Finnish dark metallers THE MAN EATING TREE recently announced the addition of singer Antti Kumpulainen. Drummer Vesa Ranta (ex-SENTENCED) has posted the following update via the band’s Facebook page:
“Our band has been working on a material for the third record for over a year now, with some very promising results. Few months ago, we went through all the material we’d already come up with and decided which songs we would continue with and would probably end up on the next THE MAN EATING TREE record. At the end of August we’re about to enter the studio. We’re excited and certain that once again we’ve found some new elements to enrich our music. In the studio we have also some new things going on, this time we´ll be working with the producer/musician Aksu Hanttu.
Describing our own music is always difficult, but you could say that our basic sound is getting somewhat heavier and more somber, but you still definitely recognize the old The Man-Eating Tree sound. Our new singer Antti Kumpulainen brings some new nuances to our sound. With him we´ve done more demo recordings than ever before. Here´s Antti sharing some thoughts about joining the band: “I knew that my long-time friend Janne had this new band and I’d heard both Vine and Harvest and really liked the atmosphere there was. But what I didn’t know was that The Man-Eating Tree were looking for a new singer. So after a brief discussion with the members of the band it became very clear that I wanted to be a part of TMET. I’ve always been into music that has the light and the shade in it, some kind of “the beauty and the beast”-mentality. For me, music and lyrics together create an atmosphere that’s passionate, cathartic, beautiful, somber. Some sort of emotional passage which eventually will become cathartic. I have various musical inspirations, DEFTONES, NINE INCH NAILS, ALICE IN CHAINS, CULT OF LUNA, KATATONIA, PORTISHEAD, and A PERFECT CIRCLE to name some. But my main inspiration comes from the highs and the lows of our everyday lives”.
“THE MAN-EATING TREE WILL CONTINUE AS A QUINTET
Like I told you before, for the last year our band has been working hard with the new material. At the same time our keyboardist Heidi Määttä was studying elsewhere in Finland. After her studies she felt that she´s no longer part of our band and therefore could not continue. There´s no drama, we just grew apart, that´s all. The Man-Eating Tree wants to thank Heidi for everything and wishes all the best for her.
That´s all for now. We´ll be back with more news when the studio session begins, which is very, very soon…
THE MAN-EATING TREE’s last album was Harvest, which was released in European territories by Century Media in late 2011.