Skip forward 3 years, and the band was back in the studio. Even though the number of sold records should indicate that the band should succumb to the music being played on the radio and start producing popcorn jingles, the band nevertheless went back to record their follow-up to Evolve.

This time around the songs felt more mature, being allowed to live and breathe for a much longer time than their previous efforts. With 6 songs written, the band set out on their next journey - the recording of Monolith.

With Evolve being recorded in a professional studio with time and budget limits, the band wanted time on their side during this recording. That's how they, by buying their own equipment needed for tracking and recording, and by getting a lot of help from friends, family and acquaintances, managed to record and produce Monolith.

Lars-Petter went to New York and brought back with him all the microphones needed for recording drums, guitars and vocals. A third of the price from what we're used to here in Norway. Preamps and other equipment were found on online market places. When operating on a shoe-string budget, in true DIY fashion, things tend to get a bit more complicated when compared to using professionals, but then again you learn a whole lot more.

Through their friend and producer Steinar Engedahl Rossing, they got hold of an excellent place for recording drums. Jostein Reistad at "Det Norske Teatret" let the band use one of the large rehearsal rooms with accompanying control room for a couple of weeks to record all the drums. The room was exceptional and gave a lot to the end result. Lars-Petter wanted big drum sound. Well - he got big drum sound.

When the band moved from "Det Norske Teatret", the journey took them via Marytown to Elcatel on Furuset. Erik Eriksen was very accommodating and welcomed the band with open arms when the guys asked him if it was possible to use his facilities to track and record guitars and vocals. Little did he know that they would operate on his grounds all summer and all autumn. The band are forever greatful for his hospitality, and without his shelter, working on Monolith would have been a tideous task.

The band spent 6 months on Furuset, recording all the guitars, the bass guitar and the vocals. The latter needed some real engineering skills. We had to construct a vocal booth for Lars, to suppress all noise and reverb and to capture the richness. Lars, however, was not happy with being "locked up" in this booth all day - no lake view, no video screens, low ceiling and uncomfortable temperatures. Moaning and bitching - as vocalists tend to do. ;-) The engineers on the other hand admired their awe inspiring construction skills.

With all tracking done and every fiber of music digitized, the band dove into the mixing - head first, eager to finally hear what all these months of hard work ended up sounding like.

A monolith was born.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The 29th of April 2006 they went into Subsonic Studios to record their first release. Subsonic Studios was helmed by Lars Klokkerhaug. Having worked on releases by Khold, Red Harvest, Enslaved, Jesu and Darkthrone and on the road as Motorpsychos live technician he proved to be the man they were looking for. He knew how to make one feel inspired and focused - despite the occasional börek and coffee sessions. His experience, together with his ability to create calm and relaxing recording sessions, was just what the band was looking for.

As From Beneath Billows had little to no experience recording in a studio and no experience with recording a full-length album, the band only went with their initial feelings - that Lars could bring to life a dynamic and gritty production, enhancing the selected songs for their first release.

Though only 4 tracks were chosen for the record, the songs were epic and together spanned a playtime of approx. 50 minutes.

The recording and mixing/mastering process spanned almost a year, due to the band only being able to work on the release on selected weekends. The recording process was long and a little less coherent than the band initially planned for. This along with a lengthy process of designing and producing the digipak, made for a summer release in 2007.

With help from Lars Klokkerhaug and Steinar Engedahl Rossing, From Beneath Billows made their critically acclaimed debut album Evolve. Though the feedback for this underground release are few and far between, the reviews have one thing in common,- they are all exceptionally good.

Please support the band, and buy Evolve from one of these retailers:
              

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