Interviews

They call themselves Finland’s “Black Metal Royalty.” They are MIRZADEH, currently riding the release of their excellent sophomore album, “The Creatures Of Loviatar.” A young band full of talent and great sense for creating Symphonic Black Metal, MIRZADEH have a bright future ahead of them. Lues, bassplayer and lyricist, is the member interviewed here:

Your new album, “The Creatures Of Loviatar,” is an impressive release for a band so early in their recording career. What was the recording of the album like? How long did it take, where was it done, was it an easy or a difficult process? Are you satisfied with the result?

We made it in Jyväskylä, in Watercastle studio. We worked with Arttu Sarvanne earlier, so it was easy to work together. We had 20 days including mixing, so we didn't have extra days to use. Lucky for us recording went well and we had no problems.  I am satisfied for the most part with the recording. In the studio, some songs rise and some fell in their level, if I compare them to the level they had in rehearsal.

The production and sound of the album is fantastic. How did you get such a great sound?

The sound was mostly Arttus´s vision. Arttu knows what kind of sound we like and he has a talent to build it up. In our music, the melodics are the main thing and the sound of Loviatars support them, while on the other hand our heavy rhythmic parts suffer a little. Sound is about making compromises. This time, this kind of sound, maybe next time another...

What are your plans for support and touring for “The Creatures Of Loviatar?”

We will make some gigs in the fall. In March we will film our first music video and next spring is the time when we have plans to be active with gigs

Have you ever played live in the US? Do you plan to in the future?

We are a young band and we haven't yet played outside of Finland. We don't have a program company, with is almost necessary if you want to make gigs out of Finland. I hope that with the music video we have packaged that we will sell in foreign countries.

Any favorite songs off the new album?

I like “Kalman Kevät” a lot. The lyrics of it are maybe the best that I have made. My English is not very strong, so I can make a lot better text in Finnish. And if you translate Finnish lyrics into English, it is not the same text, something is lost always. The musically best song is “The Witness Of Moonlight Mystery.” But it is one of the newest songs, and new songs always sound better than old ones.

The songs on your new album have a very cohesive feel. It feels like the entire band is completely on the same musical wavelength in terms of working towards one sound and feeling. What is the songwriting process of MIRZADEH?

Normaly Mirox [vocalist and guitarist] or Shagul [guitarist] make keyboard melodies or some good guitar thing. We play that part with the band and little by little the song starts to take shape.

The lyrical content surrounding ancient Finnish folklore is a captivating, interesting subject. I could see MIRZADEH following in the vein of NILE or BEHEMOTH in the future in terms of sticking to a theme in the lyrics and the music. Could you talk a little bit about the choice to write lyrics like this and where the content is drawn from?

My own lyrics are born from Scandinavian mythology, like [Finnish national epic] Kalevala. Also, our home city is full of history that we use. The lake of Lappajärvi is big source of ideas. In the shore of Lappajärvi have lived a lot of Laplanders and they had fights with Finns. Ancient Finns sacrificed the children of Laplanders on the “victims’ stone” in the holy month of Pyhävuori One thing that makes also Lappajärvi interesting is its birth tale. It was made by a meteorite and it is one of the biggest lakes of Finland.

Being from Finland, do you look positively or negatively at the idea of being compared to drastically different Metal bands from the same area, such as CHILDREN OF BODOM or SONATA ARCTICA?

Neutrally. It is fine that Finnish Metal is now in a very high position; it has not always been like that. Finland is a little country and here it is easy to meet different metal artists and with good contacts for help. It is nice that here you can play with very good bands. I, for example, like a lot of THROES OF DAWN, and because we are from Finland we have played with them. On the other hand, we are from a strong Christian part of Finland where Metal is not so popular. So we are Metal pioneers in our own city.   

Who are some of the largest influences on MIRZADEH?

I have to say that biggest influences from other bands come from AMORPHIS and from big Melodic Heavy Metal bands from the 80´s. Big influences come also from Norwegian Melodic Black Metal bands like DIMMU BORGIR and COVENANT.

Who are some of your favorite bands and least favorite bands?

DIMMU BORGIR is first one, and our whole band’s favorite. For HELLOWEEN I also have a big place in my heart because I found Heavy Metal with them. It is a lot harder to say the least favorite bands... maybe some Finnish rap band.

What is a typical live show for MIRZADEH like?

Joskus juomme liikaa...sometimes we drink too much. The atmosphere…male beauty, haha, and darkness. Off stage, we are funny guys with self irony. But on stage we try to make totally different image. [My on stage personality] Lues is a totally different person than every day me.

What is in the future for MIRZADEH?

Never know. We will continue on the same road and we shall see what the future bring to us.

And finally, where does the name MIRZADEH come from?

Mirox found it before he had established the band. As far as I know, Mirzadeh is a Persian word and it means "prince from Persia". The Vikings had connected with ancient Persia. For example, Finns sold fly-agaric [a type of drug-esque substance] drinks to them. You could say that MIRZADEH’s world is maybe al little like that…how the old Persians had seen the world with fly-agaric drinks affecting their head, haha J

Thanks so much for the interview. Best of luck in the future and my compliments on the great album you’ve just put out!