Interviews

Hi! Mitä kuuluu?

Jussi: Ihan hyvää.

Kiva.
Did you expect such a big success? You're also known now outside of Finland…

Jussi: Big success... I'm not sure if this is really big...

Not big but you are known I mean…

Jussi: Yeah, it was a kind of a surprise that it went so well, because when we were signed at Century Media it was quite sure that it would sell abroad also -or they would sell it abroad also- so that is another point... But yeah, it was quite a surprise, I would say that.

How do you handle it now?

Georg: Things are going on all the time. We start the new album maybe or... everything is going to get a little bit bigger. The tour here in Germany... there are much more fans because Finland is such a small country, there aren't the possibilities for shows like this so many.

You are also going to Wacken this year…

Georg: Yeah...

What did you think when you got the news that you're gonna play there?

Georg: I haven't considered that yet. (laughs) Because it's such a big thing. Like woaa... So yesterday we were playing at Earthshaker festival, it was big also... biggest audience.

What has changed for you within the last year? How much has your life changed?

Jussi: Not that much yet because last year was like the album was released in summer, we didn't do anything big in summertime. Then we toured in Germany... it was quite nice. That changed everything.

Georg: Now we have more experience. We experienced what can go wrong... (laughs)

Jussi: We have learned a lot.

What did go wrong so far?

Jussi: Today nothing special.

Not yet…

Georg: I think a little overtime like...

Olli Vänskä (their violin player): German showers.

What about German showers?

Olli: No warm water. IF there's a shower. (laughs)

Georg: That's, you know, that's not such a warmly nice feeling to come from stage and then go to shower, like... (pretends to shiver)

Olli: It takes some problems. Something that happens any time.

And about the name of the band, you named it after a Finnish God of war. Who came up with that idea?

Jussi: It was like... what was the year when we came up with the name? One name earlier it was a Finnish name, doesn't matter what it is... I think Mathias came up with the idea about Finnish readings about like 6 years ago... yeah, 6, 5 years ago. So Mathias came up with the name after reading much. It was kind of cool maybe, it doesn't sound as any other language also, kind of weird though.

Yeah, I was wondering because most bands rather have topics like Kalevala but that was something different now…
About the album, you had a demo released before and there was a song “The Heart Of Turisas” and that song also appeared on the album now but with a different name, “Battle Metal”. Why did you change the name?

Georg: Why did we change the name? Hard question.

Jussi: When we were recording the song, there wasn't any idea to change the name first but then the song... (speaks in Finnish to Georg)

Georg: We got this new part. They are shouting it, BATTLE METAL! Now it is the album name and this is like a title track. It's a better name in my opinion.

Are you going to re-release the two other songs from the demo?

Jussi: We'll see if we re-release the demo someday...

Georg: Again...

Jussi: I think we are not going to record them again. Just leave it...

Just take it as it is?

Jussi: Yeah, maybe someday...

On the album you use quite a lot of different instruments. How are you going to perform that on stage? I mean I will see later but…

Jussi: We have a real accordion and a real violin. We are singing the choirs by ourselves. It's quite hard to play them exactly like on the album because there is so much stuff. But I think we handle it quite well.

Okay, I'll see that later…

About the song “Sahti Waari” that actually got me into the music of Turisas. It refers to a beer called Sahti but the song as a whole deals with paganism. Can you tell me a bit more about it because it is also present in other songs on the album…

Jussi: What should I say? The Sahti Waari song is like... The lyrics came out in the studio, I think, because we didn't have any lyrics and we didn't know if there is going to be any singing in the song. Then we got to sing Finnish like on our first demo. The lyrics were about the same things on our first song almost... stuff about paganism. What shall I say about that? It's more like most of these lyrics are written by Mathias. So I think it's a bit of a personal thing for him. And for me also, I have written some with Mathias about the lyrics. It's like a basic role topic for us. I think it's special.

How important is Zacharias Topelius for you because there were some Swedish quotes in one song and I mean is there anything special for you about him?

Jussi: Nothing special but he is like a Finnish... -what should I call him?- national writer or something.

Yeah, I've read something about him…

Jussi: When we are in school we have to learn some stuff of him and read. A part of Topelius is like national romantic stuff, it fits good with our lyrics otherwise and the lyrics... we have one called Rex Regi Rebellis, there is the part of the lyrics and we had one song earlier which we have never recorded. That was with the same topic, actually it was a different poem but otherwise it possesses the same topic. I think there is nothing special I have to mention about that... Mathias may say something else...

