YLE (Finnish TV) / 3 March 2011

No link. Should be somewhere in yle.fi but I can't find it. Interview with Mitja and Ville in a Finnish morning TV program on YLE Aamu TV or whatever it's called, March 3rd 2011. English subtitles added by the very nice Youtube user kimmotapio83. 

TRANSCRIPTION

There plays the band that honours the traditions of Finnish metal, and makes reputation around the world. Welcome Mitja Harvilahti and Ville Sorvali.

Ville: Than you very much.

We'll return to world domiation in a while, but first let's sort out this music genre. You've been described as pagan, folk, and viking metal with references to 70s prog. Ville, how did this kind of genre blending happen?

Ville: That's quite a genre definition you got there.

I read it on Wikipedia.

Ville: Originally we just started to do metal music without thinking too much which genre it might fit in. Prog influences appeared along the way, and now you hear them there. But I wouldn't say we're any prog actually.

Explain to those who don't know what pagan metal means.

Ville: Pagan metal draws from pagan traditions, connection to nature and such. Myths are very important. The word "pagan" doesn't relate to music in itself. That's why it is a good name — you can do whatever music under it.

You've been a band since 1995 and now you released your sixth album, quite a gloomy one. You have moved from the historical world and the ice of Köyliönjärvi to the end of the world. Mitja, where does the inspiration come from to such forlorn music?

Mitja: It's an interesting theme that you can understand in many ways. Our last album dealt with the same theme, both universally and on a personal level. Then we started to think in which way we hould go with the new album and realized that there was a good continuation possibility. We didn't want to let go of the concept yet and the best way was to take it further on the new album. There's a lot of metaphors in it. You can understand it both in nowadays' world or on other levels. But perhaps the path is now travelled with that theme.

Then comes the new beginning. The news today told that the sixth mass extinction of species is currently at hand. Is this the sort of zeitgeist that the world is ending? Africa is falling apart and so on.

Ville: That is of course a good source of inspiration, what is happening today for example in Northern Africa [the Arab Spring]. I suppose the world is ending, bit by bit in some way, and on this album we envisioned what may possibly happen after the world has ended.

The sample showed that, although your music and lyrics are gloomy, it's however very beatiful music. How do you put this kind of conflict together?

Mitja: I think it's very easy. Conflicts in music and art are most important. The way to make anything more interesting is to have big contrasts. We have lots of influences from both folk music and really heavy metal. By combining them in the right way, they support one another, and you can create quite big themes because there's so much room in the music.

Really big themes, because your songs are more like "works" than just songs. The longest song in the new album is over 16 minutes.

Mitja: Around 2003, after the third album, we moved clearly from songs to works.

Why?

Mitja: The band had evolved into a point where it was easy to write long, epic structures. It was just natural evolution.

Your scheme of things doesn't fit in smaller packages?

Ville: No. Since childhood I've always been more fascinated with entities, rather than songs. As long as I can remember I've been a fan of 70's concept albums. There were a bit longer songs, longer works that entwine together. I'm with that school that thinks albums should just be listened from beginning to end. Individual songs don't count that much.

I personally see this as "listening music" that doesn't work as background music. You need to concentrate.

Mitja: If you try to listen to this in the car or while washing the dishes, it doesn't open up. I as a band member and also the fans say that the albums open up after several listenings, when you start to find songs. In a way I have to grow into the songs, because they're hard to figure by just one listen. A 15-minute giant easily goes in one ear and out of the other. After several listenings you learn to understand the entity better. Of course, it requires patience from the listener. Your way of listening has to be different from those who just listen to short pop songs as background music.

Let's listen to more music and concentrate for a while.

["Huuto" plays, although the title on screen says "Tähdetön", while studio footage is shown.]

This is footage compiled by Mitja. You've been here at YLE behind the camera at one point. Ville, I've heard that you did your vocals in some forest cabin and you had some sort of stronger drinks with you. Is this a normal working process?

Ville: The drinking part is normal, but this time we decided to do the vocals in the woods.

Why? Is it a source of inspiration?

Ville: Yeah. Maybe the most important thing is that, when you take a break, you can go to walk in the woods instead of smoking a cigarette in some industrial area's alley. There's a totally different feel to it in comparison.

That's a good argument. What's special about you i that you have great success around the world, although you sing in Finnish. How is this possible? How have you done it?

Mitja: I think you can't do it, it just happens if it has to happen. The fans found us around our first album. We noticed that most of the feedback came from abroad. We've never exported the band in any way. The fans discovered it through other channels. Our albums have always been bought abroad, but exporting and bringing out our music wasn't our starting point. We just concentrated in making music. But the fans found it and got interested in Finnish culture, music and language. And we've noticed that on gigs. For example, the first time we were in Hungary we noticed that the audience was singing along. A sort of Finland boom was clearly visible, and has continued for the last ten years.

Do they sing correctly or are they a sort of misheard lyrics?

Ville: Well, you can't hear it yourself when you're growling...

You should have a spy in the audience!

Ville: I guess they don't sing the actual words, but try anyway.

Mitja: In Hungary they do, but in America it was just obscure bawling.

There the language studies are a little behind. You're about to tour Europe with the Paganfest festival. Tell us a bit about that.

Mitja: Paganfest has toured since 2008. It's more of a touring festival than a tour. It gathers bands together that have folk music and folkclore influences.

Hey, you got a task in our music relay! Matti esko sent you greetings that you should do a folk metal version of "Rekkamies".

Mitja: It's in the works.

Will Matti Esko do a guest performance?

Ville: We haven't decided yet. That might be a good idea.

He could pull a growl there. Music relay of course continues. Next Tuesday we have Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom. He's a legendary man too. You have a bit more exciting greeting for him.

Mitja: Yes. Alexi has had some bad accidents on tours. A couple of years ago he fell down from the top bunk of the bus and broke his shoulder, so we have this "Alexi Laiho survival kit" that hopefully will save him from future accidents.

Ville: For a safer tour life.

We are not revealing yet what's inside the box until next Tuesday. Let's say, though, that it has n exciting colour and that it's bigger than the box suggests. Have an amazing and successful tour!

Transcribed on January 26th 2021. Transcribing from Finnish had never been so easy, thanks again to the person who did the subtitles. Side note: Alexi Laiho died earlier this month.

Rock the nation / March 2011

Interview with Henri (plus special cameo appearance by Mitja) conducted by Audrey Dujardin in the beginning of March 2011, during the fourth European Paganfest, apparently for the promotion agency Rock The Nation. The background music is Varg. Sense? I also think it makes none...

No link in this one, since I didn't find it anywhere else than in Youtube.

Edit: alright, Youtube link. Transcription below.


 


TRANSCRIPTION

 

Does it make your skin soft?

Markus: Sometimes.

We are in Leipzig, Hellraiser, in the backstage with Moonsorrow. Moonsorrow has been one of the most played bands on the Paganfest since it started. It's become a habit, even for you! I mean, I know you tour a little bit less than the other guys in the band, but this is your second Paganfest, right?

Henri: Yes. Yesterday was the first opening gig of the whole festival and we always don't perform very well in those circumstances. So it keeps getting better and better all the time, I hope.

But I know for Moonsorrow it's a little bit tricky, because your drummer was just on tour for a long time in America and just arrived yesterday right for the show and you didn't have time to rehearse. But for Moonsorrow, you guys, you still do tour a lot compared to other bands, and this kind of package is something you guys are used to, so I assume it wasn't such a big problem for Marko [to have been done?]

Henri: Yeah, it wasn't such a problem when... The only problem was with... Because we had to rehearse new songs, and we need to play them together for like two months before, one month before the festival started. Well, it turned out to be okay-ish, I think.

Yesterday was Austria, today is East Germany. What do you expect for tonight?

Henri: I will never understand how East Germany differs from Germany anyway, but, well, I expect tonight... crazy people. Lots of patched vests and brutality in the audience and beer drunk people.

And the fact that the lyrics are in Finnish, did you notice that it bothers anybody or do people sing along the same way... Some people learned the songs maybe, in Finnish, did you notice that?, or do people just do la la la, they don't know the words but they know the music?

Henri: Anybody can just use the phonetic, they don't even have to understand what's going on, they can mimic the words. I don't think it bothers people that much.

What song of Moonsorrow, when it's played live, is the one with which people go the craziest?

Henri: It's really really hard to say, actually, because... I may repeat myself here, but because I haven't done that many live gigs lately, it's really hard to say.

Mitja: It's "Pakanajuhla", unfortunately.

I thought it would be "Jumalten kaupunki" or "Kylän päässä" or...

Mitja: They're close second, but "Pakanajuhla" is the one that people really get nuts. But we won't play it any more! Sorry! [says goodbye with hand]

It's like Finntroll saying they won't play "Trollhammaren".

Mitja: Well, we realized that if we're going to play it, we need to play the whole song, with the acoustic outro, so if we ever play it again it will be that worse.

Can you introduce Moonsorrow for those people who have been living under a rock for the last ten years and tell them why should they come own and watch Moonsorrow live?

Henri: Well, I think Moonsorrow must be one of the most religious bands in the festival. If you want a religious experience, come to see us.

There is a lot of blood and a bunch of sexy Finnish men.

Henri: Especially me.

Transcribed on 13/01/2021. Just because.

Unknown / January 2007

Interview with Ville on January 19th 2007 (or maybe 26th), short after releasing V: Hävitetty. I don't know the name of the magazine it was done for nor I have the link to where I found it two or three years ago.


If the player doesn't work try this link:
http://www.goear.com/listen/743cf74/interview-2007-moonsorrow


TRANSCRIPTION

We will be talking about your new album, Chapter V: Ravaged. It's a very cool album. It's got two tracks, two very epic tracks. Was that the intention or did it just work out like that?

No, it wasn't the intention. When we started thinking about the new album we were actually thinking we should make some tracks that are more accessible, shorter songs, more songs in an album than four, as in the previous one. I don't know, we just started writing and when we had the first 10 minutes of the first song ready we realized that it wasn't going to be like that, that the songs were going to be very long. We didn't have any problem with that, we decided to go all the way because we always wanted to challenge ourselves and this is how it turned out this time.

How do you write such long songs? The great thing about them is that I don't think... For various progressive albums I find that sometimes they tend to be too self-indulgent but the songs you have on this album are great to listen to all the way through. How do you do that?

Well, thanks! I don't know, because when we write songs we never think about the length of the song at all. It just has to be a good song, it has to work by itself. We always have this tendency to write stuff that contains a bit more parts than your usual pop song.

How do you compare this album to your previous ones? I think it was your second album that had a lot more folk influence in it, while this one is more heathen, if you like. Is that natural progression or how do you see that?

We have always felt like doing a bit different album each time and I'd say this one is the most daring we've ever done, because as I said we realized the songs were going to be very long this time, we decided to go all the way wherever it leads to. We couldn't have made this a few years ago because we have now reached the level in musicianship, or in arranging and stuff. We were at the right point to make this album now and we wanted to do something different to the concept. Most of the influences there are actually outside of metal.

