Link
Answered by Henri, Ville and Marko
Whoever might have heard the previous recordings of Moonsorrow, i.e. the demos ”Metsä” and ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi”, cannot miss quite a difference between them and the album. The reason for this is simple - time.
- That demo was more or less exceptional; there was too much of that black metal -stuff on it, lectures Henri, the man behind most of the compositional work in the band.
- Enslaved-stuff, points out Tarwonen - the group’s drummer.
- Well, there’s a little bit of that, too.
- A little...? A pinch, perhaps.
- Anyway, after the demo we concentrated on some new songs. I made some ten new songs, but they appeared to be too similar to the demo material and so I just discarded them all and begun composing a bit different songs. Like thos with which we started - slightly slower and not that blasting. More like...
- Quorthon, Tarwonen fills in.
- So there it eventually came from, laughs Henri.
- So then we made songs, got a deal from Plasmatica Records from Sweden and the rest is history. We left for Kemi to record the album.
Indeed - in the beginning of a hellishly cold February the trio stepped into the (in-)famous Tico-Tico Studio of Kemi to work with their debut album. Of the colourful journey we are enlightened by the band’s fresh reinforcement, a man also involved in e.g. Gorewinter: Baron Tarwonen.
- There was this priest. The priest didn’t like us - and neither we did like him. The priest finished second... so much for the priest. But there were good flicks. Braveheart!
How did Braveheart inspire you in the recording process?
- Just guess! ’twas a remarkable source of feeling. The situation is this: we leave Helsinki for Kemi where the temperature is some -60 degrees. A town where nothing happens. Then we go to somewhere to rent Braveheart, so how much could that inspire in the next day’s studio sessions - go ahead and ask.
Ok. In Kemi you can watch Braveheart and get inspiration, what else?
- I asked the guys of Thyrane of what could we do here. And then we boozed, Henri laughs.
- It was a nice time in the studio, but otherwise it was extremely boring there, lectures Ville who is responsible for the vocals, reliefed of that the task is over.
- The good side of it was that there were no other activities which would’ve disturbed. Now we concentrated efficiently on the recording process. We also boozed, of course.
- We drank with the guys of Thyrane and watched an Immortal-video. That was great! We also watched some live shootage of Primal Fear...
- The singer had blue jeans that were tighter than life itself, recalls Tarwonen.
- Tighter than life itself...?
- Well, life’s at times quite tight.
Enough for confessions about life and its tightness, for you know, at times you even have to drill into the matter. Nine days in studio under the supervision of Ahti Kortelainen and ”Suden Uni” is the title of the band’s first full-length album. Can you be satisfied with it?
- Plain shit, Ville states abruptly, but soon bursts into laughter.
- Not really, it’s just as goos as we were capable of at the moment. The next album will be much better.
- It will be a killer, Henri confirms.
- At this point I have to say that Ahti really knew his business. There were six days for the recordings, two for the mixing and one for the mastering. Should we say that the drum parts were ready already on the second day.
- Yeah, and the rest of the time I was just hanging out in the studio, drinking beer and laughed at the others, laughs the meritorious drummer at the studio sessions.
What did Ahti like the material he was recording then?
- Ahti wanted to play Jaws there somewhere, but we voted that idea out.
- In fact Ahti liked it.
- He didn’t even have to take his grandmother’s picture forth. So there for the musicians.
- Play better, boys. Anyway... let’s say that we’re responsible for the productional side of the album ourselves.
So satisfied of the result they were that the time for the recordings of the next album is already reserved from Tico. Next summer the band is returning to Kemi.
A funny anecdote: There was a table in the studio on which several guests had wrote their messages, among others certain Henri Sorvali: ”Learn to play the accordion - I can”. Over all these signatures there was written with a thick, black ink pen: ”Fuck you all, wishes Impaled Nazarene!”
- They made their point clear.
A band that claims to play epic folk metal and sings in the Finnish language sounds pretty interesting. Fully serious they claim to be anyway and after having listened to the album I sure believe that.
- Bathory stopped making those viking albums and Moonsorrow is here to replace them, the drummer states boldly with a less serious approach. Or not.
- This is a completely reasonable band - no pointless joking, Henri continues from the idea.
- Based on that we make music which is based on good metal and with which we mix a bit of folk music influences.
So there is a point within the band?
- There is a point within the band. We represent the pre-christian way of thinking - let’s put it this way. And because this pre-christian way of thinking fits the music. These influences we mix thus derive from the same era. So in a way they - music and lyrics - walk hand in hand.
- A metal band we are for certain. Yeah, there’s accordion and such, but that’s just a spice. It has that different shade - hopefully due to that we’re something different than anyone else in this country.
When they were in Kemi after all and already boozed with the guys of Thyrane, those guys had to end up visiting on the album, right?
- Correct. When other bands always take these ”special guest vocals by Blastmor of Thyrane”, we have ”special handclapsquad”. That is, Avather and Blastmor of Thyrane are clapping on our album.
There were still other visitors in the studio to bring their own little spice on the record, namely Janne Perttilä of Circus Of Flesh was in the scenes for two days. His part on the album is a share of the pompous choir on the last proper track. Four singers, everyone of whom used four tracks. A big choir.
