Riding Hellwards Newsletter / May 1999

This interview comes from what we probably can call the smallest fanzine in history, with only 2 pages, featuring 3 interviews in total. I was going to cut out the Moonsorrow one and post it alone, but since it's so little, I decided to upload the two scans in full. These, by the way, were recently scanned by Henri himself, and shared online by Velkaarn, whose blog Asmodian Coven (linked below) you need to check out instantly if you're interested in rips of ultra-rare demo cassettes and similar stuff. This micro-webzine came together with a compilation tape which is also available for download in the blog. Thanks a lot!

Link: Asmodian Coven

Update: Now, two days later, I realized that this one was already posted here. However, I'm leaving both: the other one is easier to read, but having the scan of the original document has an added value, don't you think?

Click to enlarge.

Oz magazine / November 1999

Link
This interview is published in Spanish, here displayed is the English version as which it was conducted.


When was Moonsorrow born?

[Ville] Moonsorrow was formed in late 1995 by me and Henri, at the same time when we had numerous other projects as well. Unlike those projects, Moonsorrow however is still alive - as a serious band.

Name of the members of the band and instrument that play each one

[Ville] I, Ville Seponpoika Sorvali, do the vocals and play the bass, while my cousin, Henri Urponpoika Sorvali, handles the guitars and keyboards. In 1999 we also got a real drummer, namely Baron Tarwonen (from Gorewinter).

Under what influences was created Moonsorrow (musical and theme influences)

[Ville] The actual reason for why we formed Moonsorrow was the need to express the heathenish corners of our minds musically. We were listening to loads of different music back then and anything of it could've affected Moonsorrow, but perhaps Enslaved was the greatest influence.

What is the main philosophy of the band?

[Ville] To me, Moonsorrow represents heathenish values, such as sincerity and utter respect for nature. It reminds us of the Finland (and why not the whole world) before the Christian invasion and, for our part, keeps the myths and traditions alive. Above all, however, I see Moonsorrow supporting individual thinking and thus it is not here to convert anyone.

How many songs do the band has, title of them and a small explain of them please ex: (title of the song) this song was made thinking of...etc. or this song was made because of....etc.

[Ville] I think you'd want me to settle with presenting those songs that we've released, and of those I can of course only speak on my behalf. As I didn't have much to do with our "official" debut "Metsä", I'll give you a lecture of my work on our latest demo "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi". (Henri speaks about "Metsä" after this, so hear him. And I'm sorry to say, but our upcoming debut album, "Suden Uni", will be kept as a secret as long as it is actually recorded.)
1. "Taistelu Pohjolasta" (The Battle For Pohjola) - To start with, this song undoubtably has the best lyrics I've ever written. Basically they were created in just minutes, when I was like struck by lightning with an inspiration from a theme that has generally been pissing me off very much: the crusaders. The telling itself can be interpretated in different ways, and that I leave up to the listeners. Musically speaking, I only made two riffs for this song or something like that, frankly I can't even remember which those riffs are... so I can't tell much about my musical inspirations for this one, obviously the intention was to create hateful northern-sounding metal and that's all for me.
2. "Vihreällä Valtaistuimella" (On The Green Throne) - Numerous times I've been inspired by nature when writing, and of that inspiration I also made the basis of these lyrics. However, I seemed to get totally stuck when trying to complete them. I asked my fiancée for assistance because of her fascinating poems, and I must say it was the right solution. Besides the lyrics, I had made a short integral part of this song, consisting of two of my riffs and one that I borrowed from our friend Kalle. The latter riffs were more like folkish as it was meant to be, and even though the first was more aggressive they fit very well together.
3. "Talvi" (Winter) - Henri had made some weather-report lyrics that he said he wasn't satisfied with, and he asked me to make something exceptionally good out of them. I ended up altering them quite a bit, mostly for the means of making them less corny, and the result was, uh, cold indeed.
4. "Luopion Veri" (Blood Of An Apostate) - This time it was Henri who was inspired by the crusaders. His violent lyrics, however, got my treatment once again, but as the co-operational result was just as we wanted it, no one should complain, eh? For this song I had also made the synth interlude that appears after 3 minutes. In fact it wasn't originally meant for Moonsorrow, but it worked well in this song after all.
5. "Kuun Suru" (The Moon's Sorrow) - One of those melodies that evolved when I was once again on the tip of boredom and playing with my piano. I played it to Henri and he was like "wow" which I thought was kind of unexpected, and he asked if he could arrange it for Moonsorrow. I of course let him do that because there usually is no use for this kind of stuff from me, and the result was something I simply must be satisfied with.

[Henri] I was really into the northern mythology back then, and when I had made the music for the demo, the lyrics just came along, so to say. Ville says they're crap anyway. Well, I've never been a killer lyricist... The music was pretty Enslaved-ish, being partly fast as hell and partly melodic and atmospheric, but let me say a few words of each song...
1. "Jo Pimeys Saa" - Basically, this was just a short introduction song I actually made long ago before we decided to do the demo tape, and as we were in lack of some kind of an intro, we decided to use it. So, nothing special here. Disappointed? Anyway, then we added some battle samples and - voila! - there it was. However, the ones with the most accurate ears may recognize from where the samples are taken...
2. "Fimbulvetr Frost" - This song tells a tale of the Fimbulvinter - a deadly winter in the nordic mythology, which lasts three times more than a regular one and is supposed to come just before Ragnarök - the twilight of the gods. The lyrics tell a story of a disciple of Odin, who survives this great snowy tide.
3. "Hvergelmir" - This one was inspired by the old myths and it's kind of a short lecture into the northern mythology. And even if the music is - ehh - kinda "traditional" I still find it to be very interesting indeed.
4. "Elivagar (Pakanavedet)" - "The stormy waves", the eleven rivers which flow from Nifelheim are what this song is all about.

What is the most important country or place Moonsorrow thinks that is the most important in Europe and America or Latin america to be known?

[Ville] In terms of metal music, the most important place to know nowadays is Eastern Europe. You wouldn't believe how much good music they produce there! Perhaps it has something to do with that they haven't got so much money that they could afford to release crap (like e.g. the Finnish are able to). On cultural grounds then, I think it's important to get acquainted with all areas with a remarkable pagan past. In Europe such are, besides Finland of course, Scandinavia, the Baltic, Russia and other Slavonic countries, Britannia, the German sphere of influence, Romania, Greece, and almost every other place, as Europe bears many strong traditions. Coming to America, there are the Indian lands: the whole United States (...shivers...) and parts of Canada that were inhabited by the North American Indians, Alaska, Greenland and other parts of Canada with inuits, the moist areas of South America that carried the Amazonian Indians, and as the most notable the Maya and Aztec realms of Central America and the Andean land of the Incas.

If you had got any chance to listen to a mexican metal band, what is the name of the band or what is your opinion about the metal that Mexico is exporting?

[Ville] To tell the truth, I've come across only a handful of Mexican metal combos: Shub-Niggurath, Cenotaph, Extincion Cerebral and perhaps some others I can't remember at the moment, or some that I just don't know to hail from Mexico. I must also confess that I'm not a big fan of any of these bands, but that doesn't exclude the option that there could be good Mexican metal I just haven't heard yet or still about to be made. A good band can be born just about anywhere.

Name 5 bands that you think that are leading the metal scene in Europe.

[Ville] It is easy to name any five bands that constantly stay in the spotlight and whose actions thus affect the direction of the "scene". These kind of "leaders" could for example be Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Moonspell, Children Of Bodom and In Flames. It is useless to deny these acts' influence on the current market, as unfair as it would seem. However, these bands don't have too much respect amongst serious metal musicians, who perhaps would rather like me to make a list of those bands who have had a huge influence on the current state of metal music and imagery - without thinking of their sales figures. From my point of view, the absolute top 5 would then consist of Iron Maiden, Venom, Celtic Frost, Bathory and Mayhem. Or if talking about bands that are still alive and well, I would, besides Iron Maiden and Mayhem, name Darkthrone, Emperor and Satyricon.

What are the things that you most like or dislike in the metal scene nowadays? and what Moonsorrow is offering?

[Ville] At least there are a thousand things I dislike in the current metal scene, if nothing else. As if anyone liking metal couldn't cope without a band, the result is that there are too many shitty bands being formed every day. Even more irritating is that too many of these shitty bands somehow manage to get record deals and thus getting a wide distribution for their excrement. This has been caused by a thing that itself is a negative aspect within the metal scene as well: the growing number of record labels. As if anyone liking metal but unable to play even the shittiest forest metal couldn't cope without a record label. If we however cut the lamenting on this injustice, as it is rather banal nowadays, the bad blood flowing around is a thing to complain about at least. I don't see Moonsorrow being a part of this miscreation, as we are a band that has deserved its record deal - even though I say it myself. Also we have not created any negative tension between ourselves and other bands, at least not on purpose. But that you wouldn't get me wrong, I don't hate the scene. I like to communicate with nice metalheads around the globe and trade or buy music that is worth it, and that is what makes my scene. I don't care about the rest as it isn't my business.

What do you think about the cult bands?

[Ville] Usually "cult bands" obtain their statuses with rather outmusical achievements, which means that they don't have to be anything musically speaking. A shocking image or just an action of some of the band members can buy a band a cult status. You can think of any cult band and you would always notice that their reputation isn't all about music, if you get my point. This is also the reason for why I don't like these so-called cult bands in general. To name a few remarkable exceptions, however, I would say Bathory, Mayhem, Darkthrone and Emperor. I like their music and frankly I don't give a fuck whether they are "cult" or not.

Do you have any plans to record a CD? and if it is , when and with what company?

[Ville] My favourite question, ha ha! As we partly expected, some people got interested in "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi", finally resulting to a record deal with Plasmatica Records from Sweden. We are going to record our debut album in February 2000 in Tico-Tico Studios, and it will propably be out somewhere in spring. I wouldn't like to say this myself, but expect a killer release...

Who do you think is a remarkable metal producer nowadays?

[Ville] Luckily there are many of them, one being the producer of our album, Ahti Kortelainen. I also like very much the work of Peter Tägtren, Fredrik Nordström, Tomas Skogsberg and Dan Swanö for instance, and of course there are shitloads of really admirable producers in USA too.

What is the market that Moonsorrow is interested to be important in? ( other than Europe)

[Ville] It would of course be cool to be important on any market, but perhaps South America would be the nicest. I have heard that there are many devoted metalheads, and it would be nice to see whether they would appreciate our music.

What do you think about metal bands (like Nightwish) bringing sampled keyboards to their shows, and the use of keyboards in metal bands?

