Heart of Steel: Interviews
"Thrash Metal Has No Boundaries..."
The Finnish
Speed/Thrash Metal special (Pt. 1) Featuring interviews with
Deathchain, Divine Decay, Jumalation, Malicious Death, Mokoma,
Pain Confessor, and WhereVictimsLie
Intro and all the interview questions
by Luxi Lahtinen
Could you say that you are honestly proud to be a part of this band,
with what you do musically, and the kind of impact you have on
people through your music?
 Kuisma
(Mokoma): I'm very proud of the guys and the band that the five
of us are. I can bring forth my musical ambitions and I just like the
music that we play. So it sounds that I'm happy with way the things are
right now. I think we have grown to be more close friends in the past
years and I'm afraid I can't get rid of these guys even after that band
ceases to exist.
I see the impact when the younger "kids" tell me that they
are listening to our music and starting to form their own bands. It's
awesome. And even some not so young kids come to us saying that "I
want to quit this disgrace-of-a-music and start playing the kind of music
I like". And those guys have bands that have good reputation and
decent record selling shit going on… But the guys just want to play the
kind of music they fell for when they were in their early teens. It's very
therapeutic to realize that you can actually do that.
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): As I said before it's truly great be a
part of this band. And it's not just a band, 'coz I've made so much great
friends thru our thing. I think the best part is just that; to do
something special with your friends. Especially live, that's when you feel
it, you know, the "I wanna be somebody" -feeling when you and
your friends are able to show what you're made of. This is just the kind
of music I like to play. To play in a band has been my dream ever since I
was six or seven years old, watching Kiss videos and thinking about how
cool it must be to play in a band. Now I know that it's fucking awesome
and we'll see where we can go with this. The feedback that we've gotten so
far has been great and of course it gives you more and more inspiration to
keep things going. I think we've brought back some of the old stuff, the
old feeling without any shit on it. Just pure Metal stuff!! I truly
believe that we have something to give for the Metal scene.
Corpse (Deathchain): I really am proud to have a band like Deathchain,
and I hope the line-up will stay the same in the future, too.
Deathchain´s music is the music I always wanted to play, so for me it´s
a dream-come-true. People have really loved our debut album and the
feedback toward it has been really great… much better than I expected
actually.
Anthares (Jumalation): Hell yes... I am!! If someone gets kicks out of
our stuff, it just means s/he got a good taste of music! And I think those
people probably have same kind of attitude towards music too. But I
don´t give a fuck if no one likes us, I am happy if I like the stuff,
that´s the reason I am doing this!! And the feedback we have got so far,
has been immensely positive.
Paul (Divine:Decay): Hell yes! A lot of people have been very honest
with our music, so they will say straight if they like it not. It's really
kind of a ´black or white situation´ what comes to the critics. Either
you like it or hate it…
Alec (Divine:Decay): Of course the media critics don't affect that
much, so only the fans´ opinions are what matter to us. We started this
band as a tribute to all those old-school classic bands, but there is
certainly our own path to walk on.
Pain Confessor: Hell yes!! We are proud of this band. People are
starting to call us as one of the hardest live acts in Finland so there
you go.
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): Yes why not? I can write songs that I
would like to listen. If I didn´t play in this band I would be its
biggest fan at least. But yes, I have played these songs so many times I
don't listen to our album at home. Well, sometimes I listen to it just to
wonder what we are going to do differently next time. I really don't know
how our music has affected people. Well, one thing I've heard is that a
couple of people have dug up their old Thrash vinyls and started to listen
to those again. So that's good news!
Obadio (Malicious Death): I have heard one guy say that we are the best
band in Helsinki and one guy told that we are the best active band in
Finland. It's so funny to hear these kinds of statements! But yes, this is
a dream come true for me. Fast and furious Metal has always been my cup of
tee. It often happens so that when we practice a song we have to wonder is
this really us playing our own stuff because it sound so damn fine! Hah!
Timo (WhereVictimsLie): I really am proud to be a part of this and I'm
glad I got a chance to join WhereVictimsLie. As said, I'm not much into
Thrash, but I really love this band. It's also really nice to see that
people really get into our stuff. Beware of the new stuff!!