Braveheart = Total Bal-Sagoth + Freedom
When there’s a track called ”Köyliönjärven Jäällä” (On The Ice Of Köyliönjärvi) on the album, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess of what this band is singing about. Of mystic journeys into the cosmos, obviously. I however let the lyrical genius of the band - the Moonsorrow himself - Ville to stand behind his acts himself. What in the world are your lyrics about?
- The subject is this little fight between christians and heathens. I simply get pissed off when thinking how the christians cruelly demolished all heathen cultures, that of Finland including. Every once in a while it gnaws my mind and I have to write about it. But there are others too, like nature, which is a nice subject.
The last actual track on the album before the outro carries the title ”1065: Aika” (1065: Time), so what’s the message here?
- In 1065 there was a battle on the bridge of Stamford which is written into the books of history as the battle where the vikings eventually were defeated by the christians. Although also vikings were already rather christian at the time. This song is symbolizing the final demise of the vikings. I added it to the context because vikings are a well-known heathen culture and it symbolizes well how the christians crushed all pagans from Europe and elsewhere too.
- You won’t find Satan from our album, Tarwonen declares.
In addition there is a short résumé of what the song is about in English by the lyrics.
And what does it sound like
Bathory, Enslaved, Slayer, Einherjer, Emperor, Gorewinter... Must’ve I asked of good bands - the list is almost endless. If we don’t directly count the grandest musical influences but more like the best bands of all time according to personal musical taste, can you name the tight top three?
- Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Slayer... I can’t say that they are the three best, but three of the best, Ville ponders.
- King Crimson, Kiss, Morbid Angel, Tarwonen slams without hesitation.
- Cannibal Corpse, Bal-Sagoth and King Crimson. Those are my three best, says Henri.
When good bands are listed and the spectrum is rather vast, the lads haven’t limited to one band themselves either. We can find all stuff from 80’s thrash via proge to blacker metal: Gorewinter, Luokkasota, Circus Of Flesh, May Withers, Finntroll, Panösvyö, Kuha., etc. There’s a couple of the projects or bands where the members of Moonsorrow are involved in at current.
What about the influences then?
- Bathory is a great band. I must say that without Bathory Moonsorrow wouldn’t sound like this. Very unlikely we would’ve invented anything like this ourselves. But we invented the accordion.
- Henri got the idea of featuring the accordion on our album, although I disagreed with it at first. And Ahti disagreed.
Moonsorrow is one of those few(?) metal combos who end up featuring - on some tracks even as a rather dominating instrument - the accordion on their album. Tell the accordion story? How did a real accordion end up on your album?
- It was found in the studio. I practised to play it. It was like half an hour and I was ready.
At the moment the debut album of Moonsorrow is almost half a year late due to whatever reasons. Thus the members of the band hope it will be released before they get together for recording their next album. Despite of this fact the band has already appeared on four gigs. Has playing unfamiliar material been difficult considering the audience? How has the audience reacted to you and how have the gigs gone in general?
- Well, the first gig was at West Coast Holocaust IV at Turku and that was an obvious first gig. Pretty terrible. After that there was a gig in Tavastia in April and that went clearly better. The music has actually caught some people and some have even arrived to see us in particular.
- The third gig was an absolute catastrophe at Ragnarock II and we never leave for Turku again. We didn’t get the chance for a soundcheck although we were promised to, we got no money and even no food. On the top of it all we played at three o’clock at night when there were only six very drunken fellows in the audience.
- The Nosturi gig with a new intro made by Henri was a pretty nice one, although once again we couldn’t play the whole set - for the playing must end at two o’clock precisely. But one day we’re gonna play that Merciless-cover.
Which is conveniently ”Back To North”. Due to an unconditional request by the drummer, old demo material will be added into the set. ”Hvergelmir” from the first demo will propably be left out and what’s under rehearsing now is the epic from the second demo, ”Taistelu Pohjolasta”.
Last words of wisdom. If the wolf was Moonsorrow, which album would it be?
- Blood on ice!, sounds the answer with not a moment of hesitation.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Agonia Zine / August 2000
Link
Answered by Ville Sorvali
Greetings Ville. Your debut album is finally out. How can you describe its music to people who have never listened to Moonsorrow?
[Ville] Heathen greetings! If there are people who have never listened to Moonsorrow, they should be aware that what they have missed is an epic blend of metals (the subgenres named "heavy" and "black", particularly) with influences from Finnish folk music, somewhat reminiscent of Bathory but still something they have never heard before. Bombastic heathen metal, as we have ended up calling it.
Plasmatica Rec. is the publisher of the album. Why did you decide to sign a contract just with this label?
[Ville] Why not? They had proven themselves reliable prior to the contract negotiations, they really liked our music, they really wanted to sign us and they offered us a good deal. Still it was only a one-album deal and who knows where we're heading next.
Earlier, you were supporting Moonsorrow youself. It is Plasmatica's job now. Are you satisfaied with what they are doing for the band?
