Jakob Skogli - 'Atena’s Development Is The Desire To Not Be Boring'
It is always refreshing to stumble across a band that may have slipped under people's radars. You know those bands that the first time you hear them and wonder why on Earth they aren't touring with some of the biggest names out there? Well, Norway's Atena is one of those bands.
With their new album Subway Anthem coming out (you can find the review here), we asked frontman Jakob Skogli to give us the lowdown on putting the album together, breaking through the Norwegian metal stereotypes and introducing the band to new listeners in his own words.
For those in our audience who may not be as familiar with Atena, can you give us a lowdown on how you guys came together?
Jakob: Absolutely. Our guitarist and main songwriter Vebjørn was put in a band in music class in secondary school. That band evolved into Atena, and the rest of us were drafted from other bands in the same scene as time went on and other members quit to pursue education etc. We’ve been friends for a long time, and we’re happy that we all up ended up in Atena together.
The new album Subway Anthem feels like a journey through the evolution of metalcore. What influences have you drawn on to write and piece together this new album?
Jakob: Thank you, that’s a nice way to look at it. However, our influences go beyond metalcore. Vebjørn listens to old Slipknot, Oasis and Hans Zimmer, so there’s a lot of those energies at the core of it. In terms of actual metalcore, there is no way around mentioning Architects, especially 2012-2014 era, as well as Singularity-era Northlane. Those are influences that were strong at the formation of our band, and we have carried them with us up until this day. Sam Carter invented sounding good while screaming and the world owes him for it.
This is your fourth album, so there is a level of maturity and development from your previous releases. Were there any differences in your approach?
Jakob: The basic workflow and formula remained the same, but we were no longer tied to the concept and story of the three previous albums when writing this one. That was a weight of Vebjørns shoulders that released a lot of creative energy. It enabled us to write about more everyday topics in the lyrics, and experiment with song structure and flow.
Atena has a real uniqueness in your vocal sound, especially in how you harmonise the cleaner-style vocals throughout different songs. What inspired this sound in your vocal melodies?
Jakob: It’s fun to sing in different ways, and we think it makes it more interesting to listen to. It opens up possibilities when constructing the melodies. I’ve always enjoyed singing in different ways using different techniques, and Atena has a tradition of trying to make most samples and sounds in-house, with some notable exceptions. Because of this, we’ve been dubbing choruses with falsetto vocals etc. for a long time, but we’ve let it become a bigger feature this time, most notably with the lead vocals for Slip Away. We were also exposed to bands like Agent Fresco early on, who are really good at that kind of thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkgTq8f7RM0
Aside from the vocals, Atena never seems to shy away from incorporating elements from other sounds and genres. Is that a conscious process of wanting to experiment with your sound?
Jakob: Absolutely. A big factor that drives Atena’s development is the desire to not be boring. Blending genres and influences gives us a kick that hopefully excites the listener as well. Our friend Jon Tangen/”Avile” has helped us out with electronic sounds and beats for years. What he adds to Vebjørns demos helps fuel further creativity throughout the songwriting process. The reward comes when we play live and see people dressed in completely different sub-cultural uniforms getting along to the same songs together. Our friend Henrik Aalberg from the band Adjentist has also helped out with crafting songs on this album.
You have released quite a few singles from this album, how has the reception been so far?
Jakob: It’s been great. People are listening and responding really well, which we thoroughly appreciate. The online reception has been positive, and people have been singing along to the singles at our shows. It warms our hearts and makes us proud, and we hope people will check out the full album next week.
Now, Norway is not typically known for its metalcore. How is the Norwegian metalcore scene and how is it navigating a scene that is more known for other styles of heavy music?
Jakob: There have been situations in the past where playing our style of music has been a slight disadvantage in terms of trying to find places to play etc, but it’s not really a problem anymore. We’ve always tried to just be Atena, and it has worked out more often than not, often due to open-mindedness amongst metalheads attending the shows where we didn’t really fit in. The misunderstandings have mostly occurred when playing abroad, and people expect the wrong things because we’re Norwegian.
The Norwegian metalcore scene consists of a very small number of active bands, so it’s been 10 years of uphill battles in some ways, but things are looking up, with more people at shows having grown up with metalcore, like we did ourselves.
We must ask, after the release of the album what are your plans and is there a plan to come to Australia anytime soon?
Jakob: Unfortunately no Australia planned at the present time, but we would absolutely love to do so one day! We are going to finish our Norwegian run with a hometown release show this Friday, and then try to get back out into Europe next year. If everything fails we’ll just write more music.
Interview by Kayla Hamilton (@kaylazomboid)
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Subway Anthem is out on September 29th, 2023. Get It here.
Atena – Subway Anthem tracklisting:
1. Ultra Ultimate Opus Power
2. Hard Day
3. Bargain
4. Subway Anthem
5. Poison Pure
6. Slip Away
7. Peeling Skin
8. Leave
9. Somebody
10. Oh My
