The Moshville Times / April 2016

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Just over 2 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the gutiarists from Finnish metal band, Moonsorrow. We chatted about the most recent album, the gear he uses and Laakupaavi.
Thanks to Nina at the Noise Cartel for organising and Mitja for his time.
You’re currently doing a co-headlining tour with Korpiklaani. How’s it been going?
It’s been going great actually. We had a couple of shows in France first and a few shows in the UK and Ireleand which were almost full-houses so that’s been good. We haven’t toured the UK a lot so it’s been really good to play here.
The most recent album, Jumalten aika, came out a few weeks ago. What’s the response been like when you’re playing the new songs live?
It’s been great and in some places overwhelming. It was really funny in Spain, at almost every show we had some guys crying as we played. That’s a good a sign as any that the music is going down really well!
Was the process behind the album any different to the previous one?
It was kind of yeah. At a point during the process we ditched everything we had and started again, so as a result it took a long time. We had a bit of a struggle with the arrangements as well as we wanted to do them differently to the way we had previously.
Off topic slightly, but is Lakupaavi still going?
It’s always been up and coming and is still coming, so yes it’s still going. We have a new song ready which is a bit different to what it was previously. It’s in French this time! And, if we do the whole project, there’ll be some biblical languages too.
Now the band has been going a little while now. What do you think has changed in the scene over these years?
Well, we all saw the crash of CD sales for example. I must say however, metal fans still buy them and the market for them is still solid in this scene. It means that record labels can still function and also help bands to make new records.
The shows have pretty much been the same though. Around 2011 there was a point where shows became small as everyone was touring so there were no crowds really. That’s kind of dissipated now and crowds are back but we’ll see…
What gear do you use when your playing live?
I play Amfisound guitars which are handmade in Finland. They’re really nice gutiars and play really well. I have a modified Marshall JVM head and a vintage marshall cabinet which I use for my stage sound. I also use a Fractal Audio system that is the main sound that comes out through the PA.
Coming onto the setlist tonight, how heavily weighted is it from the new album?
It’s actually a good mixture of songs from across all our albums. We’ve got 90 minutes to play, which means we can have some variation in our set and play both new and older songs.
And my final question for you now, what advice would you give to a new band?
Well, you’ll obviously have a lot of influences but you need to find your own sound. If you’re happy sounding like someone else, then you won’t get anywhere. Be critical of yourself and don’t be happy with being mediocre. No one should be mediocre. If you’re mediocre, then you’re going to get nowhere…

Distorted Sound / April 2016

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MOONSORROW are an interesting band within the folk metal genre. Whilst most bands focus their efforts towards upbeat and drinking related music, MOONSORROW have forged a style that explores the Pagan faith through a dark and hard-hitting style of sound. On the back of the release of their latest record, Jumalten Aika, and before a co-headline performance with fellow countrymen KORPIKLAANI (read our review here), we spoke to guitarist Mitja Harvilahti to talk about the tour, the reception towards their new record and why the band exclusively sing in their native tongue of Finnish.

We are many dates into the co-headline tour with KORPIKLAANI, how is it going so far?

Mitja: Very good, it’s been a great tour with good attendance at every venue, it’s been good times!

The package with KORPIKLAANI is a bit odd, you both play distinct varying sounds of folk metal. How is that running in terms of the live performances?

Mitja: Well, indeed we are very different. I think both bands can play their own kind of shows, I haven’t seen much negativity towards either of the bands, I haven’t seen any angry moods or people leaving after us. I haven’t seen any of that separation which is a surprise really.

This tour is right on the back of the release of Jumalten Aika, how are you finding the reception towards the new songs live?

Mitja: Really good, I mean of course it is a very new album and not everybody has it but I like to see people listening to it, I can see that people have been mesmerised by some of the parts in some of the songs. I enjoy the fact that when I look at them hearing if for the first time they are happy.

MOONSORROW albums all seem to have a story, what’s the story with Jumalten Aika?

Mitja: It’s more of a mythological theme, it starts in a time where people are discovering religion and to start explaining what the world is about and who created the people. Basically people created the gods thinking the gods created people. The record follows through different scenarios, some are more ritualistic based, musically and lyrically, and some are based around Scandinavian mythology. At the end of the album the last song is about the time where people have abandoned all these gods and religions are replaced with greed and money.

MOONSORROW’s lyrics are exclusively written in Finnish, do you find it difficult for some fans to understand what the band’s themes are about?

Mitja: It could be, but I don’t see it necessary because when we were kids we were listening to bands who were from Sweden or Norway singing in their native tongues. It doesn’t really matter, I find it more interesting when you can actually research the lyrics.

Moonsorrow live @ Club Academy, Manchester. Photo Credit: Christopher Ryan

It’s almost like you can teach them the language…

Mitja: Yeah, and at the same time you can learn the culture. It can be very good!

It seems that the general consensus for most music is to sing in English. Do you feel that by singing in Finnish you can add another level of diversity to MOONSORROW?

Mitja: Yeah, it’s because Finnish is a very poetic language, it’s a very expressive language. English is as well but you have to be on a very high level to utilise it. None of us are, even though we can speak and write it, but we don’t get to a level where are at the highest with the language.

So do you feel by singing in your native tongue, you can really get across the messages and themes you want to express?

Mitja: Yeah definitely and also it’s a geographical thing. We are based in Finland or Scandinavia so it feels more natural to use our own language.

The bonus edition of Jumalten Aika features two covers from GRAVE and ROTTING CHRIST. What was the decision behind covering those two bands?

Mitja: It was very spontaneous. Marko our drummer thought we should do a cover so we decided to do a ROTTING CHRIST cover and then we just decided to do a GRAVE cover as well. They are both important bands to us and we already had all the demos and arrangements ready so it was very cool to have those covers.

Moonsorrow live @ Club Academy, Manchester. Photo Credit: Christopher Ryan

So it gives something extra to the fans who want to hear it?

Mitja: Yeah and also it’s extra to us because we got to arrange those songs again so it was a lot of fun for us to do something for the fans.

With MOONSORROW’s style, you want to distance yourselves from folk metal and to make the band a challenge to listen to. What was the decision to go down that route?

Mitja: Yeah, a long time ago bands were getting really symphonic and the folk metal genre was born. The name folk metal didn’t exist when we started, it really got it’s name in the 2000s. We wanted to go down a different route, we didn’t feel this danceable folk metal was really our style.

So by doing it do you feel it’s added more diversity to the genre?

Mitja: Well I don’t know about that but personally it just feels right because we can transmit the message much better, it carries stronger emotions than just playing drinking songs. We are not very good at writing drinking songs, you can’t really have MOONSORROW playing drinking songs!

The band is described as a Pagan metal band. How does those beliefs and ideologies influence the writing style?

Mitja: I would say a lot, because the core of the lyrics and the core of the band lies within the Pagan philosophies so it is something you can’t really take away from us. It always stems from that.

So will that always remain a key characteristic of the band?

Mitja: Yeah definitely.

So really to close this off, what else can fans expect from MOONSORROW for the rest of 2016. Do you have many festival plans?

Mitja: Well we are doing many festivals, I don’t think we have any in the UK, and then later this year we are hoping to tour Europe again.

Brilliant, well thank you for your time and good luck for the rest of the tour!

Mitja: Thank you!

Decibel Magazine / April 2016

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Folk Tales: An Interview with Moonsorrow's Mitja Harvilahti

April 21, 2016

You'd be hard-pressed to describe Finland's Moonsorrow without using some kind of synonym for "epic," so the fact that their new LP, Jumalten Aika, out-epics anything they've done is nothing short of astounding. We caught up with guitarist/vocalist Mitja Harvilahti to discuss the musical, thematic and personal influences that helped bring this beast of an album to life.

Jumalten Aika translates to “The Age of Gods” in English. What concepts and themes are you exploring with this title?
Basically, the album deals with the ever-present human hunger to believe, explain and control. The album starts at the time when people started to create stories, myths, religions, and belief systems to explain this world and make order in their lives. There is no storyline, but it follows through more religious and ritualistic events into the depths of the mind of a lunatic. In the last song, mankind is willing to sell everything that’s sacred to them for a bag of gold, figuratively speaking. Human greed…that’s where everything ends.

Moonsorrow have always been influenced by folk music, but this album takes the integration even further. What inspired you to go in this direction on your seventh LP?
This time, we wanted to have a more ritualistic touch with the instruments—more tribal, in a way. I can’t say which specific influences led to creating it since we use traditional music as a tool that changes shape according to the needs of the song. In the beginning of the writing process, we knew we wanted to add a wider spectrum of musical elements. There’s more black metal, more acoustic stuff and more melodic parts, but it’s still perhaps the darkest of our albums. We wanted to have a lot of musical variety on it, too. More twists and turns!

This is the first Moonsorrow full-length in five years. What was the writing process like for Jumalten Aika? How soon after Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa did you start composing these five songs?
Well, first we needed a year or so just to tour and refresh our perspective about the band. We wanted to have two years off and then start writing intensively. Henri [Sorvali, guitars/vocals] did a Finntroll album also and wanted some time off from composing. Also, some kids were born and even more time off was due. Suddenly, five years were gone and it only felt like three years! We really got into the mode in late 2014, and last year we finally got everything together.

It was much more difficult to write the new stuff than we imagined. This time, we wanted to renew our ways of arranging and composing, just to stay away from our routine Moonsorrow way of doing things. That became the biggest challenge. We had millions of potential ways to arrange, and just trying out every option and building the songs like a puzzle was very hard. And the music changed all the time. We might go to Henri’s place to have a session with him and the next day he might have deleted all of that and replaced it with new stuff. Even the last night before recording started, Henri had some major changes in mind for the second song on the album [“Ruttolehto incl. Päivättömän Päivän Kansa”].