[Ville] Umm... we're on the same train. However, the use of keyboards is everyone's own business. In some cases keyboards support the music, in some cases they ruin it. I really like bands like Bal-Sagoth who overuse synths if they do it well, but somehow I would still like to see more bands who could create their atmospheres without keyboards and still sound great, such as Dissection or Solstice. Whether the keyboards are sampled is usually not a choice, because hiring an orchestra is very expensive. It would of course sound a lot better, but if you have a good synth it's enough.

What do you think that is the most important thing for a metal band to keep doing and what thing is the less important?

[Ville] Undoubtably the most important for every metal band is to keep playing the music they like. It is also very important to rehearse and record a few demos before signing for a full-length. The least important thing is of course emphasizing of the image, because if you're sincere with your image you don't have to concentrate on it too much - and it still keeps looking good.

Moonsorrow, had any real meaning for you (the name) or is just something that means what it means?

[Ville] I'm not sure where the name Moonsorrow came to our minds or which one of us invented it. Anyway, the name itself doesn't mean much on a concrete level, but both "moon" and "sorrow" have strong meanings as themselves. Everyone can interpret the combination of these in one's own way. To me, there's a hundred meanings to it as well as there is none, as it is a symbolic name. One concept that this symbol can be attached to is the dear Finnish melancholy.

Domain 'zine / November 1999

Link

I am glad you've found a time to talk to me. What's the news?

[Henri] Of course there is always time to talk with someone who is interested in our band! Well... the news are that we are signed to Swedish Plasmatica Records and our first full-length album should be out in spring 2000. At the moment it will contain 6 bloody great pagan hymns, but nothing's sure until the album is ready... The music we've composed for it differs, however, quite a lot from the "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" tape. We have taken a few steps back in time when our music was based more on slowish and folkish atmospheres, and thus if people expect our album to be ultra-fast Emperor-like synthetic metal as the latest demo was, they'll be quite surprised when they hear the new material. But of course it will be a huge development. Wait and see...

You wrote that you play pagan-metal, and that you and your brother are heathens. Please, tell why does this mythology appears to you. Have you changed you relation to life after that?

[Henri] First of all, we're not brothers, we're cousins. But of course we are brothers in METAL heheh. But what comes to the question; yes, I am a heathen, but I choose not to make a big fuss about it as it, after all, has quite a little to do with music. And as you might have noticed, the bands bringing pagan themes into their (usually crappy and bad-played Black Metal) music has enormously expanded in last year, so I find it a bit frustrating to be confused with the herd. Paganism is for everyone, that's for sure, but this "trend" (sorry for using the word) has caused more harm than benefit to it. But I'm not here to talk shit about anyone. Besides, I know I sure wasn't the first one around mixing pagan ideology with metal music.
So, what I'm trying to tell here is that there is no need for me to run around telling everyone how pagan I am, like everybody seems to do nowadays. I have more respect for people who choose not to boast about the ideology. After all, I'd rather boast with my music, but as we choose to call it Pagan Metal, certain questions cannot be avoided, ehh...? To answer the actual question: why paganism? Well, why not? It is the tradition which suits my personality the best, and as I've since a kid been very fascinated about nature and myths/legends/folk tales, it just developed naturally during the years. And since it's the actual tradition of my homeland, I couldn't find a better choice.

[Ville] The reason for why I have chosen to call myself a heathen is because of my deep respect for nature. Nature is the source of all life, i.e. my conception of "the creator", and thus no man or a fictional deity shall rise above or against it. What comes to pagan mythology, I have always (since I can remember at least) been really fascinated about it. Also I am always receptive for more and more folklore from all possible cultures, as all those ancient tellings are highly interesting. Besides, they can also always teach us a thing or two, not forgetting how they remind us of the wisdom of the indigenous peoples. My relation to life has only become more positive during the years, but since I was never turned to a heathen, this indeed has happened gradually.

I know practically nothing about Finnish mythology (except Kalevala). Tell a bit about Finnish heathenish deities. What gods and forces do you worship?

[Henri] Well, the Finnish/Karelian mythology is really interesting. The Kalevala does not, however, tell not so much about it - it is more like an epic containing legends are lore. It was collected orally in the 19th century, which means that the effect of Christianity on it is huge. So that is basically why there is not much about the old beliefs. But luckily there is some information preserved through the centuries.
The highest of all gods is Ukko, the god of thunder. He has a wife called Rauni. Then there's Ahti, god of the sea; Tapio, god of the forest; Pekko, god of ale; and much more, but these are the most important ones. By the way, all these names are still in use in Finland. The souls of the people will be sent to Tuonela after they've died, except for the evil ones who go straight to Horna (a place like the Judeo-Christian Hell). We have also lots of smaller deities, like elves, gnomes and other small people, like "maahiset" and "menninkäiset". One of the great things in Finland is that there still are lots of people who in some odd way believe in these "little people". And most of all, the elves etc. have a deep effect on the daily life of the Finns e.g. in the form of phrases. In addition, there has also been/still are other gods to worship than these, which are much more known around the globe. Yes, I am talking about Odin, Thor and other nordic gods. But I suppose everyone knows them, so I don't have to write more about it. What comes to my religious beliefs, I have chosen to follow the path of Aasausko, which means loyalty to old Asa gods, but as a Finn my spiritual world contains also quite a load from the other mythology I told about a few lines before. I am also interested in Slavonic mythology to an extent. However, I consider all these characters to be more like a manifestation of pure nature than concrete flesh and blood, being symbols of the divine. It is hard to explain anyway, so I'd rather just classify myself as a Finnish pagan, whatever that may mean though.

[Ville] What do I need to say? I agree to a full extent that Finnish mythology is interesting, and as I am Finnish, I have a natural urge to explore it - and fortunately there are much more people in Finland than just me who feel the same way, so most likely the tradition will be preserved to many forthcoming generations as well. My relation to our religious heritage is however more of a spiritual kind, as to me the gods and other heathenish figures are but mere representatives of nature and not persons to be worshipped. The only entity that I consider a god of some kind is nature.

What is your attitude to christianity? What do you think about extreme aggression of the ones who play black? Usually, they call to expel christians, to burn churches etc. What do you think of this? As a continue - are you familiar with "legendary" participants of Inner Circle and other norvegian extremists (and, may be, from your own Finland)?

[Henri] My attitude on Christianity is pretty non-existant. It sure bothers me in a way, especially when I think of the systematical destroying of our pagan culture. But what is done, is done, and one cannot make it undone. But as long as there is one heathen standing, be it Finnish, Russian, Swedish, Italian or even Nigerian, the "war" ain't lost. Stand up and unite, heathen brothers and sisters!!!! Besides the abovementioned, I do not feel almost anything towards it. Let Christianity reign with its fascist god in where it was originally created. I don't need their Jewish-based religion and culture, because I have my own religion and culture and I am pretty fucking satisfied with them. And I don't need a "promised land" elsewhere, being thousands of kilometers away - I already live in mine. What comes to the Black Metal musicians with an extreme urge to set a wooden building afire or kick carved stones down... well, it may be good sports indeed, but I don't think we're about to see neither of them as an event in the next olympics. I choose to stand in the way of Christianity, Judaism and Islam with my music - I do not need violence or a matchbox to prove anyone how serious I am. That would only be stupid.

[Ville] Deep within I despise Christianity (among all other religions of slavery), but on the level of everyday life I usually just don't care about it. In Finland Christianity hasn't got a very visible role anyway, and it surely doesn't bother my way of living much. Christians are just one big herd of sheep, towards which I haven't a need to attack but in which I would not like to be included either. Frankly I even quite don't get that extreme aggression of some blackers. Attacks towards Christianity only increase Christians' alertness and suspiciousness towards "non-believers", not forgetting how every act of violence or terrorism has but strengthened their unity. Besides, every single burnt church or destroyed tomb is refunded with tax money, which every fucking devil-worshipper or whoever has to pay. If Christians are to fall, it surely ain't going to happen with senseless brutality. To build a healthier world, people need to be educated and helped to open their minds, and mindless attacks towards their stubborn beliefs just make this task harder. Perhaps everyone got my point already. About the "inner circle" of Norway then, some of the people behind it had some good opinions, but I think I already explained what do I think of their past actions. As there supposedly is nothing serious going on in Norway any longer, I have a strong reason to believe that there isn't anything similar in Finland either. Of course there are these childish morons who occassionally rise to the headlines by kicking down a few tombstones, but there is no possibility that they would be organized. Just think about another failed arson, attempted with a burning piece of paper nailed to a heavy wooden door and a molotov coctail thrown onto concrete floor! This has really happened, and I confess that I couldn't hide my innocent smile when reading about it.

Did you used finnish words in the names of your some demos ? I can not read and translate it... What it means ? What is the reason to write on finnish for you ? May be, it's not interesting for you, but I like to understand a text of song which I listen. But I didn't know finnish... Who is the leader in your creative duet ? You or your kinsman ? No conflict all that time ?

[Ville] All of our lyrics for "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi", as well as the lyrics for our forthcoming album, are written in Finnish. The language was changed from English simultaneously when Henri gave up writing them to me, and the reasons for why I chose Finnish were more than obvious to me. I have always loved the sound of Finnish (as strange as it would seem, eheh), and furthermore the language has a magnificent expression value due to its large and colourful vocabulary and the theoretically free word order. Also it's only natural to use Finnish when dressing a Finnish pagan band's concept into words. However, the use of some English (or other languages) in future is not completely shun out, as I will use whatever language (although at the moment I can handle only three) that is the best medium of saying what I have to say. The song titles of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" themselves are translated to English on the demo cover, but as the actual demo title is not, it should be revealed that literally it means "This Eternal Winter". Not too original, huh, but really suitable for that recording. And "Metsä", predictably, means "Forest". Our upcoming debut album is already entitled as "Suden Uni", meaning "A Wolf's Dream", and some of the new song titles translate into English as "Son of the god of thunder", "As eternal", "Home of the wind, Home of the waves" and "Pagan feast".
The leadership question is more of a meaningless matter to us, and I could as well answer that there is no such person as a leader in Moonsorrow. Of course I write most of the lyrics and Henri writes most of the music, mostly because I write generally better lyrics and Henri writes generally better music, yet I am not any leader poet and Henri is not any leader composer. We seldom have any conflicts, and they are always settled in peace anyway.

Do you find reflection of your phylosophical opinious in a real life? And when you are not engaged in music?