[Ville] I must say I'm pretty satisfied. Plasmatica is a small company with a limited budget, but they really work for their bands with as much promotion as they can bear. Their touch is professional and I certainly believe they'll get further with time. Also with this kind of a small label the business is honest and pretty close to friendship. Yes, the album was delayed, but in the last hand it wasn't the label's fault.
Returning to your music: as for me it's something between Bathory (epic) & Einherjer. Would you agree with me?
[Ville] Yeah, to an extent I could agree with that because the connections between our music and the abovementioned bands are clear. Still there is much more in our music and simple comparisons can never describe it entirely. It can sound a bit like Bathory or Einherjer or whatever but it's Moonsorrow. I'd be happy if all people could listen to our music themselves and build their own conceptions, to personally decide whether we're extremely unoriginal or not.
What about your music and non-music inspirations?
[Ville] I listen to a lot of different music, mostly metal but also a great deal of classical, folk, prog, rock, synth music and perhaps everything else than that crap you usually hear on MTV. Just a handful of my absolute fave bands are Bathory, Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Iron Maiden, Emperor, The Doors, Katatonia, Morbid Angel and Nordman, without forgetting all the great composers like Bach and Dvorak. All of them in all their greatness have given me an inspiration to (try to) write music, but it's just the inspiration I get from listening to good music and not any guidelines in what vein to compose, of course. Outmusically my biggest influence is undoubtably nature, and I also am very fascinated about history, folklore, mythology and various works in literature and pictoral arts. Mel Gibson rules too.
What is the reason for your music is so folkish? Are your native roots very important in your life & music?
[Ville] It was our idea since the formation of Moonsorrow to combine folk music with metal, and during the years the presence of the folkish influences just grew more and more obvious. And that's how we like it. What comes to the part of our native roots, our music would really be something different if we were born in Nigeria or Malesia instead of Finland. Not only the folkish side would be different but also the whole atmosphere of the music, because -you can tell it, can't you- in every aspect our music is rather distinquishably Finnish. Umm yeah, we're proud to be the rough northmen we are but that really has nothing to do with nationalism.
I was really surprised when I heard accordian on "Suden Uni".... in such music. I have to admit it fits excellent...
[Ville] To arrange parts for accordion in the first hand was Henri's idea, and I have to admit I was a bit sceptic towards it at first. When he recorded the accordion on the sequencer "demo tracks", I was amazed indeed how it fit our music. The plan was to play the accordion from the synthesizer - we had no accordion and none of us could play it anyway - but when there was this old instrument found in the studio, Henri rehearsed a few hours and eventually played those parts with it!
But your music is also very epic. It has some war spirit inside. Can you tell us something about it?
[Ville] Just as with the folk music thing, it was the very idea to make some very epic music. It simply is how we like it. There is a great deal of war spirit inside Moonsorrow - our symbolic "call to arms" for a new pagan age to come - but it's not a hail to war itself.
What about are your texts?
[Ville] Hmmm, about a half of our published lyrics involve the schism between pagans and christians in various ways, as it is a topic very close to me on emotional level. The other half is more -should I say- positive with themes like nature, home, pagan beliefs and such; always something that matters to us. There is not a general theme for Moonsorrow's lyrics, but they are all related to paganism for sure.
All in all what was the reason why you decided to start with a band & to play music just like that?
[Ville] We just love music and we love to play it, it's in our blood! Basically because of that we've been forming countless bands and projects since 10 years of age. Moonsorrow just grew the most important of them because it is something that we have always wanted to do the most and sincerely believed in; the music, the lyrics, everything is born in the deepest of our hearts.
The way to record this debut album wasn't too easy. Your first album had o be realased already in 1998. What was the reason for this delay? It was finally realased as a demo tape.
[Ville] "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" (the recording in question) was actually all along meant to be a demo tape. We didn't feel even close to prepared for a debut album back then, even though we had 3 demos (2 of which unreleased though) behind us already. Yep, it should've been released in 1998, but we experienced some minor difficulties in the recording process... at times the studio we had booked was already reserved (what an organization!), at times there was some equipment missing and finally our half-ready master tape was destroyed twice! However, we managed to complete "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" just a year delayed, and it shortly became the demo that earned us the record contract.
"Tama Ikuinen Talvi" was realased by your own label & by Russian Metal Agen. Was it your own idea?
[Ville] Originally "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was only released by Meat Hook Productions, our own do-it-yourself label. Soon we started to choose labels where to send the tape with means to explore their willingness to sign us (we eventually felt ready for a debut album), and it was then when Metal Agen stepped into the picture. They had insufficient resources for signing us, but they offered a Russian release of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" instead. The people in Russia have a harsher economy anyway and we could never be able to produce copies of the tape with so low expenses that we could offer the Russians some reasonable prices. That's why we sold a lisence to Metal Agen, limiting to the borders of Russia.
How do audience take on your music? What about your reviews?
[Ville] So far it seems that people like what we're doing, and there seems to be a general interest towards our band in the underground. Nothing special to hype about, but at least we're not neglected. Most of the feedback we have received is positive and the strictly negative reviews can be counted with the fingers you possess. Most bands can say this, I know; the people who hate a our music don't have any particular reasons to tell us their opinions, so we won't ever know how many of them are around.