Moonsorrow have essentially had the same members since forming in 1995. Why do you think the line-up has remained intact for all these years?
One big reason is this band is not one man’s vision. We are all equally involved in things and decisions. We know each other very well and it would feel really awkward to replace someone. Many times, band members change because of lack of time when it comes to touring. We need to compromise when someone can’t tour. We all have those times, but new opportunities will always come.

Metal Temple / April 2016

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Since my early teenage years when I first found Black Metal, and really gained that fiendish taste for the genre, few bands make top revered list. Among the early greats we have MOONSORROW. They were really my first taste of the Black Metal with that Folk edge to it. So when the opportunity to do an interview with them arose, I almost had a heart attack. I got all anxious and worked up and then the call came in.

Folks, this has to have been one of the best interviews I have ever done. Unfortunately, this being my first interview in quite some time, I had some recording issues, on top pf a pinched nerve which set me way way back. I was only able to record about half of the almost hour long interview, and with a plethora of puppies being quite rambunctious, was able to hear to transcribe a little less than that. Nevertheless, even after all of those problems, I am still happy with what was salvaged.

Before we get to the good stuff, I would like to apologize to MOONSORROW, their record label, to you the fans, and to my Metal Temple brothers and sisters for the delays and botched interview that I must share with the world.

Hello, How are you doing?

I’m good, I’m Good.

So we’re here with Metal Temple Online Magazine, and we’re doing this beautiful interview with one of my favorite bands, MOONSORROW, I just want you guys to know that you are one of my absolute favorites.

Thank you very much.

Alright bud, to start us off, can you tell us about the new album?

Yes, it took us 5 years to make this album, and it was really frustrating at times. Now we’re completely happy with the results. We threw away all of the material that we usually had done, in 2013, and completely started over, and that is why it took us so long.

What were some things that you specifically that you wanted to do different on this album as opposed to the previous ones?

Well, I guess the main difference in our approach to writing on this album is that we actually wanted to write songs instead of a strict album concept. I still invite everyone to listen from beginning to end, but we wanted to make song that you could still enjoy by themselves, out of context.

Can you, for those of us who don’t speak Finnish, can you give us the overlying theme of the album?

Instead of retelling old stories we were inspired by certain Scandinavian and Finnish mythology and rework them into new stories. And the general concept around “AGE OF GODS” which is the title translated, is the ancient times when people started to form their own belief systems, because they want to explain what is going on around them in nature, so they created “gods” as an explanation these different aspects of nature.

This next question really doesn’t have anything to do with the new album, it is more of a personal curiosity. I’ve noticed that over the ages, rather than calling yourselves “Folk” or “Viking” Metal, that you use the term “Epic Heathen Metal”. How did you guys come up with that term of description?

Well, that happened almost 20 years ago, so I can’t fully remember. We didn’t want to label ourselves with anything that already existed, we wanted to be different I guess. Now we just call ourselves pagan metal. It’s a very nice general term that doesn’t really say anything about the music except that it is Metal.

So how about the name MOONSORROW? I love the name, and it was the first thing that drew me in.

As our drummer once said, every good metal band has to have a bad name. I don’t really know why we ended up with the name Moonsorrow, but I know it was taken from song sorrow of the moon.

This next one is for a bit of comic relief, beer or liquor?

That is a tough question, beer in the long drinks, whiskey in the short. I do not like to drink liquor much, because it gets me too drunk. My favorite has to be an IPA.

Now, I have been keeping up with the progress of the new album, on Facebook I saw a picture of Lavey’s The Satanic Rituals with your bass, what does Satanism mean to you?

Freedom, I put it that simple. I consider myself more of a pagan than a Satanist, but there is a lot of satanic philosophy in my thoughts and view of the world.

What are your thoughts on the more mainstream religion?

Well that’s the stuff that opposes freedom, basically. I have no sympathy for these monotheistic religions to control the flock. It’s the easiest way to keep the masses in check. You can use it as your politics.

Back into the band matters now, how many countries have you toured in so far?

I just did a count, can’t remember, 30 something, I have been in over 40 so far.

Which has been your favorite?

It’s hard to say. Theyre so different. We just came from china, and playing there is just amazing. It’s so new to a lot of those people. They’ve changed a lot. They do like to redo the lyrics lot, I don’t why. But they are really opening up to it.

Visas can be a real pain the ass. Getting them isn’t the problem, but it takes a long time.

Out of all the countries you guys have toured in which one do you think has had the best reaction to you guys?

Well there are several. China would be one of them, we played in Herbing 4 or 5 years ago, and we were the second non-Chinese band to play there, so they were really excited. Russia and Mexico as well, they went beyond crazy. I would love to go to South America.

What are your plans for playing there?

We have been trying to work it out for several years, it’s really hard to find reliable contacts. It’s a bit like the Wild West when it comes to contracts. We don’t want to get ripped off. It’s so expensive to tour.

When do you guys plan on being back in the US?

