Link
Answered by Henri and Ville Sorvali
First of all, let me congratulate you with the debut album. I was just astonished with the quality of your new material: perfect melodical parts with palpable influence of folk traditions - they don’t sound very often in such accurate performance! Could you describe the feelings which your creation arouses in you; are you satisfied with the final result?
[Henri] Thank you for the kind words! We are very satisfied with the result, although there could be some whining around because of the record company. But of course it has nothing to do with the music, which we, as I said, find very successful. And what comes to the feelings right now, I could say that the album is perfectly as good as it could have gotten back then, but I promise our next album will be even better! New stuff will be even more pompous, more folkish and 100% MOONSORROW!!!! We guarantee it will fucking kill!!!!!!!!
Probably, the only unpleasant moment with your new album is that awfully long waiting for its realization. I guess, it’s a fault of the label - Plasmatica Records. Why did you decide to deal with this new and not well-known label?
[Ville] Yes, it was very irritating to wait for the release of the album. Whether it was a fault of the label or not does not matter anymore, after all one should be able to expect these kind of setbacks when dealing with small labels. They just don’t have the money to push things their way with the desired pace. There were all kinds of troubles concerning the supposed release, all the way from simple communication obstacles to the last-minute fuck-ups with the manufacturing company (they had the masters idle for two months or so, so I guess we should question their working morals a bit too). Surely many people question afterwards why did we choose Plasmatica Records, but why shouldn’t we have signed the best contract we were offered? Working with new and not well-known labels usually isn’t that efficient - as we have learned - but there are always two sides to a coin if you think about it. On a small label every band has priority and there should be no questions about artistic freedom unlike on some bigger labels.
You also run not a large underground label Meat Hook Prods, on which first Moonsorrow demo-albums were released. So why did you decide to co-operate with another label? Is it lack of money, or some other reason?
[Ville] To cut it short, Meat Hook Productions is (was) just a d.i.y. demo label somewhat equal to a self-financing band and it could never have succeeded with an actual album release. It was quite natural to release our demos on MHP, but we always knew that we would need another party to finance our debut album if such was to be recorded. Certainly lack of money played a role in that, but also the fact that the promotional and distributional capabilities of Meat Hook Productions were badly limited. We didn’t ever have enough contacts, let alone any knowledge of the market, so if released on MHP our album would probably have sold some 400 copies. Also, there are only 24 hours to a day, so having to do all the promotion ourselves would’ve surely gnawed our efficiency as a performing band.
The sound quality of ”Suden Uni” pleasantly surprises. How did you manage to achieve such, let me say, crystal sharpness of sound? Did the previous experience you got while realizing your demos play the basic role in it?
[Henri] A huge credit goes absolutely to Ahti Kortelainen and his always so great Tico-Tico Studio, where we recorded the album. (And will also record the next one, which is scheduled to happen in July/2001.) We had a perfect vision of what our album should sound like when we went there, and Ahti managed to make it sound just like we wanted to and even better. Of course there is this very fact that everyone of us has had previous studio experiences (Moonsorrow is most certainly not the only band we have ever recorded something with), and it does help a lot when you can just tell the engineer what you want with clear ”studio-terms” and stuff like that, but on the final hand it’s all about the studio and the engineer.
Something unusual is present in the musical palette of Moonsorrow such untraditional instrument for black metal as accordion. Was it made for the sake of greater originality, or is using of accordion typical for Finnish folklore?
[Henri] The accordion (”Harmonikka, Haitari, Hanuri” etc. in Finnish), is a very typical Finnish folk music instrument besides of course violin, mouth harp, recorder and other more obvious instruments you can hear e.g. on our album. The reasons to include it to the songs were the very facts that a) it is an old folk music instrument which creates hell of a more folkish atmosphere when used as a substitute for e.g. a plain electric guitar melodyline, b) it sounds fucking great when blended with metal music and c) of course it sounds pretty original, doesn’t it?
I hear some statements that the Finnish language and metal music are incompetible. Personally, I don’t agree with such beliefs, because it won’t take long to find the proof of the opposite! How much does it mean for you to perform songs in your native language? Can I say that for pagan and black metal it’s more natural to use national languages?
[Ville] Who has told you that? I have never heard that Finnish language wouldn’t suit metal music, I have just heard that it won’t sell. Finnish is a very grim language and I in my opinion thus blessed for metal music, actually. I’m glad that you appreciate it at least. To me it’s important to be able to perform songs in my native language, because my expression is not bound to any language barriers then. I don’t force myself to write in Finnish, though; if some verses are to come out in English or Swedish, so shall it be. I only seek for the most natural way of creating lyrics. It just happens that when speaking of ”Finnish” matters the words usually come out in Finnish. I don’t know about black metal (the message is satanic and Satan, whosoever believeth in him, can handle all the languages of the world), but within paganistic contexts it is of course more natural to use national languages. The primordial feeling in the songs comes forth much stronger in an authentic tongue, and the linguistical honesty of the message is a bonus for those who actually understand the text.
You work hard in the underground - a band, a label, a ’zine... Do you have enough time and will to deal with all these projects?
[Ville] Enough will, yes, enough will for even more but not enough time. That’s why I’m burying Meat Hook Productions in the first place. I already have two bands and several projects, one ’zine of my own and another one I’m writing for and I think that’s enough. Not all of my life is in the underground anyway. Behind the curtains I still have my studies, my work, my unclassified hobbies and my lovely fiancée.
Meat Hook(ed). Your label and magazine have such name. The name seems quite strange to me and I think it would better go with some ”brutal deathsters”. Why did you make such choice?
[Henri] From where exactly have you actually got your information about Meat Hook Prod. NOT having anything to do with brutal deathsters??? We deal with Death, Black, Thrash, Grind and even freakin’ Ambient/Darkwave and that obviously includes brutal Death Metal as well as, say, industrial Blackthrash, my friend. Just order our ’zine and/or the catalogue and you’ll notice that yourself. MHP represents quality music, and although the name points more to a Death Metal direction we are not and we have never been into just only one style of metal which to publish. (However, I admit that it might not be a great - although pretty original, heh - idea to name a die-hard BM-label as ”Daffodils In Springtime Prod.”) For the namegame, I, for it was yours truly who chose the name back then in 1995, just preferred it to be more ”deathish”, partly because of my liking of brutal Death Metal and partly to step aside from the gray mass because of the millions of ohh so veeeeeery evil Forestwinterblasphemyravenlordpazuzu-styled DIY-labels or ’zines which were the unfortunate everyday of 99% of the scene back then. Besides, I have never been into that satan-thing, really. To sum this conversation up, a quality label is a quality label, be it’s name anything from Gory Gutfucking to Cold Mountains Of Axuzulghraaab, basically. Or has anyone ever given a flying wank of Hervé’s obvious fond of plant biology? After all, it’s METAL, for Odin’s sake!
Can we say now, that Moonsorrow has joined ”mainstream” (realization of cd & so on)? Or are these just trappings and you still keep to underground principles?
[Ville] What is the mainstream you’re talking about? I consider mainstream selling half a million albums and daily airplay, so really we are practically as far from the mainstream as we were in 1995 when we started. These days releasing a cd is almost a necessity if a band wants to be heard, and of course we want to be heard! We’re still firmly underground and that’s how it goes with metal music.
[Henri] I don’t get it. Do you consider Darkthrone to be a mainstream band just because they’ve done six (or something like that) cd’s? If a band records their music for releasing it on a cd, but it will in the long run sell only 50 copies, have they still became a ”mainstream” band? I basically understand your point and I respect your views, but I think it’s all about the band whether they leave their ug-principles behind when they step into the world of shining discs (which I find very arrogant and the most stupid thing to do). We, however, are always going to be an underground band, no matter if our albums sell 20 or 20000 copies.
The interest in ancient traditions - is it just your inner world, or does the pagan essence of your world-perception somehow influence your contacts with the exterior world? Does it require to be realized in ceremonies and magic arts?
[Henri] On this one I can only speak on my behalf. However, I find my personal religion and world perception being more like a mixture of the abovementioned things. Of course it comes from inside me, as I am what I think and how I view the world, but on the other hand it has a clear influence to the exterior world in common things like how I treat other people etc. I try to be guided by the nine virtues (courage, truth, honour, fidelity, self-discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self-reliance and perseverance), an old Nordic life-code, so to say, and try to live my life as I tend to think what is right. As for the rituals I have some own small things but I am not so keen to talk about it. They’re those little personal things that I’d like to keep just within me for no one to expose. Anyway, they have nothing to do with ceremonies and magic.
For me Finland is inseparatably connected with ”Kalevala” - a real masterpiece of traditional epic craft. Does the work of Moonsorrow base on the images and ideas of this epos?
[Ville] Ehh, that’s Amorphis you know. Although a fascinating epic, Kalevala is only a small fraction of what Finnish mythology has to offer, and that’s really not our job to rewrite traditional poetry anyway. The work of Moonsorrow is based on the ancient Finland and heathendom as a whole, and our lyrics are about whatever related subjects between the earth and the sky.
[Henri] And to make a small but markable notice, the Kalevala is actually a Karelian epic, and be it also the national epic of Finland, it doesn’t mean we can speak of ”Finnish mythology”, as there actually isn’t a definition for that kind of a term. The religious beliefs of ancient Finland were both of the Karelian mythology and the Asatru, of where we basically have taken our image from.
You got me interested by words that you have something to say about your political views. And here I give you a possibility to speak them out. Moreover, I would like you to do it as capital as you can, because this topic really involves me (sometimes even more than music - if it won’t sound paradoxically). What are the ways out from the moral and spiritual corruption of the modern society, as you see them?
[Ville] Yes, I’m a passive fanatic and I have a lot to say about my political views, but I’m quite uncertain whether anyone’s interested. What can I say? At first... yes, many so-called pagan metallers will be disappointed now, but I have nothing to do with any right-wing ideologies. I detest all kinds of fascism and I despise all proclaimers of that ”superior race” bullshit. As a heathen I’m naturally attracted to national romanticism, but if any people seriously think that would make me a nazi, that’s their stupidity not mine. I’m more of a socialist type (but huh, don’t mistake me for a communist either); I believe in democracy and a working social service system (which the politicians of Finland seem to have forsaken), I’d hope for more reasonable taxation and a more equal distribution of income and I would definitely reduce the power of the church to minimum. I’m also strongly anti-militaristic because the obligatory army system is completely inhuman and outdated, modern warfare has absolutely nothing to do with honest battling and wars are not the solution to global problems anyway but rather the opposite. Above all I support environmental policies, because nature is what we should preserve and not our disposable ”information society”. (However, at this point I would like to disassociate myself from the fanatic groundlessness of the lineless ”green party” of Finland.) We need information, grounded opinions, well-directed suggestions and action to save the environment, and if the only way of achieving it is to annihilate the mankind, so shall it be. But that’s it for the politics. The modern society is rotten to the core and we live among an unthinking, superficial and narrow-minded flock. A moral and spiritual corruption indeed. The only way out from this disgustingly real nightmare, as I see it, would be to educate people and help them open their ears to the voices of their heathen ancestors, but the real difficulty of the task is that these people really don’t want to hear that this paradise of all possibilities they’re living in is nothing but a technocratic prison. People actually believe that text messages, logos and dial tones are the salvation of mankind and that’s amusing... and really sad. We can just hope for something to awake them before it’s too late.
In my interviews I try to pay more attention to ideological basements of musical creative work (probably, this one looks like an exception, but I’m going to reach the goal in the future). And what interests you most, when you make interviews for Meathooked ’zine?
[Ville] I’d say that the music and the minds behind it interest me equally. As a (sort of a) musician I have an interest towards music itself, and while talking with other musicians it is natural to change a few opinions on the matter. On the other hand, I’m also interested in the minds that create the music and so I tend to lead the conversations to ideological fields later on. I don’t really care what do the artists think but I do care about the relevance of their arguments. What is the meaning of art without a thinking mind behind it anyway?
[Henri] When I start to think of whom to interview I always have certain principles. First of all, I really must like the interviewed band’s music (no shit, huh...) and mostly I try to pick a band who hasn’t been in every ’zine lately. (Like, what’s the point of contacting a band who gets tons of letters a day from all around the world and can’t really give a shit of going in-depth in the interviews or just has their faces in every fucking magazine around already, be it a Polish underground one or some goddamn Terrorizer?) Secondly, I try to pick a band whose image is something I find interesting. (As You have also seemed to understand, a good interview is something where the interviewee is asked to discuss of something else than answering to those always-so-exiting questions like ”Do you like your new album?” or ”Are you a Satanist”, and goes in-depth, having various of topics from music to everything else.) And of course if I have an option to have a chat with a guy who I admire for his musical (playing) skills, like Mr. Maudling from Bal-Sagoth, it is a great pleasure to me. But the most important thing to me when making an interview is to go as ”in-depth” as possible (without insulting the interviewee by stepping too much into his personal life, of course).
Because you often give interviews as a member of Moonsorrow, and on the contrary, ask questions for your own magazine, I’ve got an (maybe strange) offer: ask yourself a question on which you would like to answer, but which no one asks you in interviews. If you got such a question, so please go ahead!
[Ville] There are plenty of questions I would like to answer but I can’t.
In your musical work I feel an influence of Bathory (especially of the time of ”Hammerheart”). Am I right in this supposition and can we call these Swedish Vikings the inspirators of the musical development of Moonsorrow?
[Henri] Phew... what can I say? All of us are very fond of Bathory and especially the ”viking-albums” and I somehow proudly admit the influences from Quorthon’s works. But I do not think that we in any case copy the band. The new Moonsorrow-material will also have it’s influences from Bathory and besides, tell me one single Viking Metal band who doesn’t sound like them and I can point you a band who hasn’t done its homework. :)
My motherland Belarus comparatively recently got its independece, and I wonder if people from the west know anything about this small, but having a very rich ethnic-cultural heritage country.
[Henri] Yes... but as I am poisoned by the american filth + other crap media, the first thing that pops into my mind is the Fanta commercial that was on tv something like a year ago, where some Belarussian fellas were watching football and drinking soda. Well, actually I know some other things about your land, too. Let’s see... I am very aware of your rich cultural heritage, especially what comes to things like music, food and of course your infamous vodka, heheh. About the latest history of your country I know that you were a part of the Soviet Union/CCCP for some time, but now luckily have your own system, based on not-so-ultracommunistic rules, which I hope turns out to be more humane than the previous one you had (if not counting the latter times of Gorbatshov and glasnost, which I thought were a great improvement, at least when observing things through the eyes of the so-called ”western” citizen). And yeah, didn’t you guys fight against us during the 2nd WW? (And the first one too, actually.) Well, what the fuck. I didn’t fight there anyway.
.....LET THE PAGAN FLAME BURN AGAIN..........FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Diabolical zine / February 2001
Link
Answered by Ville Sorvali
Hii ville. Firstly, can you tell me about the SUDEN UNI?
[Ville] Well hello there. What can I tell you about ”Suden Uni”? It’s our debut album, recorded in February 2000 in Tico-Tico Studio and released a year later by Plasmatica Records. It consists of 6 epics of the most bombastic heathen metal with a folkish touch, counting up to a bit over 40 minutes of primaeval musical enjoyment. If bands like Bathory or Einherjer are close to your heart, do yourself a favour and check it out!
There are some differences between TAMA IKUINEN TALVI and SUDEN UNI also there are some differences in sound like the second and sixth song in SUDEN UNI. Is this a change?
[Ville] Yes, there is a difference between our last demo ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” and ”Suden Uni”. While ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was more blackish and norse, with ”Suden Uni” we took a bold step towards a heavier sound and actually returned to the epic lines of our first official demo ”Metsä”. I still don’t think we’ve changed radically at all; as with all of our releases, we’re only getting closer to what we want it all to sound. Then, what comes to ”Suden Uni”, in my opinion there really aren’t any radical differences between the tracks. Of course they are all different (as all songs should be) but they all fit the same concept perfectly, I mean the Moonsorrow-sound is strongly present within all the songs. But soundwise there indeed is a slight difference between the sixth track (1065: Aika) and the rest of the tracks. That is just because ”1065” is the most epic of the tracks and thus demanded a more ”epic” sound. We only deepened the snare drum sound to achieve that, though, so the difference really isn’t that big.
Why did SUDEN UNI to publish from PLASMATICA RECORDS?
[Ville] After we had completed ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” (which was one hell of a process, by the way), we decided that it was the time for Moonsorrow to start searching for a label to release our debut album. We sent a bunch of demos all over the world and eventually got a few offers for a record deal. The offer of Plasmatica Records was the best of them, so we chose it.
Did you make this albume with Henri Sorvali?
[Ville] Yes, but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we also got a third member in our line-up, namely Baron Tarwonen. The songs on the album were all composed by Henri with some assistance from me, the lyrics were written by me and the arrangements were done by the three of us. In the studio I played the bass, Henri played the guitars and the keyboards and Baron played the drums and percussives. There are also some parts with mouth harp and accordion which Henri played and some 12-string acoustic which Baron played. Of the vocals I did the shrieks, Henri sang the cleans and Baron backed us both. The choirs and handclaps were done by all of us with assistance from a few special guests. So obviously it’s not the two of us anymore, it’s more of a band now.
I dont know anything about your concerts. Can you tell me some?
[Ville] We have played four concerts so far, two in Helsinki and two in Turku. All of these gigs were done before the album was released, and so the audience perhaps didn’t get a proper picture of Moonsorrow because we played mostly songs that weren’t heard by anyone before. It’s hard to tell if we are a good live band, because I’m always on stage when we play and thus unable to observe, but we’ll keep testing that and play as many gigs as possible in the near future.
Whats the meaning of your song 1065 AIKA, is this date means something special?
[Ville] 1065 is the year that is written to the annuals of history as the end of the viking reign. That song is but a tribute to the northmen, also a sad story dealing with the demise of all heathen cultures within the current area of the christian rule. Most of our ancestors were not vikings anyway but their fate was the same, so I decided to use vikings as the symbol just because they might be the most well-known heathen culture in the christian era.
What are the plans of your firm MEAT HOOK PROD. for this year?
[Ville] The only plan of this year and the last plan ever is to close down the whole thing. Time and money don’t allow me to continue with it anymore, as unfortunate as it might be.
There are lots of bands from different countries like NEW ZELLAND, MALTA, COLOMBIA in MEAT HOOK PROD. Are you choosing them or are they coming yo you?
[Ville] The bands from those ”exotic” countries are only in our distribution, they are not what we have released. In our team we have (had) only Finnish bands and one Russian solo-artist. Naturally I am choosing what to distribute, but most of the bands in our distribution have first got in touch with me and not vice versa.
Is CRYPT your project band? What about the SOLAR TOMB is it Henri Sorvali's?
[Ville] Yep, Crypt is one of my projects. It was a serious band at first, but it broke down in 1994 and in 1996 two of us just got together to record a demo so that our material wouldn’t be totally forgotten. Solar Tomb is again one of Henri’s projects, actually it is a side-creation of his other project Lunar Womb.
Whats the meaning of SUDEN UNI?
[Ville] ”Suden Uni” is Finnish for ”a wolf’s dream”. What’s the meaning of it, that’s up to you.
The guestions are over, do you want to say something else?
[Ville] I don’t know if there’s anything I would especially want to say, but thanks for the interview anyway! Keep the flame of heathendom burning inside your heart!!!
Answered by Ville Sorvali
Hii ville. Firstly, can you tell me about the SUDEN UNI?
[Ville] Well hello there. What can I tell you about ”Suden Uni”? It’s our debut album, recorded in February 2000 in Tico-Tico Studio and released a year later by Plasmatica Records. It consists of 6 epics of the most bombastic heathen metal with a folkish touch, counting up to a bit over 40 minutes of primaeval musical enjoyment. If bands like Bathory or Einherjer are close to your heart, do yourself a favour and check it out!
There are some differences between TAMA IKUINEN TALVI and SUDEN UNI also there are some differences in sound like the second and sixth song in SUDEN UNI. Is this a change?
[Ville] Yes, there is a difference between our last demo ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” and ”Suden Uni”. While ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was more blackish and norse, with ”Suden Uni” we took a bold step towards a heavier sound and actually returned to the epic lines of our first official demo ”Metsä”. I still don’t think we’ve changed radically at all; as with all of our releases, we’re only getting closer to what we want it all to sound. Then, what comes to ”Suden Uni”, in my opinion there really aren’t any radical differences between the tracks. Of course they are all different (as all songs should be) but they all fit the same concept perfectly, I mean the Moonsorrow-sound is strongly present within all the songs. But soundwise there indeed is a slight difference between the sixth track (1065: Aika) and the rest of the tracks. That is just because ”1065” is the most epic of the tracks and thus demanded a more ”epic” sound. We only deepened the snare drum sound to achieve that, though, so the difference really isn’t that big.
Why did SUDEN UNI to publish from PLASMATICA RECORDS?
[Ville] After we had completed ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” (which was one hell of a process, by the way), we decided that it was the time for Moonsorrow to start searching for a label to release our debut album. We sent a bunch of demos all over the world and eventually got a few offers for a record deal. The offer of Plasmatica Records was the best of them, so we chose it.
Did you make this albume with Henri Sorvali?
[Ville] Yes, but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we also got a third member in our line-up, namely Baron Tarwonen. The songs on the album were all composed by Henri with some assistance from me, the lyrics were written by me and the arrangements were done by the three of us. In the studio I played the bass, Henri played the guitars and the keyboards and Baron played the drums and percussives. There are also some parts with mouth harp and accordion which Henri played and some 12-string acoustic which Baron played. Of the vocals I did the shrieks, Henri sang the cleans and Baron backed us both. The choirs and handclaps were done by all of us with assistance from a few special guests. So obviously it’s not the two of us anymore, it’s more of a band now.
I dont know anything about your concerts. Can you tell me some?
[Ville] We have played four concerts so far, two in Helsinki and two in Turku. All of these gigs were done before the album was released, and so the audience perhaps didn’t get a proper picture of Moonsorrow because we played mostly songs that weren’t heard by anyone before. It’s hard to tell if we are a good live band, because I’m always on stage when we play and thus unable to observe, but we’ll keep testing that and play as many gigs as possible in the near future.
Whats the meaning of your song 1065 AIKA, is this date means something special?
[Ville] 1065 is the year that is written to the annuals of history as the end of the viking reign. That song is but a tribute to the northmen, also a sad story dealing with the demise of all heathen cultures within the current area of the christian rule. Most of our ancestors were not vikings anyway but their fate was the same, so I decided to use vikings as the symbol just because they might be the most well-known heathen culture in the christian era.
What are the plans of your firm MEAT HOOK PROD. for this year?
[Ville] The only plan of this year and the last plan ever is to close down the whole thing. Time and money don’t allow me to continue with it anymore, as unfortunate as it might be.
There are lots of bands from different countries like NEW ZELLAND, MALTA, COLOMBIA in MEAT HOOK PROD. Are you choosing them or are they coming yo you?
[Ville] The bands from those ”exotic” countries are only in our distribution, they are not what we have released. In our team we have (had) only Finnish bands and one Russian solo-artist. Naturally I am choosing what to distribute, but most of the bands in our distribution have first got in touch with me and not vice versa.
Is CRYPT your project band? What about the SOLAR TOMB is it Henri Sorvali's?
[Ville] Yep, Crypt is one of my projects. It was a serious band at first, but it broke down in 1994 and in 1996 two of us just got together to record a demo so that our material wouldn’t be totally forgotten. Solar Tomb is again one of Henri’s projects, actually it is a side-creation of his other project Lunar Womb.
Whats the meaning of SUDEN UNI?
[Ville] ”Suden Uni” is Finnish for ”a wolf’s dream”. What’s the meaning of it, that’s up to you.
The guestions are over, do you want to say something else?
[Ville] I don’t know if there’s anything I would especially want to say, but thanks for the interview anyway! Keep the flame of heathendom burning inside your heart!!!
Luciferium / November 2000
Link
Answered by Henri and Ville Sorvali
Could you tell me, in your own words, how it started with Moonsorrow and what happened after your debut demo ”Metsä”?