Are you good musicans? How long do you play instruments? Your cousin seems to be versatil musican...
[Ville] Yeah, my cousin is one Hel of a talent. He has been playing keyboards since 4 years of age, guitar since his early teens, also the bass and the drums for some years and he's able to learn any new instrument (like the accordion) within a reasonably short time. His whole comprehensive and high school time was firmly connected with music, and at current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatory in a higher musical education. Then, I am a totally different issue: I have never had a considerable musical education, apart from some short periods of instrument lessons and some optional stuff at school, and I've been playing the bass with some aims for only a year and a half (I started the bass at the same time with the drums, some 7 years ago, but I dropped it shortly). But at least I can play what is demanded, and could that be too little?
There are three another musicans in Moonsorrow. (beside you & your cousin). Tell us something about them.
[Ville] Yeah, our third official member is Baron Tarwonen, he who rules the thunder of Moonsorrow; a skilled, accurate and fast drummer whose style of playing really fits our music. He's been playing the drums for some 15 years, most of that time under professional guidance, and he also has a few years' experience in the guitar. The first of the two session members we use in live situations is Shadow, a talented guitar player and certainly an educated one. The other is Lord Eurén, our self-taught session keymaster who can also name the strings of the guitar.
What is your opinion on the Finnish scene these days? Why do you think there are so many bands in Finland, especially considering it's population?
[Ville] Why does everyone ask this question? Well, the Finnish scene -as I think all the "scenes"- has it's good and bad sides, nothing so special. There are great bands who'd deserve "breaking through" to the outside world, there are rockstars who have already done that and last but not least there is the endless stream of unskilled basement groups who'd better find another hobby... The great number of bands around here just proves that music, and especially metal music, is in the blood of the Finnish people - or could it be that some people just have too much money and nothing else to do?
You also run a small label & fanzine. Which bands did you publish 'till now?
[Ville] Actually Meat Hook Productions and Meathooked 'zine were originally developed by Henri, but soon it happened that I had taken them under my supreme control (uhh yeah). The bands whose material - and that means demos only - I/we have released are Ahti, Mikhail Atom, Gorewinter, Kharadrai, Lunar Womb, Masturbory, Moonsorrow, Nekroaaltouuni, Solar Tomb, Terrorthrone, Thornfrost, Unhola, Urospuu and Woods Of Belial. Respectively I have operated in 7 of these projects and Henri in 8 of them.
What can you tell us about your future plans?
[Ville] Only that there are nothing specified as "future plans". We are just hoping to play some gigs and to create some outstanding material for our next full-length and other possible releases. Nothing but beer is certain.
Thanx for you answers. It's time for yur final words...
[Ville] No need to thank me, just raise your ale-horn and pledge to the gods!
Answered by Ville Sorvali
Greetings Ville. Your debut album is finally out. How can you describe its music to people who have never listened to Moonsorrow?
[Ville] Heathen greetings! If there are people who have never listened to Moonsorrow, they should be aware that what they have missed is an epic blend of metals (the subgenres named "heavy" and "black", particularly) with influences from Finnish folk music, somewhat reminiscent of Bathory but still something they have never heard before. Bombastic heathen metal, as we have ended up calling it.
Plasmatica Rec. is the publisher of the album. Why did you decide to sign a contract just with this label?
[Ville] Why not? They had proven themselves reliable prior to the contract negotiations, they really liked our music, they really wanted to sign us and they offered us a good deal. Still it was only a one-album deal and who knows where we're heading next.
Earlier, you were supporting Moonsorrow youself. It is Plasmatica's job now. Are you satisfaied with what they are doing for the band?
[Ville] I must say I'm pretty satisfied. Plasmatica is a small company with a limited budget, but they really work for their bands with as much promotion as they can bear. Their touch is professional and I certainly believe they'll get further with time. Also with this kind of a small label the business is honest and pretty close to friendship. Yes, the album was delayed, but in the last hand it wasn't the label's fault.
Returning to your music: as for me it's something between Bathory (epic) & Einherjer. Would you agree with me?
[Ville] Yeah, to an extent I could agree with that because the connections between our music and the abovementioned bands are clear. Still there is much more in our music and simple comparisons can never describe it entirely. It can sound a bit like Bathory or Einherjer or whatever but it's Moonsorrow. I'd be happy if all people could listen to our music themselves and build their own conceptions, to personally decide whether we're extremely unoriginal or not.
What about your music and non-music inspirations?
[Ville] I listen to a lot of different music, mostly metal but also a great deal of classical, folk, prog, rock, synth music and perhaps everything else than that crap you usually hear on MTV. Just a handful of my absolute fave bands are Bathory, Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Iron Maiden, Emperor, The Doors, Katatonia, Morbid Angel and Nordman, without forgetting all the great composers like Bach and Dvorak. All of them in all their greatness have given me an inspiration to (try to) write music, but it's just the inspiration I get from listening to good music and not any guidelines in what vein to compose, of course. Outmusically my biggest influence is undoubtably nature, and I also am very fascinated about history, folklore, mythology and various works in literature and pictoral arts. Mel Gibson rules too.
What is the reason for your music is so folkish? Are your native roots very important in your life & music?