Simo (WhereVictimsLie): The proud is too lame to picture my feelings
about this band. I know everyone in this band is more seriously with this
band. The feeling is amazing when you get crowd moving on gigs and the
mosh pit is going on and so on...
Speaking of your song writing a little bit, what could possibly be the
most challenging and hardest thing for you in
terms of either song - or lyric writing (or both!)? I, however believe
that writing songs/lyrics for the band isn´t an easy task after all just
like f.ex. taking a piss?
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): I think the hardest part is arranging a
song. Good riffs always come out eventually, but to be able to put them
into a good form is a difficult thing. Corpse and I basically make the
riffs and then we bring Kassara in and start to put the shit together with
drums. Some songs take more time than others. What comes to lyrics… heh,
our lyrics mostly deal with war, horror and shit like that. Some of the
lyrics are more serious in a way and some like "Undertaker" and
"Carrier of Pestilence" have more black humor in them. Corpse
and I write the lyrics. They are not ´shit serious´; we don't want to
preach. They are actually very typical Death/Thrash lyrics.
Corpse (Deathchain): My head is usually filled with riffs, but
arranging them into a whole song… that´s really fucking hard. We
usually try out many different arrangements before we find the right path.
Usually the lyrics come out really fast, especially when me and Bobby work
together. We usually have a name for a song first, and then we try to
create the right atmosphere that matches the lyrics.
Kuisma (Mokoma): Sometimes it is just as easy! Well, the hardest part
is to figure out what you really want to say to people if anything. Or do
you just want to play to get a lot of chicks? Or maybe even both? I don't
write lyrics so can't say anything about that, but musically I think the
hardest part is to arrange the songs, to create actual songs out of ideas,
put different parts together and try to get the song going… But that is
also the most rewarding stuff. Suddenly the five-member-band plays the
stupidest riff of all times and it actually rocks!
Simo (WhereVictimsLie): In WhereVictimsLie, we are quite a democratic
band. Me and Jarkko compose everything, and with Timo's help, arrangements
are finalized. Teijo writes the lyrics by himself and Jarkko has the last
word of arranging the lyrics with Teijo. I think the song writing would
never be easier than with this band. Me and Jarkko just jam with our
guitars at the rehearsal room. When something fascinating comes to mind we
put it into a song. Almost one song is made in every two rehearsals.
That's good pace for us to compose new songs.
Anthares (Jumalation): The lyrics have been the worst part in our stuff
so far, but Bilibaldus from the mighty Malicious Death has given us his
helping hand with his endless lyrical abyss. I have crushed to the wall of
writers´ block with this so many times. And yes indeed, pissing is
easier! But the songs really come together much easier for us. I just have
been following my inner atmosphere and somehow been ripping it out to my
´mockingbird´.
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): I have already written like 10 lyrics in
my drawer so the hardest part has to be song writing. But seriously, it
ain't hard at all! I have a mind build for guitar riffs. I can't explain
it, but new ideas born everyday in my head and I only remember half of
those when I have the time to sit down and try them. Lately we haven't had
the need to create that much new stuff because I have a lot riffs just
waiting to be played. Meanwhile, I just lay my ideas aside and let them
wait for picking up. I finally have a group around me who understands my
point of view and helps me with creating these songs. Obadio has helped me
in so many ways that I couldn't even imagine that when we started. Well,
after all, we do these songs as a band not as my solo project so everyone
adds their own touch in every song.
Pain Confessor: We both work and piss as a team.
When writing new songs for the band, do you always try to keep the main
focus on 2-3 catchy/memorable riffs and rhythms or are
you that type of a guy who kind of wants to ´spice´ a song with a few
´extras´, keeping it to a technical and complicated level
in order to add some uniqueness and originality into a song - and not just
only doing so for an utter technicality´s and complexity´s sake?
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): In most songs we have good and maybe
catchy riffs, yeah. There are in average 4 riffs in each song. Some have
more and some less. I don't see us as technical band or a band that tries
to do it the harder way. I hear riffs and rhythms in my head and I think
other guys hear them the same way.