Also in planning. So far we only know of our European tour and some festivals. We do plan on it, but it is uncertain. It’s a complicated issue, we gotta take off work, get everyone there, find the funds. We can’t wait though, it’s been too long.

Who are your influences? Who influenced you guys in the start?

Musically, the only thing we 5 members have in common is black metal from the 90’s. So that must have been a great influence. Emperor, enslaved. Of course Bathory was a great influence, more so the Viking metal than the black metal.

How about the folk edge, what prompted you guys to add that to the black metal?

Well it was something we all had in mind. In the beginning it was just me and my cousin, we listened to a lot of actual folk music.

The Metalist / April 2016

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The new Moonsorrow album ‘Jumalten Aika‘ has finally been released after a lengthy 5 year wait. The band have produced yet another stunning opus, but we interview frontman Ville Sorvali to find out what took so damn long!
With a back-catalogue of albums that have frequently been acclaimed from metalheads on all ends of the subgenre spectrum, it’s of key interest to find out what exactly goes into the writing process, especially with the lengthy songs that Moonsorrow writes. Ville enlightens us into all the details of the band’s songwriting, and conceptualising ‘Jumalten Aika‘
Read the transcript from the interview below:

So Ville thank you so much for speaking to us today!
Thank you for the invitation!

So new Moonsorrow album – I guess the first question we have to ask is how come it took so long to come out?
Well…to be perfectly honest…maybe not half way through but we wrote some material…it wasn’t in the vein that we wanted. So we had to start all over again after 2 years of work. That’s why it took time.

Yea…about 5 years. I think that’s the longest gap you’ve had in between albums.
Yea it actually is. It was 2011 when the last one came out, so yea…5 years!

So you’ve actually been writing the album over that 5 years or was there a certain period where you started writing?
Well we had to decide on the direction that we wanted to take the album in. It took a while, maybe even about 2 years to think about it…you could say we wasted a couple of years
.
It’s not wasting if it’s sounding good though! So could you speak a bit more about the direction of the new album then?
Well, when we finally got all the pieces together, our idea was to make an album that had songs stand out as themselves. So that they don’t necessarily have to be part of the album as we had done previously. Of course I would advise everybody to listen to the album from the beginning to the end, but these songs you can actually take out and enjoy them as, you know, songs.
I think that was the main aim behind it. We wanted to make something in our books, as Moonsorrow, could even be considered rock ‘n’ roll.

It sounds like there is also a concept behind the music though? The name ‘Jumalten Aika’ or ‘Age of the Gods’ sort of speaks like it is…
You actually pronounced the Finnish title perfectly! 

Oh! [laughs] Thank you very much. I try! So what was the concept of the album?
We wanted to build it around myths, but take a different approach. Instead of retelling them we made our own interpretations and our own stories loosely based on these myths. More we were being inspired by them than basing a concept around them.
The general concept, based around the title track, is when the gods first created the humans, the humans developed the ability to sing songs and write and they wrote about their creators, and that they actually created the gods themselves in that process.

That’s very cool. Now when we talk about the music of the album, which is brilliant by the way, it sounds like there are more folky influences in this album though compared to the last one…was that something you wanted to put back into the music?
First of all, thank you! Second…yes. I think we deliberately wanted to put more folk music and influences into the music, as that was always an important part of Moonsorrow, and how the band was born. We just did it differently this time in the sense that we really wanted to go deep back in time and do something that’s very stripped down and primitive.

But you wouldn’t call yourself a folk metal band?
Well…we never called ourselves a folk metal band. It was just labelled. At some point we wanted to get away from that. We’ve done different albums that have been very different from each other. The general public has labelled us as folk metal, there’s not much we can do about that, but we prefer the vague term of pagan metal. It’s more about the overall theme than any musical directions.

The next question I wanted to ask is that Moonsorrow have always written songs that are really long, like 15 or 16 minutes, especially on the new album. When you write these tracks does it come out naturally that long?
They shape. We start writing and at some point when we realise we’ve got 7 minutes worth of material and we still feel the song isn’t ready, it hasn’t told it’s story. So we just keep writing until the song itself tells us it’s complete. It sounds kind of like the song would be spiritually controlled, I would and wouldn’t put it that way, but the songs kind of take their own shape!

So there’s no forcing length or anything just because that’s considered ‘Moonsorrow’?
No. Actually on this album we wanted to keep the songs as short as possible! [laughs] We didn’t lengthen them, we did the opposite!

So you could have had a song ending up like 30 min long?
Yea! I think a 30 min song would have been boring!

[laughs] Cool. Just to look at the album art quickly, it’s pretty cool. It’s kind of different to the other Moonsorrow albums though…is that in line with the albums theme?
Yea. It connects to the theme through ‘the world tree’ that is drawn on the cover. That’s kind of the general rule for all that mythology that we are singing about. All the Nordic stuff. That’s one of the main symbols. It’s a very dark version of it that’s on our cover with the dead people hanging on it…it fits with the overall darkness of the album and of the lyrical concept.