[Henri] Moonsorrow was created by me, Henri Urponpoika Sorvali, and Ville Seponpoika Sorvali in autumn 1995 to make some heathenish and epic metal music. We recorded our first demo ”Thorns Of Ice” in January 1996 but when I started to dub it to the demo tapes which were supposed to be sold, I realized that half of the material had somehow disappeared from the master tape. So, we never released it. ”Metsä” was created in May 1997, basically just for fun, but in the last hand we thought about to release it as a demo, which we then did. After that we moved on to write new material and did a promo tape in 7/97. However, it also wasn’t never released due to the extremely bad sound quality. So we started to focus more on our new material for the next demo, which basically took one to year to be finished. After finishing the composing we begun to record it in studio... an event so full of catastrophes like disappeared mixing desk, half-destroyed tapes etc. etc. that it would be a great pleasure not to memorize it all day. Anyway, after half a year of teethgrinding, swearing and misfortune ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was finally in our hands! (Actually, I’m not too fond of this tape – the result became way too much blackish to me.) We sent the tape around and woke up some people’s interest, but after all we decided to take Plasmatica Records’ offering. Now, the album should be out when you read this and I guarantee it will surely awaken the pagan past in some people... behold!!!
Your lyrics are all written in Finnish. Could you investigate the concept please?
[Ville] So Henri kindly left this question for me. Anyway. Yep, our lyrics have been written in Finnish ever since Henri left the job for me, i.e. after ”Metsä”. I wouldn’t like to explain anything in detail, but the concept is paganistic, loosely characterizing. There are quite a few songs on our latest recordings about the battles between pagans and christians (battles in the north, heh), though all being wholly different stories, and then some about nature and all the nice things. I am anyway planning to add an English translation for each Finnish written lyric of Moonsorrow to our website so anyone interested can look for the meanings oneself. (That, however, requires a lot of time and nerves as I am a high-grade perfectionist.)
I guess your majestic music would make a big impression live on stage. Did you play live? How were the reactions?? Is there a chance to see Moonsorrow live in Germany??
[Henri] Yes, we play live. We have played four times now (4/00-11/00) and a half of the live performances have been very satisfying, both to us and the audience. Personally I like working in the studio more, but -heh- isn’t there a little ”rockstar-wannabe” in us all...? What comes to the gigs in Germany... well, I just visited your country a couple of months ago (8/00) with my other band, Finntroll. We played at Partysan Open Air with Helheim, Necrophobic (Mera vodka, grabbar? Bohohohohoh!!!), Amon Amarth etc. etc. and it was basically a pleasant journey. However, I don’t see Moonsorrow performing their heathen metal music in Germany for a while... it depends on who is willing to pay for the expenses (flights, food etc.). If someone will, we’ll be there before you can say ”vittusaatanaminnenmihinkäänhapankaalimaahanlähre!”.
The ”Metsä” demo was a typical underground black-metal demo. The ”Tämä...” demo was more into pagan-metal. But as I heard the advance tape from ”Suden Uni” album, I was impressed about the songwriting of the Finnish folk elements and the good production. Has it been a natural procedure, or has there been drastical decisive events in your life?
[Henri] Ehhh...? ”Typical underground black-metal demo”? I think it’s excellent. And then again... what is ”pagan metal”? I consider every single release of Moonsorrow to be 100% pure fucking pagan metal – no options. Anyway, I can’t see any major differences between our products, there’s always the same ”Moonsorrow-vibe”, so to say, and after all I find many parts of the two demos and the album to be near each other musically speaking. So, not any event has changed our lives, heh. But seriously, with our album we just wanted to take a few steps back to where we started from, playing slower and in a more folkish way (as you could hear of ”Thorns Of Ice”). Besides, as I told you before, the ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” tape was too blackish to be an exact 100% Moonsorrow-product. Too much ”Norway-effect”, hehehehe...
[Ville] I also reckon all our releases to be distinctively done by Moonsorrow, all the way from ”Thorns Of Ice” to ”Suden Uni” and beyond. For sure we have developed, and hugely even, but we have not changed to emphasize the meaning of the word. We have always been playing pagan metal, 100% pagan metal and nothing but pagan metal. It’s also true that ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is a bit too ”black metal” considering our musical aims, but really, it is an exact 100% Moonsorrow-product just as all our other releases.
As I understand is the ”Suden Uni” album not out now. Why? When could we expect the release and.., what means ”Suden Uni” in English language??
[Henri] Well, it should be out, at least by now when you read this interview. The record company had some serious problems with the release date, you know, like fucked up printing etc. etc. Plasmatica Records is a small underground label, but we trust them and as we also know that most of the problems they faced during the supposed releasing weren’t because of them, there’s no need to get pissed all the way. The title, ”Suden Uni”, means ”A Wolf’s Dream” in English.
How did it come to the deal with the Swedish label?
[Henri] We sent our demo to different labels and among them was Plasmatica. And as Ville had been in contact with Carlos (the label boss) for a while, he knew that it would be a reliable label. So, Carlos got damn interested when he heard the tape and the rest is history. Besides, Sweden is so close to Finland geographically that we can take a trip there almost anytime if necessary. Like, imagine if our record company was in Chile or Malesia...! It would be very difficult to ”solve” problems if they ripped us off etc...
How do you create your songs? Did the Finnish myths and the beauty nature affect you? Or where did you get your inspirations?
[Henri] 95% of the Moonsorrow material I create comes straight from hy head, so I do not ”sit and compose”, as some say. A huge source of inspiration for us is of course nature and myths/legends/folk tales but if getting real, no one is really capable to write a single riff by staring a spruce tree if not heard any music ever, if you know what I mean. So I think the inspiration comes definitely from the abovementioned things, but the basis of our music lies in old folk music and, of course, good ol’ metal music.
On ”Suden Uni” works a heroic n proud mood. Even though the groovy asskicking parts are appearing, that I not expected in that form. Where are your musical roots and what kind of music do you listen today?
[Henri] Thank you for this compliment! Even though I can’t imagine what the ”groovy asskicking parts” are, I am glad they work out as well. Our musical roots are long and fucking messy. I, for example, spent my childhood listening mostly to classical music (I was supposed to be a concert pianist. Pretty ironic, don’t you think... :)) and when I grew a bit older I got interested in Kiss, Wasp, Twisted Sister etc. Then came Iron Maiden, Sepultura and loads of others, and in the early nineties I was completely blown away by death, black, grind etc. metal. Nowadays I listen to metal bands like Bal-Sagoth, Bathory, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Emperor, Hades, a lot of progressive rock like Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Camel, Pekka Pohjola and shitloads of folk music like Annbjørg Lien, Garmarna, Nordman (!), Hedningarna, Mari Boine etc. I also very much enjoy film scores, baroque music, classical music in general and some ambient like Steve Roach. As far as I’m concerned, Ville and Baron are into same types of music except that Ville is more into folk and Baron is more into prog, I guess.
[Ville] I couldn’t say it any better. So, what comes to my musical past, I think I mostly listened to rock when I was a kid. My first touches with metal were Iron Maiden and Metallica, then came Sepultura –> Entombed –> Emperor and my fate was set. My all time fave metal groups include Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, Bathory, Morbid Angel and Darkthrone among others, and I of course also listen to prog, rock (still), classical and, as Henri said, lotsa folk (and folkish) music. Nordman kicks ass, the most certainly!
Where comes your pseudonyms ”Tyr” and ”Yggr” from and what does it mean?
[Henri] Our pseudonymes were taken from the Nordic mythology, Tyr being the god of war and justice and Yggr being a nickname (meaning ”terrifying”) of Odin the Allfather. However, we have not used these names since 1997.
I guess, with a good support/promotion you could make a big career. Your sound is fresh and pure and it’s got its own character, what is very seldom these days. Where are your future with Moonsorrow? What’s your wishes and plans?
[Henri] Phew... compliment, compliments. :) Out future plans are to write more good music and record our next album in 7/2001. Before that we intend to gig every now and then. Our wishes are that the album would be heard by many and like by few. We also wish for the total destruction of christianity in the north and for the old gods to be worshipped again, but one thing at the time, ehh...
Now, that’s it, for the first time. Good luck in Moonsorrow, hope your wishes’ll come true! The last words are yours!!!!!!
[Henri] Thank you for this excellent interview which I hope I answered correctly as it is 9:30 in the morning and I’ve slept for 3 hours last night. Anyway, good luck for your ’zine and remember the pagan past! Hail!!!!!
Answered by Henri and Ville Sorvali
Could you tell me, in your own words, how it started with Moonsorrow and what happened after your debut demo ”Metsä”?
[Henri] Moonsorrow was created by me, Henri Urponpoika Sorvali, and Ville Seponpoika Sorvali in autumn 1995 to make some heathenish and epic metal music. We recorded our first demo ”Thorns Of Ice” in January 1996 but when I started to dub it to the demo tapes which were supposed to be sold, I realized that half of the material had somehow disappeared from the master tape. So, we never released it. ”Metsä” was created in May 1997, basically just for fun, but in the last hand we thought about to release it as a demo, which we then did. After that we moved on to write new material and did a promo tape in 7/97. However, it also wasn’t never released due to the extremely bad sound quality. So we started to focus more on our new material for the next demo, which basically took one to year to be finished. After finishing the composing we begun to record it in studio... an event so full of catastrophes like disappeared mixing desk, half-destroyed tapes etc. etc. that it would be a great pleasure not to memorize it all day. Anyway, after half a year of teethgrinding, swearing and misfortune ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was finally in our hands! (Actually, I’m not too fond of this tape – the result became way too much blackish to me.) We sent the tape around and woke up some people’s interest, but after all we decided to take Plasmatica Records’ offering. Now, the album should be out when you read this and I guarantee it will surely awaken the pagan past in some people... behold!!!
Your lyrics are all written in Finnish. Could you investigate the concept please?
[Ville] So Henri kindly left this question for me. Anyway. Yep, our lyrics have been written in Finnish ever since Henri left the job for me, i.e. after ”Metsä”. I wouldn’t like to explain anything in detail, but the concept is paganistic, loosely characterizing. There are quite a few songs on our latest recordings about the battles between pagans and christians (battles in the north, heh), though all being wholly different stories, and then some about nature and all the nice things. I am anyway planning to add an English translation for each Finnish written lyric of Moonsorrow to our website so anyone interested can look for the meanings oneself. (That, however, requires a lot of time and nerves as I am a high-grade perfectionist.)
I guess your majestic music would make a big impression live on stage. Did you play live? How were the reactions?? Is there a chance to see Moonsorrow live in Germany??
[Henri] Yes, we play live. We have played four times now (4/00-11/00) and a half of the live performances have been very satisfying, both to us and the audience. Personally I like working in the studio more, but -heh- isn’t there a little ”rockstar-wannabe” in us all...? What comes to the gigs in Germany... well, I just visited your country a couple of months ago (8/00) with my other band, Finntroll. We played at Partysan Open Air with Helheim, Necrophobic (Mera vodka, grabbar? Bohohohohoh!!!), Amon Amarth etc. etc. and it was basically a pleasant journey. However, I don’t see Moonsorrow performing their heathen metal music in Germany for a while... it depends on who is willing to pay for the expenses (flights, food etc.). If someone will, we’ll be there before you can say ”vittusaatanaminnenmihinkäänhapankaalimaahanlähre!”.
The ”Metsä” demo was a typical underground black-metal demo. The ”Tämä...” demo was more into pagan-metal. But as I heard the advance tape from ”Suden Uni” album, I was impressed about the songwriting of the Finnish folk elements and the good production. Has it been a natural procedure, or has there been drastical decisive events in your life?
[Henri] Ehhh...? ”Typical underground black-metal demo”? I think it’s excellent. And then again... what is ”pagan metal”? I consider every single release of Moonsorrow to be 100% pure fucking pagan metal – no options. Anyway, I can’t see any major differences between our products, there’s always the same ”Moonsorrow-vibe”, so to say, and after all I find many parts of the two demos and the album to be near each other musically speaking. So, not any event has changed our lives, heh. But seriously, with our album we just wanted to take a few steps back to where we started from, playing slower and in a more folkish way (as you could hear of ”Thorns Of Ice”). Besides, as I told you before, the ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” tape was too blackish to be an exact 100% Moonsorrow-product. Too much ”Norway-effect”, hehehehe...
[Ville] I also reckon all our releases to be distinctively done by Moonsorrow, all the way from ”Thorns Of Ice” to ”Suden Uni” and beyond. For sure we have developed, and hugely even, but we have not changed to emphasize the meaning of the word. We have always been playing pagan metal, 100% pagan metal and nothing but pagan metal. It’s also true that ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is a bit too ”black metal” considering our musical aims, but really, it is an exact 100% Moonsorrow-product just as all our other releases.
As I understand is the ”Suden Uni” album not out now. Why? When could we expect the release and.., what means ”Suden Uni” in English language??