[Ville] As I am not a dreamer, my own philosophy of life is firmly based on reality. From my point of view, life is an incident of nature's course. Occurring only once, it should always be delighted in to the maximum inside given limits. Being unique, all lives should be respected and given space, i.e. no animal or plant should be killed without a reason or be trapped. And nature, as the source of all life, should of course be respected the most. What comes to the contents of living, a good life is lead by heathenish values, such as sincerity, wisdom, rightfulness etc. A life successful in the forementioned terms is simple and fulfilling, and as it is possible to achieve, it indeed has a place in reality. Sadly it just seems that human beings even willing to strive for such are very rare. To the other part of the question then. I am always a thinking being, whether playing music or not, and my philosophical opinions follow the same lines regardless of the situation (although naturally they are constantly developing). And to roll it over, music is always a part of me, whether I'm playing it or not. There are moments when I am not thinking music in particular, but it still forms one crucial part of my psyche. Music is an important way for me to deliver my emotions on other levels, as e.g. paintings would be to a pictoral artist.

By the way, what do you all do besides music, what are your interests?

[Henri] My interests are pretty much based on music. I play different kinds of it besides just metal: prog rock, jazz, classical, funk... almost everything as it is not only a hobby for me, but also a job. But of course there are some other activities I prefer, which are drawing, reading (mostly history and psychology), drinking, cooking(!), fishing and stuff like that. But as I said, playing and especially composing music are my main priorities.

[Ville] As with Henri, most of my time also is spent with music in a way or another. However, as I am not very gifted as a composer, I usually just settle with playing the bass and the drums and let others do the composing. And of course I also consume a lot of music, even so that there are not many silent periods during my days. Then, my other interests that still circle around music are writing to an underground 'zine called Meathooked and running a small distribution service called Meat Hook Productions. Along with Moonsorrow, these activities also involve a lot of underground communication by regular and electronic letters. However, music aside, because I also have a plan of educating myself further in mathematical sciences, perhaps to become a teacher. Linked with this, I have a slight interest towards certain other sciences as well. And examples of those "small joys" of life I enjoy are spending time with my fiancé and friends, drinking and just wandering around.

Tell about your future. What are the following plans of Moonsorrow?

[Henri] The following plans of Moonsorrow are to conquer the world, of course! Besides that we have some other things in mind: getting the first full-length out, rehearsing, gigs, beer, beer and more beer, maybe a possible mcd with some older demo-songs reconstructed and then finally a split-up because of musical disagreements hehehe. Mostly the usual stuff I think.

What's happening on Finnish black/pagan scene? Are there any interesting bands?

[Henri] Pretty much, I suppose. New bands and projects are formed all the time, the gig situation is pretty bad as always, and the quality of new bands is on the rise which I find very pleasing. Of course pretty much crap has also risen from the basis of this newer Black Metal boom, but frankly I do not pay much attention to them. Are there any interesting bands? Do the bears crap into the forest? Of course there are. The fave ones of yours truly are: Thyrane, ...and Oceans, Tenhi, Hin Onde (ex-Svartalfheim), Rapture, Darkwoods My Betrothed, Unhola, Walhalla, Prophet (not so black though), Musta Surma and an excellent synth project called Jääportit. Of course I'd like to include Finntroll also as I play in it, but I hope Ville puts it on his list. :)

[Ville] In addition to those excellent bands Henri just listed as his favourites inside the Finnish metal scene, I would like to emphasize also Gorewinter, Nightside and of course Finntroll.

Are there any bands that you prefer? What kind of music you prefer to listen?

[Henri] Well, at the moment I'm listening to Arvo Pärt's "Arbos". But it is not the only music I like, though. (No shit, ehh...?) Some of the stuff I listen to with great pleasure is: Cannibal Corpse, Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Pestilence, Marduk, Obituary, In The Woods..., Deicide, Iron Maiden, Katatonia, Black Sabbath, The 3rd And The Mortal, Leonard Cohen, Danzig, Entombed, Frank Zappa, Emperor, Arcturus, Garmarna, Hedningarna, Slayer, Pohjannaula, Einherjer, Immortal, Bathory, Broken Hope, Napalm Death, Hades, Enslaved, Terrorizer, Kiss, Sadistik Exekution, Camel, Pekka Pohjola, Absu, Suffocation, Darkthrone, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Grave, Kingston Wall, a lot of classical music etc. etc., of course not forgetting the Finnish bands I mentioned in the previous question.

[Ville] I prefer to listen to any music that is good, regardless of the genre it represents, but of course most of the music I like can be defined as metal of some kind. Other music styles that play a great role in my odd taste could be for example (psychedelic) rock, classical, prog and selected sorts of synth music. I have not such as a favourite band, but some bands/artists that I especially like include, besides those bands I and Henri mentioned in the 9th question, Slayer, Bathory, In The Woods..., Emperor, Solstice, Thine, Unholy, Grieg, Wagner, Bach, Samael, Pan.Thy.Monium, Kingston Wall, Cannibal Corpse, Entombed, Opeth, Merciless, Thyrfing, Megadeth, Dissection, Metallica, Testament, King Crimson, Katatonia, Iron Maiden, Elend, The Doors, Pohjannaula, Morbid Angel, Darkthrone, Don Huonot, Camel, Mayhem, Arcturus, Ulver, Nordman, This Empty Flow, Anathema, When, Esperanza, Prodigy, Bal-Sagoth... actually the list could be almost endless, so I better stop here.

Do you know anything about Russian black/pagan bands? May be, you listened Gods Tower, ÌÔÚ or Ù‰Õ‘¦Ž¦"ÿ ?

[Ville] Until 1998 I knew practically nothing about Russian metal, but since then I've heard a load of good bands from over there, thanks to my deeper involvement in the underground. Gods Tower indeed is one of the quality bands Russia has to offer, but I would also like to point out Mental Home, Rakoth and Satarial for instance. And of course Trupny Yad (heh), even though it has nothing to do with Black Metal or anything.

Answer the question, that I forgot to ask?

[Henri] Ok then. It is purple, smells like fish and most likely has a couple of samovars hanging from it's nipples. Now it's your turn to figure our what was the question!

[Ville] Umm... I think you already asked almost everything I possibly can answer, but after all that's only positive. A delightful interview indeed this was. If I had to invent the question number 12 for this interview, it could be anything and then I would answer something. Whew. You know it is really kind to present a question like this, and it makes this interview always the better, but I really can't figure out a thing suitable for this situation. I'm really sorry, but perhaps you already got to know everything you could possibly want to know about Moonsorrow. If it isn't so, let me know...

And in the end, what are you wishes to russian fans and Domain'zine?

[Henri] Thank you people in Russia for all your support and I hope you will like our album. Yes, I know. Pretty used phrases, but I couldn't come up with anything more original as it is now 4 o'clock in the morning and it seems that I've spent over four hours to anwer this little intie. However, it was the most interesting one I've ever done. Thank you for that and stay brutal, my friend! Our true gods we cherish, may the false one perish. Hail!!!

[Ville] To start the end with, I thank you for this utterly interesting interview! I hope that your readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed answering. I urge every person in Russia who could like folkish Pagan Metal from Finland to check out our album (and perhaps the demos as well), not forgetting that I'd like some of them to get in touch for feedback, more information or anything. Keep the pagan flame lit!

Tuska webzine / August 1999

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My first opportunity to hear the music of this great band was couple of years ago, when I ordered their "Metsä" demo. I was little of disappointed, but after their releasing "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" i was wordless. The music had developed a lot, it was more melodic, faster and the usage of electronics were great. Now Moonsorrow has recorded their new album called "Suden Uni", and it will be soon out. This interview is also quite old, the first interview i have made but...

When will your new cd be ready?

[Ville] We will hit the studio in February 2000 for a week, and the result of it will supposedly be out by the following spring.

Any plans after that?

[Ville] Haven't thought so far ahead to be honest. And we won't spend a thought on a new contract whatsoever until this one's fulfilled anyway.

What is the label your on?

[Ville] Plasmatica Records from Sweden. It's a new label with a debut release just coming out, but to me it seems very promising. I've been in contact with the label long before "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was even out, and I can tell you they're honest.

How did the "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" sold?

[Ville] We made a pressing of 200 which sold out immediately, and after them we've spreaded 150 copies in addition by now. Not bad I think, but nevertheless I cannot perceive any profit...

You use drummachine, will there be any chances with that in the future?

[Ville] Fortunately. Baron Tarwonen from Gorewinter will do the beating for Moonsorrow from now on, so we shouldn't have any problems on that field anymore. After all, at least I am not playing the drums...

I think the cover of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was very good indeed, did it cost much?

[Ville] Thanks for the compliments. We did the covers one by one with an inkjet printer hoping to have them cheaper that way... afterwards calculating they've cost us about 2 - 2.50 FIM ($0.4 - 0.5) each.

Ville, you had also other projects, how is things going with them?

[Ville] Everything's more or less passive now. My Black Metal turning to whatever (is it a surprise?) band Thornfrost hasn't rehearsed for a long time and is suffering from some internal disagreements, and my "pop metal" group May Withers works only at half speed nowadays. All the other projects of mine (Ahti for example) have been totally inactive for ages and it's not certain that they'd recover at all. Well, at least I can concentrate more on the bass now (I'm the drummer in the mentioned projects)...

How did you come up with the names you use?

[Ville] Such names were used in the historic Finland, and thus I thought they'd suit the concept of Moonsorrow well.

How do you see the future of blackmetal?

[Ville] A part of Black Metal is getting more and more commercial all the time, while simultaneously the other part is going deeper underground. But I'm not a prophet to tell what exaclty does this lead to, and neither do I care. The better bands will survive anyway, and the fate of the rest doesn't interest me.

You sing in finnish, will it chance in the future?

[Ville] When I started to write lyrics for Moonsorrow, I chose Finnish as the language because of its magnificent expression value. Since then I've only fallen deeper in love with my mother tongue, so I'm pretty sure that I will keep Finnish as the main language of Moonsorrow. I may write a few verses in a foreign language if I ever feel it suits the concept of a song or a part of it better than Finnish, but never because it would "sell better than Finnish".

Vae Solis webzine / June 1999

Link 1 - Link 2

Band: MOONSORROW

Country of origin: Finland

Style: sublime pagan metal

Questions by: Kai Mathias Stalhammar

Answers supplied by: Henri Urponpoika Sorvali (guitars, keyboards, drum programming) and Ville Seponpoika Sorvali (vocals, bass)

Well, here we go Ville! Here's the interview for MOONSORROW and the first question regards your band's past... When, how and why it all began?

[Ville] I and my cousin Henri formed Moonsorrow back in 1995 plainly for the sake of expressing the paganistic concept we had on our minds via music. We had already several projects going and this was supposed to be just one of them... now it clearly seems it is not. Yeah, I have never learnt to be brief with this biographical stuff, but now I think I made it (sorry for all of your hungry readers).

It seems like "Tama Ikuinen Talvi" doesn't appear as the first-ever tape you've released so far, right? If so, please tell us few words concerning the demo you've made your debut with...