I was going to say when I first listened to the album it was very dark…maybe the darkest Moonsorrow have ever done…
I don’t know…the previous album was very dark…but it was dark in a different way. I would say that this one is much rawer. It has a lot of raw, untamed energy. It’s not meant to be completely dark, it’s just meant to be kind of wild.

Yes that’s probably the right way to say it, raw! Being raw it gives it more of a sharper edge?
Yea. A sharper edge definitely. Well actually I’m going to take that back a bit. I said it wasn’t meant to be dark. Of course it was, but not only dark.

Yea, it does have lots of different things in it!
Exactly, not like the previous album that was only meant to be dark, and dark only. It was about the time after the end of the world, and the music was crushingly dark, and we didn’t want to repeat that. We wanted to have darkness in a different way.

You’ve also always written your songs in the Finnish language too, when you started out did you plan to write all your lyrics in Finnish?
It was such a long time ago I don’t actually remember…but since the beginning we just wrote in Finnish, and it became such an important part of our music that we just couldn’t do it differently. Of course people have been asking all the time if it could be considered that we might have a broader audience if we had English lyrics, but we just say that we don’t care!

Of course! Lots of metal bands are singing in their native languages these days and are quite popular, including lots of bands from Finland! Like Korpiklaani, who you’re touring with in April, sing in Finnish as well.
Yea. Actually the bands that inspired us, even before when we founded the band, were Norwegian black metal bands, and quite a few of those only did stuff in Norwegian. We never felt it was weird. We thought it was really interesting and exciting!

So you guys are going to be touring for the rest of the year after the album’s release?
We’re going to be touring for the next month. I am not sure about the rest of the year. Well we do have summer festivals and such, but I’m not sure after that. We have some rough plans for the autumn but obviously I can’t reveal them yet!

But you’re doing a tour of Europe with Korpiklaani.
Yes! With a surprising number of UK dates! We’ve been waiting for this for quite long!

Well we’ve been waiting for it too! I actually can’t remember the last time you guys played in the UK…
Must have been many years ago…

I think it was Paganfest 2008…
No, no! Sorry we did play in York last year! But apart from that it must have been 2008 or something.

Yea…for people in London like us we’ve been waiting a long time to see you guys live again! It’s exciting! I think it’s quite funny also that you guys are releasing the album April 1st, April Fools Day. Was that chosen on purpose?
Well it’s actually highly ironic, because in the band we were constantly joking…’oh is it [the album release] actually going to happen!’. It was such a long break, but now it’s the 1st April, and it happened because it’s a Friday, and you know that’s the release day.

So it’s just a major coincidence?
Yes it is!

Ville thank you so much for speaking to us today and look forward to the tour!
Thank you too, nice chatting with you and see you in London!

About.com Heavy Metal / March 2016

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Updated March 30, 2016.

Five years after their last studio album, the Finnish band Moonsorrow deliver a new dose of their folk/pagan/black metal with Jumalten Aika. Guitarist Mitja Harvilahti gets us up to speed with the record, the band's tour plans, some of his favorite Finnish metal bands and more.
Chad Bowar: What led to the five year gap between studio albums?
Mitja Harvilahti: First we needed a year or so to just tour and refresh our thoughts about music. We wanted to have pretty much two years off and then start writing intensively. Henri (Sorvali, guitar/vocals) did a Finntroll album also and wanted some time off from composing.
Also, some offspring were born and even more time off was due. Time just flies by so fast these days, it's insane. Five years feels like three years! We finally got into writing mode in late 2014 and last year we finally got everything together when we had a clear time frame and deadlines.
How did the songwriting process for Jumalten Aika compare to the usual Moonsorrow album?
It was much more difficult than usual.

It's never too easy, but this time we wanted to renew our ways of arranging and composing, just to stay away from our routine Moonsorrow way of doing things. This was the biggest challenge of all.

