Diabolical zine / February 2001

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Answered by Ville Sorvali

Hii ville. Firstly, can you tell me about the SUDEN UNI?

[Ville] Well hello there. What can I tell you about ”Suden Uni”? It’s our debut album, recorded in February 2000 in Tico-Tico Studio and released a year later by Plasmatica Records. It consists of 6 epics of the most bombastic heathen metal with a folkish touch, counting up to a bit over 40 minutes of primaeval musical enjoyment. If bands like Bathory or Einherjer are close to your heart, do yourself a favour and check it out!

There are some differences between TAMA IKUINEN TALVI and SUDEN UNI also there are some differences in sound like the second and sixth song in SUDEN UNI. Is this a change?

[Ville] Yes, there is a difference between our last demo ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” and ”Suden Uni”. While ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was more blackish and norse, with ”Suden Uni” we took a bold step towards a heavier sound and actually returned to the epic lines of our first official demo ”Metsä”. I still don’t think we’ve changed radically at all; as with all of our releases, we’re only getting closer to what we want it all to sound. Then, what comes to ”Suden Uni”, in my opinion there really aren’t any radical differences between the tracks. Of course they are all different (as all songs should be) but they all fit the same concept perfectly, I mean the Moonsorrow-sound is strongly present within all the songs. But soundwise there indeed is a slight difference between the sixth track (1065: Aika) and the rest of the tracks. That is just because ”1065” is the most epic of the tracks and thus demanded a more ”epic” sound. We only deepened the snare drum sound to achieve that, though, so the difference really isn’t that big.

Why did SUDEN UNI to publish from PLASMATICA RECORDS?

[Ville] After we had completed ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” (which was one hell of a process, by the way), we decided that it was the time for Moonsorrow to start searching for a label to release our debut album. We sent a bunch of demos all over the world and eventually got a few offers for a record deal. The offer of Plasmatica Records was the best of them, so we chose it.

Did you make this albume with Henri Sorvali?

[Ville] Yes, but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we also got a third member in our line-up, namely Baron Tarwonen. The songs on the album were all composed by Henri with some assistance from me, the lyrics were written by me and the arrangements were done by the three of us. In the studio I played the bass, Henri played the guitars and the keyboards and Baron played the drums and percussives. There are also some parts with mouth harp and accordion which Henri played and some 12-string acoustic which Baron played. Of the vocals I did the shrieks, Henri sang the cleans and Baron backed us both. The choirs and handclaps were done by all of us with assistance from a few special guests. So obviously it’s not the two of us anymore, it’s more of a band now.

I dont know anything about your concerts. Can you tell me some?

[Ville] We have played four concerts so far, two in Helsinki and two in Turku. All of these gigs were done before the album was released, and so the audience perhaps didn’t get a proper picture of Moonsorrow because we played mostly songs that weren’t heard by anyone before. It’s hard to tell if we are a good live band, because I’m always on stage when we play and thus unable to observe, but we’ll keep testing that and play as many gigs as possible in the near future.

Whats the meaning of your song 1065 AIKA, is this date means something special?

[Ville] 1065 is the year that is written to the annuals of history as the end of the viking reign. That song is but a tribute to the northmen, also a sad story dealing with the demise of all heathen cultures within the current area of the christian rule. Most of our ancestors were not vikings anyway but their fate was the same, so I decided to use vikings as the symbol just because they might be the most well-known heathen culture in the christian era.

What are the plans of your firm MEAT HOOK PROD. for this year?

[Ville] The only plan of this year and the last plan ever is to close down the whole thing. Time and money don’t allow me to continue with it anymore, as unfortunate as it might be.

There are lots of bands from different countries like NEW ZELLAND, MALTA, COLOMBIA in MEAT HOOK PROD. Are you choosing them or are they coming yo you?

[Ville] The bands from those ”exotic” countries are only in our distribution, they are not what we have released. In our team we have (had) only Finnish bands and one Russian solo-artist. Naturally I am choosing what to distribute, but most of the bands in our distribution have first got in touch with me and not vice versa.

Is CRYPT your project band? What about the SOLAR TOMB is it Henri Sorvali's?

[Ville] Yep, Crypt is one of my projects. It was a serious band at first, but it broke down in 1994 and in 1996 two of us just got together to record a demo so that our material wouldn’t be totally forgotten. Solar Tomb is again one of Henri’s projects, actually it is a side-creation of his other project Lunar Womb.

Whats the meaning of SUDEN UNI?

[Ville] ”Suden Uni” is Finnish for ”a wolf’s dream”. What’s the meaning of it, that’s up to you.

The guestions are over, do you want to say something else?

[Ville] I don’t know if there’s anything I would especially want to say, but thanks for the interview anyway! Keep the flame of heathendom burning inside your heart!!!