TRANSCRIPTION
How is it going?
Pretty good. It's been a busy week or, how would I say, three weeks? We've been touring quite a lot. We're mostly recovering from last weekend. It was fun, but a lot of shows and a lot of travelling. But it's right to finally tour in Finland as well.
What about Marko, your drummer? I heard he got hurt doing martial arts or something. How is he doing?
He's still limping like an idiot, it looks stupid but he plays pretty well. It doesn't really affect his performance, it's just that we cannot do the fastest songs, he cannot do that kick drum thing very fast for a long time, but otherwise... yeah. Ville is sick today, he sounded like an old granny, with screechy voice, forty degrees of fever and so on.
That's why you're doing the interview.
Well, yes.
What can we expect from the show tonight? What are your expectations? I mean, you haven't been here [in Joensuu] since Ilosaarirock in 2003.
Yeah, it's amazing how long time it is. One in 10 years, and it seems like only 5 years passed. We are as enthusiastic as I hope the people are here as well. So we're gonna give our best show.
You've been touring so much, after this you'll be heading to Jyväskylä and after that you'll be going to lots of festivals abroad and of course Nummirock. Which of the coming events excites you the most?
I'm not lying if I say all of them, because I don't have any preferences, it's just that we get to play—for example, we have a couple of shows in Italy and they're both headlining shows, so of course they're exciting for us. And then the summer festivals always have a special atmosphere. Nummirock especially is a midsummer festival. Festivals in Finland are different from, let's say, German festivals.
How so?
There's something about Finnish summer and the nature and everything, when you finally get to play in such remote places like the Nummirock festival, which is in the middle of the woods, and so on. It has some special thing.
Will you be touring more after the last festival in June?
Actually will be just concentrating on recording the album, which will happen in August or something, so we're pretty busy with that. I don't think we're gonna tour that much before we release the album, and that's going to be either very late this year or early next year.
That's nice to hear, because I will ask you more about that. [laughs] By the way, how do you make the fake blood that you put on before the shows?
It depends, because usually we use real blood, but it gets bad after a certain period of time and you can't really use it unless you're playing in Watain, so then we use theatrical blood on tours. But in Finland, or if we're just a couple of days abroad, then we're just using real blood.
Wow.
It's much better actually, because the fake blood sticks in the pores of your skin and you look like a cancer patient after a couple of days. It's really horrible how people are looking on the tour, like they're terminally ill or something.
I was expecting you would give me some kind of recipe. [laughs]
Your lyrics are mostly in Finnish and when you're playing the crowd sings along. Which country do you think sings the most accurately outside of Finland?
Definitely Hungary.
Hungary?
Yes.
Wow.
Because there's a small link between Finnish and Hungarian languages, very small, very remote, but still they have been the most enthusiastic at learning Finnish. When we were there for the first couple of times we could hear so many people singing completely accurately all the lyrics. That was impressive.
What are some of your activities when you're not touring?
Well... living from the music is difficult and... I Never thought that we should live from the band or anything, because I have many other interests in life as well. I work as a cameraman and photographer, I do lives for all kinds of TV stuff. And then I have hobbies like sailing, I have a boat with a friend of mine, and I'm travelling quite a lot.
Do you still do the camera stuff for TV shows?
Yes, actually...
What TV shows?
Everything from the news to TV feature films and some commercials. And I also do commercial photography, when I can.
How have things changed since you signed with Century Media in terms like touring, making the current album and such?
You know... nothing has changed, because we still haven't released an album with them! We're still on the process of releasing the first album for Century Media, and then things might change, but we're waiting to get ready and they're waiting for us to be ready to release. We've met them, they're really nice people, and they seem to know pretty well what they are doing and how to work with this band. It's been very enjoyable to discuss with them.
Last year you released a boxed collection through Blood Music. It must have been so satisfying to know that your work from '95 to '08 is stored in one compilation, and it kind of re-introduces your beginnings to some people. How was that experience, and what was involved in making that happen?
