Interviews

“MMVI” is the latest release, most serious one if you want, by Finnish metal band My Fate. Not only was band’s drummer Vilho ready to send me their release for review, but he also was very positive and open for interview which I’ve conducted a few days ago. It was pleasure doing it and I hope it will be your pleasure reading about the past, line-up changes and future plans for this unit.

MR: Hey Vilho, please introduce yourself and your mighty band, very shortly.
VR: I'm Vilho Rajala, drummer of the band My Fate. We are from Finland and we play metal. We've been a band for seven years and now it's time to rise.

MR: What is behind the title of the new album MMVI?
VR: Well, obviously last year, 2006. Our vocalist changed, which was a major change, and we played our first show outside Finland. And of course we wrote all the songs of the EP during last year. The EP is in a way a result of last year's events, so it seemed like a good idea to name it like that.

MR: Do you have nay favourite tracks on this release and why?
VR: I don't know... I never pick any favourites of our own songs, I kinda like them all. Time will tell which songs will remain in our live set and which will be played more rarely.

MR: What is the main subject in your lyrics and what inspires you when doing lyrics?
VR: I'm inspired by my own thoughts and observations of the world, simple as that. I don't like to talk about my lyrics too much. Our ex-vocalist Antti Ojanen used to be responsible for that part of the creative process, so now we had to focus on that. It's challenging but also very exciting. We try to keep it open to everyone inside the band, so everyone has the right to throw ideas and then we'll discuss 'em together. The lyrics on the new record are written by me, Jaakko and Jukka.

MR: How would you say this record differs from previous efforts? You have released four other releases prior to this, right?
VR: That's correct; we have done two EP's and two full-lenght albums before this EP. What's different now? Everything! Of course the songs are much better and more mature, but what first strikes the listener is the fact that we have a new vocalist. Jukka Ruostila came in last year, so this is his introduction. I think he did very good job on this one and I'm very fucking excited to write new music with him being a real part of the process. The songs on MMVI were written (not the lyrics though) before Jukka joined, so now we are in a completely new situation.

What else... Well, we used to record everything at Fantom Studio in Tampere. This time we didn't want to repeat the same formula, so we basically recorded the whole thing ourselves in three different locations. Lauri Heikkilä, who's an old friend or ours, engineered and mixed the thing with help from his business partner Jussi Heino. The production and the recording were done almost completely by us.

MR: …but you also had a few line-up changes during the time, right? Tell us how did it affect the whole process and morals in the band?
VR: It affected everything. We had the same line-up for six years before Antti left, so it was a bit of a shock. However, very shortly we came to realize that it was a relief after all. When one member of the band doesn't enjoy being a part of it anymore, it eats up the energy inside the band. For a long time it was very clear that Antti wasn't as excited as the rest of us were. When he left, we rediscovered the drive and enthusiasm that was long gone. And of course Jukka brought many fresh ideas and a lot of energy to My Fate with him. All in all it was a very positive change.

MR: Have you utilized any new or different recording techniques this time around?
VR: As I told before, this time we did it ourselves, so it was different. We payed a lot more attention to everything than before. I spent way too much time and money to find the right drumheads and cymbals, and for the first time ever I actually tuned the drums. We didn't even use triggers and the drums sound better than ever.

We paid more attention to the guitars and bass too, we had better gear, better sounds and better mixing than before. Yet I have to mention the engineering mastermind Lauri Heikkilä, who did miracles to this record especially in the mixing.

MR: How often do you play live? Is there room for any improvisation when you play live?
VR: We'd like to play live much more than we do. We'd come over to Denmark right away if someone asked us! Really, there's nothing I love more than going on the road and playing shows. On stage we focus on furious headbanging and intensive playing. There has to be room for improvisation, if that's what you call mistakes! Seriously, I guess we stretch the arrangements quite a bit on stage. Not the structures, though, at least not yet.

MR: Are you working on anything new? Do any of the members have side projects?
VR: We are working on new songs! No full songs yet, but a nice bunch of kick-ass riffs! Some of us have side projects and I don't even know about them... I'm happy with just My Fate, that's enough challenge for me.

MR: You have many years of experience behind you. What’s been the toughest part of the journey?
VR: Maybe the bad luck that has followed us for so long. It's that classic thing, many people have promised a lot but nothing's ever happened. Of course we've done mistakes too but we've also put very, very much effort into this. I think it's finally time to become something more, proceed to the next level. At least we're more than ready for it.

MR: It was interesting to present your music and your band for the readers of Metal Revolution. Please say your last words in order to close this interview…
VR: Check out www.myfateband.net! You will soon be able to download the whole MMVI EP there! Thanks for reading, spread the word & stay metal!