13/09/2012 CA - Santa Ana, The Observatory (USA)
TRANSCRIPTION
Hello, this is Markus from Moonsorrow and you're watching Der Metal Krieger!
This is Carol from Der Metal Krieger and we are here at The Observatory in Santa Ana, just a few hours before Korpiklaani's headlining Manala tour, and here with us we have Moonsorrow, who are supporting them tonight. We have Ville, Marko and Markus from the band. How are you guys doing tonight?
[Various jokes]
I think you are a little more than halfway done with this North American tour. Tell me a bit about what you've seen as far as the energy of North American crowds versus what you guys are used to out in Europe.
Ville: I wouldn't compare, because I can't remember that far, but on this tour the energy of the audience has been outstnding.
Marko: Even quite fanatic at some venues. In San Francisco it was mad.
Markus: Way better than in the previous tour.
Marko: I don't know what the reason is, maybe it's our setlist.
So did it surprise you? I definitely know that sometimes, especially here in L.A., one kind of gets the feeling that people are sitting there with crossed arms, but it seems like you guys have definitely gotten good responses.
Marko: Yes, very intense, with moshpits and all.
You had moshpits here?
Marko: Several.
Really? That's very interesting, considering some your newer material, which we'll certainly talk about later. Your newest album is called As Shadows We Walk in the Land of the Dead, it was released in February via Spinefarm, and since then you've had some time to get some feedback. What has been the general feedback?
Ville: Critics like it, and audiences like it as well, judging on...
Marko: Even we like it!
What do you guys think?, you have evolved quite a bit from your folk metal roots, in your Chapter V: Ravaged album you took on this huge black metal. How are you guys feeling as far as the evolution of Moonsorrow goes?
Ville: We just do what we want to do.
Marko: It's been very natural since the beginning, the whole development of things. For example, on the third album we got those progressive rock elements besides all the traditional folk stuff or metal in general, and during 2005 or so we just got the idea that we had to make our sound much rougher and grimmer. Then we sort of went back in time to the roots of Moonsorrow, to the demo period...
Markus: Yes.
Marko: ...and we are still continuing in that way, that path of mixing the sound of the early days, that was based on mostly symphonic black metal, and... and... I don't know, there is this blacker stuff and progressive stuff, and lately, the traditional influences have been put away a bit.
Ville: They appear in a different shape. We still have a lot of that folky stuff over there, but...
But it's harsher, it's something like Chapter V, where there was this distinctive very black metal.
Ville: Yes, but it had folky elements as well, it's just not as prominent as with the other bands in the same league.
Marko: It's not that happy joy-joy oompa-oompa fiddle fiddle. It's darker, it's more intense... In Finnish traditional folk music, the majority of it is very dark, very sad and melancholic, and we always took our folk influences from that kind of music. So that's why we sound so depressive. :)
Ville: We are depressed.
One thing that does add to the depressive mood is the length of your songs. I was going through your discography and you realize that once you get to album 4 you guys started to get bold and brave with your 12-minute, 15-minute—the longest is 30 minutes and 25 seconds, I believe. How do you keep your energy when you're playing to live audiences, and how do you keep the energy of your audience too?
Ville: It just happens...
Marko: Eating healthy food, [everyone laughs] try not to drink so much before the show...
Just say that alcohol puts you in a trance or something so that the 12 minutes go by.
Marko: I think people, the crowd, are just acting very naturally to our songs. The energy from the crowd comes very naturally. We almost don't have to do anything. If we just stood there, shoegaze, whatever, they would still be doing the moshpit.
They did moshpits here, that I find very interesting.
Marko: But then again, we don't shoegaze. We headbang a lot and...
Ville: We have a lot of energy on the stage.
Marko: It's like doing exercise or something, like workout, really, for me.
Markus: For all of us, somehow.
Marko: It's good sport, you lose weight and everything.
All your records have been released on Spinefarm. However, you've recently made the switch in April to Century Media. Why did you make this change, and what do you think Century Media is going to do for your future records?
Ville: The answer to the first question is that sometimes you just...
Marko: The contracts run out.
Ville: ...you need a change. Contracts ran out several times and we re-signed to Spinefarm a few times, but sometimes you just need a change, and we felt that this was the right time.
Marko: I would confirm the Spinefarm era as a marriage that after certain years is just not going anywhere, you know... I don't know if you're married or not, but... [in a mocking voice] I've been married for one year and I can feel it now! It doesn't go anywhere! [everyone laughs]
There's a whole other interview to tell Marko's personal life!
Marko: But you know the expression. We somehow felt like it didn't go anywhere. The promotion was always the same, very... there was something, but not really anything special.
Okay, I totally understand you.
Ville: With Spinefarm we all have to realize that they certainly helped to establish the band, they actually made us what we are now. It's not out of disrespect to them or anything, but we felt that we needed a new kick to the butt, and we all thought that with Century Media it might be possible. They have been really interested, we had a few meetings before they even directly asked about the signing.
Now comes a question from a fan on Reddit. Asator wants to know if the shift from the folkish sound was fully intentional and if we can expect a return of your folk elements in the future.
Ville: You never know. [laughs] We never know ourselves. We just do what we do.
Marko: I think on the next material there will be more dynamics. The way I see Chapter V and Like Shadows, they're very like... you put the CD on, they are like CHVVVVV [separates his hands vertically, moves them to the right while he makes this low-pitch "white noise", joins them again at the end] and then it ends.
Ville: Yes, it's a crushing wall of sound.
Marko: But for the next one I'd like, we would like, to do something more like this [moves his hand from left to right drawing a wave in the air].
Something more unpredictable?
Marko: ...probably...
We never know! You know what? Who will come and interview us, they will know! [or something like that]
Markus: That's true.
Marko: At the same time, we want to have our listeners crushed under the wall of sound and fierce blackmetalish blast beats and everything. We want to include as much as possible. But still to keep it within some limits and not to go too far, too psychedelic-progressive or too fast, I don't know, Darkthrone.
Oh, no, please! We'll have an intervention if that happens.
Marko: In Moonsorrow it's easier to say what we cannot do than what we can do.
Ville: And we can do a lot of things.
Marko: It's easy to say that there will never be any kind of industrial elements in Moonsorrow, or electronic.
Ville: But it's as easy to say that in Moonsorrow you haven't seen anything yet.
But we're all looking forward to seeing it and seeing you guys progress! Thank you all so much and good luck with your show tonight.
Transcribed on 22·II·2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment