Exploring the rough and dark sonic possibilities, Without Warning combines inspiration from various metal and electronic sub-genres. Creating a fusion that both shakes you with heavy modern features and soft melodic finishes. Without Warning continues to grow as they take their place in the modern metal scene, creating an exclusive brand beyond music. The band released their first EP “Pulse” last summer getting great feedback from fans and medias. Our reporter Cristina managed to sit down with the band before their show in Pori and learn more about them and their music.
Category: Interviews
Countless Goodbyes video interview
Countless Goodbyes is a modern metal band with metalcore elements formed in Pori, Finland. Since the band’s first single releases in 2011 the band got the immediate attention of the media and Countless Goodbyes went flying to the headlines of the most popular mainstream magazines. The band gained a strong base of tens of thousands of listeners on social media after their music was introduced to people on the radio and the Finnish primetime TV. Their energetic live performances have left sold-out clubs and festival audiences in awe, solidifying their status as a must-see act while already having shared stages with metal giants such as Asking Alexandria and August Burns Red.
In 2017 the band went to the studio to record their first full length album ”Cycles” to be released in early 2019. The debut album ”Cycles” reached the second place on the official Finnish physical record sales and the 17th place on the official Finnish album chart on its release week 17/2019.
In 2024 Countless Goodbyes is back stronger than ever with a new full-length “Lost In Waves” written and composed by Onni Kivikaarre and André Rodriguez and produced by Rami Nykänen. Post-production was expertly handled by Joakim Karlsson of Bad Omens, with the album’s choirs arranged by Kat Marsh and Choir Noir (known for their work with Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps, among others). The final touches of mixing and mastering were entrusted to the award-winning Henrik Udd (Bring Me The Horizon, Architects). The release party was held on November 9th at Annis Culture House in Pori, our reporter Cristina was there and had the chance to sit down with the frontman Onni Kivikaarre and dig deep in the album themes, the music videos, tour and much more.
What Awaits Us video interview
Operating under the flag of modern metal, the Finnish band What Awaits Us is ready to test the limits of this genre by bringing together a unique musical blend. The band’s music combines melancholic melodies with hard hitting guitar riffs while taking elements from metalcore and melodic deathcore sub-genres.
In 2014 the band released their self-produced debut album “Awake” via Sliptrick Records which gained praises both from critics and listeners. An EP named “Anomaly” followed this up in 2018 introducing a more technical, faster and brutal side of the band’s music.
Between 2021 and 2024, the band released four self-produced singles. These include a re-recorded version of the song “Ascend”, as well as the tracks “Remedy” and “Borderline”, mixed and mastered by Buster Odeholm (Odeholm Audio / Vildhjarta / Humanity’s Last Breath).
The latest releases, “The Harbinger” and “Hell Above”, showcase the heavier side of What Awaits Us and mark the beginning of a new era.
We had the opportunity to meet Aleksi Kiianlehto (Vocals) and Olli Korpela (Guitars & backing vocals) and learn more about their music, the future plans and much more.
Lowhill video interview
Lowhill is a new wave metalcore act from Northern Finland, their music is best described as a mix of metalcore with certain deathcore elements, combined and wrapped up in a melancholic sound space. After several single released from 2016, the band first album “Concept Of Grief” was released in 2022.
2024 saw the release of two singles “Dead Servant” and “Liquid Gray”, now the band is preparing to release an EP which should be out soon.
We had the chance to meet the frontman Teemu Väntti and get to know better the band and its music.
Terromania interview
Terromania is an Alternative Metal force out of Finland, ripping through the scene with raw power and emotion. Blending influences from Ghost, Lordi, Gojira, Spiritbox and even the wild energy of Van Halen & Devin Townsend, they take it even further by fusing their Heavy Metal base with synthwave, 80s hair metal, pop, and hard rock into a sound that’s unforgettable. With their professionality & clear vision, Terromania’s star is going to shine bright in the midnight sky. The band released their debut album “Nyctophobic” in 2023 and on November 13th a new single called “Dystopian Eyes” is going to be released.
We had the chance to meet the band before their show at Monttu New Level in Pori, and talk about the origin of the band, the debut album, the upcoming music and much more.
Hey guys, how are you doing?
Antti: Very good. It’s gonna be a blast. It’s our first time in Pori. So hell yeah, we’re gonna take over Pori!