[Ville] It was our idea since the formation of Moonsorrow to combine folk music with metal, and during the years the presence of the folkish influences just grew more and more obvious. And that's how we like it. What comes to the part of our native roots, our music would really be something different if we were born in Nigeria or Malesia instead of Finland. Not only the folkish side would be different but also the whole atmosphere of the music, because -you can tell it, can't you- in every aspect our music is rather distinquishably Finnish. Umm yeah, we're proud to be the rough northmen we are but that really has nothing to do with nationalism.
I was really surprised when I heard accordian on "Suden Uni".... in such music. I have to admit it fits excellent...
[Ville] To arrange parts for accordion in the first hand was Henri's idea, and I have to admit I was a bit sceptic towards it at first. When he recorded the accordion on the sequencer "demo tracks", I was amazed indeed how it fit our music. The plan was to play the accordion from the synthesizer - we had no accordion and none of us could play it anyway - but when there was this old instrument found in the studio, Henri rehearsed a few hours and eventually played those parts with it!
But your music is also very epic. It has some war spirit inside. Can you tell us something about it?
[Ville] Just as with the folk music thing, it was the very idea to make some very epic music. It simply is how we like it. There is a great deal of war spirit inside Moonsorrow - our symbolic "call to arms" for a new pagan age to come - but it's not a hail to war itself.
What about are your texts?
[Ville] Hmmm, about a half of our published lyrics involve the schism between pagans and christians in various ways, as it is a topic very close to me on emotional level. The other half is more -should I say- positive with themes like nature, home, pagan beliefs and such; always something that matters to us. There is not a general theme for Moonsorrow's lyrics, but they are all related to paganism for sure.
All in all what was the reason why you decided to start with a band & to play music just like that?
[Ville] We just love music and we love to play it, it's in our blood! Basically because of that we've been forming countless bands and projects since 10 years of age. Moonsorrow just grew the most important of them because it is something that we have always wanted to do the most and sincerely believed in; the music, the lyrics, everything is born in the deepest of our hearts.
The way to record this debut album wasn't too easy. Your first album had o be realased already in 1998. What was the reason for this delay? It was finally realased as a demo tape.
[Ville] "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" (the recording in question) was actually all along meant to be a demo tape. We didn't feel even close to prepared for a debut album back then, even though we had 3 demos (2 of which unreleased though) behind us already. Yep, it should've been released in 1998, but we experienced some minor difficulties in the recording process... at times the studio we had booked was already reserved (what an organization!), at times there was some equipment missing and finally our half-ready master tape was destroyed twice! However, we managed to complete "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" just a year delayed, and it shortly became the demo that earned us the record contract.
"Tama Ikuinen Talvi" was realased by your own label & by Russian Metal Agen. Was it your own idea?
[Ville] Originally "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was only released by Meat Hook Productions, our own do-it-yourself label. Soon we started to choose labels where to send the tape with means to explore their willingness to sign us (we eventually felt ready for a debut album), and it was then when Metal Agen stepped into the picture. They had insufficient resources for signing us, but they offered a Russian release of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" instead. The people in Russia have a harsher economy anyway and we could never be able to produce copies of the tape with so low expenses that we could offer the Russians some reasonable prices. That's why we sold a lisence to Metal Agen, limiting to the borders of Russia.
How do audience take on your music? What about your reviews?
[Ville] So far it seems that people like what we're doing, and there seems to be a general interest towards our band in the underground. Nothing special to hype about, but at least we're not neglected. Most of the feedback we have received is positive and the strictly negative reviews can be counted with the fingers you possess. Most bands can say this, I know; the people who hate a our music don't have any particular reasons to tell us their opinions, so we won't ever know how many of them are around.
Are you good musicans? How long do you play instruments? Your cousin seems to be versatil musican...
[Ville] Yeah, my cousin is one Hel of a talent. He has been playing keyboards since 4 years of age, guitar since his early teens, also the bass and the drums for some years and he's able to learn any new instrument (like the accordion) within a reasonably short time. His whole comprehensive and high school time was firmly connected with music, and at current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatory in a higher musical education. Then, I am a totally different issue: I have never had a considerable musical education, apart from some short periods of instrument lessons and some optional stuff at school, and I've been playing the bass with some aims for only a year and a half (I started the bass at the same time with the drums, some 7 years ago, but I dropped it shortly). But at least I can play what is demanded, and could that be too little?
There are three another musicans in Moonsorrow. (beside you & your cousin). Tell us something about them.
[Ville] Yeah, our third official member is Baron Tarwonen, he who rules the thunder of Moonsorrow; a skilled, accurate and fast drummer whose style of playing really fits our music. He's been playing the drums for some 15 years, most of that time under professional guidance, and he also has a few years' experience in the guitar. The first of the two session members we use in live situations is Shadow, a talented guitar player and certainly an educated one. The other is Lord Eurén, our self-taught session keymaster who can also name the strings of the guitar.
What is your opinion on the Finnish scene these days? Why do you think there are so many bands in Finland, especially considering it's population?
