Interviews

Metal Rules!!
About the new CD "Tuonela". It says inside the CD that Tuonela = Hades/The Underworld. So is that basically the theme of the song or the album?

Tomi:
Well, it was at first place theme of the song, but when were thinking the name of the album, we thought that it fits to that also, because of the atmosphere of the album.

Metal Rules!!
How does the CD cover relate to the underworld? The plant on the cover wasn't evil enough to be considered a native plant to hell could it? haha...

Tomi:
Tuonela isnt actually hell but...I think that album cover is more about dying of something, it is rowan in autumn time and that looked sad enough to us. We had a few choices to cover but when we saw that we knew that's it! We have always done decisions more with feel than thinking too much...well usually, look at the cover of privilege of evil-EP haha!

Metal Rules!!
How has your new CD been received? I have yet to read a bad review!!!

Tomi:
I think that people are finally started to understand what we are doing and I have noticed that especially when we have done gigs...but of course there is some death metal puritans who don't wanna even listen to it because there isn't any crawling anymore, but most of the fans who wants listen music open-minded, has liked it, I think.

Metal Rules!!
As time has progressed you have drifted further away from your "death metal" roots. However, you have still maintained many of your long time fans. Why is that?

Tomi:
We have always done music we like, and progress has been natural, and some of our fans has grown up same as we are musically...and I think that our fans have always known that we are trying to do good music and not to do anything else like getting "commercial" or something. Music always comes first!

Metal Rules!!
One thing I miss is the duel vocals with the clean vocals of Pasi and the death growls of Tomi....Why are you no longer taking full advantage of both great voices!!!?!?!

Tomi:
Well it just didn't felt right anymore, our music has changed to a direction that we didn't think that growling fits to it anymore.

Metal Rules!!
Tell me the story behind getting Pasi in the band - how it was decided, where you found him, etc...

Tomi:
We were recording ELEGY and still didn't have singer. Then we heard one demo tape where he was singing and we liked his voice a lot. We also had met some years ago in some bar. Then we called him and asked if he was interested to try, and he was. We tried with him and we knew he was the right guy, also because of his personality. 

Metal Rules!!
The only song on the new CD that to me used both vocal styles was "Greed" which is actually to me ONE of the CD's stronger songs.

Tomi:
That song is actually first one what we did after Elegy so it's the oldest song on Tuonela, and that's the reason it sounds little bit different than the others. I like that song also very much and actually there is only Pasi's singing in that song.

Metal Rules!!
What songs (new and old) go over the best live?

Tomi:
I think all songs are going quite well nowadays as we are not drunk anymore at gigs...but it's of course nicer to play new stuff because we are not bored of them yet.