happened to MORNINGSTAR? Do you own any kind of information, pertinent to them?

- Personally I like Finnish bands like: TWO WITCHES, BARATHRUM, SENTENCED, SAD PARADE, DECORYAH etc... Some new bands that you should check out are at least: YEARNING (epic doom metal a-la MY DYING BRIDE), or LEGENDA (dark metal) both of them have albums out on Holy Records. MORNINGSTAR are still around, we did a gig with them sometime ago. I guess their latest release is "Heretic Metal" CD, real black / thrash metal performed with style and charisma. The frontman of MORNINGSTAR has also released another CD with his project band PERKELE on Hammerheart Records, I think.

I really liked those clean vocals on "... succubus", who is responsible for them? They remind me a bit of CANDLEMASS, though the voice timbre is quite different from Messiah's howlings... It seems, that this band is one of your influences, do you agree?

- It's our bassplayer who does the clean vocals, I do the aggressive
voice. Hmmm... I guess he's more influenced by singers like Jim Morrison of DOORS and some gothic rock singers... I wouldn't call CANDLEMASS as our influence really, but we do like them and they're excellent band... I'd rather call bands like CELTIC FROST and FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM as influences... But  still, can't wait to see CANDLEMASS re-union on stage! (me too! - ED)

Your opinion about christianity? It comes from Israel; how do you feel about this country? There are a lot of black metal bands there, do they have a right to exist? Isn't that a kind of paradox - "jewish black metal"?

- Well if some band calls themselves as "jewish black metal" then it's definitely a paradox... heh heh, but I doubt if any black metal group sees themselves in that way... Hmm... it's right that christianity is an Israelian religion, so isn't it quite obvious and natural that also some "negative" and opposite (anti-christian in this case) exists and borns there in the same area? Isn't it more obvious than anti-Israelian religion taking place in totally different land like ehh, suprise, suprise... NORWAY!!? wow... What I'm trying to say is that Israel is the only land which should have something to do with christian and anti-christian believes and f.e.x. (again) Norway should be left alone with their Odin... Too bad the Crusades mixed things a bit up.  I wouldn't have minded if the christians would have stayed at their part of the world, that's my opinion. I'm sure Israel is a nice, sunny and warm country... but, but...

Do you have any songs, featured on compilations around the world?

- Yeah we have some. One of the album tracks ("Bed Of The Ancient River") was released on French compilation CD (published by Adipocere Records and Metallian Magazine), but I guess that one is sold out, which means we're not going to get the copies that ADIPOCERE RECORDS promised to send us about a year ago.... Well, is someone surprised about that?! I guess not...  There's also been some tracks on several compilation tapes around the world.

How is life in Finland? Do you like your motherland? Nationalistic stuff in black metal, does it mean anything to you?

- Finland is quite ok country to live, I like the place and it's cool that we have own language, money, independence, etc. I don't care about any ideology behind any band or music style. It's music what I like, if I like the band. I have my own way to go, it's not something you learn from other persons, groups or masses. I have no idea why black metal or any music style should have anything to do with f.e.x. nationalism. It's ok if a person shares both of these interests in music and ideology, but to make it a trend is as ridiculous as all other trends.

Do you listen to non-metal music? What about such people as Diamanda Galas and John Zorn...?

- Well, definitely I do, we all do. Metal is something that we have grown with, seen trends change, learned to know interesting and boring things surrounding the progression of this genre, etc. I like Diamanda Galas and own some of her recordings, "Plague Mass" is something that I like quite much.  I know John Zorn by name but don't own any of his recordings.

There is the following statement on your debut album's cover: "The extra special fuck you Jani wishes to rip-off guru Mark G(r)ay"... Please, explain further.

- Mark once ran Tombstone records in England, made lots of promises to several bands and even signed them for album release, but never actually released anything. Just empty promises..  What has that got to do with us? Well, Mark was supposed to release a compilation album with Finnish bands with co-operation of a Finnish dude, that was in 1993. The Finnish dude was (and still is) absolutely supportive for Finnish scene and did a lot work for the CD. He and the bands sent the DAT tapes to Mark and never heard of him again and naturally no eyes or ears ever saw or heard the CD...  It's quite rare, 0 copies printed I think... (then it's definitely rare, ha ha - ED) Mark is a true legend who wrote his name straight to his tombstone. I hope he's gone forever.

It seems that a lot of bands, playing black, doom or gothic music nowadays are fascinated by image of the wolf... What is so interesting in this creature?

- Well I have written one song about somekinda "wolf" theme, that's a
track called "Wolfborn" from late 1994 / early '95... It must have
something to do with the feeling you get when you run unconsciously
through forest, suddenly stop and you have no idea where you are or why you're there...  It's one kind of wolf experience, about being wild & free, not conscious about your human form, it's about becoming a wolf.

You (almost) didn't use keyboards on "... succubus", why so? Do you fear of losing your band's personality? In my opinion, keyboard belongs to the sort of instruments which make any music only better than it is, it has almost unlimited resources for musician's self-realization... It's the great way to create any kind of atmosphere, aggressive and misanthropic or sad and full of melancholy - it doesn't matter afterall...

- Oh, yeah we did use keyboards on that record. It's just the sound that is too weak for what we wanted it to be. Now we have better equipment (string performer) and we're more able to bring the synths to the front. Watch out for "Medley Rain" and you know more about the sound we're looking forward to.  We definitely need more powerful keyboards than on "My Dear Succubus" to take all advantage out of our sound.

Today we call Mozart, Sibelius and Grieg as "classic" composers, but what music will be called as "classic" two centuries later, how do you think? Does black / doom / death metal has such a possibility?

- Hmm... interesting subject, quite impossible to answer. Classic music has been quite much the same for some centuries now... Maybe the avantgarde or "modern" side of it will get more attention or maybe they're going to make it a bit more electronic, hard to say...  I hope that rock and classical music are going to stay as two different genres if both will survive. But of course it's always possible that "Into The Pandemonium" will be a big "classic" hit in couple centuries to come, but that's not too expectable? Though art should always be expect the unexpectable thing...

I think, it won't be an exaggeration if we'll call 20th century as "the reign of censorship". What is your opinion, concerning this topic?

- Hmm... I don't really know. There obviously is and always will be some censorship. But if you take a look at present time and  past then things have gone to better. Rare things have gone more available.  Censorship can't stop everything that they would like to. Life will find a way, ehh... ?

Have you ever been in Russia? Would you like to visit my country and give few live shows?

- I've been once to Viipuri, which is quite close to Finland. We'd
definitely like to play at Russia, people have been asking us a lot there. So, if we get our two way traveling paid, food, backline and other necessary equipment and arrangements for a concert and place to sleep, then we'll definitely come there. Actually there's a chance that we play in St. Petersburg in early 1998. We'll see what happens.

Final statements...?

- Thanks a lot for this interview, very interesting questions (thanks for the stunning answers! - ED). "My Dear Succubus" is sold out from our address, so you have to ask it from Adipocere or your local distributor or shop. Keep looking for "Medley Rain", we hope to bring it out soon. If someone can send me any info about Russian band called NOTCHNOI PROSPECT then please do it immediately!  I heard them 2 - 3 years ago on some video and liked it... They are somekinda avantgarde trance / dark / rock etc.  music, very original. Yeah, take care and good luck with your zine!

LET ME DREAM
c/o Jani Koskela, Leppasenojantie 243,
12100 OITTI, FINLAND.

Email (Jani):
wolfborn@freenet.hut.fi