Where do you get the inspiration for the songs from?

Musical inspiration?

Yes.

We listen to a lot of different stuff, and I think nowadays most of that isn't even metal. There is a lot of influence from the progressive rock of the seventies in the song structure, there is a lot of influence from classical music... I don't know, because we never really think about what kind of music we are going to do this time. It's a huge melting pot of influences.

When it comes to writing the songs, does one person write the whole thing or do you all collaborate and each person does their bit?

Usually the way it starts when we start thinking about a new album is that we throw in a few ideas in the rehearsal place, maybe. Then Henri, our main songwriter, locks himself in his home studio and starts making songs based on these ideas and his own ideas, and when he achieves something with it he shows the demo to all of us, we comment how we feel the song should continue from this and then he locks himself in his home studio again, and it goes in these cycles. He writes most of the material.

How did the recording of this album go? Were these two tracks the only ones that you made or were there other ones in there and you just picked them two?

You mean if we made other songs as well?

Mhm.

No, no, definitely. We actually never made any extra songs. (laughs)

Really? Haha, that's cool!

Yes, because we want to approach the albums as some kind of... they are whole albums, they are musically conceptual in that sense. We write the whole album, and we are actually thinking about the album when we make the songs, like, which part fits where. We never write a few songs and then pick an "albumful" of songs.

That's interesting, and how does that come across live? You have actually your first live show in Helsinki tomorrow.

Oh yeah! We're gonna play the new song there, the second one from the album. We picked a few parts from there, it's now [exaggerates with his voice] "only" 20 minutes. It turns out we were actually touring in Canada last week and we tried it on three gigs.

How was the tour in Canada?

The tour in Canada was actually great, something very very unexpected, because the audience was totally into it and I didn't expect it. We don't even have decent distribution in Canada or anything. I don't even know how we ended up there, (laughs) but it was a great trip.

(Laughs) Yeah, how do you end up in Canada and not end up here? You know, I have been playing both songs in their entirety on this show for several weeks now.

Oh, cool, thanks!

And I'm gonna play the second song in its entirety after this interview, so people have been listening to the whole album pretty much on this show.

That's cool! I don't know why we haven't played in the UK yet, I have absolutely no idea. It just doesn't seem to work.

We'll have to sort something out, mate! You must come down here.

Yes, I want to come there. We were already as close as the Heathrow airport when we flew to Canada.

Oh really!
Well, is there anything else you want to say to the fans out there?

Thanks for listening to those two songs, I hope you didn't get bored with them, I didn't, and thanks for supporting us, we will definitely come over to the UK one fine day. I don't know what is the day, but I hope it's soon.


Transcribed on March 31st 2021. Who would have told these two guys that 14 years later someone in Hungary would be transcribing their conversation for probably no-one to read!

Metal Injection / August 2009

Link




Noa Avior interviews Ville Sorvali for Metal Injection during Paganfest US 2009.

Moonsorrow happens to be one of my favourite bands of all time. They have opened up my ears and my mind to a new area of music that otherwise probably would have never known, so I wanted to personally thank you for creating your music.

I'm flattered. And good evening.

A large part of the Moonsorrow sound are all the atmospheric elements that you incorporate into your music, like the wolf howls and the sword clangs, water, birds... You're so good at putting this atmospheric elements together. Can you describe the atmosphere of the Paganfest tour, and what sounds would you use to describe it?

What sounds would I use to describe the Paganfest tour?

Yeah, what atmospheric sounds of the Paganfest tour?

The clinging of beer bottles.

Beer bottles? Nice. What about other stuff, like battly sounds, I think?

There are a lot of sounds in the bus, but you don't want to hear about them.

You guys are sharing a bus with the guys from Primordial, right? So, how's that?

They are the nicest guys on the planet. We toured with them 3 years ago in Europe and it was good to have them again in the bus with us. We get along very well. We have the same weird sense of humour and there is always someone partying if we need it.

That's awesome! So, have the US been treating you well? I know there's been some good parts of the tour and then some really really bad parts of the tour.

Good part: all of the venues we played were really cool, with lots of people, we played great shows and so far the response has been really good. We're really excited to be here. I didn't expect it to be this good, actually. So I'm happy.

Now let's go back to Moonsorrow. The band. Can you talk about what your music is, what symbolism do you portray, what mythological stories do you tell. Because I know you don't like to be associated as a Viking metal band, so how do you interpret your music?

I'd just say it's concentrated around Finnish paganism and the pagan mindset. We're not actually singing that much about mythology any more. It's more the pagan mindset and respect for nature and our discontent with today's world or the modern world. We're not happy with how things are going. I'm not saying we would like to go back to the Stone Age or anything like that, I'm happy with having electricity and running water in my house, but all this consuming and consuming is not good for the planet and it's not good for the people either.

Is that why you incorporate a lot of your nature sounds in your albums? I can think of the song Kaiku, there's five minutes of sounds of the forest, the birds and everything. Is that why you use those sounds in your music? To try to preserve it?

Partly it's because we want to emphasize the emaning behind our music, and partly it is because we don't really think that music should be only music. We all like a lot of movie soundtracks that are not just about the music, there are other sounds as well.

Is that why you thank Mel Gibson on Suden Uni?

Yes, we thank Mel Gibson because Braveheart gave us a lot of inspiration. We watched it 9 times during the making of our first album. 9 times in 9 days.

You think nobody reads the credits, huh?

Yeah, I thought no one reads the credits!

Is there a back story to the name Moonsorrow? Why is your band called like that?

It's a stupid name to begin with. But I think all the good heavy metal bands should have a stupid name. The story in all its glory is that Henri took it from the Celtic Frost song Sorrows of the Moon. That's the whole story.

Skrymer of Finntroll made the album cover of "Strength and Honour" [Voimasta ja kunniasta]. Did he also do the cover of Firestorm [Tulimyrsky]?

No, he didn't. It was a Belgian guy called Kris Verwimp who did the cover for this one. We have a tradition of using a different cover artist every time. I don't know why we have that tradition, but we decided to go that way and check if we could still find some people who could draw covers accordng to our ideas. Honestly this one became even better than we thought.

Right. And you also help expand the work among artists that are struggling, probably, and they need to have some [...], right?

We're all the same people, so we have to keep together!

On "Firestorm" there are two covers, you guys covered Metallica and Merciless. Why did you choose those two bands, and are there other bands you guys like to jam on when rehearsing?

I don't know why we chose Metallica in the first place. It was more than five years ago when Henri made the arrangement in Moonsorrow style, probably because he had too much time in his hands.

In my opinion it sounds better than Metallica.

Well, it's different than the original, I'm not comparing which one is better because "For Whom th Bell Tolls" is actually one of my favourite songs ever, but I think we pulled it through pretty well. In my opinion it's a really good cover.

In my opinion too.

When Henri made the arrangement, I heard it and I said, "we have to record this". Then we recorded it in 2005 and the record label asked us to do a bonus song for some sort of release which never happened, so now, when we had the idea of the EP, we decided to use it. And we decided to do another cover as well, of Merciless, because we were playing it live back in the days when we started.

Okay, so you guys are not going to be like Children of Bodom, you're not going to cover Britney Spears or something and put that on an album, right?

Most probably not.

We won't see that in the future of Moonsorrow.

The thing is that you don't only have to cover metal bands. You can cover anything. The thing is that you have to make the cover sound like your own band. That's why we're not covering Bathory, for example.

On the last track of "Suden uni", which is "The Wolf's Dream", there's a song called "Come Along, Fellows!" [Tulkaapa äijät]. Is that your funeral? That's how I interpret it, all the guys celebrating your funeral, and then it ends with a quote that you would like on your tombstone? That's what I thought. How wrong am I?

You're sort of right. It's just not for my funeral, even though I wrote it under my own name, because as you realized I left my own name out from the listing of the names.

Right.

But it's a cover song, actually, froma Swedish folk tune that had similar lyrics. Actually it just had different names on the listing of the names, listing the friends who should attend the funeral.

It seems like a very upbeat song. Is that what a traditional Finnish funeral is? More of a celebrtion as opposed to a somber setting?

Not nowadays. The funerals in today's world are boring! I hate them. But back in the day, in the Iron Age or whatever, I'm pretty sure that people actually celebrated at funerals, because the spirit of the guy who was dead was free, so they celebrated it.



Transcribed on January 10th 2020. Believe it or not.

Angel of Metal / August 2008

Link





How are you?
Great, fine, thanks. It's been an amazing day.

You played today, didn't you?
Yes.

How was the English crowd for you?
It was alright. We didn’t expect much because this was our first festival gig in the UK. We had done only club shows this far, so… And besides, it was a very early show, so people were not that drunk yet. It always has to do something with [shakes his fist in the air] headbanging and suff like that. It was very OK, very… I don’t know…

How was the energy from the crowd, how did you feel it?
I don’t think it was lame or anything like that, it was alright. It’s always the same in festivals when you’re playing during the daytime. I think it has to do something with alcohol! But also, if you’re playing very late, it can be boring, a boring audience, like we have witnessed a couple of times, playing at 3 AM or something like that. It’s not time to work any more, even as a band, because you’re tired as well. But anyway, there was many people and we very much appreciate our British fans.

I read somewhere that the description of your sound was mother nature’s wrath descending upon us.
Where did you get that?
I researched!
Alright, from the internet! Oh, really! I don’t know! Hm!
Would you say it’s like that?
Yeah, it’s a good expression, really.
Are you gonna use that now?
Maybe. You have to write it for me. Write it down. I always say we’re epic heathen metal, but that doesn’t bring [¿?] for Moonsorrow, so mainly it’s about having our roots in Scandinavian black metal from 92, 93, bands like old Enslaved, Ulver, Borknagar…

It’s so [¿?] especially black metal where you’re from, so do you feel it’s your job to bring a new edge to it?
Yes, definitely, we always try to develop from our previous works, and like I said, the band started with some kind of symphonic black metal, with the demos, and during the first couple of albums the songs got more mid-tempo, it wasn’t that aggressive, not that fast, and there were all these traditional folk melodies coming along. But on our fourth album we kind of turned back to our roots and started to do that blackier, dirtier sound again. I think we have sucked so many different elements from so many different music styles, be it extreme metal or 80s pop or whatever 70s progressive, even some ambient stuff. We are very open minded. But the basic sound will always remain the same. It may be hard for somebody to understand what it’s all about, because it’s not your ordinary easy-listening music anyway. So you have to listen to those albums, you have to concentrate more on them, not just your ordinary background music. Of course someone can be doing the dishes and listen to those, but the most important thing is that every listener can make their own movie for those songs. It’s very visionary stuff.

You have a headlining tour in Canada. Are you looking forward to it?
It’s going to be our third time in Canada. We did a small tour one year ago, or one and a half, and yes, we’re looking forward to it, it’s been a good area for Moonsorrow, especially the French-speaking Canada. There are quite fanatic fans, actually, mainly in Montréal and Québec, so it’s good to go there again.