When we are writing a song it usually happens that somebody has an idea
and says: "Hey it has to continue this way..." and other just
nod their heads. Sometimes songs might evolve too far then we return to
the starting point and make it simpler. We are not striving for major
uniqueness in our songs. We really just want fly the old school Thrash
Metal flag 'til death. I hope we can stay that way and not change like
most bands do after they get popularity. I think many of the so-called
unique or technical style bands have forgotten that songs could be more
interesting in a simpler way. That's why there aren't too many new Metal
bands I like to listen to. In our case, simplicity can also be the key to
uniqueness.
 Anthares
(Jumalation): Our song writing is basically very simple. We
melt riffs into a decent order and think about bridges and such and try to
make it work. But we also want to add some odd parts to make it sound a
bit obscure, you know. Just listen to Necronomicon or some Brazilian stuff
and you know what I mean. Also, it´s possible to put untuned notes into
our songs instead of harmonies. But let´s see those things later again
what will happen in a studio.
Kuisma (Mokoma): Maybe both. Of course you need to have a chorus that
hijacks a listener's brain for a moment. And then the riff, and the verse…
If the riffs are good enough you don't need any more than that. But some
songs need some extra shit going on, some transition riffs or drum rolls
or guitar doubling to underline something or whatever. But the simpler,
the better. Everything needs to be well though and foremost, well
justified.
Corpse (Deathchain): Of course we like a few "extras" here
and there, but we don´t want to mess around too much. We are really
precise about the riffs we make. We never put a riff on the album, that is
just "OK", it must kick ass!!!
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): Every riff has to be good, no leftovers
allowed at all!! Some our songs are really simple, some more technical.
But technical doesn't always mean good. Like "Poltergeist", it's
a 3-riff song, but it kicks ass bigtime!! It's really hard to be unique or
original in the Metal world today, but we try to do that with our own
sound a bit at least with some trademark kind of things that even can be
heard on our debut album, too.
Paul (Divine:Decay): We try to balance between good and clean memorable
chorus melodies and heavy riffs. And then there is something else
(nonsense) within the song which just gains more length to the song, he! I
think our strongest point in the song writing is that we can manage to
produce simple riffs and melodies which just sound so fuckin´ good. The
weakest point is maybe that we are not so professionals with our
instruments… we are the Speed Metal's Nirvana!!!
Alec (Divine:Decay): Or we just manage to trick all the listeners with
our high quality producer and mixer. I think the most people who listen to
this kind of music will catch only the most memorable riffs and melodies.
Everything else comes as an extra spice within the song. Next we are going
to concentrate on very lengthy and stupid riffs and we will add some weird
snare-drum sounds into them.
Pain Confessor: We go for the feeling and use our skills as tools to
get the results we want, not the main reason for making music as is.
Timo (WhereVictimsLie): Nothing either for technicality's or
complexity's sake! There will be some more technical things coming at
least on the drums with the new stuff, but you know, it's just what feels
right for the songs. I've always liked to call these little things that I
add here and there on the drums as spicing things up a bit just like you
happened to mention in your question. This is very easy with drums in my
opinion and stuff like that just feels natural for me.
Obviously you have been doing some gigs with your band. How has
the audience response been so far and would you describe what
kind of elements your live show contains? Let me guess... insanely
full-forward thrashing added with lots of headshaking/banging and that´s
basically a recipe for it or what...?
 Kuisma
(Mokoma): Hah, you got it dude. We try to be as energetic on
stage as possible, since that adds a nice touch to aggressive music, and
it's usually more fun to watch a band that actually enjoys what they are
doing and kicks the shit out of them selves.
The audience response in the past few months has been unbelievable. The
kids have gone mad. They start going crazy in the mosh pits and stage
diving and all the shit you should do in the heavy metal concert. We are
just amazed. The thought didn't even cross my mind let's say a year ago.
Now it's so different at our concerts.
Paul (Divine:Decay): For example our gig at "Tuska" -festival
last summer was quite painful for me ´cause I was having an enormous
hangover, but later on most people said the gig was quite a success for us
anyway. We haven't done any tours, only a few gigs here and there so it's
quite hard to paint the whole picture of our fans and concerts. But we
mainly just wreck our necks and stand there looking utterly stupid. Maybe
we should ask a few girls to dance around the stage or do something else
in order to gain more interest to our shows.