[Ville] Whatever makes you think so, it is correct. We recorded our first demo already in early 1996, and although it was never released due to several severe obstacles, we still do have an official debut before "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi": "Metsä", recorded in 1997 and consisting of 2 epic compositions of less polished Pagan Metal + those obligatory introes and outroes. I know people who seriously dislike the tape in question, but at least it fits my taste well...

Can I assume that "Tama..." is a huge development if comparing to your debut?

[Ville] Yes you can, alongside musical (instrumentwise) outcome also concerning the whole production. What I meant when I called "Metsä" less polished was just that; we didn't have any Korg N-series synth but some "Nintendo-Yamaha" and the only "studio" we had in our use was Henri's eternally blessed garage having that fancy 4-tracker. Perhaps you know what I mean... and perhaps "Metsä" would've sounded more alike with "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" with this better equipment...? Anyway, what comes to the compositions themselves on "Metsä", I really like them, and I would not like to compare our releases that way.

[Henri] And who knows... Maybe we'll re-record the songs some day because they aren't so bad in my opinion either. It's mostly the production which sucks on "Metsä", not the compositions. We'll see...

Certain bands playing black metal nowadays make numerous attempts (most often in vain) to create more personal any easy-to-recognize stuff, while others just blindingly embark on the path their favorites constructed... Whom do you reckon yourselves to? If you ask me, I'll say that MOONSORROW stands somewhere in between - your music is not typical at all, although it bears strong reminiscences of early ENSLAVED...

[Henri] Well, what can I say? I'd place our first attempts of making music to somewhere between unoriginal and extremely unoriginal, while our newest efforts offer a certain mood which could be easily recognized as pretty "familiar-sounding", but blended with chunks of originality. And what comes to the "Enslaved-thing"... well, you're not the first one who has noticed something like that. I, however, really like older Enslaved, and in some way I find it very irritating when people name bands of whom they think we sound like... but in a way I also find it somehow flattering. Anyway, our goal is not to copy other bands - a thing which will be proved in the future. But as always, it is the audience who judges that, not the composer, right?

Why did you choose Finnish as the language for your lyrics? Any plans to write few verses in English in time to come...?

[Ville] The decision was quite natural to me simply because I love the Finnish language and its magnificent expression value. Also it is only logical to use Finnish when dressing a Finnish band's paganistic concept into words. Of course I can write in English whenever it suits Moonsorrow (our earlier lyrics were in fact English-written, but they weren't done by me anyway), yet I don't feel any special urge of doing it in the nearest future. I have been reminded a few times that Finnish doesn't sell, but that can never be enough of a reason for me to turn my jacket...

Lots of contemporary bands unleash CDs without having even one single demo tape behind them, however it strikes as MOONSORROW is another kind of band... even though a CD would be nice!

[Ville] I think so too (heh). Frankly, thanks to our wide and slightly reckless promotion for "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi", we got some labels interested in us and thus we are now a signed band. We will record our debut album for a promising Swedish label called Plasmatica Records, and it will hopefully be out somewhere in the following spring. What comes to the bands releasing CDs without demos, I think it's not worth it. Most of them will just bring a long-term disgrace upon themselves when letting their lack of experience shine through the fancy disc.

Here's some kind of a general question: is the band only a hobby for you or, perhaps, something more? A job? A way of life? Destiny...?

[Henri] It would be cool to call Moonsorrow our destiny, but unfortunately the band is really just a hobby to us, although a pretty dear one.

[Ville] At least it can never be my job, because the basic requirement for a job is getting enough money for a living from it. It will always be only free time that I put into Moonsorrow, but be it anything, I like the way it is.

Now let's move to another kind of your activities, i.e. Meathooked 'zine. Say anything you feel you need to in order to let our readers conceive what it's all about...

[Ville] We launched Meathooked into action in 1997 mainly because we were tired to the current zine circles and wanted to give some life to them, and I think we accomplished the first part of our mission well with our debut issue which came out in 1998. I hope it gave most people a clear picture of what we are doing; we are here to support the voice of underground music and independent thinking, without forgetting some quality that most of the underground is lacking. Currently the preparation of our second issue is at the final stage and we hope to have it out to astonish soon.

What are you guided by choosing bands to make an interview with?

[Ville] At first, all the editors have free hands in choosing their interviewees, so I can only speak on behalf of myself, but it's obvious that all of us interview only bands whose music is pleasant (be it more or less a subjective view then). What I consider after deciding whether a band deserves an interview with its music is that has the band something to say or not. We all prefer independent thinking, because it makes the interviews more interesting to read (and more motivating to prepare).

Finland's acts seem to prevail in your zine. Why so? Does it happen because it's a way easier to meet / interview 'em?

[Ville] Yes, I could say that we have interviewed so many of our landmates because they are more easy to get in touch with, but the other half of the truth is that they really deserve to appear in Meathooked. We are not strictly Finland-oriented, this is just what has happened. Who knows if we someday publish an issue without a single Finnish band, it just depends on the state of the local underground.

The first issue contains plenty of articles covering various topics and I'm wondering what was the reason for including them into the zine? Did you compose 'em to vary Meathooked's contents or you just couldn't stay silent anymore (regarding certain subjects)?

[Henri] I assume that you are referring to the essays I wrote into the first issue of Meathooked, right? Well, what comes to the "Extinction is natural" -text, I still stand behind my words. At the time I was generally so pissed off to the "modern society" and all this cultural imperialism, destroying of nature, consumerism etc. etc. things. Know what I mean? Basically it was just that I couldn't keep my mouth shut on certain topics. Nowadays I'm still as bittered, but maybe in a more mature way. Anyway, that text can be expouned in as many ways as there are readers (three?). Another thing was this text of tax money. It was written more like in a debating way, and not with a "pissed and furious" -attitude. I just wondered by the time how stupid things people's tax money are spent on. I must, however, confess that when writing the essays I was going through a mental crisis - something that every single person needs to do sometimes to mature and grow. Nowadays I may have some different views on certain issues, but most of the opinions I expressed back then still belong to my world of thinking. Anyway, may we have your opinion of these articles? (I liked themŠ and I mostly share your views - ED)

The paper's quality and layout's design are truly awesome! How did you manage to reach such a splendid result?

[Ville] Well, I had a really lousy program in my use, so it has certainly come as a surprise when people have liked the layout so much. I just had the vision of making Meathooked visually a bit different, and it seems that I accomplished it somewhat despite of my limited possibilities. What comes to the paper, well, money talks. It was slight waste (plain stupidity economically speaking), but at least Meathooked #1 is a nice thing to hold in one's hands and it looks good too...

When will we be able to read through the second issue? You see, the first one has been out for a while (more than a while, I should say!), so...

[Ville] Oops, I think I already (kind of) answered this one... To cut it short, we do NOT promise anything, but we hope to have the whole thing ready for printing this summer. As always, only time shall tell.

And finally tell us about Meat Hook Productions and the bands whose stuff you release...

[Ville] The roots of Meat Hook Productions date back to 1995 when I and Henri "released" our first musical effort called Masturbory. Since that there has come out 26 different demo recordings under MHP's banner, and humbly saying the quality has constantly gone for the better (concerning the start there were no options). If I may, I can introduce our releases - shortly, of course (for longer descriptions and more articles just ask for our free distribution list):

MEAT01 - Masturbory "The Perkeldemons Of Hareb-Serap" mc. Morbid blackened grinding metal quite far from where we are standing now. Sold out.

MEAT02 - Ahti "Pohjantähti" mc. Our twisted metal versions of Finnish folk songs, check it out if your religion doesn't forbid humour. $4

MEAT05 - Lunar Womb "Planets" mc. Maximally minimalistic new age synth music, roughly bringing together Burzum, Neptune Towers and The 3rd And The Mortal (sorry, I took it straight from our mailorder list). $5

MEAT06 - Nekroaaltouuni "The Cannibal Spawn" mc. We have also experimented dis-hardcore, but I think it's of no interest here. $4

MEAT07 - Woods Of Belial "Thy Unholy Pentagram" mc. The rehearsal tape of our most unholy signing, Black Doom in the no-man's-land between Darkthrone and Abruptum. $4

MEAT08 - Thornfrost "Upon The Faustian Throne" mc. Our proud creation of aggressive Black Metal in the vein of Marduk and Emperor. $4

MEAT09 - Lunar Womb "The Astral Grief" mc. I left the project and it instantly started to sound better... $5

MEAT10 - Kharadrai "Shadows Of The Sea" mc. Minimalistic ambient on the same lines with Beherit's "Electric Doom Synthesis". $4

MEAT11 - Moonsorrow "Metsä" mc. $5

MEAT12 - Urospuu "Into The Misty Forest Of Ents" mc. Perhaps the worst demo in the world, unbelievably unmusical morbid black/grind/doom. Sold out.

MEAT13 - Woods Of Belial "Baxabaxaxaxaxabaxaxaxaxa! 666 Yndstr Draconis" mc. Horrifyingly atmospheric and oppressing piece of industrialized Black Doom for individual tastes, I think it says it all. $5

MEAT14 - Gorewinter "Battleblack" mc. Brilliant Black Metal with melodies and diversity, don't miss it. $5

MEAT15 - Gorewinter "Winterholocaust" mc. Gorewinter's debut being raw Black Metal with brutal sounds. $5

MEAT17 - Lunar Womb "The Sleeping Green" mc. It shall be (a) great (improvement). tba

MEAT18 - Woods Of Belial "Deimos XIII" mc. Same as with MEAT17. tba

MEAT19 - Kharadrai "Millennia" mc. Darkly atmospheric horror ambient, something different (and great). $5

MEAT21 - Moonsorrow "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" mc. $5

MEAT22 - Mikhail Atom "Astroepos" mc. Our only foreigner act (from Russia), performing excellent hi-fi ambient. $5

MEAT23 - Unhola "Minä Olen Tie" mc. After the great Black Metal piece "Mustan Syvyyden Tuulet" we signed this act for one demo, and it's as far from disappointment as one can ever get! $5

MEAT24 - Gorewinter "Buried By Night" mcd. Our first release on cd format and really suitable for that. $9

MEAT25 - Kharadrai "Hexapteron" mc. Always improving... $5 (special edition still available)

MEAT26 - Masturbory / Urospuu split mc. Yeah, the re-release of MEAT01 and MEAT12. $5

As always, your last words...

[Ville] I raise a chalice to your for this brilliant interview, and I hope my terse answers will please you and, most of all, your readers. I encourage all people interested in Moonsorrow, Meathooked or Meat Hook Productions to get in touch and perhaps to check out our demos and the forthcoming album. May the pagan flame burn forever!