Would you mind to introduce yourself and give us some biographical hints?
Antti: Of course! My name is Antti, I play lead guitars and also sing backing vocals.
Julius: My name is Julius and I am the lead singer.
Miro: My name is Miro and I play the drums.
Alex: My name is Alex and I play the bass and keyboards.
Jyri: I am Jyri and I play guitar and backing vocals.
How did you meet each others?
Antti: It was the summer of 2018, we’ve been playing with Miro already for on and off for like maybe a year, something like that. Then we went to his parents since they have this small cabin in their backyard. We started play there. I heard from my friend that there’s a weird dude called Jyri Julius and he sings, then we hit him up and he came there, it was a match made in heaven.
Julius: He sent me a text message on Instagram and I said yes, on that same day I came to practice and check out what type of songs you were writing. The next day I came back. Rest is Terromania’s history.
Your debut album “Nyctophobic” was released in 2023, what can you tell about its genesis and lyrics?
Antti: Lyrics are pretty monster-like, they tell about monsters and parting and there’s one song called “Fight the inner Darkness”, well Julius can tell more…
Julius: There’s all kinds of different lyrical things going on in the songs. I personally like to write about horror since I’m a horror movie guy, and I am pretty much inspired by bands like Lordi, Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Ghost. So I pretty much like to write in that horror themed way, but of course, there are also some real life like human stuff as well, like in “Fight the inner Darkness”, which is about fighting our inner demons our own battles, and then there’s one song called “In a broken mirror”, which is basically about space and traveling around the universe. Antti asked can you please write a space song and I said okay.
Antti: And it turned out be shit. We don’t play it live because it’s a fun song, but we just don’t like to play live at least I don’t. I don’t know, it’s just doesn’t feel right.You know, we got the bangers like “The pain makes you feel alive” and The desolation witness” and we just don’t think it’s on the same level as them.
Where was the album record?
Antti: We recorded it in my home, I have an apartment and I got a studio set up there so I recorded the guitars there.We used Alex’s dad’s rehearsals place for basically everything else and then Alex recorded all of the bass in his home and he can tell more about that…
Alex: Yeah, so the drums and the guitars were recorded in on Antti’s room, vocals were recorded at my dad’s practice room, and keys and bass I recorded at home where I also did the mixing and producing and all that so really DIY. But I think it worked quite well.
Antti: Yeah, DIY all the way we like to do stuff on our own.
Last year you also signed a record deal, am I right?
Antti: No, it was in 2021.
Julius: 2022
Antti: Yes, 2022 something like that. It took a while to record the album because of course it’s a lot of working especially when you’re doing it like on your own DIY. So I guess it was 2022.
Julius: We made a deal in like April 2022 if I remember correctly, we recorded the album in the summer of 2022, and then we announced the record deal in 2023, well at the same time when we also announced our debut album.
Antti: Actually, I think like the record deal announcement was in the same day we announced the first single release for the album. It was something like that. It’s all a fuss in my brain, I just cannot remember anything.
Now you are working on new music and you are going to release pretty soon a new song, what can you tell about it?
Antti: We’re gonna release on November 13th, and it’s gonna be a kick-ass song. It’s a bit different, many people say that our music is like Lordi for example, and that’s not Lordi if it doesn’t sound like Lordi at all. It sounds more mature in my opinion and also there are more alternative elements, and we thought that we were gonna switch up our main genre from heavy metal to alternative metal. The song is called dystopian eyes, Julius is gonna take this.
Julius: What the song is about I’ll try to remember… Well, once again, I was inspired by movies, by Blade Runner and the Blade Runner 2049, the themes in that movie are basically humanity, morals and what happens when you are put in the in the situations where you are asking what is morally right and wrong for yourself. So basically dystopian eyes talks about that, this time very normal normal stuff.
So you are big on movie, what is your favorite movie, the one people need to watch?
Julius: That’s so difficult to answer because there are so many great movies but the first one that comes immediately on my mind is Bride of Frankenstein. What else? Suspiria remake from 2018 and maybe let’s pick another one from different genre, Inglourious Basterds and Pulp Fiction. What about you Alex?
Alex: Those are great.
Antti: I’ll just say one The Wolf of Wall Street. That’s a great one in my opinion and interest.
Jyri: Kummeli Kultakuume.
Alex: Okay, I’ll add one also Her from 2013 with Phoenix.
Antti: Yeah, and Interstellar that’s also a good one and Kummeli Kultakuume.
Last summer you played in Tuska, how was that?
Antti: That was fucking awesome, it was the biggest stage we’ve ever played in it was the biggest crowd we’ve ever played to and it was just awesome. The Tuska crew were really nice and cool, we met a lot of interesting people. I’d say interesting people, there were good ones and then there were interesting ones. Then obviously playing under the name of Tuska is just awesome.
Julius: And also it was probably the hottest show that we did.
Yes, the Kvalt stage was inside a building and it was super hot inside and outside too…
Julius: Yeah, it was the hottest show that we did. It was almost like playing in a sauna.
Antti: It was horrible.
Horrible and amazing at the same time!
Antti: Yes, absolutely.
How do you get ready before the show?
Antti: I eat chips, I don’t know, I take a piss and drink water.
Julius: I get ready putting the makeup and the stage outfit, for it takes like one hour to put everything ready. I do a little bit of stretching, open up my vocals, drink a lot of water and listen some of my favorite metal songs.
Miro: Warm up shit like this (shows drums warm-up).
Alex: I usually try to make sure that all the technological stuff is working and ready to go and it can be brought in and out of stage in the time that is given to us and I get a beer.
Jyri: I just warm up my guitar, do my makeup and drink some beer.
And what do you do when you get off stage?
Antti: Crack open a beer, obviously getting a proper hydration. I guess just chill out. Sometimes if we have time we watch the other bands. We make it like a thing, we absolutely try to watch all the bands we’re playing with but it’s not always possible because we have to load in all of the equipment and then we have to sell merch, we have to talk to fans and stuff like that. So it’s it’s not always possible, but we keep that as a priority and then we either head home or head to the bar.
Julius: I go to the merch table to sell t-shirts and all kinds of different merchandise that we have.
Miro: Fuck up the hotel room (laughs).
Alex: Same.
Jyri: Same.
You are going on tour in January, how many show ae you going to play?
Antti: That’s not public information yet, but a good amount of shows in january. Really we haven’t booked all of the shows yet, but definitely we are gonna. It’s a bit hard, it’s been hard because like the venues nowadays are really strict about who’s gonna get to play there, but we’re gonna book a lot of shows, like a shit ton of shows.
Have you booked any summer festival?
Antti: When the new single is out we’re gonna use that basically to promote us to the festival promoters and then through that we’re probably gonna get a couple of slots. But yeah, we’re gonna use the new single just as a gateway to get slots.
Talking about music. What are you listening nowadays?
Antti: I’d say The Cult. It’s a great one, like 80s hard rock, that’s like my favorite at the moment. I have this autistic traits that if I hear one song and I like it, I don’t listen to anything else than that and then I ruin the song for myself, then I move to the next one. That’s how I listen to music and I I don’t know if that’s healthy but I just I just do it.
I think is common for many people…
Antti: I ruin it for myself by listening too much it, putting it on the queue for like 20 times and then I hate the song afterwards, then I find the song again like in maybe a year and then I love it again. It’s the same cycle that goes around.
Julius: A good amount of Lordi, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, U.D.O., Udo Dirkschneider, some Pantera, a little bit of Megadeth, and then some 80s synthpop, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, some newer bands as wel, and also some Whitesnake.
Miro: Same.
Alex: At the moment I’m big into Leprous and Periphery, but I’ve also tried to find like this weird modern kind of jazz artists that aren’t stuck in jazz standards, to name one that I really like that is even more electronic The Comet Is Coming, maybe people could check out that’s kind of an interesting blend of stuff.
Jyri: My all-time favorite Ghost and some finnish band Mokoma and Stoned Statues.
Antti: I gotta say Eddie Van Halen and Van Halen, my all-time favorite guitarist and band.
Julius: And also I have to add one more band; Haloo Helsinki, Anssi Kela and some Vesa-Matti Loiri.
Antti: Heikki Silvennoinen.
Julius: I’m related.
A wide range. It’s important to listen to different kind of music because you cannot find your your way otherwise or you can get stuck on one style…
Antti: Yes, the only thing I really hate about music is if it’s boring. You get out of the boring square if you listen to different kinds of artists. For example for a metalhead that wants to form a band and he only listens to Children of Bodom, the band is going to sound like Children of Bodom. But if he adds to that spectrum of songs he listens to or the artists he listens to, for example jazz or blues, it’s going to be like a wider range, he’s going to be able to do and he can switch things up and get things sounding interesting.
I am agree. But we are at the end of this interview, thank you so much for your time, would you like to say something to our readers?
Antti: Pre-save our new single Dystopian eyes, nothing else and thank you.
Julius: Thank you from the bottoms of our heart.
All: Thank you!
Julius: See you on the gigs!
Anima Hereticae interview
Anima Hereticae is a Finnish Blackened Death Metal band, their debut album “Descended From The Mountains” was released in 2023.
At the end of August the band officially announced Jussi Matilainen (Where’s My Bible) as their new vocalist. Anima Hereticae is currently working on new material that promises to be very interesting.
Our reporter Cristina had the opportunity to sit down with Taneli Jämsä and Jussi Matilainen before their show at MonoMassive in Pori and talk about the changing in the line-up, the debut album, and much more.
Hey guys, how are you doing?
T: We are doing well. It’s a crazy September and it’s very warm here in Finland, not so typical but it is perfect.
Two days ago it was around 27.5 C and people were wearing jackets, What is wrong with them?!
But let’s talk about your band, Anima Hereticae; First of all I am curious about the name, why did you choose this name?
T: It is a long story. When we formed the band, me and Ville the former singer were talking about what name would fit us and we came up with this one. The words Anima and Hereticae go well together, it sounds very good in my opinion. This is basically the story of the name.
I was curious because it is Latin, maybe it is unusual for Finnish band to choose Latin words, or I don’t know if there are many bands who are naming themself with Latin words.
Jussi is the new singer…
T: Yes, and today Jussi is for the first time officially the singer of Anima Hereticae on the stage. He did some gigs with us this summer but it was not official yet.
J: Especially in Lahti.
Was it easy to get Jussi in your band? I mean choose a new singer?
T: Yes, because Jussi did some gigs with us before and everyone knows Jussi well. We thought, why don’t we ask Jussi about this first. And Jussi said…
J: And I said okay.
T: And it was very nice. It was also a simple and easy way to move forward on planning the next EP.
So you released your debut album “Descended From The Mountains” last year, in the lyrics you used both English and Finnish…
T: Yes, there is one song in Finnish, but I can’t tell you about them because Ville wrote them.
But now you are working on new music. Are all the songs going to be in English? Half English half Finnish? Or in other languages?
J: I don’t know. I think there will be maybe one song in Finnish or we will combine some different languages. Perhaps. I have thought that maybe there could be some song in old Norse language. But we’ll have to see where it goes.
And musically-wise, is going to be similar to the debut album? Or will it change a little?
T: Maybe we’ll stay in line with the sounds we had in the last album. but nobody can tell, Jussi is the new guy and he can bring new ideas, something special vocal-wise but also with instruments. We will see.
So it is going to be a surprise!
T: But of course we want to maintain our sound, if you listen, you can tell it’s Anima Hereticae. That’s the most important thing.
What kind of music inspires you when you write music?
At the beginning with this band to inspire me was one of my favorites from my childhood/teenage era and it is Cradle of Filth, but also band like Moonsorrow. Our sound gets inspirations from there, songs keep coming and music keep coming.
To mention also Saku Moilanen, who produces great orchestrations and give atmospheres to the songs.
Today you play here in MonoMassive and then you still have few shows, am I right?
T: This one, MonoMassive, is the last show for this year.
Next year we have already booked four or five shows, but they haven’t been released yet. So after this show we will get a lot of time to work on the EP and write new material.
So a lot of work next year. Then some shows and..
T: We are of course trying to do some festivals in Europe and Finland. We also try to book more shows outside of Finland.
Let’s see what happen, I hope you will have a lot of shows in your calendar next year!
T: This year was quite good, we had about 10 shows.
You all play in other bands, how do you manage the time to get all together?
T: We don’t manage. It is like making schedule in the calendar all the time.
It is like a puzzle, let’s put this here and see if it works…
T: Google Calendar is very good in this case.
J: Yes.