Alec (Divine:Decay): Now when we got Stig ´Evil´ to play 3rd guitar
it's even harder to look "cool" on stage ´cause if the stage is
small one, we are packed there like sardines in the can. And looking even
more stupid, I guess. And I can't even perform without my hat ´cause my
hair look so damn stupid. Maybe I should do something about it…heh!
Anthares (Jumalation): Nope... we have not done any live performances
yet! But when it will happen, hopefully it´s gonna be something along
with the lines you mentioned there just recently...
Timo (WhereVictimsLie): I want to thank the audience at our gigs so
far, it warms my heart to see all those people getting into it and all
this cheering for us is really heart warming, too. So Thank You!! What
comes to the recipe of our music what we just try to maintain is just play
as tight as possible and try to keep it aggressive. What more could you
possibly need?
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): So far, we have only played shows in our
home town. But the response has been excellent. In Finland, there should
be more places to play. Our show is very basic, not fooling around with
any costumes or shit like that. Just playing, headbanging insanely and
having a good time. When we play live, we try as much as possible to give
the audience our best and get a whiplash. It's ridiculous to see a metal
band with members who don't headbang. We have a "headbanger´s
hunger".
Bilibaldus (Malicous Death): Audience has been good to us. People are
usually moshing and sometimes stage diving. Your guess went right... our
live show consists of us on the stage having fun and the audience banging
their heads. There are no big show elements involved with our stage show,
but Jerker plays a drum solo when he is in the right mood. We still
include one cover song in each set list even though people are getting to
know our own material, too. It just feels great to see people enjoy some
80's classic song like Slayer's "Post Mortem".
Do you see playing live for your audience as an important thing to get
your band´s name spread around amongst people, or do you more or less
consider it just a ´fun and entertaining thing´ to do without being
worried about its promotional values too much?
Kuisma (Mokoma): Of course there is the promotional aspect. We sell
merchandise and records and shit like that. The best thing about gigging -
especially at the moment - is to see the kids go mad. It's so rewarding to
see that people sing to our songs and go crazy. And of course it's fun to
see the people who have bought the record and try to have a few words with
them.
Anthares (Jumalation): No, probably we are not going to have many gigs.
It´s much better to get the band and the audience hungry. I want that
every gig will be always very special! It´s not good for anyone if we
play in every possible place and event. We want to keep a spark of playing
live as bright as possible. But let´s see how the wheel gets rolling
after the first gig. I don´t think its promotional value is that big that
we should play everywhere.
Corpse (Deathchain): Playing live is the thing why I ever wanted to
have a band around me. You know…when the first song starts ripping, and
the Thrash-maniacs start headbanging, then there is simply no return…
It´s total Deathrash Armageddon!!! And ´of corpse´ its promotional
value is good, but it´s never the main reason behind playing live.
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): Of course playing live gigs is where
everybody sees what the band is made of. A reputation as a good live band
is more than welcome and that is our goal. Many bands can impress on
albums, but in a live situation they can suck big time. So it definitely
is very important to be able to play great shows. If you are just a random
guy in an audience and see and hear something you like, you probably go
and get their album, right?
Paul (Divine:Decay): Yeah, we really want to do touring a lot but with
our recent record company it seems very difficult to get any tours. We are
the only band in Osmose´s catalogue that hasn't done any tours ever. So
it kind of pisses us off. But we don´t know if it's Osmose´s, ours or
the touring agency's fault so we just look in the mirror and blame
ourselves. But if we got some kind of tour to do, it would not probably
happen ´cause some of us are having other bands going on, too so there
would be another schedule problem. But anyway we still hope that something
would happen for us, so we don´t give up dreaming about it.
Alec (Divine:Decay): Yeah, the schedules are always hard to fix and now
I'm having my other band new record coming up, so it kind of mixes up some
plans with Divine Decay. But we are doing new songs for the next Divine
Decay album all of time, so we really don´t bury these tour plans while
we are having our other bands going on, too. We try to keep this as fresh
as possible, but touring might be a problem for us.
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): We practice as much as possible for the
live shows. It's a very important part of the band. On the stage we still
have a lot to learn, but we mainly go there to have fun. Of course if we
have a bad gig, it pisses us off. But bad feelings are gone in a couple of
days. I hope these gigs promote the band to go further and maybe to get a
record deal someday. And of course I hope we get more listeners too.