[Henri] Well, it should be out, at least by now when you read this interview. The record company had some serious problems with the release date, you know, like fucked up printing etc. etc. Plasmatica Records is a small underground label, but we trust them and as we also know that most of the problems they faced during the supposed releasing weren’t because of them, there’s no need to get pissed all the way. The title, ”Suden Uni”, means ”A Wolf’s Dream” in English.
How did it come to the deal with the Swedish label?
[Henri] We sent our demo to different labels and among them was Plasmatica. And as Ville had been in contact with Carlos (the label boss) for a while, he knew that it would be a reliable label. So, Carlos got damn interested when he heard the tape and the rest is history. Besides, Sweden is so close to Finland geographically that we can take a trip there almost anytime if necessary. Like, imagine if our record company was in Chile or Malesia...! It would be very difficult to ”solve” problems if they ripped us off etc...
How do you create your songs? Did the Finnish myths and the beauty nature affect you? Or where did you get your inspirations?
[Henri] 95% of the Moonsorrow material I create comes straight from hy head, so I do not ”sit and compose”, as some say. A huge source of inspiration for us is of course nature and myths/legends/folk tales but if getting real, no one is really capable to write a single riff by staring a spruce tree if not heard any music ever, if you know what I mean. So I think the inspiration comes definitely from the abovementioned things, but the basis of our music lies in old folk music and, of course, good ol’ metal music.
On ”Suden Uni” works a heroic n proud mood. Even though the groovy asskicking parts are appearing, that I not expected in that form. Where are your musical roots and what kind of music do you listen today?
[Henri] Thank you for this compliment! Even though I can’t imagine what the ”groovy asskicking parts” are, I am glad they work out as well. Our musical roots are long and fucking messy. I, for example, spent my childhood listening mostly to classical music (I was supposed to be a concert pianist. Pretty ironic, don’t you think... :)) and when I grew a bit older I got interested in Kiss, Wasp, Twisted Sister etc. Then came Iron Maiden, Sepultura and loads of others, and in the early nineties I was completely blown away by death, black, grind etc. metal. Nowadays I listen to metal bands like Bal-Sagoth, Bathory, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Emperor, Hades, a lot of progressive rock like Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Camel, Pekka Pohjola and shitloads of folk music like Annbjørg Lien, Garmarna, Nordman (!), Hedningarna, Mari Boine etc. I also very much enjoy film scores, baroque music, classical music in general and some ambient like Steve Roach. As far as I’m concerned, Ville and Baron are into same types of music except that Ville is more into folk and Baron is more into prog, I guess.
[Ville] I couldn’t say it any better. So, what comes to my musical past, I think I mostly listened to rock when I was a kid. My first touches with metal were Iron Maiden and Metallica, then came Sepultura –> Entombed –> Emperor and my fate was set. My all time fave metal groups include Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, Bathory, Morbid Angel and Darkthrone among others, and I of course also listen to prog, rock (still), classical and, as Henri said, lotsa folk (and folkish) music. Nordman kicks ass, the most certainly!
Where comes your pseudonyms ”Tyr” and ”Yggr” from and what does it mean?
[Henri] Our pseudonymes were taken from the Nordic mythology, Tyr being the god of war and justice and Yggr being a nickname (meaning ”terrifying”) of Odin the Allfather. However, we have not used these names since 1997.
I guess, with a good support/promotion you could make a big career. Your sound is fresh and pure and it’s got its own character, what is very seldom these days. Where are your future with Moonsorrow? What’s your wishes and plans?
[Henri] Phew... compliment, compliments. :) Out future plans are to write more good music and record our next album in 7/2001. Before that we intend to gig every now and then. Our wishes are that the album would be heard by many and like by few. We also wish for the total destruction of christianity in the north and for the old gods to be worshipped again, but one thing at the time, ehh...
Now, that’s it, for the first time. Good luck in Moonsorrow, hope your wishes’ll come true! The last words are yours!!!!!!
[Henri] Thank you for this excellent interview which I hope I answered correctly as it is 9:30 in the morning and I’ve slept for 3 hours last night. Anyway, good luck for your ’zine and remember the pagan past! Hail!!!!!
In the dark room / November 2000
Link
Answered by Henri Sorvali
Hi there!! Who will answer my question for this interview? Then please tell us the story about MOONSORROW since they were born until now!
[Henri] Hail! This is Henri Urponpoika Sorvali answering your questions. I am the guitarist/synth player of the Finnish pagan metal band called Moonsorrow. Behold! The origin of our band is beyond some years, a bit over five to be exact. It was in lhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifate ’95 when I wand Ville (bass/vocals) formed Moonsorrow to express our paganistic ideas and our love for metal music. We made our first demo ”Thorns Of Ice” in January 1996 but due to various reasons it was never released. Our next demo ”Metsä” was made in may 1997, and after that we made a 2-song promotape which turned out to be a complete disaster, so we necer released. The last demo ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was created during 1997-1998 and finally released in 1/99. After we had sent it to a couple of record companies, Plasmatica Records offered us a deal which we accepted. So, we took a flight to the northern Finland to the Tico-Tico Studio and recorded our first album ”Suden Uni” which is out when you read this.
Tell us a little bit about the process of the making of this album!
[Henri] The first days went with recording the drums. Then the bass, a couple of days for the guitars and finally the keyboards etc. and vocals. We mixed the album in three days and thus it was completed.
Why do you choose Blackmetal style more than US blackmetal style. Where usually US black Metal bands prefer to choose US Brutal death style like SUFFOCATION, CANNIBAL CORPSE, etc. Please explain!!
[Henri] First of all, Moonsorrow has nothing to do with black metal. Anyway, I don’t know. I like brutal US death very much, but I don’t see it challenging enough. You know, just riffs and stuff. We try to be more artistic and music-oriented than just noisy. Besides, I have heard maybe five good North European brutal dm-bands in my whole life. I think it’s the climate, heh.
How many albums have you released?
[Henri] Just one, namely ”Suden Uni”. It’s on Plasmatica Records (Sweden) and is most likely out when you read this. 43 minutes of astonishing, epic and bombastic pagan art. In the name of the allfather, I recommend you all to buy it!
In music, which one is your priority, the song or the And what do you think about lyrics, political lyrics, porn lyrics, and social critism lyrics?
[Henri] The music, absolutely. I have never understood the idea of lyrics being the most important thing. For the latter part of your question; lyrics are... well... emphh... lyrics? Basically I don’t care ’bout the lyrics if the music is good but I do most likely think that they should fit the music. Like have you heard any satanic blues lately? Or how about raw, fast and furious black metal with lyrics about society and capitalism? I think you got my point. Anyway, a lyric is a lyric, whether the message is ”proper” or not.
Beside music, what is your activity? Are you sure you and your family can live just by playing music? Well, because in our country there are so many bands do not exist when their members get married.
[Henri] Luckily I don’t have any kids to feed yet. I can live by myself by music and my girlfriend who lives with me has a steady job. In the future, though, I must work harder to bring food to the household. But it is not a problem, because I do work with music anyway, you see, I am what one would call ”a professional”, so I already live by playing different styles of music in different places like weddings, clubs, studios etc. A bit like whoring around, heh.
What do you think about sex, drugs, and satanism? Do you often have sex? How often you have sex with your girl friends? Can you give her an orgasm? Suppose you were in the jungle and there were only you, your little sister and gorrila, and you needed to have sex, who would you rape???
[Henri] As I just told, I have a girlfriend. And she is the most wonderful thing I could ever imagine. And yes, I can give her many orgasms if you really wanted to know. About the jungle-scene, I wouldn’t rape anyone ’cause it’s the sickest and most unhonourable thing to do ever. But I would ”spank the monkey”... :)
Back to music, tell us about the events you have joined! And which live that really impressed your? After releasing your new album, what are your plan?
[Henri] We have only played live four times during half a year, but we’re really not a gigging band if you know what I mean. We’ve played only with Finnish bands like Diablerie, Ensiferum, Arthemesia, Cantata Sangui etc. And after releasing our album we’re gonna get fucking drunk!
Uuff... last question. Do you know something about black from Indonesia?? Thanks for your time Brother!! Now you can do what you want with this end of interview, go a head...!!
[Henri] Damn... I have heard of some Indonesian bm-bands but I can’t remember just now any names. Well, maybe later. Anyway, thank you very much for this interview and support. Stay metal!!!
Answered by Henri Sorvali
Hi there!! Who will answer my question for this interview? Then please tell us the story about MOONSORROW since they were born until now!
[Henri] Hail! This is Henri Urponpoika Sorvali answering your questions. I am the guitarist/synth player of the Finnish pagan metal band called Moonsorrow. Behold! The origin of our band is beyond some years, a bit over five to be exact. It was in lhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifate ’95 when I wand Ville (bass/vocals) formed Moonsorrow to express our paganistic ideas and our love for metal music. We made our first demo ”Thorns Of Ice” in January 1996 but due to various reasons it was never released. Our next demo ”Metsä” was made in may 1997, and after that we made a 2-song promotape which turned out to be a complete disaster, so we necer released. The last demo ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” was created during 1997-1998 and finally released in 1/99. After we had sent it to a couple of record companies, Plasmatica Records offered us a deal which we accepted. So, we took a flight to the northern Finland to the Tico-Tico Studio and recorded our first album ”Suden Uni” which is out when you read this.
Tell us a little bit about the process of the making of this album!
[Henri] The first days went with recording the drums. Then the bass, a couple of days for the guitars and finally the keyboards etc. and vocals. We mixed the album in three days and thus it was completed.
Why do you choose Blackmetal style more than US blackmetal style. Where usually US black Metal bands prefer to choose US Brutal death style like SUFFOCATION, CANNIBAL CORPSE, etc. Please explain!!
[Henri] First of all, Moonsorrow has nothing to do with black metal. Anyway, I don’t know. I like brutal US death very much, but I don’t see it challenging enough. You know, just riffs and stuff. We try to be more artistic and music-oriented than just noisy. Besides, I have heard maybe five good North European brutal dm-bands in my whole life. I think it’s the climate, heh.
How many albums have you released?
[Henri] Just one, namely ”Suden Uni”. It’s on Plasmatica Records (Sweden) and is most likely out when you read this. 43 minutes of astonishing, epic and bombastic pagan art. In the name of the allfather, I recommend you all to buy it!
In music, which one is your priority, the song or the And what do you think about lyrics, political lyrics, porn lyrics, and social critism lyrics?
[Henri] The music, absolutely. I have never understood the idea of lyrics being the most important thing. For the latter part of your question; lyrics are... well... emphh... lyrics? Basically I don’t care ’bout the lyrics if the music is good but I do most likely think that they should fit the music. Like have you heard any satanic blues lately? Or how about raw, fast and furious black metal with lyrics about society and capitalism? I think you got my point. Anyway, a lyric is a lyric, whether the message is ”proper” or not.
Beside music, what is your activity? Are you sure you and your family can live just by playing music? Well, because in our country there are so many bands do not exist when their members get married.
[Henri] Luckily I don’t have any kids to feed yet. I can live by myself by music and my girlfriend who lives with me has a steady job. In the future, though, I must work harder to bring food to the household. But it is not a problem, because I do work with music anyway, you see, I am what one would call ”a professional”, so I already live by playing different styles of music in different places like weddings, clubs, studios etc. A bit like whoring around, heh.
What do you think about sex, drugs, and satanism? Do you often have sex? How often you have sex with your girl friends? Can you give her an orgasm? Suppose you were in the jungle and there were only you, your little sister and gorrila, and you needed to have sex, who would you rape???
[Henri] As I just told, I have a girlfriend. And she is the most wonderful thing I could ever imagine. And yes, I can give her many orgasms if you really wanted to know. About the jungle-scene, I wouldn’t rape anyone ’cause it’s the sickest and most unhonourable thing to do ever. But I would ”spank the monkey”... :)
Back to music, tell us about the events you have joined! And which live that really impressed your? After releasing your new album, what are your plan?
[Henri] We have only played live four times during half a year, but we’re really not a gigging band if you know what I mean. We’ve played only with Finnish bands like Diablerie, Ensiferum, Arthemesia, Cantata Sangui etc. And after releasing our album we’re gonna get fucking drunk!
Uuff... last question. Do you know something about black from Indonesia?? Thanks for your time Brother!! Now you can do what you want with this end of interview, go a head...!!