[Ville] Why does everyone ask this question? Well, the Finnish scene -as I think all the "scenes"- has it's good and bad sides, nothing so special. There are great bands who'd deserve "breaking through" to the outside world, there are rockstars who have already done that and last but not least there is the endless stream of unskilled basement groups who'd better find another hobby... The great number of bands around here just proves that music, and especially metal music, is in the blood of the Finnish people - or could it be that some people just have too much money and nothing else to do?
You also run a small label & fanzine. Which bands did you publish 'till now?
[Ville] Actually Meat Hook Productions and Meathooked 'zine were originally developed by Henri, but soon it happened that I had taken them under my supreme control (uhh yeah). The bands whose material - and that means demos only - I/we have released are Ahti, Mikhail Atom, Gorewinter, Kharadrai, Lunar Womb, Masturbory, Moonsorrow, Nekroaaltouuni, Solar Tomb, Terrorthrone, Thornfrost, Unhola, Urospuu and Woods Of Belial. Respectively I have operated in 7 of these projects and Henri in 8 of them.
What can you tell us about your future plans?
[Ville] Only that there are nothing specified as "future plans". We are just hoping to play some gigs and to create some outstanding material for our next full-length and other possible releases. Nothing but beer is certain.
Thanx for you answers. It's time for yur final words...
[Ville] No need to thank me, just raise your ale-horn and pledge to the gods!
Black Art Zine / July 2000
Link
Answered by Ville Sorvali
hi...how's life goin there?
[Ville] Hello yourself and thanks for asking! It’s a warm and sunny day out here and I just got home from work. Now I’m sitting under the smiling sun answering this interview with some relaxing Hades Almighty playing in my walkman...
a boring but necessary question:can u give us some info bout the history of MOONSORROW??ur releases,members etc...
[Ville] Alright, so the saga of Moonsorrow begun in 1995 when I and Henri got together for another project. Back then we didn’t expect it developing into a serious band, but as it obviously was something we have always wanted to do, things just happened. (Theoretically) we have 5 recordings by now: ”Thorns Of Ice” demo 1996, ”Metsä” demo 1997, promotape 1997, ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” demo 1999 and ”Suden Uni” album 2000. ”Thorns Of Ice” and the promotape were however never released because of severe failures. Up to 1999 we had only 2 members - Ville Seponpoika Sorvali (bass/vocals) and Henri Urponpoika Sorvali (guitars/keyboards) - but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” Baron Tarwonen (drums) arrived to strengthen our line-up.
ur last album TAMA IKUINEN TALVI is very dark and melancholic.can u talk bout the general style and the lyrics??
[Ville] The general style of Moonsorrow is heathen metal, and although the main ingredients in our formula (bombastic metal and folk music) have always remained the same, we have managed to vary our music enough on every release. Almost exceptionally ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is perhaps as blackish as we will ever get. Our greatest influences may have been Bathory, Enslaved and Emperor, but I’d say that we sound more like Moonsorrow than a copy of anyone.
The atmosphere of the music is supported by the lyrics, which are also very heathenish, and perhaps the most commonly handled topic has been the battling against christians in medieval Finland. The lyrics are mostly written in an indirect and poetic style, leaving room for interpretations, nowadays also almost unexceptionally in Finnish language (on ”Suden Uni” there is though an English frame story to each song).
why did u choose to live with BLACK METAL?????
[Ville] Even though there may be certain parellels between Moonsorrow’s music and black metal, Moonsorrow has nothing to do with black metal itself. Moonsorrow lives and breathes heathen metal exclusively.
as we read in the cover of tama...MOONSORROW only consists of 2 members:u and henri.what r the advantages and disadvantages of this???
[Ville] As I already mentioned, Moonsorrow did consist of two members until 1999 but the temptation of using live drumming drove us to invite Baron Tarwonen into our line-up (before him we worked with a drum computer, that is). The primary advantage of being a duo was that it was easier to achieve unanimity in completing the songs, and another advantage was that it wasn’t so hard to arrange rehearsals or recording sessions when there were only two people to appear. I however don’t consider things much more difficult now when we are a trio; Baron Tarwonen is musically quite on the same lines as we when it comes to Moonsorrow, so completing songs doesn’t contain much arguing, and actually the results are even better than previously. And it still isn’t impossible to get all the three of us to a same place at a same time, it just demands a little arranging. Moreover, an additional advantage of this line-up is that we now have one more adjustable unit at rehearsals. The ultimate disadvantage of these kind of small line-ups is obviously the limited possibility of playing live, but as we have two session members (Shadow from Tyrant and Lord Eurén from Gorewinter) in frequent use, there are no such problems.
does the weather of there effect u too much?? I ask this question because the deepest anddarkest black metal bands r mostly from SCANDINAVIAN countries.
[Ville] Without actually being Nordic Moonsorrow wouldn’t ever sound so Nordic, that’s for certain, but it’s not just about the weather. We all have a long Finnish bloodline that subconsciously reflects in the music we make, together with the influence of our beautiful nature creating the ultimate Moonsorrow-sound and its Fennoheathenish surroundings. The freezing winters (and the warm summers) are of course inspirational, but as we live on the south coast we don’t get much of the the extremities of the Finnish weather.
what other things inspire u??