It reminds you of what you need to do, where you need to go…
J: Damn, I have a show today. I’m not even close.
It is quite difficult because life is busy, then you add music and it gets even busier. I do not have a band but my calendar is busy, so I understand you.
T: Some days are hard.
How do you prepare before you go on stage?
J: I make myself ready, vocal warming, maybe I need some space of my own to focus on the show, and of course I paint my face and stay focus on what happens next.
T: Relaxing, laying down, having some coffee. I just try to relax, and maybe that’s my perspective.
What happens when the show is over and you get off the stage? What are you doing as first?
J: Take the stuff out from the stage, maybe relax for a couple of minutes, then it’s time to wash out the face, and just chill.
T: It’s like this. Relaxing and talking about the gig.
When you are on stage the heart rate is high and the energy is high. Then you need to calm down.
J: It’s like finishing a heavy workout. After that, you’re like, I don’t do anything anymore.
It’s a great endurance workout. I don’t know if everybody realizes how challenging it is for the body, and also soul, to perform on stage. But it is something that you do because you enjoy it.
J & T: Yes.
We have done with this interview, thank you very much. Would you like to say something to the people that are watching/reading this interview?
J: Stay safe. Horns up. Listen to music and share it!
T: Thanks.
Assemble the Chariots video interview
Assemble the Chariots originally formed in 2008, but saw a rebirth in 2024 with the release of their debut album “Ephemeral Trilogy Episode 1: Unyielding Night”, a sci-fi tale in music whose sound incorporates epic orchestral melodies and chord progressions, alongside high-speed blast beats and monstrous vocals.
Our reporter Cristina had the opportunity to sit down with Onni Holmström, Kevin Apostol and Mikael Reinikka before the show at MonoMassive in Pori and talk about their debut album, the story behind the Trilogy, tours and much more.
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Wolfheart video interview
Melodic death metal band Wolfheart released the latest album “Draconian Darkness” on September 6th, with this new work the band explores the darkness of humankind. Our reporter Cristina had the chance to meet the mastermind of the band Tuomas Saukkonen before the show at MonoMassive in Pori, and to delve deeper into the album, discuss the use of Finnish in the growl vocals, find out why the videos were shot in Iceland, life on tour and much more.
Dreamtale interview
Dreamtale have been on the metal scene since 1999, their first three albums were released via Spinefarm between 2002 and 2005, winning listeners from Finland to Japan. Notable collaborators include names like Marko Hietala, Jarkko Ahola and Timo Tolkki. In 2019 the band refreshed their sound with the addition of a second singer, Nitte Valo (ex-Battle Beast). After the release of their latest album “Everlasting Flame” in 2022 they tried out for the UMK pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Battleheart”, and are now preparing to release a new full length. Our reporter Cristina had the chance to meet the band before their tour in China and find out more about the line-up changes, their music and much more
Hi guys how are you doing?
All: We are fine, thank you for asking.
You were great tonight; how do you feel about this gig?
Rami: Thank you, we had a good time and feeling great right now! It went really fast even if we played almost 2 hours.
Nitte: We gave it all. It was warm, it was full, it was a really great feeling being on the stage.
Dreamtale was founded in 1999, since then the lineup has undergone several changes, especially regarding the singers, because at the beginning there was only one singer and now there are two…
Rami: I actually had the idea for a long time that there would be a male and female singer in the band. I already tried to propose it to Seppänen, but it did not take off. Now it was time to do it. This was immediately clear after Erkki and Seppo left the band.
Did you already know you wanted Nitte as singer?
Rami: No, but the same night we got in touch I knew she was the right one.
Nitte: Years ago, you placed an ad for a group in a musician’s webpage that I responded to but at the time it did not happen anything.
Rami: Yes, I contacted you for another band where we needed a female singer. As for Dreamtale, we got in contact that same evening, it probably did not take more than ten minutes from the time the ad was posted that she sent a message.
And this was in 2019, right?
Rami: Yes, it probably was 2019.
And with Jarno?
Jarno: So, it started with the fact that we had the same drummer in our bands for many years. In a way, it was very easy to approach Rami and send a message that I was interested in joining the band, also because we had already shared a rehearsal space for many years.