We had millions of potential ways to arrange and just trying out every option and building the songs like a puzzle was very hard. I'm more than happy that we finally made it. Even the last night before recordings started Henri had some major changes in mind for the second song on the album.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of this album?
My aching hand! I was sailing with friends a couple weeks before the recordings started and something broke in my wrist. It caused huge pressure inside the nerve channel and I could't practice at all. I was sure that Henri would have to play all my parts as well, but miraculously it healed just before went into the studio. I also really worried that I wouldn't be able to tour anymore.
What wasn't nice at all was that I had to learn a 15 minute song each morning! (laughs) Since I couldn't practice before the session started, I basically played my parts of a song and went home to sleep just to wake up in the morning to write down notes for a new 15 minute song within an hour or so. That was quite nerve wracking. Luckily, we have so much experience that I saw it more as a challenge than a disaster.
Give us a brief description of the album's concept.
The concept is "the age of gods," which in this case is about the time when people started to create myths and religions to explain their existence and the world. Basically all the songs have some mythological base.
How did you decide to cover Grave and Rotting Christ on the bonus tracks?
That was a very spontaneous decision. Marko (Tarvonen, drums) called Henri about an idea of a cover and in two minutes we all had messages flying of how we want them to be. The arrangements were done immediately and final demos were ready the same night! I'm really proud of both covers.
How did you approach them in terms of keeping with the spirit of the originals versus injecting your own style into them?
We didn't worry about changing them too much. "The Soulless" was not too far from the original when it comes to arrangements, but "Non Serviam" received a totally new approach and in a way it's more Greek than the original. We added a bulk of traditional Greek instruments on it. They ́re both damn great covers, I think!
How did you come to sign with Century Media?
After the previous album we felt that we needed to change labels. The guys from Century Media already knew a few of us so we didn't look for too many other alternatives. It was clear that Century Media would be the right choice on a personal level, and that is more important than just a business side of things. We want to work with people who actually understand and love music, not only want to make a profit.
Does being on a new label affect your expectations for the album?
I expect better distribution and a more professional approach on a few things. The music itself is the same no matter who releases it.
How did the upcoming Moonsorrow documentary Home Of The Wind come about, and what will it include?
There's a guy who has been putting together a very complete Moonsorrow biography. He had the idea of a documentary and together with friends who work in the TV­ business they started to develop the idea into an actual documentary project. It should include everything and more, digging into the band and its history very thoroughly from all aspects.
Has a release date been set?
Not yet, but it will soon.
You have a lot of tour dates coming up in Asia and Europe. Any plans of a North American tour this album cycle?
We'll see. We definitely want to come back and we'll do our best to make it work as soon as possible. We cannot wait to come back!
What has been your most memorable Moonsorrow live show or tour?
Our first tour in China in 2011 was just insane. There were great crowds and since we had no expectations it was just a very positive surprise. There are others too, like playing in Montreal for the first time and in general some of the very first shows in many countries have become the most memorable. Our first show in Hungary in 2004 was also just a great experience.
What are some of your non­musical hobbies and interests?
I like photography a lot, both film and digital. I also have an old wooden ship that I like to sail during the summer as much as I can. It's like a summer cottage for me. I have some snakes, too. I've been really interested in animals and zoology, especially reptiles.
Who are your top all-­time Finnish metal bands?
Impaled Nazarene, Beherit, Shape of Despair, Stone
What's currently in your heavy musical rotation?
MGLA, Slayer, Revenge, Satyricon
Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?
My old band Shadow Cut has been resurrected. We made one album 10 years ago and we are now planning a new one. I play bass in it.
(interview published March 30, 2016)

La Grosse Radio / March 2016

SOURCE

Ville Sorvali, chanteur et bassiste de Moonsorrow

[ INTERVIEW ] METAL - folk métal finlandais, jumalten aika, tournée européenne

Jeudi 31 Mars 2016 à 13h00, by Eloïse morisse

Un an est passé depuis notre dernière interview avec les membres de Moonsorrow. Ville Sorvali et Mitja Harvilahti nous avait fait miroiter la possibilité qu'un nouvel album voit le jour début 2016, et c'est chose faite! Leur nouvel album Jumalten Aika, ou l'Âge des Dieux en français, sort le 1er avril prochain. Le groupe entame maintenant une tournée européenne avec huit dates en France dans des salles de concerts et deux dates sur des festivals cet été. Une au Hellfest et l'autre au Ragnard Rock Fest. Voici ce que Ville Sorvali, chanteur et bassite du groupe, nous dévoile sur leur album et sur cette tournée européenne.




Eloïse : Votre nouvel album, Jumalten Aika sort le 1er avril. L’an passé, on s’était vu au Cernunnos Festival à Paris et je vous avais demandé à Mitja et toi pourquoi avoir choisi de faire un pack avec 14 vinyls reprenant vos anciens albums, plutôt que d’en créer un nouveau et vous m’aviez dit que vous aviez commencé à composer deux ans auparavant mais que vous n’étiez pas satisfait du résultat et que vous aviez tout jeté à la poubelle.

Ville Sorvali : Oui, c’est vrai… C’est ce que nous avons fait…

Eloïse : Vous m’aviez également dit qu’un nouvel album était prévu pour début 2016. Êtes-vous satisfait de ce que vous avez fait ou est-ce que vous aviez à respecter une deadline ?

Ville Sorvali : On a toujours tendance à repousser la deadline si on sent qu’on ne sera pas prêts à temps. Notre production passe toujours en premier. On doit être totalement satisfaits de nos productions ou alors on ne les enregistre pas. Je suis content qu’on ait réussi à tout faire à temps, sans avoir à repousser la deadline une nouvelle fois. Il y a deux ans, on a dû dire à notre label qu’on avait tout balancé et qu’il n’y aurait pas de nouvel album tout de suite. Ca n’aurait pas été très gentil de notre part de leur raconter la même histoire une fois encore !





Eloïse : Votre nouvel album sonne bien plus folk que les précédents. Pourquoi ce choix ?

