West Aussie metal act Innasanatorium are ready to take their music and vision as far as they can, all around Australia and abroad. Armed and ready with their astonishing debut album Odyssey Of The Mind ready to drop, we find out more on the band and their debut album.
Metal-Roos: Gday how are things in Sunny Bunbury?
Innasanatorium: Hi we are doing great even though we have only had a couple of sunny days here lately haha
MR: What is Innasanatorium and where did you come up with that?!
Innasanatorium: Kelvin originally came up with the idea of throwing 30 musicians into a mix and try to come out with a bunch of songs as a collective. It was a pretty brave thing to do, but unless you are superman, it’s gonna be hard to do haha. So in the end, it didn’t quite work out the way he envisioned, and we were left with basically a drummer, a bass player and a guitarist. After a few lineup changes, we ended up with our current lineup and Kelvin as manager. It was always going to be based around the mental health aspect due to seeing so many issues with other people and even ourselves, going through depression and anxiety. The name can be interpreted in 2 different ways, Inner – Sanatorium (your mind being in a sanatorium) or In – A – Sanatorium (physically being inside a Sanatorium).
MR: Your debut album Odyssey Of The Mind is a combination of many elements that are all metal?
Innasanatorium: Mostly metal yes, some rock too from the early ’90s ie Alice In Chains, Nirvana etc. We wanted to achieve something that is different, and with all the varieties of metal these days, we were just trying to combine all of our favourite elements into one. Which I think we have achieved here.
MR: How do you combine the Heavy with the melody?
Innasanatorium: Many different ways, but without getting too technical, it’s about selecting the right scale and rhythm. Certain scales are heavier than others, picking aggressively and rhythm are important when playing heavily on guitars. But you also need to know how to transition between riffs effectively whilst maintaining a certain flow, to go from heavy to melodic. Vocals are important in changing the feel also. I could go on and on but, from a guitarist’s perspective, that’s what I think about.
MR: You also have more than one vocalist. Was this an unconscious decision and how does it add Characters to your music?
Innasanatorium: We have 1 main vocalist and 2 backup vocals. Me (Ryan) providing some backup screams and JustinSanity (Kelvin) providing harmonies. Harmonies are an important part of our sound as we believe it will definitely separate us from the crowd. Alice In Chains is Adam’s main influence there and it has worked well in the songs we’ve written.
MR: The Lyrical elements and how do they tie into Odyssey Of the MInd?
Innasanatorium: Lyrically the songs are about depression, anxiety and a feeling of hopelessness etc. Also our disdain for religion and our unqualified Prime Minister. The album overall is meant to represent a journey of one’s mind whilst going through all these different thoughts and feelings, whilst suffering from a mental illness. Everyone goes through at least some form of depression, despair or feelings of hopelessness throughout their lives, and we are not taught how to cope with this in our society. So this is our way of making people feel like they are not alone, and speak up if they are feeling this way!
MR: Does the state of one’s mind play a personal/conceptual role?
Innasanatorium: Both personal and conceptual!
MR: Even Scotty from Marketing gets a mention? Why?
Innasanatorium: Well it’s pretty obvious isn’t it? He is a laughing stock, he has no idea what he is doing half the time. So we thought why not chuck it in there
MR: You also have a theatrical live show?
Innasanatorium: Once again we are trying to stand out, so we came together and thought another way to stand out is to have dancers. I don’t think any metal band from Perth has their own dancers or theatrics so why not!? Plus Nina, Jarrod and Megan are all legends so we are to have them on board. Nina designed all the costumes herself and has done a terrific job with that!
MR: As a band without musical boundaries, What does Metal mean to you?
Innasanatorium: Metal is a way of expressing your creativity and your skills! The fact that you can combine so many elements means you have huge creative possibilities. It’s what made metal so big in the first place. We never wanted any boundaries to begin with so creatively we can almost do whatever style we want if we do it well.
MR: Where do you see Innasanatorium Metal progression taking you?
Innasanatorium: We want to be able to make a career from it, but that involves a lot of hard work. These days you have to be constantly promoting yourself and constantly writing. Touring is really the main way a lot of bands make money but now even that is not possible until the end of the lockdown. So every band’s future is uncertain for now. But if you really love what you are doing, then you’ll find a way to make things work. So that’s what we are doing for now, and hopefully, we can get out there more and play some bigger shows once these lockdowns are over!!
MR: Final thoughts for musical domination?
Innasanatorium: Loving what you do is a large part of being a musician! Determination and the right attitude all come into play, I believe that’s what this band has to make it work and be successful! Cheers!
Thanks for your time and congratulations on a cracking Album
Innasanatorium: Facebook
Interview Date: 2021-08-25
Interviewed by Sparky