Since you’re going to Canada again, when will you be coming back to the UK? Do you know?
We were trying to come back in October or November, but things got kind of fucked up because of our civil jobs, families, stuff like that, so we had to postpone the whole UK thing till next year. But we’re definitely going to do a proper tour in the UK next year.
More will be released later on?
Yes, I think so. What we’re going to do next year is also a Paganfest USA tour in May, that’s our first actual American tour, so looking forward to it. But besides that, it would be awesome to come to England as well. Or Scotland or whatever. UK.

Why did you decide to cover Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls?”
Metallica being our childhood heroes, and they still kick ass… well, not St Anger, but… I mean, old Metallica, who wouldn’t love them? I think they are a big influence on any metal band. At first it was just for fun. Henri, our main songwriter, had this arrangement and he introduced it to the rest of us, and we liked it so much, so we went to the studio and recorded it. It was recorded in 2005, actually, so it wasn’t from the Tulimyrsky sessions, and it was a well-hidden secret or something, until this EP. An EP is a perfect way to release it.

Are there any endorsements to the band?
Yes, Mitja has some kind of… amp endorsement, and guitar strings… I also have my own custom hand-made Finnish drum kits and a local cymbal deal. I don’t get anything for free, that would be a dream come true, but…

Maybe in a couple of years’ time.
Yes. Even if I got sticks for free that would be something. Those two things, cymbals and sticks, you have to buy new ones every time, because metal stuff is so consuming. All the money I get from the band goes back to the band.

It’s a constant cycle.
Yes. We still consider Moonsorrow as a good hobby, actually, more than work. We don’t make our living from this.

You mess up the songs in your set at each gig, is that something you do to excite the crowd?
We always like to differ it very much, we always try to pick songs from every album, but for festivals it’s impossible. If we pick a song from Hävitetty, the first album, that’s 20 minutes already, and if you have a festival slot, 40 minutes, like today, it would be half of the set, but when we’re headlining we always try to pick songs from every album. We like to vary it a lot from show to show.

You have a 30-minute-long track. What was it like recording that? That must have been a lot of stuff [¿?]
We do those longer tracks in pieces. Every member tries to record as lengthy a part as possible, but at some point you lose your mind and can’t remember what’s the next part, so… But nowadays it’s so easy to put them together with modern studio technology.
Practice makes perfect.
If we were to play the first song from the fifth album, which we never did, it would take at least 3 months to rehearse it through. That’s why we are not doing that! [laughs] We are very lazy when it comes to rehearsing.

You have other commitments as well. Moonsorrow seems to be going [¿?]
We have other bands as well, for example I’m playing in a couple of other bands too, actually next week I’m going to do drums for a new Arthemesia album, it’s some sort of atmospheric, even psychedelic black metal. It’s gonna be out from Spinefarm later this year or early next year.

Thanks for the interview. Have you got any websites?
Moonsorrow dot com, plus our Myspace.

Angel of Metal. Keep it loud.

Transcribed on April 10th 2020. Believe it or not. Effects of the quarantine.

Only Heavy Metal / January 2011

Link 1 (both languages) | Link 2 (English) | Link 3 (Spanish)

VERSIÓN EN CASTELLANO

Esta es la primera entrevista a Moonsorrow de este año. Las preguntas fueron propuestas por los usuarios del foro Only Heavy Metal, y el que se puso en contacto con Ville y lo coordinó todo fue ShowNoMercy.

Contestada por VILLE SORVALI (bajo y voz).

ShowNoMercy:
- Hola Ville, gracias por atendernos. En el nuevo álbum, ¿hay alguna diferencia reseñable respecto los últimos álbumes anteriores o algún aspecto que lo diferencie claramente? ¿Más folk, más black...?

Creo que es más o menos distinto en todos los aspectos, como todos los discos que hemos hecho. Al menos me gustaría pensar que no estamos haciendo el mismo disco otra vez, pero eso lo decidirá el público. Para mí, este es mucho más "pesado" que cualquiera que hiciéramos anteriormente. Pienso que esa es la diferencia principal. ¡Y desde luego, no podría estar más contento con el resultado!

ShowNoMercy:
- Describe el proceso de creación de este nuevo álbum y tu relación en el mismo con el resto de miembros.

De algún modo, el proceso de creación del disco fue mucho más relajado que en otras ocasiones. Todos estamos de acuerdo en esto, incluso Henri. :) Pienso que Henri empezó a escribir material en invierno o primavera de 2010 y el resto de nosotros empezamos a implicarnos más en verano. Esta vez Marko escribió letras para una canción. Nos llevó cinco semanas grabar y otras dos mezclar, en varios estudios. Todos hemos puesto mucha ilusión y cariño en la grabación, pero al mismo tiempo nos lo hemos tomado con calma y nadie tuvo crisis nerviosas.

Eddie:
- Incluir sonidos reales de la naturaleza en vuestros discos es algo habitual al igual que lo hacen Finntroll, ¿esto es debido a que Henri tiene este vicio o en cambio todos opináis que estos sonidos le dan un toque especial, misterioso, relajante y a la vez profundo a los discos?

Por supuesto es una obsesión de Henri como diseñador de sonido profesional, pero todos estamos de acuerdo en que le dan un sentimiento añadido a los discos y por tanto debemos usarlos. Siempre quisimos hacer algo más que simple música, y a veces incluso parece que estamos haciendo una película sin imágenes.

Grilo do Demo:
- ¿Por qué grabaste las voces en una cabaña en medio del bosque? (¿Las grabaste todas allí?) Usando los mismos aparatos y demás, ¿hay realmente una diferencia en el sonido?

Obviamente no hay diferencia en el sonido, y si la hay es para peor. ;) La razón por la que decidí hacerlo como lo hice es que necesitaba este estímulo adicional para la emotividad de las voces. Hay mucha diferencia entre salir a pasear por el bosque en los ratos libres y quedarse a fumar un cigarro en una calle vacía en alguna parte industrial de la ciudad. Todas las voces principales fueron grabadas en esa cabaña, pero los coros y la mayor parte de las voces secundarias se grabaron en el estudio. Antes que las principales, de hecho.

Grilo do Demo:
- ¿Qué invitados tuvisteis esta vez? Sé que por lo menos tuvisteis al violinista de Turisas.

Olli Vänskä tocó el violín, pero también colaboró en los coros. El resto del coro fue el grupo más nuestro guitarrista de directo Janne Perttilä, y Jakke Viitala, de Crimfall. Vreth el de Finntroll y el hijo de cinco años de Henri, Knut, hicieron algunas voces secundarias.

Grilo do Demo:
- Ya tuvisteis a uno de tus (hasta donde sé) cantantes favoritos como invitado en un disco: Thomas Väänänen en Hävitetty. ¿Cuándo vais a invitar a Alan Nemtheanga?

En realidad nunca planeamos a quién invitar, sino que se nos ocurre en el estudio cuando creemos que hace falta una voz adicional en alguna parte. Alan es una gran inspiración y un amigo personal, pero creo que no necesito subrayar eso con invitarle a cantar en finlandés en un disco nuestro. :) [N. del T.: esta frase es gramaticalmente bastante confusa en inglés, pero creo que se entiende]

Eddie:
- ¿Es verdad lo que se lee por internet sobre la oscuridad y agresividad de las
letras y melodías de este nuevo disco, y que la parte más alegre de la música de Moonsorrow no está presente en ninguno de los temas nuevos? ¿Hay algún motivo en concreto para seguir por esta línea compositiva o simplemente los temas "happy" no encajan con vuestra música?

"VKKM" resultó ser un disco muy oscuro, sin alegría ni nada así. Aunque también, tratando el tema que trata (la vida después del fin del mundo), la música no puede ser alegre. No creo que nuestra música sonara nunca tan "happy" si la comparamos por ejemplo con Korpiklaani, pero hoy por hoy ya no hay sitio para canciones como "Pakanajuhla" en nuestro repertorio actual. Así que no, la alegría no es una parte de Moonsorrow, pero eso sólo se aplica a la música; aunque nos estemos haciendo viejos, aún nos gusta la juerga tanto como antes.

Eddie:
- ¿Qué habéis querido expresar con una portada tan simple y limpia como la del nuevo disco? ¿A qué responde elegir esta vez una foto en lugar de un dibujo?

Siempre diseñamos las portadas cuidadosamente para que se adecúen al concepto y a la música, así que esta vez lo obvio fue tirar por el lado lóbrego. En la música no se vislumbra ninguna esperanza, así que en el libreto tampoco. Lo de poner una foto en la portada se decidió hace tiempo, pero ya no recuerdo la conversación que nos llevó a eso.

Grilo do Demo:
- Por lo visto se trata de un disco conceptual. Ya que hay tres interludios y sólo cuatro canciones, ¿podrías explicarnos el concepto y resumir lo que cuenta cada una de las canciones?

El disco "Hävitetty" trataba sobre el fin del mundo, así que con este decidimos dar un paso más allá y crear una historia sobre la vida después del fin. De todos modos, la conexión entre ambos discos es vagamente conceptual, así que no te preocupes, no vamos a hacer una trilogía ni nada así.

Voy a ser muy breve con las explicaciones y dejar que cada oyente encuentre los detalles de la historia:

"Tähdetön" (Sin estrellas) describe el mundo justo después del fin. En la historia no importa cómo terminara el mundo. Hay un grupo de personas abandonando su ciudad, porque está destruida y ya no se puede vivir en ella.

"Hävitetty" (Desolado) es el primer interludio, con varias docenas de personas caminando hacia lo desconocido.

"Muinaiset" (Los antiguos), contrastando con la primera canción, se centra en la naturaleza. El grupo intenta asentarse en el bosque, y de algún modo parece funcionar. El título se refiere a los antiguos poderes de la naturaleza que empezarán a apoderarse del planeta cuando la humanidad haya desaparecido, hasta que no quede ninguna huella de nuestra breve visita.

"Nälkä, väsymys ja epätoivo" (Hambre, fatiga y desesperación) es el segundo interludio, con mucha menos gente andando. Empiezan a pasar cosas.

En "Huuto" (Grito), el grupo está atrapado en las garras del invierno. Muchos de los supervivientes han muerto, y el resto están enloqueciendo.

"Kuolleille" (A los muertos) es el último interludio. Ahora sólo queda el protagonista.

En "Kuolleiden maa" (La tierra de los muertos), toda esperanza de una nueva vida para los supervivientes ha desaparecido finalmente, y el protagonista llega al final de su camino. Repasa toda su vida, pensando cómo y por qué terminó todo.

