Luciferium / November 2000

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Answered by Henri and Ville Sorvali

Could you tell me, in your own words, how it started with Moonsorrow and what happened after your debut demo ”Metsä”?

[Henri] Moonsorrow was created by me, Henri Urponpoika Sorvali, and Ville Seponpoika Sorvali in autumn 1995 to make some heathenish and epic metal music. We recorded our first demo ”Thorns Of Ice” in January 1996 but when I started to dub it to the demo tapes which were supposed to be sold, I realized that half of the material had somehow disappeared from the master tape. So, we never released it. ”Metsä” was created in May 1997, basically just for fun, but in the last hand we thought about to release it as a demo, which we then did. After that we moved on to write new material and did a promo tape in 7/97. However, it also wasn’t never released due to the extremely bad sound quality. So we started to focus more on our new material for the next demo, which basically took one to year to be finished. After finishing the composing we begun to record it in studio... an event so full of catastrophes like disappeared mixing desk, half-destroyed tapes etc. etc. that it would be a great pleasure not to memorize it all day. Anyway, after half a year of teethgrinding, swearing and misfortune ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was finally in our hands! (Actually, I’m not too fond of this tape – the result became way too much blackish to me.) We sent the tape around and woke up some people’s interest, but after all we decided to take Plasmatica Records’ offering. Now, the album should be out when you read this and I guarantee it will surely awaken the pagan past in some people... behold!!!

Your lyrics are all written in Finnish. Could you investigate the concept please?

[Ville] So Henri kindly left this question for me. Anyway. Yep, our lyrics have been written in Finnish ever since Henri left the job for me, i.e. after ”Metsä”. I wouldn’t like to explain anything in detail, but the concept is paganistic, loosely characterizing. There are quite a few songs on our latest recordings about the battles between pagans and christians (battles in the north, heh), though all being wholly different stories, and then some about nature and all the nice things. I am anyway planning to add an English translation for each Finnish written lyric of Moonsorrow to our website so anyone interested can look for the meanings oneself. (That, however, requires a lot of time and nerves as I am a high-grade perfectionist.)

I guess your majestic music would make a big impression live on stage. Did you play live? How were the reactions?? Is there a chance to see Moonsorrow live in Germany??

[Henri] Yes, we play live. We have played four times now (4/00-11/00) and a half of the live performances have been very satisfying, both to us and the audience. Personally I like working in the studio more, but -heh- isn’t there a little ”rockstar-wannabe” in us all...? What comes to the gigs in Germany... well, I just visited your country a couple of months ago (8/00) with my other band, Finntroll. We played at Partysan Open Air with Helheim, Necrophobic (Mera vodka, grabbar? Bohohohohoh!!!), Amon Amarth etc. etc. and it was basically a pleasant journey. However, I don’t see Moonsorrow performing their heathen metal music in Germany for a while... it depends on who is willing to pay for the expenses (flights, food etc.). If someone will, we’ll be there before you can say ”vittusaatanaminnenmihinkäänhapankaalimaahanlähre!”.

The ”Metsä” demo was a typical underground black-metal demo. The ”Tämä...” demo was more into pagan-metal. But as I heard the advance tape from ”Suden Uni” album, I was impressed about the songwriting of the Finnish folk elements and the good production. Has it been a natural procedure, or has there been drastical decisive events in your life?

[Henri] Ehhh...? ”Typical underground black-metal demo”? I think it’s excellent. And then again... what is ”pagan metal”? I consider every single release of Moonsorrow to be 100% pure fucking pagan metal – no options. Anyway, I can’t see any major differences between our products, there’s always the same ”Moonsorrow-vibe”, so to say, and after all I find many parts of the two demos and the album to be near each other musically speaking. So, not any event has changed our lives, heh. But seriously, with our album we just wanted to take a few steps back to where we started from, playing slower and in a more folkish way (as you could hear of ”Thorns Of Ice”). Besides, as I told you before, the ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” tape was too blackish to be an exact 100% Moonsorrow-product. Too much ”Norway-effect”, hehehehe...

[Ville] I also reckon all our releases to be distinctively done by Moonsorrow, all the way from ”Thorns Of Ice” to ”Suden Uni” and beyond. For sure we have developed, and hugely even, but we have not changed to emphasize the meaning of the word. We have always been playing pagan metal, 100% pagan metal and nothing but pagan metal. It’s also true that ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is a bit too ”black metal” considering our musical aims, but really, it is an exact 100% Moonsorrow-product just as all our other releases.

