Agonia Zine / August 2000

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Answered by Ville Sorvali


Greetings Ville. Your debut album is finally out. How can you describe its music to people who have never listened to Moonsorrow?

[Ville] Heathen greetings! If there are people who have never listened to Moonsorrow, they should be aware that what they have missed is an epic blend of metals (the subgenres named "heavy" and "black", particularly) with influences from Finnish folk music, somewhat reminiscent of Bathory but still something they have never heard before. Bombastic heathen metal, as we have ended up calling it.

Plasmatica Rec. is the publisher of the album. Why did you decide to sign a contract just with this label?

[Ville] Why not? They had proven themselves reliable prior to the contract negotiations, they really liked our music, they really wanted to sign us and they offered us a good deal. Still it was only a one-album deal and who knows where we're heading next.

Earlier, you were supporting Moonsorrow youself. It is Plasmatica's job now. Are you satisfaied with what they are doing for the band?

[Ville] I must say I'm pretty satisfied. Plasmatica is a small company with a limited budget, but they really work for their bands with as much promotion as they can bear. Their touch is professional and I certainly believe they'll get further with time. Also with this kind of a small label the business is honest and pretty close to friendship. Yes, the album was delayed, but in the last hand it wasn't the label's fault.

Returning to your music: as for me it's something between Bathory (epic) & Einherjer. Would you agree with me?

[Ville] Yeah, to an extent I could agree with that because the connections between our music and the abovementioned bands are clear. Still there is much more in our music and simple comparisons can never describe it entirely. It can sound a bit like Bathory or Einherjer or whatever but it's Moonsorrow. I'd be happy if all people could listen to our music themselves and build their own conceptions, to personally decide whether we're extremely unoriginal or not.

What about your music and non-music inspirations?

[Ville] I listen to a lot of different music, mostly metal but also a great deal of classical, folk, prog, rock, synth music and perhaps everything else than that crap you usually hear on MTV. Just a handful of my absolute fave bands are Bathory, Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Iron Maiden, Emperor, The Doors, Katatonia, Morbid Angel and Nordman, without forgetting all the great composers like Bach and Dvorak. All of them in all their greatness have given me an inspiration to (try to) write music, but it's just the inspiration I get from listening to good music and not any guidelines in what vein to compose, of course. Outmusically my biggest influence is undoubtably nature, and I also am very fascinated about history, folklore, mythology and various works in literature and pictoral arts. Mel Gibson rules too.

What is the reason for your music is so folkish? Are your native roots very important in your life & music?

[Ville] It was our idea since the formation of Moonsorrow to combine folk music with metal, and during the years the presence of the folkish influences just grew more and more obvious. And that's how we like it. What comes to the part of our native roots, our music would really be something different if we were born in Nigeria or Malesia instead of Finland. Not only the folkish side would be different but also the whole atmosphere of the music, because -you can tell it, can't you- in every aspect our music is rather distinquishably Finnish. Umm yeah, we're proud to be the rough northmen we are but that really has nothing to do with nationalism.

I was really surprised when I heard accordian on "Suden Uni".... in such music. I have to admit it fits excellent...

[Ville] To arrange parts for accordion in the first hand was Henri's idea, and I have to admit I was a bit sceptic towards it at first. When he recorded the accordion on the sequencer "demo tracks", I was amazed indeed how it fit our music. The plan was to play the accordion from the synthesizer - we had no accordion and none of us could play it anyway - but when there was this old instrument found in the studio, Henri rehearsed a few hours and eventually played those parts with it!

But your music is also very epic. It has some war spirit inside. Can you tell us something about it?

[Ville] Just as with the folk music thing, it was the very idea to make some very epic music. It simply is how we like it. There is a great deal of war spirit inside Moonsorrow - our symbolic "call to arms" for a new pagan age to come - but it's not a hail to war itself.

What about are your texts?

[Ville] Hmmm, about a half of our published lyrics involve the schism between pagans and christians in various ways, as it is a topic very close to me on emotional level. The other half is more -should I say- positive with themes like nature, home, pagan beliefs and such; always something that matters to us. There is not a general theme for Moonsorrow's lyrics, but they are all related to paganism for sure.

All in all what was the reason why you decided to start with a band & to play music just like that?

[Ville] We just love music and we love to play it, it's in our blood! Basically because of that we've been forming countless bands and projects since 10 years of age. Moonsorrow just grew the most important of them because it is something that we have always wanted to do the most and sincerely believed in; the music, the lyrics, everything is born in the deepest of our hearts.