Eddie:
- ¿Alguna vez volveréis a atreveros con un disco de sólo 2 canciones como Hävitetty o por el contrario es algo que surgió en un preciso momento de vuestra historia y que pensáis que no hay que volver a repetir? Creo que es un disco inmejorable, ojalá pudierais superarlo en un futuro pero… no lo creo, ojalá me equivocara ;-)

Siempre fuimos megalómanos en mayor o menor medida, pero yo también creo que "Hävitetty" fue un producto de su tiempo, algo como "un disco que necesitábamos hacer". En este momento nos estamos concentrando en material más orientado a la radio... es decir, canciones de sólo diez o quince minutos.

Eddie:
- ¿Para cuándo un DVD en directo? Hace meses que está rondando la noticia pero no termina de confirmarse. ¿Tendrá los típicos extras donde se vea a Moonsorrow en otras facetas distintas a la de tocar en directo?

Sí, ese DVD está en nuestros planes, y algún día se hará. Aún no hemos decidido dónde ni cuándo vamos a grabar el material en directo, pero ya estamos trabajando en la parte documental del DVD. En otras palabras, el DVD ofrecerá mucho más que un simple concierto.

Matterhorn + Eddie:
- Un grupo hermanado a vosotros como es Finntroll tiene la sana costumbre de venir a España todo los años, a diferencia de Moonsorrow. ¿Esto a qué es debido, a la ineficacia o falta de ofertas de los promotores locales, o a que en España no habéis recibido el suficiente apoyo las tres veces que habéis venido? ¿Vendréis a España a presentar el nuevo disco?

Desde luego no es por falta de apoyo, porque las tres veces que fuimos tuvimos una acogida tremenda. Me encantaría que volviéramos a tocar en España pronto; lo que nos mantuvo alejados tanto tiempo fue la falta de ofertas apropiadas y dificultades de agenda. Pronto habrá más fechas españolas, ¡estoy seguro!

Eddie:
- ¿Qué opinas de España en general? ¿Conoces algo de la escena musical española? ¿Hay alguna provincia a la que hayas venido de turismo o por cualquier otro motivo que no sea tocar con el grupo?

Oh, España me gusta un montón, como me gustan todos los países cálidos. :) Sólo fui una vez sin el grupo, y eso fue cuando tenía diez años y me fui de vacaciones con mi familia a Mallorca, pero tengo buenos recuerdos de aquello. No conozco mucho de la escena musical española salvo por los Héroes del Silencio y algunas bandas más underground como Avulsed y Haemorrhage.

Nathor:
- ¿Nos podrías contar alguna anécdota curiosa de algún concierto?

Créeme, hay más que suficientes momentos Spinal Tap en la historia de Moonsorrow. El mejor probablemente fue el festival Kilkim Zaibu en Lituania, donde tocamos sin Henri porque se había dejado el pasaporte en casa y no pudo entrar al país (creyó que podía viajar con el carné de conducir, aunque por entonces en los países bálticos no se aplicaba el acuerdo de Schengen... en fin). De camino hacia allí me quedé afónico, y al final sólo pude cantar las dos primeras canciones, tras lo cual Marko empezó a cantar cosas sin sentido (aunque con arreglos correctos) desde detrás de la batería. Además, durante la mayor parte del concierto no funcionaron los amplis de guitarras y bajo, así que no me cabe duda de que el concierto sonó cojonudo, vamos. Pero a la gente le gustó.

Nathor:
- ¿Tenéis manías o sois supersticiosos antes de salir al escenario?

Aparte de echarnos la sangre (¡sí, es sangre de verdad!) por encima, no hacemos nada más que se pueda considerar "ritual". Antes de salir a tocar nos gusta tomarnos unas cervezas y relajarnos. Después del concierto puede pasar cualquier cosa.

Eddie + ShowNoMercy:
- Con seis álbumes de larga duración en diez años, ¿se empieza a notar algún síntoma de fatiga en cualquier aspecto? ¿Conserváis ese espíritu con el que empezasteis el grupo, o en la música como en todo lo demás de la vida los años pesan y las ilusiones se desvanecen? En otras palabras, ¿Moonsorrow es ya sólo un trabajo rutinario o las ganas de todos los miembros siguen casi intactas?

Ha habido momentos en los que todos nos hemos sentido cansados, pero supongo que eso pasa en cualquier banda de rock que lleve algo de tiempo. Seguimos teniendo mucha pasión por lo que hacemos, y a todos nos hace ilusión grabar un nuevo disco o empezar una gira; si no fuera así, habríamos dejado de hacer esto hace tiempo. Ni siquiera ganamos mucho dinero con esto, así que no se le podría llamar un verdadero oficio. ;)

Eddie:
- Si tuvieras que elegir a los 3 grupos que marcaron tu vida musical desde joven hasta hoy en día, ¿cuáles serían?

Esa pregunta es muy difícil, porque siempre hay más de tres grupos que consideraría altamente influyentes en cualquier momento de mi vida. King Crimson es el primer grupo que recuerdo haber escuchado, porque mi padre los escuchaba mucho (aún lo hace). Consideré a Slayer "el mejor grupo del mundo" durante mucho tiempo, aunque hoy día no me parece que estén siquiera cerca de la cúspide de su carrera. Bathory es probablemente la principal y casi la única razón por la que existe Moonsorrow. Y ya van tres. :)

ShowNoMercy:
- ¿Qué sueles escuchar en tu CD/MP3 normalmente?

Muchas cosas distintas, desde Michael Jackson hasta Darkthrone. Algunos de los lanzamientos recientes que me dejaron flipado son el nuevo de Agalloch, el nuevo de Killing Joke y especialmente el "Eparistera diamones" de Triptykon, que considero que va a ser un clásico en todos los aspectos.

Slayer:
- ¿Con qué grupo te gustaría girar?

Realmente lo más importante de un compañero de gira no es la música que hagan, sino la personalidad de los individuos de la banda. Por supuesto, si me gusta su música, pues es un buen extra; de hecho me gusta pasar tiempo en las giras viendo a los grupos que me gustan, y es interesante ver el desarrollo de una banda desde el primer concierto hasta el último. Me encantaría girar con Thyrfing, porque somos buenos amigos pero nunca tuvimos la oportunidad de tocar juntos salvo por un par de bolos sueltos.

Matraco:
- ¿Qué acogida tiene vuestra música en EEUU?

Creo que la gente de allí se está empezando a familiarizar un poco más con nuestra música, lo cual mola porque significa que podríamos girar más por allí en el futuro. De todos modos es un mercado difícil, tienes que hacer mucho más que en Europa para "demostrar tu valía". Además, para los grupos pequeños es extremadamente caro hacer algo allí.

Matraco:
- ¿Cuál crees que es el futuro de la industria musical? ¿Pasa por vender los discos en formato digital?

No se puede obviar la importancia de internet, y me preocupa seriamente la lentitud de los sellos discográficos en lo que respecta a meterse en cosas nuevas. Desde luego me gustaría que en el futuro los discos se siguieran vendiendo en formato físico, pero eso no va a pasar. El mundo cambia, y nosotros tenemos que cambiar con él.

Matraco:
- ¿Crees en calificar a las bandas dentro de subgéneros del metal? ¿En cuál encajaría Moonsorrow?

No me gusta mucho etiquetar a las bandas, pero lógicamente me doy cuenta de que es algo necesario a la hora de darle al público una idea más clara de de qué van los distintos grupos, sobre todo si se trata de grupos que sólo sacaron un disco y aún no tienen una base de fans. Tampoco prefiero ningún género sobre otro, sino que escucho lo que yo considere "buena música". Si hubiera que aplicarle una etiqueta a Moonsorrow, sería metal pagano. Es metal, y el contenido extramusical se basa en valores paganos. Resulta descriptiva y al mismo tiempo no trae consigo ninguna limitación para la música (excepto el que sea metal).

Muchas gracias y suerte con el nuevo disco.

ENGLISH VERSION

This is the first Moonsorrow interview this year. The questions were asked by the users of the forum Only Heavy Metal, and ShowNoMercy is the one who contacted Ville and coordinated the project.

Answered by VILLE SORVALI (bass and voice).

ShowNoMercy:
Hi Ville, nice to talk to you. Your new album "Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa" is about to be released. Is there any remarkable aspect in it that makes a clear difference from the previous ones? More folkish, more blackish...

I think it's more or less different in every aspect, as all the albums we've done. At least I'd like to think that we're not just making the same album again, but that's up to the audience to decide of course. To me, this one stands out being a lot heavier than anything we've done before. I think that's the main difference. And of course, I couldn't be any happier with the result!


ShowNoMercy:
Please describe the process of creating this album and your own relation with it and the rest of members.

Somehow, the whole process of making the album was a lot more relaxed than previously. Everyone of us has agreed upon this, even Henri. :) I think Henri already started writing some material during winter/spring 2010 and the rest of us got more involved during the summer. I had had the concept ready for quite some time, but the lyrics took their final shape also during the summer. This time, also Marko wrote some lyrics to one song. We took some 5 intensive weeks for the recordings and 2 more for the mix, in several different studios. We all poured a lot of passion and care to the recordings, but also managed to take it easy and no one had a nervous breakdown.


Eddie:
Including real nature sounds is something usual in your albums, as well as in Finntroll's. Is this just Henri's obsession, or you all think these sounds give the albums a special and mysterious touch?

It is of course Henri's obsession as a professional sound designer, but we all agree that they bring some extra feeling to the albums and should therefore be used. We always wanted to make something more than just music, and sometimes it really feels like we're doing a "movie without a picture".



Grilo do Demo:
Why did you record the vocals in a cabin in the middle of the forest? (Did you record ALL of them there anyway?) Using the same recording machines and all, is there really a difference in the sound?

Obviously there is no difference in the sound - or if there is, it's probably for the worse. ;) The reason why I decided to do it like I did was because I needed to get this additional boost to the vocals on the emotional side. It really makes a difference if you can go walk in the forest during your breaks instead of just having a cigarette on an empty street in some industrial part of the town. All the lead vocals were recorded in that cabin, but the choirs and most of the backing vocals were recorded in the studio - even before the lead vocals, actually.


Grilo do Demo:
What guest musicians did you have this time? I know at least about the Turisas violinist.

Olli Vänskä played the violin, but also took part in the choirs. The rest of the choir was the band + our trusted live guitarist Janne Perttilä, and Jakke Viitala of Crimfall. Vreth from Finntroll and Henri's 5-year old son Knut did some backing vocals.

Grilo do Demo:
You already had one of your (as far as I'm concerned) favourite vocalists to perform as a guest in one album - Thomas Väänänen in "Hävitetty". When are you inviting Alan Nemtheanga?

We're never really planning who to invite, but come up with the ideas during studio time when we feel that an additional voice is needed somewhere. Alan is a great inspiration and a personal friend, but I don't think I would need to underline that with inviting him to sing in Finnish on our album. :)


Eddie:
I read on the Internet that the most cheerful side of Moonsorrow's music is not at all present in "Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa", being there only darkness and aggressiveness. Is this true? Is there any special reason for this? Do happy songs fit Moonsorrow?