Obadio (Malicious Death): It is fun to try out new material live. We
have now included two totally new songs in the set list and it is great to
see people's reactions when we start bombarding them with riffs!
Obviously gigs have a promotional value, too. But if we sell records
and t-shirts on our shows it's not because we want to make money for
ourselves. Small incomes are all used to ensure the bands existence. We
hope to get some extra money for studios and equipment in the future.
Timo (WhereVictimsLie): It's a great promotion, really great!! I love
playing live, because first of all I/we get to see how people react to our
music. Secondly we get to spread our name around, as we're still a very
new band/project and we definitely have a new audience at the gigs. One of
the best things is also meeting people in the audience and having a chance
to chat with them. Hearing what they have to say and talking with them,
that's always great.
Pain Confessor: Both.
When are you going to play live next time? Any extensive
tours in sight in the next few coming months or so...?
Pain Confessor: December 12 in Jyväskylä at the Deathroit Indoor
metal festival (Lutakko). After that we concentrate on writing material
and perhaps do more shows next year.
Simo (WhereVictimsLie): We just played two gigs last weekend. One at
Lutakko, "Deathroit" indoor-festival and another at Chuck
Schuldiner's memorial concert. Those were awesome!! New gigs will be
announced in the future, too.
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): We are on our "Devilistadion"
tour right now! The next gig is just before X-mas and then we play in
January. Most gigs are in Helsinki, but we wish to do some shows in other
cities too. We really hope to play more gigs in the future.
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): Next live show will be on December 19th
2003 in Helsinki. After that we're gonna play with another amazing Finnish band
called Machine Men in January. And more gigs are coming up. Even more
touring outside Finland is coming up, but we can't speak anything for sure
until it's confirmed. But stay tuned and keep checking our websites for
latest news.
Kuisma (Mokoma): We are just at the white line of our fall 2003 tour.
We have only the most important gig left, the legendary Tavastia Club in
Helsinki. We also toured a lot last summer, so now it's time to
concentrate on other things for a few moments. We do some gigs here and
there, whatever feels fun to do. We do more extensive gigging again next
spring and summer.
Anthares (Jumalation): No clue yet! But it will be a decent metal
happening for sure! I am looking for other interesting bands to play with,
bands that we like and respect and have a real party. Big tours are
absolutely fiction for us.
How do you see the importance of Thrash Metal as its own genre amongst
other genres of metal both for yourself and globally?
 Anthares (Jumalation): Like Death Metal is "brutal" and Black
Metal is "grim" or "evil" and Thrash has been some
kind of base for both Death - and Black Metal. And in the early eighties
Thrash Metal also used to be pretty much lyrically dealing with
"satanic" imaginary, so it kind of fits for Black Metal guys to
adapt…or something. For me Thrash Metal has always been the most
aggressive and furious genre musically with some early eighties Hardcore
bands (Kaaos, Mellakka, etc…).
Kuisma (Mokoma): For me, it's priceless and irreplaceable. The global
meaning is also noticeable. Thrash Metal introduced the complex riffs and
heavy guitars in a new, more technical context, I would say. I think those
ideas have been well recycled throughout the metal scene.
Pain Confessor: Perhaps Thrash Metal is one of the foundations that
many metal bands build on these days and that can't be a bad thing. Two
thumbs up for Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax and all the other godfathers of
Thrash.
Simo (WhereVictimsLie): You cannot underestimate the power of Thrash
Metal amongst other genres. Just listen to ´new fashion Metal´ whether
it is extreme, black or white, there will always be some influences from
Thrash Metal. Of course I hope that Thrash Metal would rise like a phoenix
as its own pure genre, and not just stay as the spice for other Metal
genres.
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): For me it's very important because most
of my favorite bands are Thrash bands. And of course if we go back and
think what that particular Metal genre would be like without Slayer or
Testament or Metallica, it's a sad vision. So many bands have gotten their
influences from those bands. I think Thrash scene is very important
globally and its historic value in the Metal scene is undisputable. I
think without Thrash there wouldn't be Deathchain.
