Interviews

I have to personally apologize to Kalmah. Back in September, I reviewed the band's debut disc, Swamplord, and made a huge deal out of the fact that the band sounded like Children of Bodom. Essentially, the aformentioned review asked whether you should judge art based on its own merits, or whether assessing it objectively with no prior pre-suppositions was the way to go. As it turns out, I listened to Swamplord several more times after that opinion was published, and I realised I had made a grand mistake. Swamplord -- in retrospect -- smokes, as does Kalmah's latest release, They Will Return.   Therefore, to atone for my short-sighted mistake, DigitalMetal.com spoke to Antti Kokko, who along with older brother Pekka, is the main force in soon-to- be metal superstars, Kalmah...

Tell me a little bit about this new record, They Will Return.
We spent a month and a half in the studio. Before we went to record though, we had two line-up changes with the drummer and bass player. We worked really hard with the replacement members, Janne (Kusmin) and Timo (Lehtinen) and the results turned out really well, and really fluid. We're totally satisfied with this new record.

What was the initial reaction to Swamplord when it was released last year?
The reaction was very positive, we got great feedback. It really surprised us, actually. We didn't expect so many positive reactions. I guess there's actually a need for a band like Kalmah in the world, based on what people are saying (laughs).

They Will Return seems much more focused and mature. Do you agree with this asessment?
Well, we've all developed as players. We give our all when it comes to music, so I think we've evolved sine the last album. It's a honour to to hear you say that we've matured, because we only had a month and half to work with the new members in the band. If anything, we thought we'd sound less sure of ourselves with the new guys.

They Will Return is also much more aggressive than Swamplord.
That might be true. When I wrote the riffs for the songs, aggression was the definite inspiration. Also, our new drummer is a very fast and great player, so that contributed to the sound. He can do more with the bass drums, so we used that ability.

This is really the inevitable question, so I'll just get right to it. The endless Children Of Bodom comparisons -- how do you feel about those?
People who are really into this type of music will be able to realize that there is a distinct difference between Bodom and Kalmah. Our music is not a totally different sound from theirs, but there are subtle differences. It's a great honour to be compared to Bodom: they're great players who make great music. But, really, I've only listened to their first two albums, and only a few times.

Will you be touring to support They Will Return?
We've been doing local gigs. As well, the label just told us yesterday that we're confirmed for Wacken. Wacken will be our first show out of Finland, so we better be good! (nervous laughter) There is no other tour confirmed, but we're looking at playing some shows in the fall.

The top highlight on They Will Return is probably "Principle Hero." What can you tell me about that track?
Pekka, my big brother, wrote the vocal lines and lyrics. But the riff has been around for five years. When Pekka's lyrics were ready, he said "why don't you use the five years ago riff?" (laughs) With the lyrics, our middle brother -- because I'm the youngest brother -- is the principle hero character we're talking about.

What about "The Blind Leader"?
That song is from 1999. It was the second song on the Kalmah demo, and it was also on the Japanese import of Swamplord. We re-recorded it and made it faster, as opposed to another version that was on a Japanese 7". We thought the whole world should be able to hear the song, and not just the Japanese fans (laughs). The lyrics are about local Finnish politics. But it also relates to national politics. There are many blind leaders around the world.

Why did you choose to cover Megadeth's "Skin 'O My Teeth"?
Megadeth is one of the few bands we think are for real. They inspired me to play the guitar, and Mustaine has such an original playing style. "Skin 'O My Teeth" is a powerful song, and I hope we were able to make it more powerful. Actually, we looked at the times of the two versions, and our is 20 seconds shorter, so we were able to make it a faster version, at the very least.

Is Kalmah happy to be signed with Century Media for North America?
Well, Century Media is just licensing the album for North America, but yes we are very happy. Our true label is Spikefarm, based out of in Finland, but Century Media has done a lot for us. We were amazed when they wanted to license us, because that means people in America can now buy our album in stores, instead of having to buy it through mail order.

Finally, a non-metal question. With the return of Finnish hockey star Saku Koivu to the Montreal Canadiens from a bout of cancer, what has the atmosphere been like in Finland?
Saku is one of the biggest ice hockey stars in Finland, so it was big news. It was in all the newspapers, and we watched the game where he came back on TV. The fans in Montreal gave him ten minutes of ovation, so it was nice to see him come back and be healthy. He's a big celebrity here.