It turned out that "VKKM" became a very dark album, with no hints of cheerfulness whatsoever. Then again, dealing with a concept like this (life after the end of the world), the music shouldn't be happy anyway. I don't think our music ever sounded that happy, if compared with Korpilaani for example, but nowadays we don't really think there is room for songs like Pakanajuhla in our current repertoire. So no, cheerfulness is not really a part of Moonsorrow, but that only applies to the music - even if we're getting old, we still like to party as we used to.


Eddie:
What did you want to express with a cover artwork so simple and clean, and why did you choose a photography instead of a drawing?

Our covers are always carefully designed to serve the concept and the music, so this time it was obvious that we were going for the bleak solution. There is no hope in sight in the music, so there is no hope within the booklet either. Having a photographed cover was decided a long ago, but I can't remember the exact discussion that lead to the decision.


Grilo do Demo:
This is apparently a concept album. Since there are three interludes and only four full songs, can you please tell us what the concept is and summarize what the songs tell, one by one?

The album "Hävitetty" was dealing with the end of the world, so we decided to step a bit further in the timeline with this one and create a story about life after the end. However, the connection between these two albums is just loosely conceptual, so don't be afraid: we're not starting to make a trilogy or anything.

I'm going to be exceptionally short with my explanations and leave it up to every listener to find all the subtle meanings within the story:

"Tähdetön" (Starless) pictures the world right after the end. How the world ended is not that important in the story. There is a group of people leaving their destroyed hometown, because there is no way to live there anymore.

"Hävitetty" (Ravaged) is the first interlude with some dozens of people walking towards the unknown.

"Muinaiset" (The Ancient Ones), in contrast to the first song, is set in nature. The group is trying to settle in the forest, and it seems to work somehow. The title refers to the ancient powers of nature that will start to take over the planet after mankind is gone, eventually leaving no trace of our brief visit.

"Nälkä, väsymys ja epätoivo" (Hunger, weariness and despair) is the second interlude with considerably less people walking. Things are starting to happen.

In "Huuto" (The Scream), the group is already trapped in the grip of winter. A lot of the survivors have died, and the rest are going badly insane.

"Kuolleille" (To the Dead) is the last interlude. Now, there is only the main character left.

In "Kuolleiden maa" (The Land of the Dead), all hope of finding a new life for the survivors is finally gone, and the main character also meets the end of his road. He's going through his life, thinking how and why did it all end.


Eddie:
Will you dare making a 2-song album like "Hävitetty" again, or was it something that came up in a particular moment and won't happen again? I think that album's unbeatable, maybe impossible to surpass, I wish I'm wrong ;)

We've always been more or less megalomanic, but I also think that "Hävitetty" was only a product of its time, a sort of "an album we just had to do". In this moment of time, we're concentrating on more radio-friendly material... meaning that the songs are only 10-15 minutes long.


Eddie:
When will you make a live DVD? There have been rumours for a while, but none confirmed. Will it include extra content where we can see the band in other situations than on stage?

Yes, that DVD is strongly a part of our plans, and it will eventually be released. We haven't decided where and when to shoot the actual live footage, but we already have the documentary part of the DVD under construction. In other words, the DVD will most definitely have a lot more to offer than just a live show.


Matterhorn + Eddie:
A "brother" band like Finntroll has the healthy habit of coming to Spain every year, unlike Moonsorrow. Is this due to inefficiency or lack of offers from local promoters, or because you didn't get enough support the three times you have come? Will Moonsorrow come to Spain to introduce the new album?

It's definitely not because of the support, because all the three times we were in Spain we got a tremendous response. I would most definitely like to see us in Spain soon again, it's just the lack of suitable offers and difficulties in scheduling that has kept us away for so long. There will be more Spanish dates soon enough, I'm sure!


Eddie:
What do you think about Spain in general? Do you know anything about the Spanish musical scene? Is there any province you have visited for other reasons than playing with the band?

Oh, but I like Spain a lot, as I like all the warm countries. :) I've only been there once without the band, and that was when I was 10 years old and had a family holiday in Mallorca, but I have good memories of that. I don't know that much of the Spanish music scene except for Héroes del Silencio and some more underground bands like Avulsed and Haemorrhage.


Nathor:
Can you tell us any funny story from some concert?

Believe me, there are more than enough of good ol' Spinal Tap moments in Moonsorrow's history. However the best will (probably always) be Kilkim Zaibu festival in Lithuania, where we played without Henri because he had left his passport home and couldn't enter the country (he thought he could travel with his driver's license, even though the Baltic countries didn't apply the Shengen contract at that time... oh well). On the way there I lost my voice, and in the end I could only do the first two songs, after which Marko started singing some complete nonsense (with correct arrangements, though) from behind his drum kit. For the most part, also both the guitar and the bass cabinets were mute, so I'm pretty sure the gig sounded just awesome. People liked it anyway.


Nathor:
Do you have any superstitions or rituals before going onstage?

Apart from applying the blood (yes, it is real blood!) on ourselves, we don't really have anything that could be considered a "ritual". We just like to sip a few beers and relax before playing a show. After the show, anything might happen.


Eddie + ShowNoMercy:
6 full-length albums in 10 years, do you start feeling any symptoms of tiredness in any aspect? Do you still keep the spirit with which you started back in the 90s, or did feelings vanish? In other words: has Moonsorrow become just a routine job, or are you into it just like in the early days?

There have been some moments when all of us have felt a bit tired, but I guess that's how it is with any long-running rock band. We still have a lot of passion for what we are doing, and all of us are always excited about making a new album or going on a good tour - otherwise, we would have stopped doing this a long time ago. We are not even making that much money so this could never be called a "real job" anyway. ;)


Eddie:
If you had to choose the three bands that most fascinated you in your life, which ones would they be?

That's a really tough question, since there are always more than three bands that I would consider highly influential at any stage in my life. King Crimson was probably the first band I ever reckon hearing, since my father digged it a lot (and still does). Slayer I considered the "best band in the world" for a long time, even if today I don't feel they are even near to their highest peak. Bathory is probably the one reason Moonsorrow exists in the first place. That's three. :)


ShowNoMercy:
What do you usually listen to in your CD/MP3 player?

A lot of different stuff from Michael Jackson to Darkthrone. Some of the latest releases that really blew my mind have been the new Agalloch, the new Killing Joke and especially "Eparistera Daimones" by Triptykon which I consider a to-be-classic by all definitions.


Slayer:
What band would you like to tour with?

The most important thing about a touring partner is not actually their music, but the personality of the individuals in the band. Of course, if I like their music, it's a good bonus - I actually like to spend a lot of time on tours watching the bands that I like, and it's interesting to see a band's development from the first show to the last. I would really like to tour with Thyrfing, since we are good friends but never had the chance to play together except for just a few one-off shows.

Matraco:
How's your music received in the USA?

I think people over there are starting to get more familiar with our music, which is of course a nice thing because it means we might be able to do some more touring there in the future. It's a difficult market however, and you have to do a lot more than in Europe to "prove yourself". It's also extremely expensive for smaller bands to do anything there.



Matraco:
What do you think is the future of the music industry? Anything related to selling the albums in digital formats?

The importance of the internet cannot be surpassed, and I'm seriously worried about the record labels' slow pace of getting into new things. Of course I would want to have all the records to be sold in physical format in the future as well, but that's not going to happen. The world changes, and we have to change with it.


Matraco:
Do you believe in labeling bands in metal sub-genres? Which one would Moonsorrow be in?

I don't really enjoy labeling any bands, but of course I realize that it's a must thing to do in order to give the audience a clearer picture of what different bands are about - especially if we're talking about bands that have only released one album and don't have an established fan base yet. I don't prefer any genre over any other either, but I only listen to what I consider being "good music". If Moonsorrow had to be labeled, it would be "pagan metal". It's metal, and the outmusical content builds upon pagan values. Descriptive, and at the same time it doesn't set any limitations to the actual music (except for being metal).

Thank you for your attention and good luck with the new album.

La Grosse Radio / August 2011

Link

Dimanche 21 Août 2011

Katarz : Et bien merci Mitja pour cette interview, je voudrais parler avec toi dans un premier temps de la tournée que vous êtes doucement en train de terminer.

Mitja : Et oui on est sur la route depuis le printemps maintenant, pour la tournée Pagan Fest avec Korpiklaani et d'autres groupes de Pagan. Puis, chacun de nos week ends jusqu'à maintenant a été rempli de festivals un peu partout en Europe. On a fait aussi le Tuska Open Air en Finlande, à Helsinki et d'autres petits festivals non moins sympas.

Born666 : Avez vous des retours de votre dernier album ?

Notre dernier album est sorti en mars et s'intitule Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa. On est très satisfaits de cet album. Nous avons eu des problèmes de distribution dans certains pays mais le contenu j'en suis fier. Je n'ai pas encore les chiffres en termes de ventes mais je crois que c'est mieux que l'album précédent. Il faut bien six mois pour vraiment commencer à comptabiliser les ventes.


Born666 : Tu voudrais décrire le groupe aux français qui ne vous connaissent pas encore ?

Moonsorrow est un groupe de Metal qui a beaucoup d'éléments de folk traditionnel. Nous sommes influencés par des groupes comme Bathory, des classiques. Nous avons beaucoup d'éléments Black Metal aussi. Sans oublier que parfois nous puisons aussi dans le symphonique et la musique scandinave traditionnelle. Nous avons déjà six albums à notre actif et on peut dire que d'album en album tous ces éléments se retrouvent dans notre musique, mais dans des proportions différentes.

Born666 : Vous êtes tous originaires de Finlande ?

Oui, nous venons tous de Helsinki. Mais c'est vrai qu'aujourd'hui on tourne tellement qu'il ne serait pas compliqué pour moi de déménager quelque part, par exemple en Allemagne ou à Paris...


Katarz : Dans votre musique vous utilisez beaucoup de sons enregistrés, des chants d'oiseaux, des feux de camp, des bruits d'air ou d'eau. Vous êtes des gars proches de la nature ?

Oui, nous nous décrivons comme un groupe de pagan et le paganisme a son noyau dans la nature. Notre musique, nos paroles, nos expressions scéniques, on y retrouve ces éléments de la nature.


Katarz : Moi chacun de vos concerts me fait littéralement planer. C'est une intention, quand vous composez, de créer une atmosphère, une sorte d'univers qui nous enveloppe et nous transporte ? Peut être que ce n'est d'ailleurs pas une intention, et vous crééz simplement une musique que vous avez envie d'entendre ?

C'est vrai qu'on a toujours une idée derrière la tête avant de composer : cela peut être un concept, une idée bien précise. Notre musique on la voit comme quelque chose de très visuel. On utilise beaucoup d'instruments, de mélodies, de fonds sonores... notre intention c'est de les mélanger de manière à ce que quand tu fermes les yeux, tu vois des images.

Born666 : Vous revenez en France cet automne ?

Oui nous avons une tournée prévue en Novembre : Paris, Montpellier, et quelque chose d'autre. (Rires) Je ne me souviens plus.