Ville Sorvali : Je crois qu’on voulait un peu remonter le temps. On voulait explorer les éléments qu’on avait à nos débuts, les choses qui nous ont inspirées même avant que le groupe ne soit créé. Je ne sais pas vraiment ce que ça donne musicalement parlant, mais en effet notre son est bien plus folk que sur les albums précédents et c’est tout à fait intentionnel. C’est un peu comme un retour aux racines.


Vous pouvez vous faire votre propre opinion avec la découverte de ce premier morceau de l'album:






Eloïse : Qu’est-ce vous préférez dans la création d’un album : composer, enregistrer, ou être sur scène ?

Ville Sorvali : Je pense que je préfère être en tournée parce que le plus dur du boulot est fait. Composer est la partie la plus difficile parce que cela pompe tellement d’énergie ! Bien sûr on adore ça mais les idées s’entrechoquent dans nos têtes tout le temps, elles ne te laissent pas tranquille tant que l’album n’est pas enregistré. Beaucoup d’aspects de nos vies privées en souffrent : principalement la famille et le travail. Composer la musique est un travail intense. Alors que quand on est en tournée la musique est faite, les gens ont déjà entendu l’album, on sait ce qu’ils en pensent. On a juste à monter sur scène et jouer les morceaux.

Eloïse : En parlant de tournée, vous allez commencer votre tournée européenne et vous avez choisi de jouer huit dates dans de petites salles de concert en France et 2 dates dans de gros festivals. Pourquoi avoir choisi de jouer autant de dates en France ?

Ville Sorvali : Je pourrais dire que c’est parce qu’on adore la France, ce qui est vrai, mais en vérité ce sont les gens compétents que nous avons employés qui choisissent pour nous. Notre tourneur et notre manager ont décidé qu’on allait faire ces dates. C’est difficile de trouver le temps et les endroits où jouer et on ne peut vraiment pas tout gérer nous-mêmes. On a besoin de professionnels pour le faire à notre place. Donc à chaque fois que quelqu’un vient nous dire : "Eh vous devriez jouer ici ou là." on répond simplement : "Parlez-en à notre tourneur si vous voulez vraiment que ça arrive !"

Eloïse : Connaissez-vous les salles où vous allez jouer ?

Ville Sorvali : Oui, on a déjà joué dans certains endroits et on va découvrir les autres. On s’est bien amusé sur les tournées précédentes, et particulièrement en France. On adore jouer en France, le public est vraiment à fond dedans, passionné !

Eloïse : Vous allez aussi jouer au Hellfest et au Ragnard Rock Festival cet été.

Ville Sorvali : Oui. On a déjà joué au Hellfest. Notre tourneur nous y a booké une date. Et on est impatient d’y être. C’est un super festival. C’est aussi assez énorme. On peut carrément s’y perdre!

Eloïse : Et qu’en est-il de la deuxième édition du Ragnard Rock Festival?

Ville Sorvali : Ils nous avaient déjà contactés pour la première édition. Mais notre planning ne nous permettait pas de venir y jouer. Je devais travailler ailleurs pour gagner ma vie, donc on n’a pas pu y aller l’an dernier mais je suis content qu’on puisse venir cette année.

Eloïse : Qu’est-ce qui vous plait dans ce festival ?

Ville Sorvali : Je n’en ai aucune idée ! Je ne sais absolument rien de ce festival.

Eloïse : C’est une sorte de festival viking. Il y a beaucoup de groupes de métal Folk et Pagan, mais aussi un marché viking et des troupes de reconstitution historique qui font des animations.

Ville Sorvali : Du coup, il y aura bien plus de choses à faire que de seulement regarder les groupes jouer. C’est génial ! J’adore ce genre de festival. On a joué dans ce type de festoch en Finlande aux côtés de Korpiklaani. Il y avait pas mal de groupes mais l’attraction principale était plus le marché médiéval.

Eloïse : Savez-vous aux côtés de qui vous allez jouer ? Et êtes-vous heureux de partager la scène avec les groupes annoncés ?

Ville Sorvali : Pour être tout à fait honnête, je n’ai même pas regardé… Mais je suis toujours heureux de partager la scène avec d’autres groupes. Mais je devrais peut-être vérifier qui joue. Mais bon, je m’intéresse à tout ça seulement deux ou trois jours avant le festival en général.

Eloïse : L’an dernier je vous avais demandé de me donner un seul mot pour définir votre groupe. Est-ce que tu te rappelles ce que tu avais dit ?

Ville Sorvali : Plusieurs personnes m’ont posé cette question. Et je réponds toujours un truc différent mais le plus souvent je donne le mot "SATAN !". Je t’ai dit ça la dernière fois ?

Eloïse : Oui en effet !

Ville Sorvali : En fait, ça vient d’un documentaire sur le métal [A Headbanger’s Journey]. A un moment tu vois le mec demander à un des membres de Gorgoroth s’il peut définir le Black Metal. Et là ça prend des plombes. Il fait tourner le vin dans son verre dans un silence de mort et d’un coup il dit : "SATAN !". Ma réponse est un peu un hommage au groupe. [rire]

Mais plus sérieusement, Moonsorrow n’a strictement rien à voir avec Satan. Mais c’est une bonne réponse. Satan représente bien plus de choses à nos yeux en tant que personnes que le Dieu chrétien.