The way to record this debut album wasn't too easy. Your first album had o be realased already in 1998. What was the reason for this delay? It was finally realased as a demo tape.

[Ville] "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" (the recording in question) was actually all along meant to be a demo tape. We didn't feel even close to prepared for a debut album back then, even though we had 3 demos (2 of which unreleased though) behind us already. Yep, it should've been released in 1998, but we experienced some minor difficulties in the recording process... at times the studio we had booked was already reserved (what an organization!), at times there was some equipment missing and finally our half-ready master tape was destroyed twice! However, we managed to complete "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" just a year delayed, and it shortly became the demo that earned us the record contract.

"Tama Ikuinen Talvi" was realased by your own label & by Russian Metal Agen. Was it your own idea?

[Ville] Originally "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was only released by Meat Hook Productions, our own do-it-yourself label. Soon we started to choose labels where to send the tape with means to explore their willingness to sign us (we eventually felt ready for a debut album), and it was then when Metal Agen stepped into the picture. They had insufficient resources for signing us, but they offered a Russian release of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" instead. The people in Russia have a harsher economy anyway and we could never be able to produce copies of the tape with so low expenses that we could offer the Russians some reasonable prices. That's why we sold a lisence to Metal Agen, limiting to the borders of Russia.

How do audience take on your music? What about your reviews?

[Ville] So far it seems that people like what we're doing, and there seems to be a general interest towards our band in the underground. Nothing special to hype about, but at least we're not neglected. Most of the feedback we have received is positive and the strictly negative reviews can be counted with the fingers you possess. Most bands can say this, I know; the people who hate a our music don't have any particular reasons to tell us their opinions, so we won't ever know how many of them are around.

Are you good musicans? How long do you play instruments? Your cousin seems to be versatil musican...

[Ville] Yeah, my cousin is one Hel of a talent. He has been playing keyboards since 4 years of age, guitar since his early teens, also the bass and the drums for some years and he's able to learn any new instrument (like the accordion) within a reasonably short time. His whole comprehensive and high school time was firmly connected with music, and at current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatory in a higher musical education. Then, I am a totally different issue: I have never had a considerable musical education, apart from some short periods of instrument lessons and some optional stuff at school, and I've been playing the bass with some aims for only a year and a half (I started the bass at the same time with the drums, some 7 years ago, but I dropped it shortly). But at least I can play what is demanded, and could that be too little?

There are three another musicans in Moonsorrow. (beside you & your cousin). Tell us something about them.

[Ville] Yeah, our third official member is Baron Tarwonen, he who rules the thunder of Moonsorrow; a skilled, accurate and fast drummer whose style of playing really fits our music. He's been playing the drums for some 15 years, most of that time under professional guidance, and he also has a few years' experience in the guitar. The first of the two session members we use in live situations is Shadow, a talented guitar player and certainly an educated one. The other is Lord Eurén, our self-taught session keymaster who can also name the strings of the guitar.

What is your opinion on the Finnish scene these days? Why do you think there are so many bands in Finland, especially considering it's population?

[Ville] Why does everyone ask this question? Well, the Finnish scene -as I think all the "scenes"- has it's good and bad sides, nothing so special. There are great bands who'd deserve "breaking through" to the outside world, there are rockstars who have already done that and last but not least there is the endless stream of unskilled basement groups who'd better find another hobby... The great number of bands around here just proves that music, and especially metal music, is in the blood of the Finnish people - or could it be that some people just have too much money and nothing else to do?

You also run a small label & fanzine. Which bands did you publish 'till now?

[Ville] Actually Meat Hook Productions and Meathooked 'zine were originally developed by Henri, but soon it happened that I had taken them under my supreme control (uhh yeah). The bands whose material - and that means demos only - I/we have released are Ahti, Mikhail Atom, Gorewinter, Kharadrai, Lunar Womb, Masturbory, Moonsorrow, Nekroaaltouuni, Solar Tomb, Terrorthrone, Thornfrost, Unhola, Urospuu and Woods Of Belial. Respectively I have operated in 7 of these projects and Henri in 8 of them.

What can you tell us about your future plans?

[Ville] Only that there are nothing specified as "future plans". We are just hoping to play some gigs and to create some outstanding material for our next full-length and other possible releases. Nothing but beer is certain.

Thanx for you answers. It's time for yur final words...

[Ville] No need to thank me, just raise your ale-horn and pledge to the gods!