[Henri] I only raise a fist before Ville's face for he had answered to so many questions without me. Anyway, thanx for the enjoyable interview, and keep on doing this quality work! Our true gods we cherish, may the false one perish!!! Hail!!!!!

Riding Hellwards newsletter / May 1999

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Update: scans of the original newsletter can be found here.

Hailing from Finland, here is one of my favourite bands. Henri and Ville, the two heads of Moonsorrow speak...

I'll begin this interview commonly and ask you to tell us a bit of the history and the concept of Moonsorrow, so...

[Ville] I and Henri formed Moonsorrow back in 1995 as we felt a strong urge for expressing the paganistic corners of our minds by the means of music. Soon after the formation we recorded our first demo "Thorns Of Ice", but we didn't ever release it and so our actual debut was the recording of 1997 called "Metsä". After those days we took a step forward and our music moulded into a more symphonic kind of metal, resulting to finally in early 1999 released demo "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi". By that demo I partly knew what to expect, but still the response for it somewhat surprised me. Four record deals were offered, and we picked the one of Plasmatica Records. Our debut album is scheduled for spring 2000 but of course anything can happen... That's about it, I think. What comes to the concept, it's all about folklore, nature and all that stuff: Pagan Metal.

There are a lot of influences in Moonsorrow. Sometimes, it reminds me of Golden Dawn, sometimes, of Emperor. Where do you take the essence to create your art ?

[Henri] You are right, there are lots of traces of our fave bands of that time in Moonsorrow's music, like Emperor, Enslaved, Golden Dawn etc. And to be honest, sometimes I feel there are more influences of these bands on the new demo than there are creations of our own. When we composed the music on "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" it was logically meant only for satisfying ourselves and thus some similarities to abovementioned bands couldn't have been avoided. So we didn't care so much of originality but of making intense, heavy and melodic metal music. Nowadays Moonsorrow concentrates on their own riffs and music, and to reveal something of the upcoming material; it will be even more folk music based and more melodic. But of course anything can happen...

In the past, there wasn't many Finnish bands; but now, this scene has exploded with Azaghal, Horna, Gloomy Grim,Gorewinter, Children Of Bodom and many others. What do you think of Finland ? Is it the response to the attack of Norway a while ago ?

[Henri] Actually, I'm not so fond of Finnish metal bands. Some are really good, like Thyrane, Unhola, Tenhi or ...and Oceans, but most of them rely more on their image than the actual music. Sad isn't it? Anyway, I think that the Finnish scene has become better than it was a couple of years ago when everyone wanted to play Norwegian-styled Black Metal. Once again, the laws of natural selection have spoken: only the strong ones have survived.

[Ville] Just as Norway a while ago, Finland is now experiencing a wide-scale inflation on Black Metal. Too many bands so easily placed in the same category, especially when only a few of them are worth mentioning, will sooner or later have people bored to the underground. In my opinion everyone wouldn't need a band to be involved, in fact the underground would be in better condition if only those who can offer something new for the scene performed music. But of course there are always born great bands among the gray mass, like Gorewinter (which is actually formed in 1995, not just recently).

A lot of people have said that the scene is dead due to the number of shitty bands existing. But, as we can see, some individuals are really invested and keep the underground aspect of the scene to hold it alive. What do you think about today's underground scene ?

[Henri] The underground scene is full of different individuals, which makes the whole aspect very interesting. Thanks to the Internet, we are now able to communicate with each other in a much wider scale because we can now contact people from all around the globe faster and easier than earlier. This, of course, leads also into problems, because the more people you meet the more people are potential assholes or rip-offs. Though, 95% of people I've been in contact with are cool and honest people who support the true underground. Ave!

You're an active guy I know. Please give us a summary of your activities

[Ville] To make it brief, besides my projects I also (together with Henri and two other guys) run a small distribution service / demo label called Meat Hook Productions and an underground 'zine called Meathooked. Any information on the subjects and/or our free distribution list can be asked from me directly, as a more profound description would require too much space. What comes to my more important musical projects then, there are bands called Thornfrost and May Withers is which I play the drums; the less important (and usually inactive) projects of mine may be too many to mention.

[Henri] Isn't anyone out there interested in my activities...? (sob)

Time to end this intie. Give us your future plans and conclude as you want.

[Henri] Mega thanxx for this interview, it has been a pleasure to answer your questions. Moonsorrow is now officially signed to Plasmatica Records (Swe) and our first full-length album should be out in spring 2000. Until then... keep on waiting, I promise you won't be disappointed! Also watch out for another project in which I play, called Finntroll. Hail!!!!!

[Ville] Eternal hailings for featuring Moonsorrow on your newsletter and on your compilation. Keep up the cool underground work and keep looking for our debut album. Everyone interested just get in touch, we sell our demos for $5 each and, as mentioned, also have our free distribution list.

Aftermath webzine / April 1999

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Moonsorrow from Finland has so far released two demos. Their last demo shows a greater symphonic edge to the band, which might lead the band to greater glory. As a presentation of the band, we let the band explain some more about themselves:

Hello there. Can you start off by telling the history of the band?

[Ville] Moonsorrow was formed in autumn 1995 by me and my cousin Henri from the urge to expand our musical expression onto a more profound level. Several months later we entered Henri's home "studio" with the intention to experiment recording process with Moonsorrow, and we came out with our first demo "Thorns Of Ice". However, we never released that tape due to reasons not to be explained here. Our official debut "Metsä" (Forest) was recorded in 1997. After "Metsä" we also recorded a two-song promotape but it encountered the fate of "Thorns Of Ice". "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" (This Winter Eternal) could have been released in spring 1998, but certain curses (broken mixing table, ruined recordings etc.) prevented that from happening until January 1999.

Your latest demo shows a great step forward with better sound, and all in all better songs than the debut demo. How was the recording process, and are you happy with the result?

[Henri] Well, the recording process lasted for almost a year because we had serious problems with booking the studio and with equipment (as Ville just explained). To cut it short, all things that could go wrong, went wrong. Now we're however holding the result in our hands and I'd say we are pretty satisfied with it.

[Ville] I could actually say that "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" is the best recording I have ever participated on. But of course the next Moonsorrow recording will be even better... (heh)

From where do you gather inspiration for the music you play? Any bands you are holding as of great inspiration?

[Henri] There is no music without any sources of inspiration, that's for sure. There are moods and situations which can be of more inspiration than others, nature being maybe the most important of them all. What comes into the inspirations musically, our compositions are logically affected by our musical taste. I would say that the music we make combines the whole wide range of different music styles we listen to, be it anything from 70s' prog to industrial/ambient.

[Ville] As for the lyrics, I might say that it's as difficult to point out any specific inspiration sources as for the music. I write whatever comes to my mind within a suitable concept, be it caused by personal experiences, nature, studying of history/legends or anything. My thoughts open to a kind of poetry which has so far supported the music very well in my opinion. It seems that I usually write when I'm a bit down, but I believe the reason to be that in melancholic state I can only think more clearly.

What are your future plans right now. Has there been some concrete response on the demo yet?

[Ville] Currently we are working with new material, I with the lyrics and Henri with the music as usually. We have took in a session drummer who might spice up our outcome a bit, although we haven't rehearsed with him yet. Many labels have been very encouraging after they have heard "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi", and it is well possible that we could record an album instead of the next demo. Wait and see...

From where can your demo be obtained? (websites, e-mail adresses, adresses+++)

[Ville] Both of our demos can be obtained from us (and of course from various supportive distributors). The price is 20fim inside Finland or $5 elsewhere and the addresses are VILLE SORVALI, PORVOONKATU 37 B 6, 00520 HELSINKI, FINLAND and HENRI SORVALI, ESKOLANTIE 12-14 G 83, 00720 HELSINKI, FINLAND. When contacting it is also recommended to ask for our free distribution list, by snail mail or email (wille@netlife.fi). No website has been created yet, but it should hopefully appear soon enough.

Allright, that should do for those into a presentation of Moonsorrow. Please end it with your final comments...

[Ville] Thank you for this opportunity to present Moonsorrow for your readers. Everyone interested is encouraged to get in touch! Follow thy heart and do not let others guide thee...

[Henri] Hail Haavard and good luck for the future. May the gods return!!

'Til Your Ears Bleed compilation / March 1999

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How did things start? Is the line up the same since the very beggining?

[Ville] Things just started as with our other projects; we were seeking for a new channel for our musical expression. We really couldn't predict that Moonsorrow would be alive today, but now it seems that this channel was the natural choice for us as most of the other projects have long since fell apart. The line-up has always consisted of Henri and me and so it shall be, even if we might take in a session drummer for the next recording.

Do you aggree with the Moonsorrow's description: symphonic extreme Metal? How would you describe it? Do you think that is important to label the band's music style?

[Ville] There's nothing wrong with your description, although I think that it's a bit too narrow in order to cover the music of Moonsorrow properly. But as I don't prefer categories, I usually describe the music just as Pagan Metal. I want that the listeners to build up their own conceptions.

You have a new demo out (a great demo indeed!!)... How things are now with Moonsorrow?

[Ville] Thanks for the compliment! If forgetting our personal lives, things are pretty good; the demo sells fairly and we have got more than enough of (truthfully) flattering feedback. Some labels have shown interest but no deals have been offered yet, we just have to wait and see. Henri has, by the way, got an impulse for composing almost 24h/day so mostly thanks to him we already have some new material to be rehearsed...

As you are 2 man band, is that easy to play live concerts? Could you describe a live appearence of Moonsorrow? If you never played alive, could you share your ideas and visions of how it should be?

[Ville] Due to prevailing conditions (line-up) we have never played live with Moonsorrow, and we never will do it either as a two-piece. We have discussed with some friends who would be willing to support us by session live appearance, but we haven't yet planned a thing about any gigs. It seems that if it will ever happen, Henri would play the guitar and I would do the bass and the vocals. Session members would then take care of the synths, the other guitar and the drums. The appearance itself should be full of energy and leave no one empty.

Comment:

-Moon

[Ville] Moonshine makes the night so beautiful. It's always enchanting to wander at nights guided by the Moon.

[Henri] The brother of the Sun.

-Sorrow

[Ville] Sorrow is an inevitable part of human life, but one should take the strength from it instead of just grieving.

[Henri] There is no sorrow without joy, but would it be corny if the band name was Sunjoy?

-Beer & Blood

[Ville] How are these connected, if not speaking about how alcohol flows in the veins? Anyway, this might sound banal, but blood is the life (think about it). And beer is of course the drink of gods!

[Henri] When you drink enough beer (as we), blood might start flowing.

Now is time for one of our favorite questions... about Vinyl (off course!!). What is you opinion about Vinyl editions? Do you see any future for it?