I met the owner of the company about 4 years ago and he brought up the idea, we were just discussing something in a bar. I thought it was a crazy idea, that it wouldn't work, but he was very persistent. He had already done the Strapping Young Lad box, so he had an idea of how to work it. Then he approached the whole band, we started working on it, putting things together, seeing how it would go. It was a lot of work, it all took two yearsand a lot of involvement from the band and from him. Every single detail has been checked and redone, and it's a very particular way of working when you have to go through everything so many times, there are so many box sets, every layout is different, every set is different, millions of factors that have to be right. So we have a lot of respect for him.
Is it true that it's limited to only 100 copies?
No, there were about 400. There are 4 different sets, each 100, and one of them is 150. The "die hard" set is 150. It sold out pretty fast. I would never exp—
It sold out already?
Yeah, it sold out just... within a month or two the last copies were gone. There are still some few copies at some stores or eBay, but they are really expensive, so I don't know if they're ever gonna move.
Is it true that you've spent most of 2014 writing your new material, or do you think you'll be writing more?
We did and we ditched a lot of material. We had a lot of songs ready but it just didn't click. We thought that it wasn't perfect, we can do better, and we just ditched those songs and then started all over again. That was good, now the material is really good, it's gonna be a great album. We're all really satisfied with the material so far.
You mentioned that you don't want to do the same formula over and over again. Black metal, traditional Scandinavian music, progressive rock and nature: those elements will always be a part of your music. What are some new elements that will distinguish the new album?
Once again, there is a new kind of mix of those elements. It's hard to say how it's so different. The whole tonality of it is different. It sounds different compared to our last album, or any of them. But it's more like... There are so many elements. It's not as streamlined as the previous album, that was produced in the same kind of mood all through, but this time there are a lot of passages, there are a lot of metal parts and a lot of very black metal-ish parts. So I think it's going to be quite interesting for many people, actually.
[in the most unexcited voice possible] This sounds exciting, definitely.
I read that the new songs won't reach the usual epic lengths of the old songs. Is there any truth to this?
Depends on how you look at it. There are no 30-minute tracks, but mostly they are 15-minute tracks. It's not going to be any really short songs or anything. We're trying to have actually one shorter song also, because...
You're actually trying to make short songs now?
Yes, but we don't want to force it, it's stupid to try to force yourself.
Will you tell us if it's going to have any kind of cover, like on Tulimyrsky?
I don't think we will... We don't really like doing those, unless there's a perfect match that we really want to put out, but definitely not with the album. It will be some bonus.
Any estimation on when we can get our hands on the new album?
It's still in the talks. I would say very early 2016. It's possible to have it this year, but I'm not sure it's wise, because it needs a certain time for promotion, or preparing the cover art and everything, so it might be better to have it next year.
Your side band, Lakupaavi—how's that coming along now?
It's coming along all the time. It's stupid how many songs I, for example, have written during all these years. I have some 30 songs or something. Most of them I already have forgotten, or I really have to think to remember them, but there is some brilliant stuff. But we just never did it. Right now we are discussing that we should do it.
So you never had time since the last?
Or it just didn't feel right. The Lakupaavi album was done very spontaneously, it was just an outburst of whatever shit we were feeling and wanted to bring out. It should be done in the same way, or maybe in a totally different context. Maybe it won't be a Lakupaavi album, but something else. But I really wish to do it, because I have some really great songs.
Maybe different from Moonsorrow.
Yes, of course. It's this punk/grindcore stuff.
I read online that you're not drinking any more, well, you're drinking right now, but...
Who said that?
It must have been from an interview, I can't remember, that you don't drink any more... but you are drinking.
[looks at his beer can with sadness in his eyes] Yeah... I mean...
Who stopped drinking?
Nobody! (laughs) What the fuck is that?
Must have been a joke, then.
Yeah.
So, last question. Is there any message to our readers, your fans, out there?
Yes, there definitely is, because we are really waiting for having the opportunity to tour again all over the world, so wherever you are, if we are coming near you, please come to say hello and come to the show.
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