Q+A / Story (1/3): SILVER LAKE by Esa Holopainen: Away from AMORPHIS

As a Finn, I have that anyway.

Since the nineties, Finnish guitarist Esa Holopainen and his band Amorphis have left their mark on the international Metal landscape, providing us with grandiose anthems like “Elegy”, “Silver Bride” or “Daughter of Hate” time and again. Now he is going solo for the first time and gathers an illustrious group of guest vocalists around him, who contribute significantly to the unique character of Silver Lake. We talk to the string wizard about panic attacks, Finnish Pop and musical development.

Orkus: Why Silver Lake? Do you have an affinity for the wet element?

Esa Holopainen: As a Finn, I have that anyway. (laughs) Silver Lake describes a sunlit lake in summer, when the water surface looks quite silvery. Also, I wanted to have a real project name and nature has always been a great source of inspiration for me. Moreover, I have a guitar pedal in my home studio that says “Silver Lake Digital Reverb” and I thought the name was so cool that I just had to steal it for my solo project.

O: How did things get started with Silver Lake? What came first?

EH: Already a few years ago I wrote “Ray of Light”, that was basically the start. Then followed “Sentiment” and “Promising Sun.” I really liked those songs, but they didn’t fit with the rest of the Amorphis material. I kept them anyway and now it was a good time to devote myself fully to them, I finally had enough time. My producer Nino Laurenne was also immediately enthusiastic, so we just had to find singers for it. First of all, I wanted to ask singers I’ve worked with before, and I wanted them to be artists I like a lot myself. So I sent the demo version of “Sentiment” to Jonas Renske from Katatonia and “Promising Sun” to Björn Strid from Soilwork. To my delight, they were both on board immediately.

In the next part we talk about the thread, the lyrical concept of the project and also cut more serious topics: Panic attacks and other mental ailments.

(Interview: Isabell Köster)

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