[Henri] Damn... I have heard of some Indonesian bm-bands but I can’t remember just now any names. Well, maybe later. Anyway, thank you very much for this interview and support. Stay metal!!!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Suomi Finland Perkele / August 2000
Link
Answered by Henri, Ville and Marko
Whoever might have heard the previous recordings of Moonsorrow, i.e. the demos ”Metsä” and ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi”, cannot miss quite a difference between them and the album. The reason for this is simple - time.
- That demo was more or less exceptional; there was too much of that black metal -stuff on it, lectures Henri, the man behind most of the compositional work in the band.
- Enslaved-stuff, points out Tarwonen - the group’s drummer.
- Well, there’s a little bit of that, too.
- A little...? A pinch, perhaps.
- Anyway, after the demo we concentrated on some new songs. I made some ten new songs, but they appeared to be too similar to the demo material and so I just discarded them all and begun composing a bit different songs. Like thos with which we started - slightly slower and not that blasting. More like...
- Quorthon, Tarwonen fills in.
- So there it eventually came from, laughs Henri.
- So then we made songs, got a deal from Plasmatica Records from Sweden and the rest is history. We left for Kemi to record the album.
Indeed - in the beginning of a hellishly cold February the trio stepped into the (in-)famous Tico-Tico Studio of Kemi to work with their debut album. Of the colourful journey we are enlightened by the band’s fresh reinforcement, a man also involved in e.g. Gorewinter: Baron Tarwonen.
- There was this priest. The priest didn’t like us - and neither we did like him. The priest finished second... so much for the priest. But there were good flicks. Braveheart!
How did Braveheart inspire you in the recording process?
- Just guess! ’twas a remarkable source of feeling. The situation is this: we leave Helsinki for Kemi where the temperature is some -60 degrees. A town where nothing happens. Then we go to somewhere to rent Braveheart, so how much could that inspire in the next day’s studio sessions - go ahead and ask.
Ok. In Kemi you can watch Braveheart and get inspiration, what else?
- I asked the guys of Thyrane of what could we do here. And then we boozed, Henri laughs.
- It was a nice time in the studio, but otherwise it was extremely boring there, lectures Ville who is responsible for the vocals, reliefed of that the task is over.
- The good side of it was that there were no other activities which would’ve disturbed. Now we concentrated efficiently on the recording process. We also boozed, of course.
- We drank with the guys of Thyrane and watched an Immortal-video. That was great! We also watched some live shootage of Primal Fear...
- The singer had blue jeans that were tighter than life itself, recalls Tarwonen.
- Tighter than life itself...?
- Well, life’s at times quite tight.
Enough for confessions about life and its tightness, for you know, at times you even have to drill into the matter. Nine days in studio under the supervision of Ahti Kortelainen and ”Suden Uni” is the title of the band’s first full-length album. Can you be satisfied with it?
- Plain shit, Ville states abruptly, but soon bursts into laughter.
- Not really, it’s just as goos as we were capable of at the moment. The next album will be much better.
- It will be a killer, Henri confirms.
- At this point I have to say that Ahti really knew his business. There were six days for the recordings, two for the mixing and one for the mastering. Should we say that the drum parts were ready already on the second day.
- Yeah, and the rest of the time I was just hanging out in the studio, drinking beer and laughed at the others, laughs the meritorious drummer at the studio sessions.
What did Ahti like the material he was recording then?
- Ahti wanted to play Jaws there somewhere, but we voted that idea out.
- In fact Ahti liked it.
- He didn’t even have to take his grandmother’s picture forth. So there for the musicians.
- Play better, boys. Anyway... let’s say that we’re responsible for the productional side of the album ourselves.
So satisfied of the result they were that the time for the recordings of the next album is already reserved from Tico. Next summer the band is returning to Kemi.
A funny anecdote: There was a table in the studio on which several guests had wrote their messages, among others certain Henri Sorvali: ”Learn to play the accordion - I can”. Over all these signatures there was written with a thick, black ink pen: ”Fuck you all, wishes Impaled Nazarene!”
- They made their point clear.
A band that claims to play epic folk metal and sings in the Finnish language sounds pretty interesting. Fully serious they claim to be anyway and after having listened to the album I sure believe that.
- Bathory stopped making those viking albums and Moonsorrow is here to replace them, the drummer states boldly with a less serious approach. Or not.
- This is a completely reasonable band - no pointless joking, Henri continues from the idea.
- Based on that we make music which is based on good metal and with which we mix a bit of folk music influences.
So there is a point within the band?
- There is a point within the band. We represent the pre-christian way of thinking - let’s put it this way. And because this pre-christian way of thinking fits the music. These influences we mix thus derive from the same era. So in a way they - music and lyrics - walk hand in hand.
- A metal band we are for certain. Yeah, there’s accordion and such, but that’s just a spice. It has that different shade - hopefully due to that we’re something different than anyone else in this country.
When they were in Kemi after all and already boozed with the guys of Thyrane, those guys had to end up visiting on the album, right?
- Correct. When other bands always take these ”special guest vocals by Blastmor of Thyrane”, we have ”special handclapsquad”. That is, Avather and Blastmor of Thyrane are clapping on our album.
There were still other visitors in the studio to bring their own little spice on the record, namely Janne Perttilä of Circus Of Flesh was in the scenes for two days. His part on the album is a share of the pompous choir on the last proper track. Four singers, everyone of whom used four tracks. A big choir.
Braveheart = Total Bal-Sagoth + Freedom
When there’s a track called ”Köyliönjärven Jäällä” (On The Ice Of Köyliönjärvi) on the album, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess of what this band is singing about. Of mystic journeys into the cosmos, obviously. I however let the lyrical genius of the band - the Moonsorrow himself - Ville to stand behind his acts himself. What in the world are your lyrics about?
- The subject is this little fight between christians and heathens. I simply get pissed off when thinking how the christians cruelly demolished all heathen cultures, that of Finland including. Every once in a while it gnaws my mind and I have to write about it. But there are others too, like nature, which is a nice subject.
The last actual track on the album before the outro carries the title ”1065: Aika” (1065: Time), so what’s the message here?
- In 1065 there was a battle on the bridge of Stamford which is written into the books of history as the battle where the vikings eventually were defeated by the christians. Although also vikings were already rather christian at the time. This song is symbolizing the final demise of the vikings. I added it to the context because vikings are a well-known heathen culture and it symbolizes well how the christians crushed all pagans from Europe and elsewhere too.
- You won’t find Satan from our album, Tarwonen declares.
In addition there is a short résumé of what the song is about in English by the lyrics.
And what does it sound like
Bathory, Enslaved, Slayer, Einherjer, Emperor, Gorewinter... Must’ve I asked of good bands - the list is almost endless. If we don’t directly count the grandest musical influences but more like the best bands of all time according to personal musical taste, can you name the tight top three?
- Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Slayer... I can’t say that they are the three best, but three of the best, Ville ponders.
- King Crimson, Kiss, Morbid Angel, Tarwonen slams without hesitation.
- Cannibal Corpse, Bal-Sagoth and King Crimson. Those are my three best, says Henri.
When good bands are listed and the spectrum is rather vast, the lads haven’t limited to one band themselves either. We can find all stuff from 80’s thrash via proge to blacker metal: Gorewinter, Luokkasota, Circus Of Flesh, May Withers, Finntroll, Panösvyö, Kuha., etc. There’s a couple of the projects or bands where the members of Moonsorrow are involved in at current.
What about the influences then?
- Bathory is a great band. I must say that without Bathory Moonsorrow wouldn’t sound like this. Very unlikely we would’ve invented anything like this ourselves. But we invented the accordion.
- Henri got the idea of featuring the accordion on our album, although I disagreed with it at first. And Ahti disagreed.
Moonsorrow is one of those few(?) metal combos who end up featuring - on some tracks even as a rather dominating instrument - the accordion on their album. Tell the accordion story? How did a real accordion end up on your album?
- It was found in the studio. I practised to play it. It was like half an hour and I was ready.
At the moment the debut album of Moonsorrow is almost half a year late due to whatever reasons. Thus the members of the band hope it will be released before they get together for recording their next album. Despite of this fact the band has already appeared on four gigs. Has playing unfamiliar material been difficult considering the audience? How has the audience reacted to you and how have the gigs gone in general?
- Well, the first gig was at West Coast Holocaust IV at Turku and that was an obvious first gig. Pretty terrible. After that there was a gig in Tavastia in April and that went clearly better. The music has actually caught some people and some have even arrived to see us in particular.
- The third gig was an absolute catastrophe at Ragnarock II and we never leave for Turku again. We didn’t get the chance for a soundcheck although we were promised to, we got no money and even no food. On the top of it all we played at three o’clock at night when there were only six very drunken fellows in the audience.
- The Nosturi gig with a new intro made by Henri was a pretty nice one, although once again we couldn’t play the whole set - for the playing must end at two o’clock precisely. But one day we’re gonna play that Merciless-cover.
Which is conveniently ”Back To North”. Due to an unconditional request by the drummer, old demo material will be added into the set. ”Hvergelmir” from the first demo will propably be left out and what’s under rehearsing now is the epic from the second demo, ”Taistelu Pohjolasta”.
Last words of wisdom. If the wolf was Moonsorrow, which album would it be?
- Blood on ice!, sounds the answer with not a moment of hesitation.
Answered by Henri, Ville and Marko
Whoever might have heard the previous recordings of Moonsorrow, i.e. the demos ”Metsä” and ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi”, cannot miss quite a difference between them and the album. The reason for this is simple - time.
- That demo was more or less exceptional; there was too much of that black metal -stuff on it, lectures Henri, the man behind most of the compositional work in the band.
- Enslaved-stuff, points out Tarwonen - the group’s drummer.
- Well, there’s a little bit of that, too.
- A little...? A pinch, perhaps.
- Anyway, after the demo we concentrated on some new songs. I made some ten new songs, but they appeared to be too similar to the demo material and so I just discarded them all and begun composing a bit different songs. Like thos with which we started - slightly slower and not that blasting. More like...
- Quorthon, Tarwonen fills in.
- So there it eventually came from, laughs Henri.
- So then we made songs, got a deal from Plasmatica Records from Sweden and the rest is history. We left for Kemi to record the album.
Indeed - in the beginning of a hellishly cold February the trio stepped into the (in-)famous Tico-Tico Studio of Kemi to work with their debut album. Of the colourful journey we are enlightened by the band’s fresh reinforcement, a man also involved in e.g. Gorewinter: Baron Tarwonen.
- There was this priest. The priest didn’t like us - and neither we did like him. The priest finished second... so much for the priest. But there were good flicks. Braveheart!
How did Braveheart inspire you in the recording process?
- Just guess! ’twas a remarkable source of feeling. The situation is this: we leave Helsinki for Kemi where the temperature is some -60 degrees. A town where nothing happens. Then we go to somewhere to rent Braveheart, so how much could that inspire in the next day’s studio sessions - go ahead and ask.
Ok. In Kemi you can watch Braveheart and get inspiration, what else?
- I asked the guys of Thyrane of what could we do here. And then we boozed, Henri laughs.
- It was a nice time in the studio, but otherwise it was extremely boring there, lectures Ville who is responsible for the vocals, reliefed of that the task is over.
- The good side of it was that there were no other activities which would’ve disturbed. Now we concentrated efficiently on the recording process. We also boozed, of course.
- We drank with the guys of Thyrane and watched an Immortal-video. That was great! We also watched some live shootage of Primal Fear...
- The singer had blue jeans that were tighter than life itself, recalls Tarwonen.
- Tighter than life itself...?
- Well, life’s at times quite tight.
Enough for confessions about life and its tightness, for you know, at times you even have to drill into the matter. Nine days in studio under the supervision of Ahti Kortelainen and ”Suden Uni” is the title of the band’s first full-length album. Can you be satisfied with it?
- Plain shit, Ville states abruptly, but soon bursts into laughter.
- Not really, it’s just as goos as we were capable of at the moment. The next album will be much better.
- It will be a killer, Henri confirms.
- At this point I have to say that Ahti really knew his business. There were six days for the recordings, two for the mixing and one for the mastering. Should we say that the drum parts were ready already on the second day.
- Yeah, and the rest of the time I was just hanging out in the studio, drinking beer and laughed at the others, laughs the meritorious drummer at the studio sessions.
What did Ahti like the material he was recording then?
- Ahti wanted to play Jaws there somewhere, but we voted that idea out.
- In fact Ahti liked it.
- He didn’t even have to take his grandmother’s picture forth. So there for the musicians.