[Ville] Heh, my vinyl player has long been broken, but if it was fixed I would of course collect many vinyls. I think vinyl editions are great but their future in this technologic society is uncertain.

[Henri] I think vinyl manages to capture the essence of music, and besides the sound is much more warmer than on a disc.

We know that you are a strong appreciator of alcoholic drinks. Could you advice us a good/ strong alcoholic drink from Finland?

[Ville] Well, mostly I drink beer and when I drink spirits I take them just in shots. This is somewhat an economical choice. But of course I can drink almost anything that contains alcohol... What I could recommend is the national drink of Finland: Koskenkorva! It is an old traditional spirit made of grain and the alcoholic volume is 38%. Whenever you come to Finland, do not pass it!

[Henri] There is a great "shot" (12cl!) which is called Roadcrew's Death. It contains 4cl of Jägermeister, 4cl of Mint spirit and 4cl of Vermouth... everything 40% strong. After a couple of these you start to crawl back into your coffin again...

Drink & Kill!! (last words, thought and comments... free time!!)

[Ville] Eternal hails for this honour to be featured on the European Attack!! Anyone interested is adviced to get in touch and/or to purchase our demos for $5 each. Thanks to all supporters! Follow thy heart and do not be led by anyone!

[Henri] Thanks a helluva lot for this interview and the opportunity to spread our message throughout the underground. Raise your swords in the name of metal!

Aorta webzine / February 1999

Link 1 - Link 2 (incl. translation)

Finnish & English.

Päivää ja asiaan: milloin ja miksi Moonsorrow on perustettu?

[Ville] Päivää vaan sinne pohjan perukoille. Moonsorrown ensiaskeleet otettiin syksyllä 1995, aikana jolloin minulla ja Henrillä oli kova hinku soittaa jos jonkinnäköisissä projekteissa. Halusimme laajentaa musiikillisen ilmaisumme kenttää ja tuoda julki 'pakanallisia' tuntemuksiamme, emmekä varmaan aavistaneet että projekti jatkuisi vielä tänäkin päivänä. Heh. Miksi bändejä yleensä perustetaan?

[Henri] Miksi itse perustit lehtesi? (- Vitut tämä minun lehteni ole! N.)

Ensimmäinen tuotoksenne oli "Metsä" niminen demo... Mistä tuo hieno nimi ja mitä mieltä olette ko. nauhoituksestanne?

[Henri] Ensinnäkin, Metsä ei ole debyyttidemomme. Teimme ensimmäisen nauhoitteemme tammikuussa 1996, mutta sitä ei koskaan päästetty liikkeelle, sillä masterointivaiheessa pari biisiä tuhoutui, joka tietenkin kävi vituttamaan ankarasti, sillä eihän demoa, josta puolet biiseistä puuttuu voi laittaa myyntiin. Jäljellejäävä materiaali oli tietysti juuri se huonompi osa demosta, joten tuskinpa "Thorns Of Ice" näkee koskaan julkaisupäiväänsä. Ja sitten 'kastamisen' pariin: Metsän nimeksi piti itse asiassa tulla "Thrymgjöll", mutta Villen mielestä nimi ei ollut hyvä joten vaihdoimme sen. Prosessi tosin vaati huikeat määrät kahvia ja olutta. Kyllä, tiedämme, että nimi on kliseemäinen tai korni, mutta mitä sitten? Mehän sen päätämme, mikä demomme nimeksi tulee. Sitäpaitsi... onhan Metsä parempi nimi kuin "Demo 5/97", eikö totta? Olen kyseisestä nauhoitteesta edelleen ylpeä, joskin soundi on hieman lyttyynlyödyn kuuloinen ja rumpukone luo ehkä turhankin 'industrial'maisen vaikutelman. Ville tosin naureskelee sanoille, joista otin silloin vastuun (pääsyy siihen, miksi ne olivat englanniksi), mutta itse olen Metsään kokonaisuudessaan hyvinkin tyytyväinen.

[Ville] Metsä on mielestäni edelleen hyvä demo soundeistaan huolimatta, ja se soi kasettidekissänikin aina silloin tällöin. Mikä mielestäni sanoituksissa ja alkuperäisessä nimiehdotuksessa mätti oli se, etten itse ole mikään hirvittävä Edda-rippauksen ystävä, mutta täytyy myöntää, että sanoitukset sopivat musiikin tunnelmaan aika hyvin. "Thrymgjöll" olisi kyllä ollut jo liikaa.

Nyt olette kuitenkin ulostaneet 2. demonne "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi". Mitä aiotte saavuttaa sillä?

[Henri] Mitä aiomme saavuttaa? Mielenkiintoinen kysymys. Ensiksikin tärkeintä kaikesta on se, että saavutamme oman tyytyväisyytemme. Lisäksi tavoitteemme on, että kuuntelija saa mahdollisuuden matkustaa musiikkimme ja sanojemme välityksellä vuosisatojen päähän myyttien ja tarujen maailmaan - toisin sanoen, oman tyytyväisyytemme jälkeen tulee kuuntelijan tyytyväisyys. Tietenkin olisi helppo sanoa, että teemme musiikkia vain itsellemme, mutta eihän silloin olisi mitään järkeä myydä demoja. Kuka tietää, kuinkakohan monta ns. true-bändiä jostain vitun Kuala Lumpuristakin tulee, jotka eivät myy demojaan, sillä tekevät musiikkia vain itseään varten...? Mitä taas materialistisempaan saavuttamiseen tulee, niin eikö jokainen bändi haaveile levytyssopimuksesta? Lisäksi eräs tavoitteistamme on tehdä musiikillamme selväksi ihmisille, että kaikki ns. melodiset suomalaiset Black(?) Metal bändit eivät välttämättä ole soittotaidottomien teinipingiviinien kömpelöitä yrityksiä kopioida norjalaisbändejä. Ja tietenkin... Tämän Ikuisen Talven valmistumisen ansiosta olemme taas saavuttaneet yhtyeellämme yhden uuden etapin, rajaviivan jonka ylittämiseksi on ponnisteltava rajusti päästäksemme vanhojen saavutustemme edelle.

[Ville] Mielestäni tällä demolla olisi tärkeää saada levytyssopimus, vaikka voimmehan yhtä hyvin tehdä uuden demonkin. Levyn tekemisessä meillä olisi vain paremmat resurssit hyvään nauhoitukseen eikä tarvitsisi huolehtia mistään ulkopuolisista seikoista. Itse musiikilla ja eritoten sanoituksilla haluan aina saavuttaa oman tyytyväisyyteni, mutta olen hyvin otettu jokaisesta kuuntelijain lausumasta positiivisesta kommentista. Sama se, matkustavatko he ties minne musiikkiamme kuunnellessaan...

äänitteillänne on käytetty koneita aika paljon (rummut ja tod. näk. synatkin). Ettekö luota soittotaitoihinne? Mitä mieltä olette dancepopista?

[Ville] öhöm. Synat on soitettu sisään eikä ohjelmoitu, jotta siitäs sait. Omasta puolestani en puhu, mutta ainakin Henrin soittotaito on 'riittävä', onhan poika ammattimuusikko. Omaa pääinstrumenttiani eli rumpuja en itse soittanut Metsälle, koska Henri oli tehnyt jo pohjanauhan valmiiksi etukäteen ja nauhoituksiin ei ollut varattu liikaa aikaa. T.I.T:n tahditukseen taas ei kestokykyni olisi riittänyt, mutta luotan kuitenkin omiin kykyihini sen verran, että hoidan patteriston muutamassa muussa yhtyeessä. Ja jos en soita rumpuja vielä seuraavallekaan äänitteelle, sen tekee joku muu, mutta rumpukone saa luvan poistua Moonsorrown kokoonpanosta. Mitä dancepoppiin tulee, on se aikalailla rajattu musiikkimakuni ulkopuolelle. Se on pikemminkin luotu ihmisille, jotka eivät kykene kuulemaan musiikkia.

[Henri] Vai että 'poika'...? Noh, asiaan. Rumpujen soittaminen syntikasta oli huomattavasti helpompi vaihtoehto kuin etsiä jostain hyvä rumpali, treenauttaa hänet, lainata jostain kasa rumpumikkejä ja viettää päiviä miksauspöydän ääressä. Tosin seuraavalla äänitteellämme on liverummut, kuten Ville jo mainitsikin. Ja mitä syntikoiden ohjelmoimiseen tulee, me emme sellaista harrasta. Itse vastustan sitä, sillä se tekee soundista yleensä luonnottoman kuuloisen dynamiikan puuttumisen ja elottomuutensa takia. Tanssipopista taas... noh, onhan se hyvää bisnestä. Mitäs itse pidät siitä? (- Ei kommentteja! N.)

Moonsorrow on kaiketi erittäin pakanallinen bändi, vai onko tämä vain imago?

[Ville] Imago ja imago. Odotatko kenenkään tunnustavan, ettei seiso imagonsa takana? Ilkeämielisethän voisivat sanoa, että pakanallisuus on minulle vain kulissi koska olen ateisti, mutta totuus on, etten myöskään kirjoita Odinista tai Ukko Ylijumalasta enkä siis luo itselleni mitään pakanauskovaisen imagoa. Tunnustan kuitenkin luonnon 'herruuden' ihmisen yli, ja tämä kaiken pakanallisuuden perustana tekee minusta eräänlaisen pakanan. Olen myös kiinnostunut pakanakulttuureista, muinaistaruista sekä esikristillisestä historiasta ja kunnioitan kastamattomia esivanhempiani. Minulla on pakanasielu, ja sydämessäni on aina paikka niille, jotka eivät hylkää omaa kansallista perintöään. En kuitenkaan missään nimessä haikaile takaisin pakanallisiin aikoihin, sillä sellainen on vain typerää romantisointia. Olosuhteet silloin olivat tyystin erilaiset kuin mitä monet nykypäivän 'viikingit' unelmoivat, ja elämme joka tapauksessa tässä ja nyt.

[Henri] Kyllä, Moonsorrow on erittäin pakanallinen bändi. (Huomaa, että en tarkoita pakanuudella fantasiakirjallisuuden ihannointia tai suomenkielisiä sanoja, niinkuin jotkut bändit antavat ymmärtää.) Oma asennoitumiseni pakanauskomuksiin on jossain määrin hieman konkreettisempi kuin Villellä, joka aiheuttaa joskus pieniä konflikteja mm. sanoituksien kanssa (ks. kysymys 2). Kuulun lisäksi erääseen suomalaiseen pakanalliseen järjestöön, joten kenellekään ei pitäisi jäädä epäselväksi onko kyseessä imago vai ei.

Asutte Etelä-Suomessa ja silti laulatte kylmyydestä ja talvesta... Eikö tämä ole hieman....tekopyhää?