Eloïse : Cela fait écho avec le titre de votre nouvel album, Jumalten Aika, qui signifie L’Âge des Dieux. Est-ce que vous croyez aux dieux de l’ancien temps ?

Ville Sorvali : Je ne pense pas que quiconque ayant accès aux méthodes scientifiques actuelles puisse croire réellement en Dieu ou en des dieux. Mais les dieux sont de bonnes métaphores pour expliquer ce qui se passait aux temps des anciens peuples. Ils n’avaient pas de méthodes scientifiques pour expliquer certains phénomènes naturels. Ils vivaient dans et avec la nature au quotidien et voulaient la comprendre. Tout dépendait de ce que les gens comprenaient ou non de ce qui les entourait. Les dieux sont les métaphores des choses inexplicables de la nature et j’adore ces histoires.

Eloïse : Quelle est ton histoire préférée ?

Ville Sorvali : Je ne peux pas en choisir une en particulier. En général, j’apprécie différentes mythologies. En fait, j’aime particulièrement les différentes versions que les peuples ont inventées pour expliquer la création du monde et des hommes. Elles sont toujours un peu similaires peu importe de quel endroit du monde elles sont issues.

LGR : Je digresse un peu, mais si tu comprends un peu le français tu devrais jeter un œil à un dessin animé intitulé "Les Terres Imaginées". (La voix off est faite par Juliette. Si vous ne connaissez pas cette chanteuse et que vous ne vous intéressez pas qu’au métal, jetez-y une oreille)

Ville Sorvali : Mon français est horrible, mais ça m’intéresse. Tu pourras m’envoyer un lien où le regarder ou voir un extrait?

Eloïse : Oui bien sûr. Par contre, je vais revenir à ma question précédente. Maintenant que tu ne peux plus répondre "SATAN !" est-ce que tu peux me donner un seul et unique mot pour définir Moonsorrow ?

Ville Sorvali : Cette fois-ci je dirais bien "métal". Ce n’est pas très original mais je pense pouvoir parler pour les autres aussi en disant métal, parce que oui, Moonsorrow est métal !

Eloïse : Je ne m’intéresse pas seulement au groupe, je m’intéresse aussi à toi en tant que personne. Je vais donc te poser deux questions un peu plus personnelles. Que lis-tu et qu’écoutes-tu en ce moment ?

Ville Sorvali : Eh bien, pour être honnête, je dois dire que ne lis probablement bien moins que les gens ne le pensent. Je ne lis pas tant que ça. Je lis beaucoup de choses sur Internet. J’aime chercher des informations et des connaissances. Internet est un super outil pour ça. Par exemple, quand j’ai fait des recherches pour l’album, j’ai trouvé beaucoup de choses intéressantes sur de vieilles croyances finlandaises qu’on ne trouve pas dans les bibliothèques parce que personne n’a pris la peine de les écrire dans des livres ou les livres ne se trouvaient pas dans la bibliothèque près de chez moi. Je lis beaucoup de choses sur la toile, mais ce n’est pas forcément bon pour les yeux à causes de la lumière bleue de l’écran. Je devrais lire plus de livres !

Après c’est peut-être une chose étrange à dire, mais je pense que si les Vikings avaient eu Internet à leur époque, ils l’auraient utilisé parce qu’ils étaient d’une grande curiosité. Je pense que c’est la plus grande révolution depuis l’invention du feu. (J’aime bien dire ça mais la citation n’est pas de moi. Un ami m’a dit ça une fois et je trouve ça très juste).

Eloïse : et pour la musique ?

Ville Sorvali : Eh bien, en ce moment, c’est plutôt ennuyeux… J’écoute ma propre musique parce qu’on doit répéter pour la tournée. Du coup, j’écoute principalement les chansons de notre nouvel album pour apprendre comment les jouer. Mais je crois que mis à part Moonsorrow, le dernier groupe que j’ai écouté est un groupe de Folk Suédois appelé Gjallarhorn. Ça vient tout droit de la mythologie scandinave. C’est le nom d’une corne mythique. Pour moi, ce groupe est très inspirant. La musique n’est pas totalement traditionnelle. Il y a aussi des éléments modernes mais leur musique est très ancrée dans la musique folk des côtes finlandaises et suédoises.

Eloïse : Et tu ne te lasses jamais d’écouter ta propre musique ?

Ville Sorvali : Je pense qu’on aurait totalement foiré si c’était le cas ? Notre but est de faire de la musique que nous-mêmes apprécions en tant que personne. C’est vraiment très important. Donc non, je ne me lasse jamais de ma propre musique.

Eloïse : Merci d’avoir répondu à ces questions.

Ville Sorvali : Merci à toi, en espérant te voir ainsi que tout le public français pendant notre tournée.


 

Eloïse Morisse