- Play better, boys. Anyway... let’s say that we’re responsible for the productional side of the album ourselves.
So satisfied of the result they were that the time for the recordings of the next album is already reserved from Tico. Next summer the band is returning to Kemi.
A funny anecdote: There was a table in the studio on which several guests had wrote their messages, among others certain Henri Sorvali: ”Learn to play the accordion - I can”. Over all these signatures there was written with a thick, black ink pen: ”Fuck you all, wishes Impaled Nazarene!”
- They made their point clear.
A band that claims to play epic folk metal and sings in the Finnish language sounds pretty interesting. Fully serious they claim to be anyway and after having listened to the album I sure believe that.
- Bathory stopped making those viking albums and Moonsorrow is here to replace them, the drummer states boldly with a less serious approach. Or not.
- This is a completely reasonable band - no pointless joking, Henri continues from the idea.
- Based on that we make music which is based on good metal and with which we mix a bit of folk music influences.
So there is a point within the band?
- There is a point within the band. We represent the pre-christian way of thinking - let’s put it this way. And because this pre-christian way of thinking fits the music. These influences we mix thus derive from the same era. So in a way they - music and lyrics - walk hand in hand.
- A metal band we are for certain. Yeah, there’s accordion and such, but that’s just a spice. It has that different shade - hopefully due to that we’re something different than anyone else in this country.
When they were in Kemi after all and already boozed with the guys of Thyrane, those guys had to end up visiting on the album, right?
- Correct. When other bands always take these ”special guest vocals by Blastmor of Thyrane”, we have ”special handclapsquad”. That is, Avather and Blastmor of Thyrane are clapping on our album.
There were still other visitors in the studio to bring their own little spice on the record, namely Janne Perttilä of Circus Of Flesh was in the scenes for two days. His part on the album is a share of the pompous choir on the last proper track. Four singers, everyone of whom used four tracks. A big choir.
Braveheart = Total Bal-Sagoth + Freedom
When there’s a track called ”Köyliönjärven Jäällä” (On The Ice Of Köyliönjärvi) on the album, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess of what this band is singing about. Of mystic journeys into the cosmos, obviously. I however let the lyrical genius of the band - the Moonsorrow himself - Ville to stand behind his acts himself. What in the world are your lyrics about?
- The subject is this little fight between christians and heathens. I simply get pissed off when thinking how the christians cruelly demolished all heathen cultures, that of Finland including. Every once in a while it gnaws my mind and I have to write about it. But there are others too, like nature, which is a nice subject.
The last actual track on the album before the outro carries the title ”1065: Aika” (1065: Time), so what’s the message here?
- In 1065 there was a battle on the bridge of Stamford which is written into the books of history as the battle where the vikings eventually were defeated by the christians. Although also vikings were already rather christian at the time. This song is symbolizing the final demise of the vikings. I added it to the context because vikings are a well-known heathen culture and it symbolizes well how the christians crushed all pagans from Europe and elsewhere too.
- You won’t find Satan from our album, Tarwonen declares.
In addition there is a short résumé of what the song is about in English by the lyrics.
And what does it sound like
Bathory, Enslaved, Slayer, Einherjer, Emperor, Gorewinter... Must’ve I asked of good bands - the list is almost endless. If we don’t directly count the grandest musical influences but more like the best bands of all time according to personal musical taste, can you name the tight top three?
- Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Slayer... I can’t say that they are the three best, but three of the best, Ville ponders.
- King Crimson, Kiss, Morbid Angel, Tarwonen slams without hesitation.
- Cannibal Corpse, Bal-Sagoth and King Crimson. Those are my three best, says Henri.
When good bands are listed and the spectrum is rather vast, the lads haven’t limited to one band themselves either. We can find all stuff from 80’s thrash via proge to blacker metal: Gorewinter, Luokkasota, Circus Of Flesh, May Withers, Finntroll, Panösvyö, Kuha., etc. There’s a couple of the projects or bands where the members of Moonsorrow are involved in at current.
What about the influences then?
- Bathory is a great band. I must say that without Bathory Moonsorrow wouldn’t sound like this. Very unlikely we would’ve invented anything like this ourselves. But we invented the accordion.
- Henri got the idea of featuring the accordion on our album, although I disagreed with it at first. And Ahti disagreed.
Moonsorrow is one of those few(?) metal combos who end up featuring - on some tracks even as a rather dominating instrument - the accordion on their album. Tell the accordion story? How did a real accordion end up on your album?
- It was found in the studio. I practised to play it. It was like half an hour and I was ready.
At the moment the debut album of Moonsorrow is almost half a year late due to whatever reasons. Thus the members of the band hope it will be released before they get together for recording their next album. Despite of this fact the band has already appeared on four gigs. Has playing unfamiliar material been difficult considering the audience? How has the audience reacted to you and how have the gigs gone in general?
- Well, the first gig was at West Coast Holocaust IV at Turku and that was an obvious first gig. Pretty terrible. After that there was a gig in Tavastia in April and that went clearly better. The music has actually caught some people and some have even arrived to see us in particular.
- The third gig was an absolute catastrophe at Ragnarock II and we never leave for Turku again. We didn’t get the chance for a soundcheck although we were promised to, we got no money and even no food. On the top of it all we played at three o’clock at night when there were only six very drunken fellows in the audience.
- The Nosturi gig with a new intro made by Henri was a pretty nice one, although once again we couldn’t play the whole set - for the playing must end at two o’clock precisely. But one day we’re gonna play that Merciless-cover.
Which is conveniently ”Back To North”. Due to an unconditional request by the drummer, old demo material will be added into the set. ”Hvergelmir” from the first demo will propably be left out and what’s under rehearsing now is the epic from the second demo, ”Taistelu Pohjolasta”.
Last words of wisdom. If the wolf was Moonsorrow, which album would it be?
- Blood on ice!, sounds the answer with not a moment of hesitation.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Agonia Zine / August 2000
Link
Answered by Ville Sorvali
Greetings Ville. Your debut album is finally out. How can you describe its music to people who have never listened to Moonsorrow?
[Ville] Heathen greetings! If there are people who have never listened to Moonsorrow, they should be aware that what they have missed is an epic blend of metals (the subgenres named "heavy" and "black", particularly) with influences from Finnish folk music, somewhat reminiscent of Bathory but still something they have never heard before. Bombastic heathen metal, as we have ended up calling it.
Plasmatica Rec. is the publisher of the album. Why did you decide to sign a contract just with this label?
[Ville] Why not? They had proven themselves reliable prior to the contract negotiations, they really liked our music, they really wanted to sign us and they offered us a good deal. Still it was only a one-album deal and who knows where we're heading next.
Earlier, you were supporting Moonsorrow youself. It is Plasmatica's job now. Are you satisfaied with what they are doing for the band?
[Ville] I must say I'm pretty satisfied. Plasmatica is a small company with a limited budget, but they really work for their bands with as much promotion as they can bear. Their touch is professional and I certainly believe they'll get further with time. Also with this kind of a small label the business is honest and pretty close to friendship. Yes, the album was delayed, but in the last hand it wasn't the label's fault.
Returning to your music: as for me it's something between Bathory (epic) & Einherjer. Would you agree with me?
[Ville] Yeah, to an extent I could agree with that because the connections between our music and the abovementioned bands are clear. Still there is much more in our music and simple comparisons can never describe it entirely. It can sound a bit like Bathory or Einherjer or whatever but it's Moonsorrow. I'd be happy if all people could listen to our music themselves and build their own conceptions, to personally decide whether we're extremely unoriginal or not.
What about your music and non-music inspirations?
[Ville] I listen to a lot of different music, mostly metal but also a great deal of classical, folk, prog, rock, synth music and perhaps everything else than that crap you usually hear on MTV. Just a handful of my absolute fave bands are Bathory, Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Iron Maiden, Emperor, The Doors, Katatonia, Morbid Angel and Nordman, without forgetting all the great composers like Bach and Dvorak. All of them in all their greatness have given me an inspiration to (try to) write music, but it's just the inspiration I get from listening to good music and not any guidelines in what vein to compose, of course. Outmusically my biggest influence is undoubtably nature, and I also am very fascinated about history, folklore, mythology and various works in literature and pictoral arts. Mel Gibson rules too.
What is the reason for your music is so folkish? Are your native roots very important in your life & music?
[Ville] It was our idea since the formation of Moonsorrow to combine folk music with metal, and during the years the presence of the folkish influences just grew more and more obvious. And that's how we like it. What comes to the part of our native roots, our music would really be something different if we were born in Nigeria or Malesia instead of Finland. Not only the folkish side would be different but also the whole atmosphere of the music, because -you can tell it, can't you- in every aspect our music is rather distinquishably Finnish. Umm yeah, we're proud to be the rough northmen we are but that really has nothing to do with nationalism.
I was really surprised when I heard accordian on "Suden Uni".... in such music. I have to admit it fits excellent...
[Ville] To arrange parts for accordion in the first hand was Henri's idea, and I have to admit I was a bit sceptic towards it at first. When he recorded the accordion on the sequencer "demo tracks", I was amazed indeed how it fit our music. The plan was to play the accordion from the synthesizer - we had no accordion and none of us could play it anyway - but when there was this old instrument found in the studio, Henri rehearsed a few hours and eventually played those parts with it!
But your music is also very epic. It has some war spirit inside. Can you tell us something about it?
[Ville] Just as with the folk music thing, it was the very idea to make some very epic music. It simply is how we like it. There is a great deal of war spirit inside Moonsorrow - our symbolic "call to arms" for a new pagan age to come - but it's not a hail to war itself.
What about are your texts?
[Ville] Hmmm, about a half of our published lyrics involve the schism between pagans and christians in various ways, as it is a topic very close to me on emotional level. The other half is more -should I say- positive with themes like nature, home, pagan beliefs and such; always something that matters to us. There is not a general theme for Moonsorrow's lyrics, but they are all related to paganism for sure.
All in all what was the reason why you decided to start with a band & to play music just like that?
[Ville] We just love music and we love to play it, it's in our blood! Basically because of that we've been forming countless bands and projects since 10 years of age. Moonsorrow just grew the most important of them because it is something that we have always wanted to do the most and sincerely believed in; the music, the lyrics, everything is born in the deepest of our hearts.
The way to record this debut album wasn't too easy. Your first album had o be realased already in 1998. What was the reason for this delay? It was finally realased as a demo tape.
[Ville] "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" (the recording in question) was actually all along meant to be a demo tape. We didn't feel even close to prepared for a debut album back then, even though we had 3 demos (2 of which unreleased though) behind us already. Yep, it should've been released in 1998, but we experienced some minor difficulties in the recording process... at times the studio we had booked was already reserved (what an organization!), at times there was some equipment missing and finally our half-ready master tape was destroyed twice! However, we managed to complete "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" just a year delayed, and it shortly became the demo that earned us the record contract.
"Tama Ikuinen Talvi" was realased by your own label & by Russian Metal Agen. Was it your own idea?
[Ville] Originally "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was only released by Meat Hook Productions, our own do-it-yourself label. Soon we started to choose labels where to send the tape with means to explore their willingness to sign us (we eventually felt ready for a debut album), and it was then when Metal Agen stepped into the picture. They had insufficient resources for signing us, but they offered a Russian release of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" instead. The people in Russia have a harsher economy anyway and we could never be able to produce copies of the tape with so low expenses that we could offer the Russians some reasonable prices. That's why we sold a lisence to Metal Agen, limiting to the borders of Russia.
How do audience take on your music? What about your reviews?
[Ville] So far it seems that people like what we're doing, and there seems to be a general interest towards our band in the underground. Nothing special to hype about, but at least we're not neglected. Most of the feedback we have received is positive and the strictly negative reviews can be counted with the fingers you possess. Most bands can say this, I know; the people who hate a our music don't have any particular reasons to tell us their opinions, so we won't ever know how many of them are around.
Are you good musicans? How long do you play instruments? Your cousin seems to be versatil musican...
[Ville] Yeah, my cousin is one Hel of a talent. He has been playing keyboards since 4 years of age, guitar since his early teens, also the bass and the drums for some years and he's able to learn any new instrument (like the accordion) within a reasonably short time. His whole comprehensive and high school time was firmly connected with music, and at current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatory in a higher musical education. Then, I am a totally different issue: I have never had a considerable musical education, apart from some short periods of instrument lessons and some optional stuff at school, and I've been playing the bass with some aims for only a year and a half (I started the bass at the same time with the drums, some 7 years ago, but I dropped it shortly). But at least I can play what is demanded, and could that be too little?