Rami: Of course, we first took the demos of the singers and all the others. When the demos were listened to and checked to see what sounds would work, it was clear that Jarno’s voice works great on our songs. And then Nitte and Jarno’s voices are incomprehensibly similar in certain frequencies, that when they sing at a certain high note, they are no longer separated from there.
Jarno: And then, on top of that, probably the fact that Nitte and I had known each other for years. We had been at Maiden Fest for many years.
Nitte: Yeah, singing Iron Maiden songs. So, at Maiden Fest, there were three Dreamtale singers singing at the same time.
Jarno: True! Erkki, Nitte and me.
Akseli: I also played at Maiden Fest, probably in 2020.
Nitte: And indeed, there is still such a funny photo of us from many years ago, where Jarno, me and Erkki are in the same photo, not knowing what each other’s fate is. I think it is kind of funny.
“Everlasting Flame” was released in 2022. Are you working on a new album or what is going on at the moment?
Rami: Yes, it is almost ready. It was just put aside because of other activities and to be honest I have not really felt like working on the album. But now it is almost done, the recordings have been made…
Jarno: The new songs are damn good. I like them even better than the ones from “Everlasting Flames” that I actually love.
Nitte: There are some fucking difficult songs on this new album, vocal-wise this new record is very difficult.
Jarno: I will probably never be able to pull them off live (EN. Laughs).
Nitte: But the new songs are difficult vocally, although you can tell that neither of us are bad singers. Now, it is really such a record that you have to work hard on it, which is a really good thing. Rami, you have made songs with such high pitches thinking we could sing.
Rami: Sorry guys! I always try to think of them in tune, so that they stay in tune with both of your voices.
Rami, do you write all the songs? Or how does it work in your band?
Rami: 90 percent maybe…
Jarno: Yes, Rami is the main composer and sometimes he also listens to our opinions on the songs.
You tried to enter UMK (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu). Why did you decide to apply for this contest?
Rami: Yes, we thought why not give it a try, there was nothing to lose and if we could get through it would be really nice and a great PR thing.
Are you planning to try to enter the UMK contest again or not?
Rami: I do not know. It is not the kind of thing we plan. If a suitable idea comes along, why not?!
What is your favorite Dreamtale’s song to play live?
Rami: I do not know. At least it is hard for me to say which are my favorite songs, there are so many.
All?
Rami: Not all of them, many are nice to play. We have over a hundred songs and in the set, there is always room for a little change, so we do not find ourselves playing the same songs over and over again.
Akseli: For me it is “October is mine”, with this song the party starts.
Jarno: Yeah, it is hard to choose. I would say “World’s Child”, I do not know what it is, but maybe the melody and everything. I just like singing it.
Nitte: I cannot agree. But the difference here is that not all the old songs work for me. There is really a lot of work behind to make the various parts work between our voices on the old songs. Dreamtale has always had a male singer and this probably reflects in the fact that we have very different favorite songs, I am not saying that they are not good but the fact that I do not feel them as mine.
Akseli: It is great for Dreamtale that Rami writes such different songs that there is something for everyone. We are not the typical power metal band that does that basic dragon slayer mood, that always starts hard, but in our music, you can find different moods.
Rami: Maybe it is because my musical taste is so broad, that I listen to so many different genres, that I do not want to make music that is boring to me.
Jarno: It is about melody…
Rami: Yes, exactly! Since my childhood I always thought that the melody is the most important part. It does not matter what kind of music it is, whether it is Finnish rock or disco humppa from the 80s, if the melody works it works.
You said you listen to different music; can you give us some examples? For example, what did you listen to today or yesterday?
Rami: What I am listening to lately is some Finnish pop and Euro-pop but as I said the genre does not really matter. Sometimes I listen to some good old power metal like Helloween.
Jarno: I do not really listen to much music these days. I can drive a car for ten hours during a normal work day and listen to a little bit of radio. But then if we have a gig in the evening, I practice with the songs from the set for two or three hours, after which I need silence, sometimes I talk on the phone with a friend. So, there is background music in general, but I do not listen to music these days.
Akseli: Same thing for me. The fact that I joined the band at the age of 16, at the time I had Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and then Dreamtale. In 2006 there was an online ad looking for musicians and they were specifically for Dreamtale. I remember thinking “shall I give it a try?”, I asked a friend of mine who encouraged me to apply and I joined the band.