NDLR : Il s'agit de la tournée Dead Tyrants avec Tyr.
21/11 : Colmar
22/11 : Paris (La scène Bastille)
23/11 : Toulouse
27/11 : Montpellier

Born666 : Vous êtes connus pour composer des morceaux très longs. Parfois une demie heure. Vous allez faire un double album un jour ?

On ne sait pas encore. Ce qui est sûr c'est que chaque fois que l'on compose on se fixe des limites (7 minutes, 3 minutes...) que l'on ne tient jamais ! (Rires)
Pour une raison mystérieuse nos compositions finissent toujours par être beaucoup plus longues que ce qui était initialement prévu.
On ne va pas revenir à des compositions d'une demie heure. Par contre un double album c'est beaucoup de travail donc je ne sais pas si on pourra le faire dans l'immédiat. Chaque morceau que nous composons déjà est un effort incommensurable. Cependant si l'on venait à faire un tel album, on aimerait que tu puisses l'écouter d'une traite tu vois ? Donc c'est beaucoup de travail.


Born666 : Comment vous viennent les structures des chansons ? Peut être partez-vous d'un riff? Chacun apporte ses idées ?

Oui on part souvent d'un bon riff ou d'une intro. On a étudié beaucoup la musique et on voit tout de suite si l'élément apporté sera incorporé en début ou au milieu d'un titre. On travaille vite mais une fois les riffs trouvés, la musique trouvée, c'est très difficile ensuite de faire en sorte que tout s'imbrique bien. Disons qu'on tâtonne, on cherche à arranger un morceau progressivement.


Katarz : Vos chansons sonnent comme des histoires que vous racontez.

Oui, c'est tout à fait ça. Il y a des débuts, des développements, des fins... Il y a des choses qui se passent.


Katarz : Et bien sûr les paysages. Je voudrais savoir si vous faites partie des associations de reconstitution historique ?

Non, non on ne fait rien de cela. On ne fait pas de jeux grandeur nature non plus. Même si les influences historiques sont importantes dans nos esprits, on n'essaie pas de les recréer dans nos vies. On vit dans les temps modernes...


Born666 : Alors qu'est-ce que c'est être païen aujourd'hui ?

La nature est mon hobby. Je la photographie, je fais énormément de randonnées. Je la célèbre comme ça. S'il y a quelque chose de sacré dans ma vie c'est certainement la nature. Je ne crois pas en Dieu ou quelque être supérieur. Pour moi la nature et la vie sont sacrés en soi.

Katarz : Quand j'ai posé la question à un Finlandais un jour, il m'a dit qu'il se sent déraciné, que vous êtes un peuple sans culture. Qu'est-ce que tu réponds à ça ?

Je crois qu'il a tort. On a des racines fortes en réalité. Si tu ne les connais pas, tu peux le dire mais pour moi ce n'est pas vrai. Si un Français vient en Finlande il ne la verra pas de prime abord, mais si tu creuses un peu, tu t'aperçois qu'on a des traditions, une vraie appartenance.


Katarz : Et qu'est-ce que font les Finlandais au beau milieu de l'hiver, par -30°C ? Je sais que vous êtes un peuple qui lit beaucoup !

Oui on a des problèmes d'alcool ! On a beaucoup de neige, surtout il y a deux ans. Il fait nuit, il pleut 6 mois par an, sans soleil. Ca peut être déprimant. Je n'aime pas ça. On essaie donc de partir en tournée dès le printemps ! Mais j'aime aussi aller skier ! Je vis dans le centre de Helsinki donc je m'évade souvent.


Katarz : Tu as quelque chose à dire au public français ?

Oui je voudrais dire que l'on ne joue pas assez souvent en France. On voit l'enthousiasme des Français chaque fois que l'on vient mais ce qui est sûr c'est que l'on ne vient pas assez souvent ! Mon rêve ce serait de faire une tournée d'une semaine complète rien qu'en France.


Born666 : Et bien merci pour cette interview !

Katarz : Merci à toi !

XXL Rock / February 2011

Link

Interview mit Moonsorrow

Mit „Varjoina Kuljemme Kuoleiden Maasa“ haben Moonsorrow ein weiteres, erstklassiges Meisterwerk geschmiedet, das einmal mehr alle Klischees des Pagan Metal gekonnt umschifft und die Konkurrenz meilenweit hinter sich lässt. Wir klopften Ville Sorval (Vocals, Bass) auf die Schulter und baten ihn zum Gespräch.

Ville, wie würdest Du in ein paar knappen Worten den Hauptunterschied zwischen „Varjoina Kuljemme Kuoleiden Maasa" und den früheren Veröffentlichungen beschreiben?

Der Hauptunterschied ist schätzungsweise, dass es viel düsterer und härter ist. Es klingt noch immer nach Moonsorrow aber auf eine etwas andere Art, also sind die Leute eventuell etwas überrascht. Ein Unterschied zu den vorausgegangenen Werken ist ebenfalls, dass „VKKM" genau genommen ein eigenständiges Konzept-Album ist.

Warum habt Ihr diese interessante Abwechslung zwischen epischen, langen Tracks und kurzen Pausenstücken gewählt? Ist das gesamte Album als eine Einheit zu verstehen und dienen die kurzen Tracks als Bindeglieder zwischen den einzelnen Kapiteln?

Da es ja ein Konzept-Album ist, eine Geschichte mit einem Anfang und einem Ende, führen die Zwischenspiele die Erzählung weiter. Der kurze Text, der zu jedem Zwischenstück geschrieben wurde (auch wenn er nicht laut gesprochen wird), beschreibt was in der Geschichte zwischen den einzelnen Songs geschieht. Außerdem sind sie zwischen den eigentlichen Songs platziert, um dem Album einen zusätzlichen bildlichen Eindruck zu verleihen und dem Hörer eine kleine Pause zu gönnen bevor er sich in einem weiteren, viertelstündigen Opus vertieft.

War diese Aufnahme, welche Chöre beinhaltet, komplexer? War es schwieriger mit vielen unterschiedlichen musikalischen Persönlichkeiten zu arbeiten?

Die gesamte Aufnahme war viel entspannter als bei allen Aufnahmen zuvor aber ich weiß nicht genau weshalb. Es gab keine größeren Schwierigkeiten in irgendeiner Aufnahmephase. Jeder in der Band kam gut mit jedem einzelnen aus und wusste was von den Anderen zu erwarten ist und das gleiche gilt für die Chöre. Wir haben nur Leute gefragt, die wir kennen und mit denen wir bereits vorher gearbeitet haben.

Nun, außer einigen Cover Songs in der Vergangenheit, behaltet Ihr weiterhin eure Texte in Finnisch bei, was es für die meisten Menschen außerhalb eures Landes erschwert, sie zu verstehen. Andererseits lässt es Eure Musik original und speziell klingen, wie wichtig ist es für Dich und die anderen Bandmitglieder weiterhin Musik in Eurer Muttersprache zu machen?

Die finnische Sprache ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil Moonsorrows, und die Songs würden nicht dasselbe Gefühl ohne sie rüberbringen. Ich weiß, dass es möglicherweise unseren Erfolg im Ausland einschränkt, aber wir würden niemals unsere Integrität um des kommerziellen Erfolges willen aufs Spiel setzen. Wir sind eine finnische Band, die auf Finnisch singt, das sind eben wir.

Würdest Du sagen, es ist eines eurer wichtigsten Ziele, die nordische Mythologie wieder in die Köpfe der Jugend zurückzubringen, denkst Du persönlich, sie ist zu sehr in Vergessenheit geraten heutzutage und es sollte wieder daran erinnert werden?

Definitiv scheinen die Menschen in diesen modernen Zeiten sich nicht mehr daran zu erinnern, wo sie herkommen und was sie respektieren sollten. Wir alle verdanken unsere Existenz der natur, welches eine Sache ist, dessen sich unsere Vorfahren noch völlig bewusst waren. Mythologie ist ein geeignetes Hilfsmittel zur Bildung, da sie oft beschreibt wie diese Leute lebten und neben und mit der Natur existierten, sie nicht ausbeuteten oder entgegensteuerten.

Inwieweit beeinflusst die Arbeit deines Cousins Henri in beiden Bands, Moonsorrow & Finntroll, euren Band-Fortschritt, würdest du es als Vorteil für Moonsorrow bezeichnen oder behindert es euren eigenen Erfolg manchmal?

Es hat niemals irgendwelche größeren Probleme deswegen gegeben, wie Henri seine Zeit einteilt. Sicherlich können Moonsorrow und Finntroll niemals Alben zur selben Zeit machen (da Henri die Hauptfigur beider Bands ist) und daher können wir sehr selten gemeinsam touren aber ungeachtet dessen findet Henri für gewöhnlich stets Zeit für beide Bands. Auch ist es für ihn absolut klar wie Moonsorrow und Finntroll jeweils klingen sollen und deshalb verwirrt es ihn auch niemals wirklich, während er für beide Bands schreibt.

Ein großer Unterschied zwischen den Nordeuropäischen Staaten und z.B. Deutschland ist der starke Zusammenhalt der Metal-Bands und die oftmals engen Freundschaften. Ist es genauso in Finnland? Habt Ihr viele Kontakte zu anderen finnischen Bands und würdest du die Szene als eine ‚große Familie' bezeichnen?

Da wir ein kleines Land mit bloß 5 Millionen Einwohnern sind und mit nur wenigen Ballungszentren, kennt jeder mehr oder weniger jeden. Alle Musiker in einer Stadt hängen zusammen in denselben Bars rum, teilen Proberäume und arbeiten manchmal sogar am gleichen Arbeitsplatz. Also ja, es ist sozusagen wie eine große Familie. Und wir kommen alle miteinander klar.

Es gab einige politische Kontroversen in Deutschland in der Vergangenheit wegen Eurer angeblich rechten Gesinnung, kümmert Euch dies noch oder ist das Thema endgültig erledigt?

Natürlich interessiert es mich noch immer. Ich meine, diese angeblichen „politischen Standpunkte", die dieser eine Idiot über uns verbreitete, waren nichts als LÜGEN und es ärgert mich, wenn jemand diesen völligen Schwachsinn tatsächlich glaubt. Es wird nicht geklärt sein, bis dieses erbärmliche menschliche Wesen sich bei uns entschuldigt. Was er offensichtlich nicht vorhat, da er nicht in der Lage ist, zuzugeben, dass er falsch lag.

Ihr spielt auf der Paganfest Tour und dem Summer Breeze dieses Jahr, habt ihr schon Pläne auf weiteren Festivals aufzutreten und werdet Ihr irgendwann demnächst wieder außerhalb Europas touren?

Es wird wahrscheinlich noch einige andere Festivals geben, aber noch wird nichts veröffentlicht.
Auch werden wir mit großer Gewissheit ebenfalls eine weitere Tour im Herbst spielen, man wird es sehen.

Eine abschließende Frage: Denkst Du „Varjoina Kuljemme Kuoleiden Maasa" kann den Erfolg Eures bis dato erfolgreichsten Albums „Kivenkantaja" übertreffen?

Ich hab keine Ahnung, ich denke, dieses ist eine Frage für unsere Marketing Abteilung bei Spinefarm.
Anders ausgedrückt: mich kümmern diese Dinge nicht sonderlich. Natürlich hoffe ich, die Leute werden sie mögen, aber wenn nicht kann ich auch nichts dagegen tun.

Vielen Dank, dass Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, die Fragen zu beantworten! Das Interview führte Natascha North und das Review findet ihr hier.

Metal Assault / April 2010

Link

April 25th 2010, House of Blues, Hollywood CA

Andrew: How is it going touring with Finntroll? They are a folk metal band and you are of the folk/black kind. How has it been with the crowd and everything?
Mitja: It's been great. We haven't toured with Finntroll before although we have been good friends since the beginning and even the main composer for both the bands is the same guy. So it was about time we toured with them. It's been really good, great crowds everywhere, sometimes more and sometimes less, but you can see the enthusiasm in the fans.

Andrew: Your last studio album was in 2007. What's happening with the next one and when can we expect it?
Mitja: It's in the works right now. We'll start writing for the material and get it ready when we go home. It's going to be released in February next year.

Andrew: The last album had just two songs, but of 25 minutes each. I don't think I've ever come across anything like that. What was the idea behind that and do you think it was successful?
Mitja: Well, I think we made it work pretty well. It was a really difficult album for everybody and even for the listener as well. It was hard times and it wasn't easy to put together such a hugely epic album. It took a lot of time and effort to compose the material in such a way that you can actually listen to a 30-minute track that makes sense. I hope it makes sense (laughs).

Andrew: How do you manage to deliver these songs live?
Mitja: We play the second song ['Tuleen Ajettu Maa'] We had a chance to play the whole album this year but we didn't have enough time to rehearse it. But the second song in the album, we have played it many times. Of course there are a lot of arrangements on keyboards. We share some of the parts with the guitarists but it still works. It's not that hard to put together after all. The first song is more difficult as it has a lot more of acoustic parts and parts where the guy is singing with nothing in the background. Those are hard times on stage. But I hope some day we'll play that song as well.

Andrew: The band describes itself as 'epic heathen metal'. Can you elaborate on that?
Mitja: I don't think I need to tell what 'epic' means in our music because we have long epic structures. Overall our music is very epic and 'heathen' is because we consider us as a heathen or pagan band in a way. We support those values and traditions that were in the past. Not religiously or anything, but it's an important theme in our music and lyrics.

Andrew: Tell me about your grindcore side project!
Mitja: (Laughs) Yeah, Lakupaavi. We were in the studio recording our fourth album and we had the drunken crazy idea to put out a press release that we are going to change our style completely into something like hardcore/grindcore stuff with stupid lyrics. Then we released it and everybody got pissed off or were just amazed thinking what the hell is happening with these guys, something is wrong with them. It was so far from our original ideas. But we were in the studio, so we went like 'Ok, let's do the album'. We recorded the first song, released it and after a while we made the whole album (laughs). It was pretty successful I think and everybody loved it. Some people hated it, some of them even burned our CDs, but they didn't realize that we should be able to have fun after all. It wasn't done under Moonsorrow's name anyway.

Andrew: In Germany you guys got into political trouble in the past, being accused as Nazi and things like that. Do you think they've moved on from that and you are able to play gigs over there as you normally would?
Mitja: We always played gigs as normal and it didn't really affect us. But it was very bad publicity because it was complete bullshit. We are not Nazis, we hate Nazis, racism and everything that destroys humanity. So it was very unfortunate. The thing was, it was only one guy behind it all. That says something about the power of internet, magazines and press. If one guy can tell a lie about bands and people, it will be released in every major newspaper in Germany. We had to come out in their media and say that this was all bullshit but it was very sad. I don't think I've ever been as angry at anybody as I was when somebody accused me of being Nazi.

Andrew: You guys write lyrics in Finnish. Do you think that aspect makes it harder in the US because no body can sing along?
Mitja: Well, I don't find it hard because I'm used to it. We play so much abroad that people hardly ever can know our lyrics. So it doesn't really matter. But I'm really surprised that so many people like us in America and abroad as well. We only sing in Finnish and if people are able to adapt to our style and still like the music, that's kind of an achievement. I'm very proud of it.

Andrew: The band recorded two demos in 96 and 97 but never released them. What happened to those?
Mitja: One of them is lost I think. One of them was so bad that it shouldn't be released ever (laughs). But we did the next couple of demos after that.

Andrew: Those next couple of demos were more like melodic black metal and you used a drum machine. Looking back, would you say that it's good you changed from that?
Mitja: Yes of course. There was a huge change from the last demo to the first album. The last demo sounded like very melodic, symphonic black metal. Then our first album ['Suden Uni'] is completely different in every way. It had gotten much more mature within one year.

Andrew: What do you have coming up after this tour?
Mitja: We're going to record the new album in September and then we're going to prepare for a possible DVD later in the fall. The album should be released in February, hopefully everywhere at the same time. So that's what I'm really looking forward to because it's been really long since the last album [in 2007].

Root Of All Evil radio show / April 2010

Link

(Featuring Moonsorrow and Finntroll)

Root of All Evil radio show,
KFAI Twin Cities/Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 18, 2010

Transcription by Megz


Interviewer - SwordLord (promoter for the Minnesota show)

Interviewees - Routa, Vreth, Ville Sorvali

SwordLord: (to show host, Tim) Dude thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. For those of you who missed the Finnish Metal Tour 2010 tonight at Station 4, I'm sorry to inform you, that you may have missed one of the coolest shows I will ever produce for the rest of my life.

Host: Oh yeah, it was good stuff going on there tonight - it was nice!

SwordLord: After a thunderous opening by Rochester's own, Minos, we had Swallow the Sun and we had Moonsorrow and then to top it all off we had 90 minutes of the Finnish trolls, we had Finntroll. And speaking of which we have some of these very good gentlemen in the studio with us tonight. They've volunteered to take off some of their drinking time to come and talk to all of us, although they did not come to the studio unarmed. I think that there is probably more alcohol per capita in here tonight than at any other time in Root of All Evil history. So without further ado, why don't you gentlemen introduce yourselves to our listening audience.

Routa: Hey this is Routa from Finntroll, with the... iced tea, kinda... based stuff. (laughter)

Vreth: Yes and here we have Vreth, the singer of Finntroll.

Ville: And I'm Ville, from Moonsorrow, and...I haven't drank anything today. (all laugh)

Routa: You have a radio voice, by the way.

Ville: Yeeeesssss, I have a raaaaaadio voice. (more laughter)

SwordLord: Well gentlemen, number one, thank you very much for coming down. We play you a lot on this show, we admire you very much and the show was absolutely amazing. First of all, how is the US tour going for you guys? Turnouts good? Response good?

Routa : Oh yeah, yeah...turnouts has been pretty good, so far. Somewhere not so good, somewhere better, but...

Host: What did you think about tonight?

Routa: Tonight was fucking excellent.

Vreth: I love the audience tonight.

Host: Yeah...yeah everybody was there.

Vreth: Yep!

SwordLord: It was a great turnout!

Vreth: In the beginning of the tour there was not that much people. But at some point the rumor spread about a good show and a good tour....

Routa: At least after the Canadian shows it has been really good. (Vreth agreeing)

Ville: When did we not have that many people?

Vreth: The first two shows were quite...quite silent.

Ville: Right.

SwordLord: What...uh...how did this all come together? I mean...Finntroll's come through a bunch of times, but this was really unique to have a tour that was comprised of entirely Finnish...uh...Finnish bands. Is that something that your agency put together? Or is that something that you all sort of orchestrated and brought to the agent?

Routa: Actually it started with the thing, we were at our booking agent office and we had this huge list of bands that....you know, like...as possible support for us. And we were listening to them like *no* *no* *no* *no, fuck that* *no* *fuck that* *no* *no* and then the booking agent was like, well who do you like? *Well Moonsorrow would be nice, for example* cause you know, we are good friends with them and all of the band likes their music. And then like, at first it was supposed to be Insomnium on this tour, but that didn't happen, so we were like....um....and then our booking agent came up with this idea of the Finnish Metal Tour, and blahblahblah...and Swallow the Sun....of course!

SwordLord: I think it was a great package, I really did. And the funny thing is that Moonsorrow actually has been to Minnesota twice before on Heathen Crusade, and so we've actually seen you more than I think the rest of the country has, when Heathen Crusade was back in business.

Ville: Yeah, that's definitely true.

SwordLord: You actually gave a little shout out to that tonight on stage - you mentioned that.

Ville: Yeah, of course. Like, we started, like, invading North America from here, so it's special place.

SwordLord: Well we're very very happy to be that place!

Ville: And I have absolutely no idea how it happened in the first place, anyway.

SwordLord: Yeah, I guess that would be a question to ask the Heathen Crusade folks. But that's actually how I got turned on to you guys, was seeing you at Heathen Crusade, and started the madness from there. But, surely, on a tour like this you gotta have a story or two for us. Give us a good story from the tour.

Routa: Mattias you go first.

Vreth: nononono. (laughter) Well I don't really have any stories from this tour, except that...ohhhh....the amount of alcohol.

(all laugh)

Ville: Ok, I can get over with it as the first person, so you can invent your own stories...(all laughing)... because I actually did fell from a tree. (more laughing)

Vreth: Yeah, that's true, by the way.

Ville: We were in Worcester Massachusetts, and I had this idea after taking a few shots in the bar, that since I'm drunk like a monkey I should also act like a monkey and I try to climb a tree, and I failed.

(laughter)

Routa: And we actually tried to get to a hospital after that, but we were in Canada and it really didn't work out.

Vreth: He got a really nice concussion over there.

Ville: Yeah it lasted for two days.

Vreth: Yep. He fell like 12 feet and hit the back of his head.

SwordLord: What? Well I mean.... 12 feet... if you were up 12 feet I wouldn't call that a fail. Maybe a partial fail. At least you get an A for effort if you get up 12 feet...that's pretty good.

Vreth: We actually had some local fans to get him up in the tree.

Ville: Yeah they helped me, I couldn't reach the branch so I asked a local guy to please help me with this.

SwordLord: What about either of you two - anything you're gonna share or are you gonna make me tell the story from two years ago?

Routa: I would really love to tell the story about Berlin but I can't.

Vreth: nononono

Routa: That's out of the limits.

SwordLord: Well I've just gotta tell, from two years ago, when you guys played the Triple Rock, and you were with Warbringer. I just remember that you had gotten off the bus, Mathias, and you were just...you were looking miserable, you were really in a lot of pain.

Vreth: Yeah, I know...