[Ville] For me the biggest outmusical inspirational source must be nature, but I am also very fascinated about primaeval cultures, history, legends and all that stuff. The strongest force that drives me to write music however is simply my love for music (and my need for self-expression). Earlier certain other bands inspired me very very much but nowadays I just concentrate on Moonsorrow itself.
let's turn back to talk bout albums...ur releases r distrubuted by ur own distro:meathook productions.r u gonna get in touch with bigger companies???
[Ville] Meat Hook Productions is just our small d.i.y. demo label having no business-alike relevance, and it would’ve been the same if we had released the demos without a namely label behind them. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we got in touch with some bigger companies with the hope to obtain a record contract for Moonsorrow, and eventually we were approached by four relevant labels. Then, after serious considering we signed a deal with Plasmatica Records for one album.
when's the next album comin??
[Ville] Well, we already recorded it in February 2000 and it should be out by the time I’m writing this (July). Everyone interested can ask for it either from Plasmatica or from us.
will it be too different from tama...??we hope not:)
[Ville] No, it is in no way too different. Perhaps surprising because of the slower overall tempo, the ever-growing folkish influences, the utter bombast and the tighter playing, but it definitely is Moonsorrow. If there are people who can’t accept our development, it’s their loss. This is how we wanted it to sound all along.
have u had musical education and can we have ur opinion bout this ???
[Ville] I am just an amateur and most of what I know about music is self-taught. As a kid I played the piano under a teacher’s supervision for about a year, but then I got fed up with it which is unfortunate because I would be grateful for that skill now. Later on I got interested in the guitar (as everyone else did) but I never learned to play it, and about at the age of 13 came the drums and the bass. I soon forsake the bass and chose to concentrate on the drums, and at the age of 16 I even took lessons for a year. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” I got more interested in the bass again and started to rehearse by myself with the hope of learning something someday.
The other members of Moonsorrow are more musical, though; Henri has taken piano lessons since the age of 4 (yes, he is a hell of a keyboardist now) and he has also been playing the guitar for long, mostly by himself though. He also has little training in the bass and the drums and he is more or less able to learn any instrument within a reasonable time (as he learned to play the accordion in a few hours in the studio). At current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatorium in a full-day musical education. Baron has played the drums for 15 years now, 13 of which in the conservatorium, and also he has played the guitar for several years. In my opinion musical education is a great bonus, but it isn’t totally necessary if you know how to improve your skills by yourself.
there's a new style called :millenium black metal which's represented by THE KOVENANT.DO U respect this new style??
[Ville] I couldn’t care less about what others are doing. I think that The Kovenant is just another rider on the industrial trend wave and not even a good one, but it’s really their shame. They admit they’re doing it for money and I respect that.
and ville ,u have got a distro called meathook productions .r there promising bands that'll take the old bands' thrones??
[Ville] In my explorations to the underground I have confronted many good bands (yet even more terrible ones), and I can assure that there will always be fresh newcomers who can inherit the mantle of the older bands. Of course there is no match for Slayer or Bal-Sagoth, but at least Neglected Fields can hold up to the quality of Atheist and we can take over Bathory, ehh...?
what would u like to say else???
[Ville] Thank you extensively for this interview and keep the pagan flame burning bright!!!
Answered by Ville Sorvali
hi...how's life goin there?
[Ville] Hello yourself and thanks for asking! It’s a warm and sunny day out here and I just got home from work. Now I’m sitting under the smiling sun answering this interview with some relaxing Hades Almighty playing in my walkman...
a boring but necessary question:can u give us some info bout the history of MOONSORROW??ur releases,members etc...
[Ville] Alright, so the saga of Moonsorrow begun in 1995 when I and Henri got together for another project. Back then we didn’t expect it developing into a serious band, but as it obviously was something we have always wanted to do, things just happened. (Theoretically) we have 5 recordings by now: ”Thorns Of Ice” demo 1996, ”Metsä” demo 1997, promotape 1997, ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” demo 1999 and ”Suden Uni” album 2000. ”Thorns Of Ice” and the promotape were however never released because of severe failures. Up to 1999 we had only 2 members - Ville Seponpoika Sorvali (bass/vocals) and Henri Urponpoika Sorvali (guitars/keyboards) - but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” Baron Tarwonen (drums) arrived to strengthen our line-up.
ur last album TAMA IKUINEN TALVI is very dark and melancholic.can u talk bout the general style and the lyrics??
[Ville] The general style of Moonsorrow is heathen metal, and although the main ingredients in our formula (bombastic metal and folk music) have always remained the same, we have managed to vary our music enough on every release. Almost exceptionally ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is perhaps as blackish as we will ever get. Our greatest influences may have been Bathory, Enslaved and Emperor, but I’d say that we sound more like Moonsorrow than a copy of anyone.
The atmosphere of the music is supported by the lyrics, which are also very heathenish, and perhaps the most commonly handled topic has been the battling against christians in medieval Finland. The lyrics are mostly written in an indirect and poetic style, leaving room for interpretations, nowadays also almost unexceptionally in Finnish language (on ”Suden Uni” there is though an English frame story to each song).
why did u choose to live with BLACK METAL?????