[Ville] On täälläkin talvi, siitäkin huolimatta että sielläpäin lyödään pakkasennätyksiä. Säätiedotusformaatti ei koskaan ole mielestäni ollut paras mahdollinen sanoituksille, ja konsepti kappaleeseen "Talvi" olikin Henrin luoma.

[Henri] "Ken teistä on syytön, se heittäköön ensimmäisen kiven..."

[Ville] Mutta mitä sitten? Saahan sitä laulaa mistä huvittaa, vai eikö? Miten olisi, jos haastattelisit seuraavan kerran jotain lukuisista Välimeren maiden säätiedotusyhtyeistä ja kysyisit kysymyksesi heiltä?

[Henri] Pitäisikö meidän asua Etelänavalla ennenkuin 'saisimme' laulaa ko. aiheesta? Se, joka väittää, ettei Etelä-Suomessa ole talvisin kylmä, voi yrittää kävellä ravintolasta kotiin lumipyryssä ja kahdenkymmenen asteen pakkasessa asusteinaan nahkatakki, farkut ja t-paita. Ainakin meidän tapauksessamme tuli tilattua taksi jo puolen kilometrin kävelyn jälkeen. Talvi se on täälläkin, perkele.

Debyyttidemonne folk metalli muuttui aika pian melodiseksi "black" metalliksi, oliko tämä luonnollista kehitystä vai oletteko vain rahan ja pillun perässä?

[Henri] Se mikä erottaa Metsän ja Tämän Ikuisen Talven toisistaan on Metsän puute syntikoista. Kamat, jotka silloin omistin, eivät todellakaan olleet mistään parhaasta päästä, joka aiheutti sen, että syntikoita piti karsia rankalla kädellä huonon soundivalikoiman takia. Lisäksi ne jäivät miksauksessa muutenkin hieman taka-alalle. Toisin sanoen Tämän Ikuisen Talven kohdalla kyseessä on sekä luonnollinen kehitys että parempien resurssien tuottama lopputulos. Myönnän kylläkin, että syntikoita tuli T.I.T:lle hieman aiottua enemmän... Mutta koskettimet ovat aina osa Moonsorrown musiikkia, ainakin niin kauan kuin minä siinä soitan. Mitä rahan ja pillun perässä juoksemiseen tulee, niin luuletko tosiaan, että soittamalla melodista "Black" Metallia saa ko. asioita? Jos haluaisimme rahaa ja pillua (jos? siis tietenkin!), niin soittaisimme euroteknoa, sillä se myy Suomessa hyvin. Ja jos joku haluaa antaa meille pillua koska soitamme melodista "Black" Metallia, osoitteemme löytyy haastattelun lopusta.

[Ville] Mitä tähän nyt sanoisi? Omasta mielestäni olemme ajan myötä ainoastaan kasvattaneet folk-elementtien määrää musiikissamme, mutta nämähän ovat kaikki tulkintakysymyksiä. Emme ole yrittäneet vääntää mitään erityistä, joten olipa suuntamme mikä tahansa, sen on täytynyt luonnollista kehitystä. Minä viis veisaan markkinoiden vaatimuksista, ja sitä paitsi tällä tasolla rahan tekeminen on melko vaikeaa. Ja oletko koskaan kuullut naisista, jotka tarjoavat itseään juuri siitä syystä, että satut soittamaan melodista "Black" Metallia? (- olen, mutta vaivan täytyy olla olennainen ja pysyvä. N.)

Jotkut varmaan luokittelevat musiikkinne jonkinlaiseksi black metalliksi. Mitä mieltä olette tästä? Pitääkö mielestäsi olla satanisti/saatananpalvoja soittaakseen mustaa melua?

[Ville] Senkun luokittelevat, mutta itse en koskaan erehtyisi kutsumaan musiikkiamme Black Metalliksi. Black Metal, sen lisäksi että on musiikillinen lokero, rajaa myös ulkomusiikillisen puolen olemaan jossain määrin tekemisissä pimeyden ja 'pahuuden' kanssa. Kaikillehan lienee selvää, että Moonsorrown konsepti on melko kaukana mainituista teemoista. Meillä on toki omat antikristilliset viitteemme, mutta sekään ei ole millään lailla saatanallista eikä edes sensaatiohakuisuutta, vaan rajautuu ymmärrettävään vihaan Suomen kansan muinaisen uskon tuhoajia kohtaan. Sanoituksemme on sävytetty sillä samaisella pakanahengellä, mistä jauhoin kysymyksessä 5 varmasti aivan tarpeeksi, ja se mielestäni riittää erottamaan musiikkimme nimenomaan Black Metallista. Soitamme musiikkia ja se luokitus riittää ainakin minulle. Siitä, että pitääkö blackmetallistin olla oikea satanisti, on jo väännetty tarpeeksi kättä eri piireissä. Itse väittäisin, että Black Metallin sanoman julkituomiseen riittää tietty synkkä ja tuhoava mielenlaatu (jonka ei tarvitse olla edes dominoiva), mutta useat ihmisethän luokittelevat sellaisen omaavat henkilöt satanisteiksi. Kaikkien yhtyeen jäsenten ei tietenkään tarvitse olla mitään muuta kuin soittotaitoisia jos he vain soittavat.

Oletteko Segan Sonic faneja vai miksi kyseistä musaa on napattu uuden demonne B-puolelle?

[Henri] Ehdottomasti, ja seuraavalle äänitteellemme tulee pätkiä Super Mario Brosista ja Bubble Bobblesta. (- Allright! N.)

Onko Moonsorrow koskaan harkinnut live-esiintymistä vai onko se enää mahdollista metallibändeille?

[Ville] Live-esiintyminen on toki edelleen mahdollista metallibändeille, vaikkakin hyviä keikkoja on jokseenkin mahdoton saada ilman nimeä. Meidän tapauksessamme live-esiintymisen edellytykset ovat vielä hitusen heikommat kuin useimmilla, sillä yhtyeessämme on vain kaksi jäsentä. Olemme tosin keskustelleet muutamien ihmisten kanssa, jotka ovat osoittaneet kiinnostuksensa toimia sessiomuusikoina mahdollisilla keikoilla. Mitään valmisteluja, kuten treenausta täydemmällä kokoonpanolla, ei ole vielä tehty.

Mitkä ovat tavoitteenne Moonsorrowin kanssa? Maine ja kunnia vai forever underground?

[Henri] Mainetta ja kunniaa undergroundissa forever!!!

[Ville] Mainetta ja kunniaa en tarvitse; tulen itseasiassa paremmin toimeen ilman niitä. Rahaa voisin ottaa sen verran vastaan, että saisimme paremmat nauhoitusolosuhteet ja voisimme hieman parantaa musiikillista kalustoamme ilman että meidän tarvitsisi jatkuvasti huolehtia talousasioistamme. Silloin saisimme myös paremmat mahdollisuudet muuhun harrastustoimintaamme, kuten distron ja lehden pyörittämiseen sekä hevimetaltyyppiseen juomiseen. Undergroundissa aion kyllä pysyä niin ikuisesti kuin mahdollista, sillä se on pääosin äärimmäisen rehellinen yhteisö ja olen solminut sen kautta paljon uusia tuttavuuksia. Mainstream-touhut eivät todellakaan minua innosta.

Mikä voisi hajoittaa bändinne? Tyttöystävien painostus, opiskelukiireet vai kenties jokin muu, mikä?

[Ville] En näe mitään syytä sille, miksi yksikään tyttöystävä haluaisi kumppaninsa bändin hajoavan. Itse en ainakaan koskaan ottaisi sellaista tyttöystävää. Opiskelukiireet taas ovat aina muodostaneet pienen esteensä toimintamme tielle, mutta motivaatiomme suuntautumisen johdosta bändi pysynee koossa tulevien opintojen vaatimuksista huolimatta. Opintojen jatkaminen on suunnitelmissa, sillä aktiivinen työelämä saattaisi vaikuttaa tuhoisasti musiikilliseen harrastuneisuuteen. Ainoa mikä tällä hetkellä voisi hajoittaa bändimme olisi jomman kumman jäsenen kiinnostuksen lopahtaminen, mutta näillä näkymin se ei ole lähellä, onhan Moonsorrowlla erityinen merkitys meille molemmille ja omistautuneisuutemme sille vain kasvaa koko ajan.

Kerro mielipiteesi anaali-seksistä.

[Henri] Kuten Mortiis on joskus sanonut: todellinen satanisti harjoittaa vain anaaliseksiä! Toisaalta, se on Mortiiksen mielipide, ei minun. Vastaus riippuu tietenkin siitä, kenen kanssa sitä harrastaa. Sinunko...?

[Ville] Sinulla Normendahl taitaa olla joku fiksaatio anaaliseksin suhteen, vai olenko väärässä? (- Et. N.) Itse en pahemmin aio ottaa asiaan kantaa, sillä pidän mieluusti seksielämäni näiden suurten julkisten kuvioiden ulkopuolella. Kuka koskaan tietää...?

Loppu on yksin teidän....

[Ville] Kiitokset tästä mainiosta haastattelusta, oli ilo vastailla kysymyksiisi! Lopuksi toivoisin kaikkien Moonsorrowsta mahdollisesti kiinnostuneiden ottamaan kursailematta yhteyttä valitsemaansa allaolevista osoitteista ja/tai hankkimaan jomman kumman myynnissä olevista demoistamme hintaan 20 markkaa kappale. Kuunnelkaa sydäntänne ja valitkaa suuntanne muista riippumatta. Sulkeudun suosioonne.

[Henri] Kiitän myös omasta puolestani mainiosta haastattelusta ja pahoittelen joissain kohdissa vastaamatta jättämistäni, mutta ko. paikoissa Ville oli jo ilmaissut mielestäni kaiken oleellisen, joten minulle ei juuri jäänyt lisäiltävää. Hommatkaa demoja ja lukekaa zinejä, ne pitävät undergroundin elossa!!!

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G'day and to the point: when and why was Moonsorrow formed?

[Ville] Well hello there in the far far north. The first steps of Moonsorrow were taken in autumn 1995, by time I and Henri had a strong urge to play in whatever projects. We wanted to widen the scope of our musical expression and bring forth our 'heathenish' feelings, and we certainly did not have a hint about the project going on still this very day. Heh. Why do people form bands anyway?

[Henri] Why did you establish your 'zine in the first place? (- Fuck it ain't mine! N.)

Your first product was a demo carrying the title "Metsä" (forest)... Where did that great name come from and what are your views on the recording in question?

[Henri] At first, "Metsä" is not our debut. We made our first recording in January 1996, but it was never released because at the mastering stage a couple of tracks were demolished, which of course pissed us off big time because you just can't start selling a demo with a half of the tracks missing. The material remaining was of course the worse part of the demo, and thus "Thorns Of Ice" is never likely to see its publishing day. And then what comes to 'baptising': The name of "Metsä" was originally meant to be "Thrymgjöll", but Ville didn't really think that the name was so great so we changed it. The process, however, demanded massive amounts of coffee and beer. Yes, we know that the name is clichéd or corny, but so what? It's us who decide the title of our demo after all. And also... "Metsä" is a better title than "Demo 5/97", right? I am still proud of the recording in question, although the sound is rather flat and the drum computer creates a mood maybe a bit too 'industrial'. Ville of course thinks the lyrics I made back then (the main reason for why they were in English) are funny, but in whole I am actually pretty damn satisfied with "Metsä".

[Ville] I also think that "Metsä" is still a good demo despite its sound, and it even spins in my cassette deck every once in a while. The aspect I didn't like with the lyrics or the original title was that I am not such a huge fan of Edda rip-off myself, but I have to admit though that the lyrics fit the mood of the music quite well. But "Thrymgjöll" would've been too much, really.

Now you have anyway excreted your 2nd demo "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi". What do you wish to achieve with it?

[Henri] What do we wish to achieve? An interesting question. At first, it is the most important that we achieve our own satisfaction. In addition to this it is our aim that the listener is granted the possibility to travel beyond centuries into the land of myths and legends through our music and lyrics - in other words, what comes after our own satisfaction is that of the listener. Of course it could be easy to state that we create music for ourselves only, but there wouldn't be any point of selling demos then. Who knows, how many of those so called true-bands might ever exist in some fucking Kuala Lumpur who don't sell their demos because they make music only for themselves...? What comes to more materialistic achieving then, does every band not dream of a record deal? Moreover, one of our aims is to make people realize when listening to our music that not every single so called melodic Finnish Black(?) Metal band is an awkward attempt to copy Norwegian bands by unskilled teen penguins. And of course... by the completion of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" we have once again reached a new milestone with our band, a border line to struggle hard to cross.

[Ville] In my opinion it would be important to obtain a record contract with this particular demo, although of course we can do another demo as well. It's just that when making an album we would have better resources for a good recording and we wouldn't have to worry about any outside things. What comes to the music itself and especially the lyrics, with them I always want to reach my own satisfaction, but of course I'm very glad of every single positive comment spoken by the listeners. It's all the same where they travel when listening to our music...

You have used quite a lot of machinery on your recordings (the drums and supposedly the synths too). Don't you have trust with your skills? What is your opinion on dancepop?

[Ville] Ehm. The synths are played live and not programmed, so there. I don't speak on behalf of myself now, but at least Henri's playing skills are 'adequate', for the lad's professional musician after all. I didn't play my main instrument drums on "Metsä", because Henri had already made the footing complete and there wasn't too much time reserved for the recordings. And to beat "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" my stamina wouldn't really have been enough, but nevertheless I trust in my skills enough to handle the battery in a few other groups. And if I still don't play the drums on the next recording, someone else shall do that because the drum computer will leave the line-up of Moonsorrow for good. What comes to dancepop then, it is pretty much limited outside my musical taste. More likely it is created for people who can't hear music.

[Henri] 'Lad', eh...? Well, to the point. To play the drums from a synthesizer was clearly an easier option than to seek a proper drummer somewhere, rehearse with him, borrow a load of drum microphones and spend days by the mixing table. Our next recording will anyhow feature live drumming, as Ville already mentioned. And what comes to programming synths, we have nothing to do with that. I oppose it myself because it usually makes the sound unnatural due to its livelessness and the lack of dymanics. Dancepop then... well, it's good business. What do you like of it yourself? (- No comments! N.)

Moonsorrow is seemingly a very heathenish band, or is this just an image?

[Ville] Image and image. Do you expect anyone to confess not to stand behind his image? The nasty people around could of course say that paganism is merely a disguise for me for I'm an atheist, but the truth is that I don't even write about Odin or Ukko Ylijumala and thus do not create any image of a pagan beliver for myself. Anyhow I confess the nature's 'divinity' over men, and this as the corner stone of all paganism makes me a pagan of a sort. I am also interested in pagan cultures, ancient legends and pre-Christian history, and I respect my unbaptised ancestors. I have a heathen soul, and in my heart there's always a place for those who don't forsake their own national heritage. Nevertheless I do not long back to the past pagan era because that's just foolish romanticizing. The circumstances then were totally different than what most of the modern day 'vikings' dream of, and in any case we live in the here and in the now.

[Henri] Yes, Moonsorrow is a very heathenish band. (Please notice that with heathenism I don't mean the idolizing of fantasy literature or Finnish lyrics like some bands tend to express.) My own stand towards pagan beliefs is a little more concrete than that of Ville which once in a while creates slight conflicts with the lyrics for instance (see question 2). In addition I belong to a Finnish pagan organization, so no one should have confusion about the matter of whether this is an image or not.

You live in the southern Finland and still you sing about coldness and winter... Isn't this a bit....hypocrite?

[Ville] It's winter here too, despite of that you there are crushing frost records. The weather report format has never been the best alternative for lyrics in my opinion, and the concept for the song "Talvi" (winter) was created by Henri after all. But so what? You can sing about what you want, or not? How about interviewing some of those numerous weather report bands in the Mediterranean countries and asking your question from them?

[Henri] Should we live in the south pole to be 'allowed' to sing about the subject? Whoever claims that it's not cold in winter in the southern Finland can try to walk home from a bar in a snowstorm and a frost of 20 centigrades wearing only a leather jacket, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. In our case at least we ended up calling a cab just after half a kilometer of walking. It's winter here too, dammit.

You changed the folk metal of your debut demo quite soon to melodic "black" metal, was this natural development or are you just after money and pussy?

[Henri] What separates "Metsä" from "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" is the lack of synths on "Metsä". The equipment I owned back then certainly were not the best around, resulting into that we had to strike out quite a lot of synths because of the horrible sound selection. In addition they were left a bit on the bacground in the mix. In other words, concerning "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" the case is both natural development and the result helped by better resources. I admit though that there were a bit more synths placed on "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" than what was the original purpose... But the keys will always be a part of Moonsorrow's music, as long as I play in it anyway. What comes to hunting money and pussy, do you really think that playing melodic "Black" Metal you can get those things? If we wanted money and pussy (if? I mean of course!) we would play eurotechno because it sells well in Finland. And if someone wants to give us pussy because we play melodic "Black" Metal, our address can be found at the end of the interview.

[Ville] What should I say with this? In my opinion we have during the course of our existence only been growing the amount of folk elements in our music, but after all these are all matters of interpretation. We have not been forcing out anything, so whatever was our direction that must've been natural development. I don't give a shit about the demands of business, and it anyway would be really hard to make any money on this level. And have you ever heard of women who offer themselves just because you happen to play melodic "Black" Metal? (- Yes, but the burden must be essential and permanent. N.)

Some people must label your music some kind of black metal. What is your opinion of this? Do you think one has to be a satanist/devil worshipper in order to play black noise?

[Ville] Go ahead and label, but I would never make the error of calling our music Black Metal. Black Metal, besides being a musical category, also borders the outmusical side somewhat inside darkness and 'evilness'. It must be clear to everyone that the concept of Moonsorrow is pretty far from the mentioned themes. We of course have our own antichristian sidemarks but they ain't satanic or even sensationalist in any way, it's just limiting to an understandable hatred towards the destroyers of the ancient faith of the Finnish. Our lyrics are coloured with the same pagan spirit I surely babbled enough about in question 5, and that in my opinion is enough to separate our music from Black Metal in particular. We play music and that categorization is enough for me at least. Of that does a blackmetalhead have to be a real satanist himself there has already been way enough debate in different circles. I would personally claim that to bring forth the message of Black Metal it's enough if you have a certain dismal and destructive quality of mind (which frankly doesn't even have to be dominating), but yeah, most people do characterize such people as satanists. All the members of the band of course do not have to be anything but skilled if they only play.

Are you fans of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog or why then there is a bit of its music on your new demo's B-side?

[Henri] Absolutely, and our next recording will feature parts from Super Mario Bros and Bubble Bobble. (- Allright! N.)

Has Moonsorrow ever considered performing live or is it anymore possible for metal bands?

[Ville] Live performances are of course still accessible for metal bands, although it is rather impossible to get good shows without a name. In our case the premises for playing live are still a bit weaker than with most groups because there are only two of us in this band. We have discussed with some people who have shown their interest to work as session musicians on possible gigs, but any preparations like rehearsing with a more complete line-up haven't occurred yet.

What are your goals with Moonsorrow? Fame and fortune or forever underground?

[Henri] Fame and fortune in the underground forever!!!

[Ville] I don't need fame and fortune and actually I think I can cope better without them. I could accept that much of money though so that we could get better recording facilities and we could improve our musical equipment a bit without needing to worry about our economy. Then we could perhaps obtain somewhat better conditions for our other activities also, like running the distro and the 'zine and drinking heavy metal style. I will for sure stay in the underground as forever as possible because it is mainly an extremely honest community and I have got many new acquaintances through it. Mainstream-business really does not excite me.

What could break up your band? Pressure by girlfriends, intensive studies or something else, what?

[Ville] I can't see a reason why would any girlfriend want his mate's band to break up. I would never take that kind of a girlfriend. The intensity of studies has always built a small obstacle on our way, but because of the direction of our motivation the band will stay together despite of whatever demands of further education. The continuance of studies is in plans because active working life could affect negatively on musical activity. The only thing I see at the moment able to break our band is the end of interest of either member, but considering the moment it ain't even close for Moonsorrow has its special meaning to us both and our devotion to it is only growing by time.

Please tell your opinion about anal sex.

[Henri] As Mortiis has once said: a real satanist only practises anal sex! On the other hand, it is his opinion, not mine. The answer naturally depends on with whom to practise it. You...?

[Ville] You Normendahl seem to have a fixation about anal sex, or could I be wrong? (- No. N.) I will not take more stand towards the matter for I tend to keep my sex life outside these big public circles. Who ever knows...?

The end is all yours....

[Ville] Thank you for this splendid interview, it was a pleasure to answer to your questions! In the end I would hope all people possibly interested in Moonsorrow to contact either of the addresses below and/or to get either of the demos we have in sale for the price of 20fim/$5. Listen to your heart and choose your path independently of others. I commend to your favour.

[Henri] Also on my side I thank you for the splendid interview and I'm sorry for my not answering in some places, but in those places Ville had already expressed all that matters so there wasn't too much for me to add. Keep on purchasing demos and reading 'zines, they keep the underground alive!!!