Are you satisfied with your label Century Media and the support you get from it?

(general laughter, talking Finnish)

Georg: The official version or the unofficial? (laughs)

Jussi: The promotion was quite good on the album and it was the first album so we were quite satisfied with the promotion and stuff. We negotiated about the deal like two years or something.

Georg: Yeah, one and a half year. A very long time.

Jussi: We signed it like one week before we went to the studio. It's quite okay for us. I can say I'm satisfied.

Are you going to stay at Century Media?

Georg: Yeah, we have three more records. It's going to take four or five years at least...

Olli: As a minimum. (laughs) For like seven years... the last one took 6 years so the next will be out in 2011 or something.

(general laughter)

Again about touring… with which band would you like to tour?

Jussi: There are so many bands... It varies a little bit where we tour. Well...

Georg: That's a very hard question. It depends on if you're going to tour in the clubs or in the stadiums. That's a difference.

Jussi: Manowar! We were at the Earthshaker festival. They are playing there tomorrow. But we don't see it because we are somewhere else.

Georg: Neuhaus. We are warming up In Extremo.

Maybe you could tour with the little Manowar, Teräsbetoni… that might be easier…

Jussi: We have played with them three weeks ago when we were in Finland.

Ah yeah… do you like their music?

Georg: I don't know. It's like in Finland you can hear it everywhere. It's already burned out. The biggest hit in Finland right now so (Georg and Jussi talking at the same time) if you hear a song a million times in a few weeks... not any more.

Yes, they are not that known in Germany so I don't know what it's like in Finland…

I read on your website that you are already working on songs for the new album… can you tell us something about the “really interesting and musically ambitious material” (as it was written on the page) that we can expect from that? Will the topics be the same?

Jussi: I would say we have been thinking about the themes in fact but that's not so sure yet so far... It's going to be massive again. We'll see...

Georg: It's very hard to define now. Everything is at the beginning right now so...

So you don't know yet…

Georg: Last time we went into the studio, we didn't know what we are doing. We had the songs but about everything changed in the studio.

Where are you going to record it?

Georg: We are going to record it in my studio...

Where is it?

Georg: It's near Hämeenlinna, about ten kilometres north from there. Parts of the last recording album also were recorded there. We don't know where we are going to make it. Somewhere.

That's for sure!
In your songs you tell stories about battles and on your band photos you look like people from an ancient time… which time is it and would you have liked to live at that time?

Jussi: It's not really something particular. It's a kind of fantasy... not in the meaning what people think of when they hear the word “fantasy”, it's all usually based on history but like an own version of something...

Georg: Our own era.

Jussi: Yeah.

Georg: Like a mixture of everything.

Well, as we are a Finnish Metal Webzine, I've to ask you something about the Finnish metal scene in general… maybe something about “new” bands and how they get a contract because you were a demo band not so long ago, either… is it difficult to get a deal with a label?

Jussi: I think there are so many good bands in Finland as compared to some other countries... so for a Finnish band it's not so hard to get a contract.

Georg: Now it's a time there are so many indie labels everywhere. You can get a record deal somewhere but it doesn't mean so much anymore when you're at a small indie label.

Jussi: It's not so hard and it's kind of a trend thing in Finland, the metal. Like many metal bands that sing in Finnish, it's like normal in Finland nowadays. Metal bands are played on the radio.

Is it easier for bands of certain metal styles to get a contract or is it all the same?

Jussi: At the moment, I'm not sure what is the thing but they are signing I think in Finland metal and you have to sing in Finnish or... that's the thing. I'm not sure, not any certain... I don't know.

Olli: Melodic like Children of Bodom.

Jussi: Bodom was about 5 years ago...

Olli: Yeah yeah, actually young kids, they are crazy about guys like Aleksi Laiho. I mean in a similar kind of music Children of Bodom is making an exception. It really inspires many young kids...

Georg: There are very talented young guys playing like hell.

Actually that were my questions… do you have any last words to our readers?

Jussi: Last words?

Yeah… some words before you're gonna die…

(general laughter, talking in Finnish)

Olli: Come to our concerts and buy our records!

Kiitos haastattelusta!

Jussi: Ole hyvä!