Moonsorrow - Interview
Interview with Ville Sorvali (vocals, bass)VU: Your new album is coming out soon. It has a running time of nearly one hour containing only two songs with each of them about 30 minutes long. How come there are only two songs on the album? Was it planned or did it happen by chance?
As we say, the song is ready when it´s ready. We didn´t plan on making only two songs for the album, but as the composing process proceeded, we realised that the songs are just stretching and stretching. And as we don´t want to end the process but let the process end itself, this is how it turned out.
VU: Due to the enormous length it might be a bit difficult to play the new songs live. How do you plan to do it? Shorten them a bit and only play out-takes or don´t play them at all...?
Heh, we haven´t really started rehearsing the new songs yet, so I´m not sure how it will turn out. The plan is however to play other one of the songs, maybe slightly edited, but definitely no out-takes or only riffs here and there.
VU: The high complexity and the length of your songs make me wonder if you see yourself more as a studio band than a live band?
We have always had two totally different sides to the band - the "studio Moonsorrow", and the "live Moonsorrow". In studio we are more creative and down to detail, on the stage in turn we just turn the amps to 11 and rock. The other side couldn´t exist without the other, so I´d say we´re equally both, a studio and a live band.
VU: Your lyrics are only in Finnish. Can you tell your foreign fans what the new songs are about? The English translation of the titels ( “Born of ice” and “A land driven into the fire”) indicate that the topics of those two might be very contrastive.
The whole album deals with the concept of "the end". "Varjojen virta" is more of a personal insight to demise and despair, and the endless search for the "meaning of life". "Tuleen ajettu maa" is more of an universal view to the actual end of the world. In the end of the album the world ends, and the intro "Jäästä syntynyt" gives birth to a new one.
VU: Where do you gain your musical and lyrical inspiration from?
If it only would be so simple. We listen to a lot of music, and most of that affects us in a way or another. We never liked to limit ourselves to just one type of expression, so there is a lot of progressive rock, folk music, classical music and just plain soundscapes in our music besides metal. Lyrically the inspiration can be any good lyric writer, and of course traditional poetry.
VU: Do you have any musical influences or heroes?
Of course, we all have our heroes. For Moonsorrow as a collective, I think the most obvious influences are among Bathory, King Crimson and 90´s Norwegian black metal. For my part I got a lot of vocal inspiration from my friends Alan Nemtheanga (Primordial) and Thomas Väänänen (Thyrfing), and I enjoy listening to any good bass player between Cliff Williams (AC/DC) and Steve DiGiorgio (Sadus).
VU: People mention you in the same breath as Finntroll, Ensiferum and other pagan/heathen/viking bands from Finland. But your music has lots of calm, nearly psychedelic parts other than the much faster music of the bands I just mentioned. So do you see yourself as part of this genre or don´t you want to be part of it at all? I remember I once heard that you hate it being called a “Viking band”.
We are part of the "pagan metal" movement, and that is enough for us. There are reasons why it is convenient to put us into the same category with Finntroll or Ensiferum, but musically we have (all) already strayed to quite different directions.
VU: I saw you on Arnheim Metal Meeting a few days ago. You really seemed to like it. And the fans as well...
We always enjoy being on the stage and playing for the people who came to see us. We have now been in Arnhem two times, and both times have been totally insane. I don´t know what the people are taking there, but I want to have the same stuff. :)
VU: I couldn’t find any information about that but I think you haven’t toured that much so far, have you? And now you´ve got a small tour in Canada coming up. Are you excited?
We only had one actual tour so far, a European tour together with Primordial last spring, but now it seems we´re taking Canada, Finland and Europe all together next year. I love being on the road to new places, so I´m definitely very excited!
VU: You gonna play various festivals in Germany next summer, also very huge ones like Wacken or Summer Breeze. It seems like you’re going to start up next year...
I don´t know about "starting up" or anything, but things definitely are on a bigger scale now than ever previously. I hope we can reach a lot of people with our shows next year and play LOUD to everyone who comes to see us. Live calendar to be updated in www.moonsorrow.com whenever new shows are confirmed.
VU: So, are there any “fears” of becoming “mainstream” ? ;)
Bah, not with this kind of music (or with these kind of faces!). Not even if we wanted to. :)
VU: Are there any special plans for 2007 besides the concerts you’re doing?
The plan is the same as in every previous year: to conquer the world. Some beer drinking and hell raising might be involved too.
VU: Do have any last words for our readers?
Thanks for all your support through the years, keep the flame burning and meat roasting!
Nadine Sandfort/ V.U.
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