There are three another musicans in Moonsorrow. (beside you & your cousin). Tell us something about them.
[Ville] Yeah, our third official member is Baron Tarwonen, he who rules the thunder of Moonsorrow; a skilled, accurate and fast drummer whose style of playing really fits our music. He's been playing the drums for some 15 years, most of that time under professional guidance, and he also has a few years' experience in the guitar. The first of the two session members we use in live situations is Shadow, a talented guitar player and certainly an educated one. The other is Lord Eurén, our self-taught session keymaster who can also name the strings of the guitar.
What is your opinion on the Finnish scene these days? Why do you think there are so many bands in Finland, especially considering it's population?
[Ville] Why does everyone ask this question? Well, the Finnish scene -as I think all the "scenes"- has it's good and bad sides, nothing so special. There are great bands who'd deserve "breaking through" to the outside world, there are rockstars who have already done that and last but not least there is the endless stream of unskilled basement groups who'd better find another hobby... The great number of bands around here just proves that music, and especially metal music, is in the blood of the Finnish people - or could it be that some people just have too much money and nothing else to do?
You also run a small label & fanzine. Which bands did you publish 'till now?
[Ville] Actually Meat Hook Productions and Meathooked 'zine were originally developed by Henri, but soon it happened that I had taken them under my supreme control (uhh yeah). The bands whose material - and that means demos only - I/we have released are Ahti, Mikhail Atom, Gorewinter, Kharadrai, Lunar Womb, Masturbory, Moonsorrow, Nekroaaltouuni, Solar Tomb, Terrorthrone, Thornfrost, Unhola, Urospuu and Woods Of Belial. Respectively I have operated in 7 of these projects and Henri in 8 of them.
What can you tell us about your future plans?
[Ville] Only that there are nothing specified as "future plans". We are just hoping to play some gigs and to create some outstanding material for our next full-length and other possible releases. Nothing but beer is certain.
Thanx for you answers. It's time for yur final words...
[Ville] No need to thank me, just raise your ale-horn and pledge to the gods!
Answered by Ville Sorvali
Greetings Ville. Your debut album is finally out. How can you describe its music to people who have never listened to Moonsorrow?
[Ville] Heathen greetings! If there are people who have never listened to Moonsorrow, they should be aware that what they have missed is an epic blend of metals (the subgenres named "heavy" and "black", particularly) with influences from Finnish folk music, somewhat reminiscent of Bathory but still something they have never heard before. Bombastic heathen metal, as we have ended up calling it.
Plasmatica Rec. is the publisher of the album. Why did you decide to sign a contract just with this label?
[Ville] Why not? They had proven themselves reliable prior to the contract negotiations, they really liked our music, they really wanted to sign us and they offered us a good deal. Still it was only a one-album deal and who knows where we're heading next.
Earlier, you were supporting Moonsorrow youself. It is Plasmatica's job now. Are you satisfaied with what they are doing for the band?
[Ville] I must say I'm pretty satisfied. Plasmatica is a small company with a limited budget, but they really work for their bands with as much promotion as they can bear. Their touch is professional and I certainly believe they'll get further with time. Also with this kind of a small label the business is honest and pretty close to friendship. Yes, the album was delayed, but in the last hand it wasn't the label's fault.
Returning to your music: as for me it's something between Bathory (epic) & Einherjer. Would you agree with me?
[Ville] Yeah, to an extent I could agree with that because the connections between our music and the abovementioned bands are clear. Still there is much more in our music and simple comparisons can never describe it entirely. It can sound a bit like Bathory or Einherjer or whatever but it's Moonsorrow. I'd be happy if all people could listen to our music themselves and build their own conceptions, to personally decide whether we're extremely unoriginal or not.
What about your music and non-music inspirations?
[Ville] I listen to a lot of different music, mostly metal but also a great deal of classical, folk, prog, rock, synth music and perhaps everything else than that crap you usually hear on MTV. Just a handful of my absolute fave bands are Bathory, Slayer, Bal-Sagoth, King Crimson, Iron Maiden, Emperor, The Doors, Katatonia, Morbid Angel and Nordman, without forgetting all the great composers like Bach and Dvorak. All of them in all their greatness have given me an inspiration to (try to) write music, but it's just the inspiration I get from listening to good music and not any guidelines in what vein to compose, of course. Outmusically my biggest influence is undoubtably nature, and I also am very fascinated about history, folklore, mythology and various works in literature and pictoral arts. Mel Gibson rules too.
What is the reason for your music is so folkish? Are your native roots very important in your life & music?
[Ville] It was our idea since the formation of Moonsorrow to combine folk music with metal, and during the years the presence of the folkish influences just grew more and more obvious. And that's how we like it. What comes to the part of our native roots, our music would really be something different if we were born in Nigeria or Malesia instead of Finland. Not only the folkish side would be different but also the whole atmosphere of the music, because -you can tell it, can't you- in every aspect our music is rather distinquishably Finnish. Umm yeah, we're proud to be the rough northmen we are but that really has nothing to do with nationalism.
I was really surprised when I heard accordian on "Suden Uni".... in such music. I have to admit it fits excellent...
[Ville] To arrange parts for accordion in the first hand was Henri's idea, and I have to admit I was a bit sceptic towards it at first. When he recorded the accordion on the sequencer "demo tracks", I was amazed indeed how it fit our music. The plan was to play the accordion from the synthesizer - we had no accordion and none of us could play it anyway - but when there was this old instrument found in the studio, Henri rehearsed a few hours and eventually played those parts with it!
But your music is also very epic. It has some war spirit inside. Can you tell us something about it?
[Ville] Just as with the folk music thing, it was the very idea to make some very epic music. It simply is how we like it. There is a great deal of war spirit inside Moonsorrow - our symbolic "call to arms" for a new pagan age to come - but it's not a hail to war itself.
What about are your texts?
[Ville] Hmmm, about a half of our published lyrics involve the schism between pagans and christians in various ways, as it is a topic very close to me on emotional level. The other half is more -should I say- positive with themes like nature, home, pagan beliefs and such; always something that matters to us. There is not a general theme for Moonsorrow's lyrics, but they are all related to paganism for sure.
All in all what was the reason why you decided to start with a band & to play music just like that?
[Ville] We just love music and we love to play it, it's in our blood! Basically because of that we've been forming countless bands and projects since 10 years of age. Moonsorrow just grew the most important of them because it is something that we have always wanted to do the most and sincerely believed in; the music, the lyrics, everything is born in the deepest of our hearts.
The way to record this debut album wasn't too easy. Your first album had o be realased already in 1998. What was the reason for this delay? It was finally realased as a demo tape.
[Ville] "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" (the recording in question) was actually all along meant to be a demo tape. We didn't feel even close to prepared for a debut album back then, even though we had 3 demos (2 of which unreleased though) behind us already. Yep, it should've been released in 1998, but we experienced some minor difficulties in the recording process... at times the studio we had booked was already reserved (what an organization!), at times there was some equipment missing and finally our half-ready master tape was destroyed twice! However, we managed to complete "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" just a year delayed, and it shortly became the demo that earned us the record contract.
"Tama Ikuinen Talvi" was realased by your own label & by Russian Metal Agen. Was it your own idea?
[Ville] Originally "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" was only released by Meat Hook Productions, our own do-it-yourself label. Soon we started to choose labels where to send the tape with means to explore their willingness to sign us (we eventually felt ready for a debut album), and it was then when Metal Agen stepped into the picture. They had insufficient resources for signing us, but they offered a Russian release of "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" instead. The people in Russia have a harsher economy anyway and we could never be able to produce copies of the tape with so low expenses that we could offer the Russians some reasonable prices. That's why we sold a lisence to Metal Agen, limiting to the borders of Russia.
How do audience take on your music? What about your reviews?
[Ville] So far it seems that people like what we're doing, and there seems to be a general interest towards our band in the underground. Nothing special to hype about, but at least we're not neglected. Most of the feedback we have received is positive and the strictly negative reviews can be counted with the fingers you possess. Most bands can say this, I know; the people who hate a our music don't have any particular reasons to tell us their opinions, so we won't ever know how many of them are around.
Are you good musicans? How long do you play instruments? Your cousin seems to be versatil musican...
[Ville] Yeah, my cousin is one Hel of a talent. He has been playing keyboards since 4 years of age, guitar since his early teens, also the bass and the drums for some years and he's able to learn any new instrument (like the accordion) within a reasonably short time. His whole comprehensive and high school time was firmly connected with music, and at current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatory in a higher musical education. Then, I am a totally different issue: I have never had a considerable musical education, apart from some short periods of instrument lessons and some optional stuff at school, and I've been playing the bass with some aims for only a year and a half (I started the bass at the same time with the drums, some 7 years ago, but I dropped it shortly). But at least I can play what is demanded, and could that be too little?
There are three another musicans in Moonsorrow. (beside you & your cousin). Tell us something about them.
[Ville] Yeah, our third official member is Baron Tarwonen, he who rules the thunder of Moonsorrow; a skilled, accurate and fast drummer whose style of playing really fits our music. He's been playing the drums for some 15 years, most of that time under professional guidance, and he also has a few years' experience in the guitar. The first of the two session members we use in live situations is Shadow, a talented guitar player and certainly an educated one. The other is Lord Eurén, our self-taught session keymaster who can also name the strings of the guitar.
What is your opinion on the Finnish scene these days? Why do you think there are so many bands in Finland, especially considering it's population?
[Ville] Why does everyone ask this question? Well, the Finnish scene -as I think all the "scenes"- has it's good and bad sides, nothing so special. There are great bands who'd deserve "breaking through" to the outside world, there are rockstars who have already done that and last but not least there is the endless stream of unskilled basement groups who'd better find another hobby... The great number of bands around here just proves that music, and especially metal music, is in the blood of the Finnish people - or could it be that some people just have too much money and nothing else to do?
You also run a small label & fanzine. Which bands did you publish 'till now?
[Ville] Actually Meat Hook Productions and Meathooked 'zine were originally developed by Henri, but soon it happened that I had taken them under my supreme control (uhh yeah). The bands whose material - and that means demos only - I/we have released are Ahti, Mikhail Atom, Gorewinter, Kharadrai, Lunar Womb, Masturbory, Moonsorrow, Nekroaaltouuni, Solar Tomb, Terrorthrone, Thornfrost, Unhola, Urospuu and Woods Of Belial. Respectively I have operated in 7 of these projects and Henri in 8 of them.
What can you tell us about your future plans?
[Ville] Only that there are nothing specified as "future plans". We are just hoping to play some gigs and to create some outstanding material for our next full-length and other possible releases. Nothing but beer is certain.
Thanx for you answers. It's time for yur final words...
[Ville] No need to thank me, just raise your ale-horn and pledge to the gods!
Black Art Zine / July 2000
Link
Answered by Ville Sorvali
hi...how's life goin there?
[Ville] Hello yourself and thanks for asking! It’s a warm and sunny day out here and I just got home from work. Now I’m sitting under the smiling sun answering this interview with some relaxing Hades Almighty playing in my walkman...
a boring but necessary question:can u give us some info bout the history of MOONSORROW??ur releases,members etc...
[Ville] Alright, so the saga of Moonsorrow begun in 1995 when I and Henri got together for another project. Back then we didn’t expect it developing into a serious band, but as it obviously was something we have always wanted to do, things just happened. (Theoretically) we have 5 recordings by now: ”Thorns Of Ice” demo 1996, ”Metsä” demo 1997, promotape 1997, ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” demo 1999 and ”Suden Uni” album 2000. ”Thorns Of Ice” and the promotape were however never released because of severe failures. Up to 1999 we had only 2 members - Ville Seponpoika Sorvali (bass/vocals) and Henri Urponpoika Sorvali (guitars/keyboards) - but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” Baron Tarwonen (drums) arrived to strengthen our line-up.
ur last album TAMA IKUINEN TALVI is very dark and melancholic.can u talk bout the general style and the lyrics??
[Ville] The general style of Moonsorrow is heathen metal, and although the main ingredients in our formula (bombastic metal and folk music) have always remained the same, we have managed to vary our music enough on every release. Almost exceptionally ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is perhaps as blackish as we will ever get. Our greatest influences may have been Bathory, Enslaved and Emperor, but I’d say that we sound more like Moonsorrow than a copy of anyone.