SwordLord: So I went up to the tour manager and I said *is he ok, is there anything I can do for him?* And he says, the tour manager says to me *well, we were stranded in Wisconsin, the bus had broken down, and he....he ate a hot dog from the gas station grill.* And I said *oh you never do that* and he was like *well yeah, he knows that now.*

Routa: That hot dog was similar, if anyone watches Seinfeld series, where they've got the fucking movie theater and there's this one fucking hot dog over there - it was the same and he ordered that one. (Vreth laughing) *Can I have that one?*

Vreth: Yeah, that was horrible, because...you know, we had been stranded in middle of nowhere for 7 hours, nothing to eat on the bus, no. We had half an hour drive and we got the trailer fixed. For some reason I decided I wanted something warm and nice, and ...um... you know in Finland you can actually eat from the gas stations, you can eat those.

Routa: Yeah, yeah....most of the time it's pretty mellow stuff over there.

Vreth: I was puking for three days. I tell you.

Routa: Yeah but, I mean come on, didn't you watch what you fucking order?

Vreth: Yeah it was kinda green, yeah.

Routa: *Kind of*

(laughter)

SwordLord: Why don't we take a little break, and...what have you got on deck for us, Tim?

Host: Coming up next, I got *Kivenkantaja* from Moonsorrow (mispronounces title)

Ville: Kivenkantaja.

Vreth: That's a good song.

Host: Yes, I picked it myself. (laughter)

SwordLord: Play away sir.

Host: Here on the Root of All Evil.

*plays Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja*

Host: Moonsorrow right here on the Root of All Evil show. KFAI Minneapolis....We've got the SwordLord down, he's got members of Moonsorrow and Finntroll down here taking a visit after their excellent show at Station 4 tonight. What's going on, man?

SwordLord: Oh man, now I just wanna see the show again after I hear that. Amazing stuff. I want to tackle a tough issue on the air, and just see how much trouble I can get into with everybody I know. Basically I don't think it's any secret to anybody who reads your lyrics that you are definitely of a different religious viewpoint than America, even though we're considered a quote/unquote *Christian nation*. And especially, the first thing that pops into my mind, is the Finntroll...is my personal favorite song Rivfader that deals with the Finnish troll that will liberate from Christianity. And even though I don't have a particular Moonsorrow song that's coming to mind, I'm sure you do. So I guess, briefly, why don't you talk about what the religious ideology of your bands are, and what it is like to tour in a nation that is predominately of a different viewpoint.

(throats clearing)

Ville: I cannot say that there would be a definite ideology behind the whole band.... When I am speaking of these tough issues, I can only speak on my behalf, anyway...but...I myself I am a pagan, I oppose Christianity, all the organized religions.... I like to have...uh.... a stronger respect for nature, for example, than these modern people have. I respect old traditions better than the modern....whatever. And....yeah...I get lost in it. I think I got lost in my cup, actually.

SwordLord: I think that covered the ground pretty well.

Routa: Yeah, but I mean....That's basically what...ok, of course I cannot talk everybody on the tour, on their behalf. But that's more or less...how Ville put it.... Organized religions are....not that well taken...with our point of view.

Vreth: You hear all these stories that we are against Christianity, but it's not only that. We are against Christianity because that's the thing you get in Finland, for example...the only religion that they actually try to....really force onto us, so of course we attack Christianity.

Ville: Yes, and by the way, you have a very loud voice. Because you are like, further from the mic than me and Routa, and you can still hear it on the same level.

(all laugh)

Vreth: That's true.

SwordLord: Have you.... If you had to name one song from your band that sort of encompassed your...your ideology, the perfect song, that speaks for you and the band, which would it be?

(silence)

Ville: That's tough question, like seriously. I could pick like, the song from our demo that's also remade on the new EP - Taistelu Pohjolasta, The Battle for North - which is like...very straightforward opposing Christianity, it kinda speaks for the whole band, but it's also a bit too aggressive for...for today, for us, because it's like...it was written over 10 years ago.

Routa: Beause you guys are getting mellooooow.

Ville: Yeah, we are getting mellow, we are getting old. We just like....you get older, you start thinking more of things and like...considering a wider perspective. So we are not that straightforward anymore. But it kinda speaks for the whole band anyway. Band was built on anti-Christianity. We are not black metal, but we are anti-Christian, anyway.

SwordLord: Sure. And the Finnish trolls?

Vreth: I would actually like to name one song of one of my other bands, on this - *You Will Not Lie To Me Christ* it's called - this thing with the lies and everything. That probably sums it all up.

Routa: I mean....with Finntroll it also started as like, anti-Christian thing, kinda... In a way. But it has moved in a ways that....like, you know....like...not just anti-Christian, but just you know, use your own brain basically thing. Like, what you feel good, is gonna be good with you....but not just like....fall into the lies of everyday life....

SwordLord: Sure.

Ville: I would also like to stress on this subject, that it's not only opposing religion, but I think the main idea behind both bands is also opposing modern society.

Routa: Yeah. Exactly.

Ville: All the consuming and everything. That takes away meaning from people's lives.

Routa: The basic concept is just - use your own fucking brain.

Vreth/Ville: Yeah.

Routa: *Darn* brain! (all laughing)

SwordLord: I was sitting right here and he said plucking....

Ville: Yeah, use your own plucking brain.

(laughter)

SwordLord: One thing that has always stood out to me, not only for Finntroll but also Moonsorrow, is the fact that you have not...you've always recorded in your native language and have not translated to English, whereas many of your counterparts - Sonata Arctica for example and whatnot, have. (Routa - they suck) Is there a particular reason for that, or do you just prefer to record in your native language and stay true to your roots - what's the reason behind that?

Ville: Yeah it's like...it is a strong part of the concept behind the band. We did our first demo in English anyway, but we changed to Finnish because we felt it fit the concept much better. It's part of the band. We are Finnish anyway, we are talking of subjects that are more or less Finnish, we are playing music that sounds Finnish, and English is not even spoken in our home country. So....I don't know, why should we do it.

SwordLord: And yet you speak it very well. (laughing) No, and that wasn't a jab, I mean that as a compliment. It's always amazing....What do you call a person who can speak three languages - trilingual, a person that can speak two languages - bilingual, a person that can only speak one language - American.

Ville: Yeah but, you should hear when I'm really drunk, because then I can speak like 17 languages.

(laughter)

SwordLord: Have any of you discovered any opposition on any of your US tours because of your content - your lyrical content.

Ville: Yes we have.

SwordLord: Really?

Ville: Not beause of the lyrical content, but on the last American tour we decided to make it like, just to test the ground a bit, we made one t-shirt design that had a viking ship coming to the shore of New York with the Statue of Liberty on fire with a Finnish flag planted at the place of the torch. We got some opposition because of that.

Host: Yeah, I can imagine.

SwordLord: I would give you 100 dollars for one of those shirts right now.

Ville: We don't have any because they sold out!

(laughter)

Vreth: I actually really appreciate... yes - there's something I really respect in this...

Ville: Yeah, it's....we never, like...we never thought we would be insulting the Americans or whatnot. We just wanted to make...like... a good fancy picture like, we're invading America with our own Finnish stuff. And somehow, we probably got crossed the border a bit, some Americans got pissed off.

SwordLord: What about the Finnish trolls?

Routa: No actually, we have to say that....there has been none.

Vreth: No, no problems with us. We haven't really done anything.

Routa: All of our graphics is anyway more or less like, shamanistic in a way. Samuli's.... uh, the other guitar.... SKRYMER's ...weird things of art....thing is so.... yeah, I'm going with my hands all over the studio...

(laughter)

Vreth: This is not the best time of the day to do an interview anymore. Because....as...uh... You may not...may not see... but there has been consumed a considerable amount of vodka during this interview.... actually, we are running out..

Ville: Yeah, we had one liter of this.... iced tea and now it's like....empty....which is kinda sad.

Routa: There is not gonna be any more plucking words...

Ville: I have to mention, on that last subject, actually. The misconceptions we've had.... many times during our career.... people are for some reason mistaking us for Nazis. We get these people, like last year in Kentucky there was this one well-trimmed white guy without a shirt, and he had like, a swastika tattooed on him and on his belly it said *weiss macht*, which is like *white power*. He came to us like *yeah, my brothers*....and all that kinda bullshit... I want to say to all those people we are not your brothers. Go *beep* yourselves.

Routa: Same thing with Finntroll, actually. Definitely... We have had those kind of things in the past as well, and whatever...

Vreth: Yup....and when you go to a show and they're gonna show....the sign of old Germany...you know...

Ville: The logo of Germany...

Routa: The *German logo* - it's a bad joke actually, it's kinda like a joke between the bands. Nobody will get that anyway... sorry...

Ville: Yeah we make those jokes...whatever...but it's like... I don't know why these people chose us. In the first place... Because we are like...we are national romantic, if you get the term right. And if you get the term wrong, then you can really easily see us as Nazis, which is nothing we have to do anything with.

Routa: Yeah but....we are not like we hate anybody over there...

Ville: Yeah we don't hate anyone... or everyone equally.

(laughter)

Routa: That's a better way to put it, yeah, definitely.

SwordLord: Well, guys, I want to just thank you for taking time out of your schedules to come down and talk to all of us, and talk to the Minnesota metal radio audience, it was a real, real honour and pleasure to have you here.

Routa: Oh, thank you so much.

SwordLord: Good luck on the tour, I hope it continues to go well for you. I guess in closing, the one thing that I really want to say is, I know - I haven't been in this business for very long, but I've been in it long enough - I know the American market is a tough nut to crack. I know you play to tiny little venues and not nearly as many people as you do overseas, but don't give up on us. We need this type of music. We love having you here and believe me - when you come we will be there to support you, and we can't wait until you come back again. Truly.

Vreth: That's really nice to hear, thank you very much. (thanks from the others too)

Host: I appreciate you coming down, and bringing your presence down here - it's very special to this radio show. And I'm gonna ask you a favour on top of that. I want to get a radio ID from all of you live right now, since we've got recording...so just say your name, the band you're in and *you're listening to the Root of All Evil show*. Anybody can start.

Vreth: What are we listening to?

Host: The Root of All Evil. (everybody practices saying *the root of all evil*)

Routa: Who's first?

Host: Anybody.

Vreth: He is first!

Routa: Hey this is Routa from Finntroll and you're listening to the Root of all Eviiiillllllah!

Vreth: Hello! This is Vrrrreth from Finntroll and the Root of All..... Evil rocks....

(laughter)

Host: Yes, and finally...

Ville: Yes...hello. This is Ville, from Moonsorrow. You're listening to Root of All Evil, the greatest metal show in Minnesota.

Host: Right on, man.

Routa? (not sure): You suck...

(all laughing)

Host: It was great having you guys down. We're gonna play some Finntroll, we've got Demonicon coming up next. Thank you SwordLord for showing up.

SwordLord: Thank you!

Host: We'll see you next week. You guys have a safe trip.

Vreth? (not sure): Will do...will do...

Host: And a good tour. Root of All Evil on KFAI...

*plays Blodmarsch, Solsagan, and I Trädens Sång*