But now I have a story for you, I met Akseli in 2006 through MySpace and we were talking about music…
Akseli: Yes, I linked you a video of Dreamtale.
That is right, you told me that it is your favorite band.
Akseli: And here I am in the band.
What are you listening to, Nitte?
Nitte: I also listen to very little music in general, but if I have to mention one band then I would say Nightwish. And also, of course, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and all these bands that I have listened to since I was a little girl. Nowadays Beast in Black is one of my favorite bands.
Akseli: It is also the best band for me at the moment.
Nitte: With Akseli we have the same taste in music.
Akseli: Especially when it comes to Nightwish.
Nitte: Speaking of Nightwish, since I have always been a fan of theirs, I had the honor to go on tour with them, which was a really incredible experience. But what I think is really incredible is the song “Farewell” that I first heard many years ago on Klaus Flaming’s Metalliliitto, I recorded it on a cassette, and listening to it I thought; what a badass band this is, a damn loud song, and this woman sings so well that I wish I could sing it someday. And here I am now singing it. The fact that I had these two fantastic opportunities is like winning the lottery for me.
This is amazing!
Jarno: I have a similar story about how I got to know Dreamtale, the song was “The Mirror” sung by Jarkko Ahola. It was my first contact with the band. This song has never been performed live, but maybe at some point.
Nitte: Can I show you something?
Of course!
Nitte: I have this amazing bag here. This is a Dreamtale bag. It was made by Jarnon Laukkupaja, and he wanted to make a Dreamtale bag like that. There is only one of these out there at the moment. I am not selling it, so it is nothing, but I also want to advertise. I think it is amazing. I will take it with me to China.
Rami: What is this picture?
Nitte: Well, this is us.
Akseli: This is a drawing made by a grateful fan.
Nitte: Yeah, and I wanted that on purpose because I think this is an image that resembles me, it’s so fun and playful and then over here there is the Battleheart. I feel privileged to have such great friends.
You said you are going to China. Is this tour planned for next week?
All: Yes.
And it is supposed to have six shows, but I heard there are problems with a couple of places…
Rami: Well, yes. Stories are to be lived and here now you do not really know what to expect.
Akseli: It depends a lot on the Chinese government. And it is up to the bureaucracy how these shows are realized. I think all six shows will take place. With the licenses it takes a while.
Rami: And then you have to have permission to go to all the cities to be able to perform.
Jarno: And you need permission at the concert venues.
Rami: True, for the concert venues you need permission even if it is in the same city.
Have you ever been to China before?
Rami: Yes, in 2017 and we did 6 shows then too.
What is it like to play there? If you compare it to Finland for example, what are the differences?
Akseli: A very passionate audience. They live for the music from start to finish.
Rami: “The Dawn” is a big deal there, in 2017 when we were there a lot of people cried during that song.
Jarno: I have not experienced it myself yet, but I will soon. I expect people to take all the songs with joy, because Dreamtale is first and foremost a band of joy, if I may say so.
Akseli: Sympathetic power metal.
What about other concerts around Europe? Is that possible?
Akseli: We would like to tour in Europe, but we need to find contacts. So, if you want us to play, contact us.
Rami: It is hard to find promoters who organize tours.
Akseli: There is a lot of potential here. Sonata Arctica is touring, Stratotvarius is touring, why not getting also Dreamtale on tour? Take Dreamtale on tour!
We are at the end of this interview, thank for your time, would you like to tell something to your fans and people reading this interview?
Jarno: Listen on YouTube instead of Spotify.
Nitte: Thank you, and thank you to the people who follow, listen and stick around. Despite all the twists and turns. Now it is time for karaoke.
All: “Can you feel the love tonight? Can you feel the love tonight? Where we are? It’s enough to make kings and vagabonds Believe the very best”.
Rami: Thank you!
Sonata Arctica video interview
Finnish band Sonata Arctica is an iconic name in the metal scene that has been working continuously for over 20 years, musically the band has experimented over the years starting with power metal and then moving on to more progressive and soft sounds, including two acoustic albums and then returning to their power metal roots with their latest full-length album “Clear Cold Beyond”, released last March. Fresh from Waken and ready to play at Porispere, frontman Tony Kakko granted us an interview where we had the opportunity to ask him more about the latest album, the tour, the writing process and much more.
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