As I understand is the ”Suden Uni” album not out now. Why? When could we expect the release and.., what means ”Suden Uni” in English language??

[Henri] Well, it should be out, at least by now when you read this interview. The record company had some serious problems with the release date, you know, like fucked up printing etc. etc. Plasmatica Records is a small underground label, but we trust them and as we also know that most of the problems they faced during the supposed releasing weren’t because of them, there’s no need to get pissed all the way. The title, ”Suden Uni”, means ”A Wolf’s Dream” in English.

How did it come to the deal with the Swedish label?

[Henri] We sent our demo to different labels and among them was Plasmatica. And as Ville had been in contact with Carlos (the label boss) for a while, he knew that it would be a reliable label. So, Carlos got damn interested when he heard the tape and the rest is history. Besides, Sweden is so close to Finland geographically that we can take a trip there almost anytime if necessary. Like, imagine if our record company was in Chile or Malesia...! It would be very difficult to ”solve” problems if they ripped us off etc...

How do you create your songs? Did the Finnish myths and the beauty nature affect you? Or where did you get your inspirations?

[Henri] 95% of the Moonsorrow material I create comes straight from hy head, so I do not ”sit and compose”, as some say. A huge source of inspiration for us is of course nature and myths/legends/folk tales but if getting real, no one is really capable to write a single riff by staring a spruce tree if not heard any music ever, if you know what I mean. So I think the inspiration comes definitely from the abovementioned things, but the basis of our music lies in old folk music and, of course, good ol’ metal music.

On ”Suden Uni” works a heroic n proud mood. Even though the groovy asskicking parts are appearing, that I not expected in that form. Where are your musical roots and what kind of music do you listen today?

[Henri] Thank you for this compliment! Even though I can’t imagine what the ”groovy asskicking parts” are, I am glad they work out as well. Our musical roots are long and fucking messy. I, for example, spent my childhood listening mostly to classical music (I was supposed to be a concert pianist. Pretty ironic, don’t you think... :)) and when I grew a bit older I got interested in Kiss, Wasp, Twisted Sister etc. Then came Iron Maiden, Sepultura and loads of others, and in the early nineties I was completely blown away by death, black, grind etc. metal. Nowadays I listen to metal bands like Bal-Sagoth, Bathory, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Emperor, Hades, a lot of progressive rock like Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Camel, Pekka Pohjola and shitloads of folk music like Annbjørg Lien, Garmarna, Nordman (!), Hedningarna, Mari Boine etc. I also very much enjoy film scores, baroque music, classical music in general and some ambient like Steve Roach. As far as I’m concerned, Ville and Baron are into same types of music except that Ville is more into folk and Baron is more into prog, I guess.

[Ville] I couldn’t say it any better. So, what comes to my musical past, I think I mostly listened to rock when I was a kid. My first touches with metal were Iron Maiden and Metallica, then came Sepultura –> Entombed –> Emperor and my fate was set. My all time fave metal groups include Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, Bathory, Morbid Angel and Darkthrone among others, and I of course also listen to prog, rock (still), classical and, as Henri said, lotsa folk (and folkish) music. Nordman kicks ass, the most certainly!

Where comes your pseudonyms ”Tyr” and ”Yggr” from and what does it mean?

[Henri] Our pseudonymes were taken from the Nordic mythology, Tyr being the god of war and justice and Yggr being a nickname (meaning ”terrifying”) of Odin the Allfather. However, we have not used these names since 1997.

I guess, with a good support/promotion you could make a big career. Your sound is fresh and pure and it’s got its own character, what is very seldom these days. Where are your future with Moonsorrow? What’s your wishes and plans?

[Henri] Phew... compliment, compliments. :) Out future plans are to write more good music and record our next album in 7/2001. Before that we intend to gig every now and then. Our wishes are that the album would be heard by many and like by few. We also wish for the total destruction of christianity in the north and for the old gods to be worshipped again, but one thing at the time, ehh...

Now, that’s it, for the first time. Good luck in Moonsorrow, hope your wishes’ll come true! The last words are yours!!!!!!

[Henri] Thank you for this excellent interview which I hope I answered correctly as it is 9:30 in the morning and I’ve slept for 3 hours last night. Anyway, good luck for your ’zine and remember the pagan past! Hail!!!!!