[Ville] Even though there may be certain parellels between Moonsorrow’s music and black metal, Moonsorrow has nothing to do with black metal itself. Moonsorrow lives and breathes heathen metal exclusively.
as we read in the cover of tama...MOONSORROW only consists of 2 members:u and henri.what r the advantages and disadvantages of this???
[Ville] As I already mentioned, Moonsorrow did consist of two members until 1999 but the temptation of using live drumming drove us to invite Baron Tarwonen into our line-up (before him we worked with a drum computer, that is). The primary advantage of being a duo was that it was easier to achieve unanimity in completing the songs, and another advantage was that it wasn’t so hard to arrange rehearsals or recording sessions when there were only two people to appear. I however don’t consider things much more difficult now when we are a trio; Baron Tarwonen is musically quite on the same lines as we when it comes to Moonsorrow, so completing songs doesn’t contain much arguing, and actually the results are even better than previously. And it still isn’t impossible to get all the three of us to a same place at a same time, it just demands a little arranging. Moreover, an additional advantage of this line-up is that we now have one more adjustable unit at rehearsals. The ultimate disadvantage of these kind of small line-ups is obviously the limited possibility of playing live, but as we have two session members (Shadow from Tyrant and Lord Eurén from Gorewinter) in frequent use, there are no such problems.
does the weather of there effect u too much?? I ask this question because the deepest anddarkest black metal bands r mostly from SCANDINAVIAN countries.
[Ville] Without actually being Nordic Moonsorrow wouldn’t ever sound so Nordic, that’s for certain, but it’s not just about the weather. We all have a long Finnish bloodline that subconsciously reflects in the music we make, together with the influence of our beautiful nature creating the ultimate Moonsorrow-sound and its Fennoheathenish surroundings. The freezing winters (and the warm summers) are of course inspirational, but as we live on the south coast we don’t get much of the the extremities of the Finnish weather.
what other things inspire u??
[Ville] For me the biggest outmusical inspirational source must be nature, but I am also very fascinated about primaeval cultures, history, legends and all that stuff. The strongest force that drives me to write music however is simply my love for music (and my need for self-expression). Earlier certain other bands inspired me very very much but nowadays I just concentrate on Moonsorrow itself.
let's turn back to talk bout albums...ur releases r distrubuted by ur own distro:meathook productions.r u gonna get in touch with bigger companies???
[Ville] Meat Hook Productions is just our small d.i.y. demo label having no business-alike relevance, and it would’ve been the same if we had released the demos without a namely label behind them. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we got in touch with some bigger companies with the hope to obtain a record contract for Moonsorrow, and eventually we were approached by four relevant labels. Then, after serious considering we signed a deal with Plasmatica Records for one album.
when's the next album comin??
[Ville] Well, we already recorded it in February 2000 and it should be out by the time I’m writing this (July). Everyone interested can ask for it either from Plasmatica or from us.
will it be too different from tama...??we hope not:)
[Ville] No, it is in no way too different. Perhaps surprising because of the slower overall tempo, the ever-growing folkish influences, the utter bombast and the tighter playing, but it definitely is Moonsorrow. If there are people who can’t accept our development, it’s their loss. This is how we wanted it to sound all along.
have u had musical education and can we have ur opinion bout this ???
[Ville] I am just an amateur and most of what I know about music is self-taught. As a kid I played the piano under a teacher’s supervision for about a year, but then I got fed up with it which is unfortunate because I would be grateful for that skill now. Later on I got interested in the guitar (as everyone else did) but I never learned to play it, and about at the age of 13 came the drums and the bass. I soon forsake the bass and chose to concentrate on the drums, and at the age of 16 I even took lessons for a year. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” I got more interested in the bass again and started to rehearse by myself with the hope of learning something someday.
The other members of Moonsorrow are more musical, though; Henri has taken piano lessons since the age of 4 (yes, he is a hell of a keyboardist now) and he has also been playing the guitar for long, mostly by himself though. He also has little training in the bass and the drums and he is more or less able to learn any instrument within a reasonable time (as he learned to play the accordion in a few hours in the studio). At current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatorium in a full-day musical education. Baron has played the drums for 15 years now, 13 of which in the conservatorium, and also he has played the guitar for several years. In my opinion musical education is a great bonus, but it isn’t totally necessary if you know how to improve your skills by yourself.
there's a new style called :millenium black metal which's represented by THE KOVENANT.DO U respect this new style??
[Ville] I couldn’t care less about what others are doing. I think that The Kovenant is just another rider on the industrial trend wave and not even a good one, but it’s really their shame. They admit they’re doing it for money and I respect that.
and ville ,u have got a distro called meathook productions .r there promising bands that'll take the old bands' thrones??
[Ville] In my explorations to the underground I have confronted many good bands (yet even more terrible ones), and I can assure that there will always be fresh newcomers who can inherit the mantle of the older bands. Of course there is no match for Slayer or Bal-Sagoth, but at least Neglected Fields can hold up to the quality of Atheist and we can take over Bathory, ehh...?
what would u like to say else???
[Ville] Thank you extensively for this interview and keep the pagan flame burning bright!!!
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