Corpse (Deathchain): Thrash Metal for me is one of the few things to
enjoy in this shitty world, and without Thrash there would be no
Deathchain either. I think many people around the world would be a lot
more miserable without bands like Destruction, Slayer or Sodom. And for
the true maniacs, Thrash Metal is a lifestyle and so it´s valuable around
other genres is undisputed! Slayer and Metallica brought really something
new to the Metal world, so the importance of Thrash can never be denied!!
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): For me it's the only genre I can say I
really like. I listen to bands that come from other genres, but for Thrash
I live. Globally, I think media doesn't even notice the whole genre and
it's good that way. In the underground Thrash Metal stays clean from
posers.
Obadio (Malicious Death): Thrash metal is so different from other
sub-genres in Metal. There is a certain authentic feeling in it. You can't
boast about it to your average type friends. You just have to love it to
play it. I think it is important not to confuse true Thrash Metal to the
crappy stuff that is getting marketed nowadays to the mainstream audience.
Alec (Divine:Decay): I think it's growing all of time, but honestly I
don´t think that any of those golden years are coming back like it was
back then. But hopefully younger people would eventually find this
excellent Metal genre and stop listening to that fuckin´ Limp fuckin´
Bitzkit!! Just listen to us and you'll be enlightened forever, heh! And
you'll change the style of your jeans, too, hah-hah!!
Paul (Divine:Decay): Yeah, I agree what Alec said and I want to add
that music comes and goes with circles, but it necessarily doesn't mean
the music would be better or worse like it was back then. There are a lot
of cool Metal bands out there, but you have to find it yourself and not
look at the billboard charts to find out what is good or what is not. I
think it's hard enough to get a decent record company these days than
making good albums ´cause there are so many bands out there so
competition is really hard. It was hard back in the 80´s already, but now
it's even harder ´cause there are so many categories in Metal to get fit
into.
Thrash Metal (as its own lovely and fine sub-genre of Heavy Metal in
general) seems to be turning heads more constantly here
in Finland after such a long while. Do you believe that it could even open
some eyes in some Finnish record companies the same way when we
had bands like Stone, A.R.G., National Napalm Syndicate, Airdash,
Dethrone, Prestige and some other Speed merchants and Thrash bangers doing
albums for some of our domestic labels here in Finland?
Kuisma (Mokoma): It's possible, and I wouldn't mind. Actually Pain
Confesssor just got a 3 record deal from Megamania, so maybe the smaller
players could get quite active. The big boys are more anxious in making TV
entertainment, than doing culturally important favors for the music loving
audience, so that's it.
Anthares (Jumalation): Not with these bigger labels like what happened
with those bands you mentioned over 10 years ago. And that´s fine I
think. I doubt those labels never understood the music and thought that
they could get a part of the hype back in the day, but those labels
didn´t manage (or even tried) to distribute those albums outside Finland.
But with a band like Mokoma, it´s possible that some major companies
might become more interested in Finnish Thrash Metal bands again. Luckily
we have labels like Firebox which is doing excellent job as far I am
concerned. And Spinefarm partly, too… (can´t wait to get the new
Reverend Bizarre album in my hands!).
Corpse (Deathchain): Mokoma has maybe re-opened some doors for the
Finnish Thrash bands with their latest album KURIMUS. I heard that their
single or was it the album… (?) don´t remember any longer, but anyway
they were in our official TOP 40 album chart. So maybe bigger labels have
noticed that Thrash can sell in Finland, and now they (hopefully!) keep
their eyes opened for some other potential Finnish Thrash bands.
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): I surely hope so. And I can see it
happening already. I don't think that bigger companies here in Finland
will never be interested in Thrash bands just because they don't make so
much money like some fucking ´pop idols´. I just hope the bigger ones
would wake up and smell the carcass because they have better keys in their
hands to promote Thrash bands to the rest of the Europe where people are
more into it and the market is bigger. Stone, A.R.G. and Airdash were
great bands, but unfortunately never got too much popularity anywhere else
except here in Finland, even though Stone went touring (supporting
Testament) to the States as well.
Pain Confessor: It already has and in the future everything is
possible.
