Deeper into Oceanum, 08 What If It Hurts

Like I’ve said before, there are few tracks on this album, that were extremely easy to write. This is one of those tracks. I had really complex and multi layered song, that just didn’t work. But it had two riffs that worked. I took those two riffs and made them into this song. I had the structure already in my mind, so it was quite easy to get this song done. But like many times before, the song was missing something. It was an ending. I was just playing my guitar with a sound that had quite a lot of reverb and long delay. It had almost jazz kind of feel. And there it was. The ending that I was searching for. But still…. It needed something more. I started to think about adding a new instrument, that we had never had. A keyboard solo…? Maybe… With Fender rhodes...? Perhaps…. A saxophone solo? Yes!

Message to one of the most talented dudes I know, Lassi Tiainen. I sent a message to him with a clip of the song. He said yes. And few months after that, he sent a clip that pretty much floored me. It was awesome! Just the eerie and jazzy kind of atmosphere that I was searching for. It was perfect.

A special note on the drums. In studio Pekka went nuts with this song. The last part, with intense feel, is amazing. Pekka really delivered.

And extremely special note. Right after the song was done, I really wasn’t that sure about this song. At first it felt like a bit too boring or too monotone like. But the rest of the band were telling me that it works. I decided to go along with it. But then we did all the vocals with Teemu Liekkala. It started to feel quite a bit better. And then Lassi delivered that amazing saxophone solo. It started to feel a lot better. And then I heard the mixed and mastered version, I was blown away that we managed to create that fantastic peace of music. I was proud. Still am. This will be one of the biggest songs I have done and will be one of the biggest songs we have done as a band.