The atmosphere of the music is supported by the lyrics, which are also very heathenish, and perhaps the most commonly handled topic has been the battling against christians in medieval Finland. The lyrics are mostly written in an indirect and poetic style, leaving room for interpretations, nowadays also almost unexceptionally in Finnish language (on ”Suden Uni” there is though an English frame story to each song).
why did u choose to live with BLACK METAL?????
[Ville] Even though there may be certain parellels between Moonsorrow’s music and black metal, Moonsorrow has nothing to do with black metal itself. Moonsorrow lives and breathes heathen metal exclusively.
as we read in the cover of tama...MOONSORROW only consists of 2 members:u and henri.what r the advantages and disadvantages of this???
[Ville] As I already mentioned, Moonsorrow did consist of two members until 1999 but the temptation of using live drumming drove us to invite Baron Tarwonen into our line-up (before him we worked with a drum computer, that is). The primary advantage of being a duo was that it was easier to achieve unanimity in completing the songs, and another advantage was that it wasn’t so hard to arrange rehearsals or recording sessions when there were only two people to appear. I however don’t consider things much more difficult now when we are a trio; Baron Tarwonen is musically quite on the same lines as we when it comes to Moonsorrow, so completing songs doesn’t contain much arguing, and actually the results are even better than previously. And it still isn’t impossible to get all the three of us to a same place at a same time, it just demands a little arranging. Moreover, an additional advantage of this line-up is that we now have one more adjustable unit at rehearsals. The ultimate disadvantage of these kind of small line-ups is obviously the limited possibility of playing live, but as we have two session members (Shadow from Tyrant and Lord Eurén from Gorewinter) in frequent use, there are no such problems.
does the weather of there effect u too much?? I ask this question because the deepest anddarkest black metal bands r mostly from SCANDINAVIAN countries.
[Ville] Without actually being Nordic Moonsorrow wouldn’t ever sound so Nordic, that’s for certain, but it’s not just about the weather. We all have a long Finnish bloodline that subconsciously reflects in the music we make, together with the influence of our beautiful nature creating the ultimate Moonsorrow-sound and its Fennoheathenish surroundings. The freezing winters (and the warm summers) are of course inspirational, but as we live on the south coast we don’t get much of the the extremities of the Finnish weather.
what other things inspire u??
[Ville] For me the biggest outmusical inspirational source must be nature, but I am also very fascinated about primaeval cultures, history, legends and all that stuff. The strongest force that drives me to write music however is simply my love for music (and my need for self-expression). Earlier certain other bands inspired me very very much but nowadays I just concentrate on Moonsorrow itself.
let's turn back to talk bout albums...ur releases r distrubuted by ur own distro:meathook productions.r u gonna get in touch with bigger companies???
[Ville] Meat Hook Productions is just our small d.i.y. demo label having no business-alike relevance, and it would’ve been the same if we had released the demos without a namely label behind them. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we got in touch with some bigger companies with the hope to obtain a record contract for Moonsorrow, and eventually we were approached by four relevant labels. Then, after serious considering we signed a deal with Plasmatica Records for one album.
when's the next album comin??
[Ville] Well, we already recorded it in February 2000 and it should be out by the time I’m writing this (July). Everyone interested can ask for it either from Plasmatica or from us.
will it be too different from tama...??we hope not:)
[Ville] No, it is in no way too different. Perhaps surprising because of the slower overall tempo, the ever-growing folkish influences, the utter bombast and the tighter playing, but it definitely is Moonsorrow. If there are people who can’t accept our development, it’s their loss. This is how we wanted it to sound all along.
have u had musical education and can we have ur opinion bout this ???
[Ville] I am just an amateur and most of what I know about music is self-taught. As a kid I played the piano under a teacher’s supervision for about a year, but then I got fed up with it which is unfortunate because I would be grateful for that skill now. Later on I got interested in the guitar (as everyone else did) but I never learned to play it, and about at the age of 13 came the drums and the bass. I soon forsake the bass and chose to concentrate on the drums, and at the age of 16 I even took lessons for a year. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” I got more interested in the bass again and started to rehearse by myself with the hope of learning something someday.
The other members of Moonsorrow are more musical, though; Henri has taken piano lessons since the age of 4 (yes, he is a hell of a keyboardist now) and he has also been playing the guitar for long, mostly by himself though. He also has little training in the bass and the drums and he is more or less able to learn any instrument within a reasonable time (as he learned to play the accordion in a few hours in the studio). At current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatorium in a full-day musical education. Baron has played the drums for 15 years now, 13 of which in the conservatorium, and also he has played the guitar for several years. In my opinion musical education is a great bonus, but it isn’t totally necessary if you know how to improve your skills by yourself.
there's a new style called :millenium black metal which's represented by THE KOVENANT.DO U respect this new style??
[Ville] I couldn’t care less about what others are doing. I think that The Kovenant is just another rider on the industrial trend wave and not even a good one, but it’s really their shame. They admit they’re doing it for money and I respect that.
and ville ,u have got a distro called meathook productions .r there promising bands that'll take the old bands' thrones??
[Ville] In my explorations to the underground I have confronted many good bands (yet even more terrible ones), and I can assure that there will always be fresh newcomers who can inherit the mantle of the older bands. Of course there is no match for Slayer or Bal-Sagoth, but at least Neglected Fields can hold up to the quality of Atheist and we can take over Bathory, ehh...?
what would u like to say else???
[Ville] Thank you extensively for this interview and keep the pagan flame burning bright!!!
Answered by Ville Sorvali
hi...how's life goin there?
[Ville] Hello yourself and thanks for asking! It’s a warm and sunny day out here and I just got home from work. Now I’m sitting under the smiling sun answering this interview with some relaxing Hades Almighty playing in my walkman...
a boring but necessary question:can u give us some info bout the history of MOONSORROW??ur releases,members etc...
[Ville] Alright, so the saga of Moonsorrow begun in 1995 when I and Henri got together for another project. Back then we didn’t expect it developing into a serious band, but as it obviously was something we have always wanted to do, things just happened. (Theoretically) we have 5 recordings by now: ”Thorns Of Ice” demo 1996, ”Metsä” demo 1997, promotape 1997, ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” demo 1999 and ”Suden Uni” album 2000. ”Thorns Of Ice” and the promotape were however never released because of severe failures. Up to 1999 we had only 2 members - Ville Seponpoika Sorvali (bass/vocals) and Henri Urponpoika Sorvali (guitars/keyboards) - but after ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” Baron Tarwonen (drums) arrived to strengthen our line-up.
ur last album TAMA IKUINEN TALVI is very dark and melancholic.can u talk bout the general style and the lyrics??
[Ville] The general style of Moonsorrow is heathen metal, and although the main ingredients in our formula (bombastic metal and folk music) have always remained the same, we have managed to vary our music enough on every release. Almost exceptionally ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” is perhaps as blackish as we will ever get. Our greatest influences may have been Bathory, Enslaved and Emperor, but I’d say that we sound more like Moonsorrow than a copy of anyone.
The atmosphere of the music is supported by the lyrics, which are also very heathenish, and perhaps the most commonly handled topic has been the battling against christians in medieval Finland. The lyrics are mostly written in an indirect and poetic style, leaving room for interpretations, nowadays also almost unexceptionally in Finnish language (on ”Suden Uni” there is though an English frame story to each song).
why did u choose to live with BLACK METAL?????
[Ville] Even though there may be certain parellels between Moonsorrow’s music and black metal, Moonsorrow has nothing to do with black metal itself. Moonsorrow lives and breathes heathen metal exclusively.
as we read in the cover of tama...MOONSORROW only consists of 2 members:u and henri.what r the advantages and disadvantages of this???
[Ville] As I already mentioned, Moonsorrow did consist of two members until 1999 but the temptation of using live drumming drove us to invite Baron Tarwonen into our line-up (before him we worked with a drum computer, that is). The primary advantage of being a duo was that it was easier to achieve unanimity in completing the songs, and another advantage was that it wasn’t so hard to arrange rehearsals or recording sessions when there were only two people to appear. I however don’t consider things much more difficult now when we are a trio; Baron Tarwonen is musically quite on the same lines as we when it comes to Moonsorrow, so completing songs doesn’t contain much arguing, and actually the results are even better than previously. And it still isn’t impossible to get all the three of us to a same place at a same time, it just demands a little arranging. Moreover, an additional advantage of this line-up is that we now have one more adjustable unit at rehearsals. The ultimate disadvantage of these kind of small line-ups is obviously the limited possibility of playing live, but as we have two session members (Shadow from Tyrant and Lord Eurén from Gorewinter) in frequent use, there are no such problems.
does the weather of there effect u too much?? I ask this question because the deepest anddarkest black metal bands r mostly from SCANDINAVIAN countries.
[Ville] Without actually being Nordic Moonsorrow wouldn’t ever sound so Nordic, that’s for certain, but it’s not just about the weather. We all have a long Finnish bloodline that subconsciously reflects in the music we make, together with the influence of our beautiful nature creating the ultimate Moonsorrow-sound and its Fennoheathenish surroundings. The freezing winters (and the warm summers) are of course inspirational, but as we live on the south coast we don’t get much of the the extremities of the Finnish weather.
what other things inspire u??
[Ville] For me the biggest outmusical inspirational source must be nature, but I am also very fascinated about primaeval cultures, history, legends and all that stuff. The strongest force that drives me to write music however is simply my love for music (and my need for self-expression). Earlier certain other bands inspired me very very much but nowadays I just concentrate on Moonsorrow itself.
let's turn back to talk bout albums...ur releases r distrubuted by ur own distro:meathook productions.r u gonna get in touch with bigger companies???
[Ville] Meat Hook Productions is just our small d.i.y. demo label having no business-alike relevance, and it would’ve been the same if we had released the demos without a namely label behind them. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” we got in touch with some bigger companies with the hope to obtain a record contract for Moonsorrow, and eventually we were approached by four relevant labels. Then, after serious considering we signed a deal with Plasmatica Records for one album.
when's the next album comin??
[Ville] Well, we already recorded it in February 2000 and it should be out by the time I’m writing this (July). Everyone interested can ask for it either from Plasmatica or from us.
will it be too different from tama...??we hope not:)
[Ville] No, it is in no way too different. Perhaps surprising because of the slower overall tempo, the ever-growing folkish influences, the utter bombast and the tighter playing, but it definitely is Moonsorrow. If there are people who can’t accept our development, it’s their loss. This is how we wanted it to sound all along.
have u had musical education and can we have ur opinion bout this ???
[Ville] I am just an amateur and most of what I know about music is self-taught. As a kid I played the piano under a teacher’s supervision for about a year, but then I got fed up with it which is unfortunate because I would be grateful for that skill now. Later on I got interested in the guitar (as everyone else did) but I never learned to play it, and about at the age of 13 came the drums and the bass. I soon forsake the bass and chose to concentrate on the drums, and at the age of 16 I even took lessons for a year. After ”Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” I got more interested in the bass again and started to rehearse by myself with the hope of learning something someday.
The other members of Moonsorrow are more musical, though; Henri has taken piano lessons since the age of 4 (yes, he is a hell of a keyboardist now) and he has also been playing the guitar for long, mostly by himself though. He also has little training in the bass and the drums and he is more or less able to learn any instrument within a reasonable time (as he learned to play the accordion in a few hours in the studio). At current he is at Helsinki pop/jazz conservatorium in a full-day musical education. Baron has played the drums for 15 years now, 13 of which in the conservatorium, and also he has played the guitar for several years. In my opinion musical education is a great bonus, but it isn’t totally necessary if you know how to improve your skills by yourself.
there's a new style called :millenium black metal which's represented by THE KOVENANT.DO U respect this new style??
[Ville] I couldn’t care less about what others are doing. I think that The Kovenant is just another rider on the industrial trend wave and not even a good one, but it’s really their shame. They admit they’re doing it for money and I respect that.
and ville ,u have got a distro called meathook productions .r there promising bands that'll take the old bands' thrones??
[Ville] In my explorations to the underground I have confronted many good bands (yet even more terrible ones), and I can assure that there will always be fresh newcomers who can inherit the mantle of the older bands. Of course there is no match for Slayer or Bal-Sagoth, but at least Neglected Fields can hold up to the quality of Atheist and we can take over Bathory, ehh...?
what would u like to say else???
[Ville] Thank you extensively for this interview and keep the pagan flame burning bright!!!
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