Paul (Divine:Decay): Well, Mokoma has kind of opened the route for
other bands, but they sing in Finnish so there have to be another
"chart band" singing in English to get people´s attention. And
back in the 80´s, Stone was the only band who sold a respectable bunch of
records and other bands were like minority when comparing to them. So I
guess if there came another Speed/Thrash Metal revival, there would be
just 1 or 2 bands that might gain a major success. And if Spinefarm
Records will continue their release style as far as their policy for their
own releases is concerned, I don´t believe that any revival will come any
more. Bigger labels such as EMI, BMG or Warner are not interested to put
their money into the ´once-dead´ genre and I honestly think that they
don´t have any clue what is happening in Metal any longer. They will
think that this ´Nu-Metal´ is still "a big and cool thing"
which is fuckin´ sad.
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): Finnish record companies should open
their eyes. We have such talented bands here and I'm sure that also
metalheads abroad would be interested in the scene.
Obadio (Malicious Death): The market for this kind of Metal in Finland
might be too small. Record companies tend to be so profit-oriented
nowadays that they rather publish stuff they want to hit the charts.
Thrash Metal is not the best way to make money you know. But of course I
want to see good bands getting recognized by the domestic companies.
Simo (WhereVictimsLie): I think the new wave of Finnish Thrash Metal
would blow away everyone's mind. The main interest has been awakened, if
you have already noticed. Many great and fresh newcomer Thrash Metal acts
have already signed some deals with record companies. And some of these
labels have been Finnish record labels which is a good sign.
I find it unfortunate and even a bit sad that such
Finnish underground Speed/Thrash acts like Necromancer, Oppression,
Protected Illusion, Terrific Verdict, Mengele (now luckily been re-formed
again and are called Wengele - Luxi notes!), Lycantrophy and a couple of
other bands never got any real and potential opportunities to record their
stuff for record labels even if many of these unsigned acts were actually
much better and talented musically than some, let´s just call them
´nameless´ signed ones. Do you somewhat screamingly agree with me?
Anthares (Jumalation): I just couldn´t agree more with you with this!
It´s really shame that these bands didn´t manage to put any albums out!
I just can wonder how it´s possible that all those bands with horrible
singers got the deal in the first place? The bands you mentioned in your
question had much better touch in singing. What could have happened if for
example Terrific Verdict´s first demo had been released as album or
something? I think that people would praise that band all over the world
now for sure!! Well, if I had an opportunity, I would release all those
legendary Terrific Verdict demos now!
Bilibaldus (Malicious Death): YES!! I agree with you man! I did see
those bands live many times in the 80's and I still wonder why they didn't
get signed by any label? I have to add Brainwash to your list. They played
excellent gigs and had amazing players.
Pain Confessor: Of course. Now seems to be a good time to make up for
the mistakes of the past.
Kuisma (Mokoma): Well, it's sad of course. Maybe the timing wasn't
right for them at the time. But hey, you can cuddle up and cry or try even
harder. I think the good music always finds its friends. But it doesn't
come easily.
Paul (Divine:Decay): I know very well those bands and I have collected
some of their demos back in the 80´s, but I think that Necromancer,
Mengele and Oppression were kind of the top of the elite. It was just like
it is nowadays that record company people don´t have any kind of clue
what is good and what is not. It's just as simple as that. I´m still
wondering why anyone would sign bands like Statue, Prestige, National
Napalm Syndicate or even Airdash while there was so much better bands out
there like those three of which I just mentioned. I guess it is all about
that "famous luck and being a right place at the right time"
thing, more or less. But then again the whole Speed/Thrash Metal genre was
already dead in Finland when Stone released their last album (EMOTIONAL
PLAYGROUND on Megamania/Black Mark in 1991), I think.
Alec (Divine:Decay): I think the Finnish Speed/Thrash Metal band
Airdash had a few good songs like "Eat Shit" and "Thank God
It's Monday". And even some songs from their last album were good,
too. Stone was and is even nowadays the best band of that genre and I'm
not so familiar with the other Finnish Speed Metal bands you listed there
in your question. But I agree with Paul that the whole Speed Metal genre
was dead already when it was even started. I really don´t know whether we
signed a deal if we would have this band in the 80´s. Maybe not, but it
doesn't matter as we have already done two records… ha-hah!!
Bobby Undertaker (Deathchain): I totally agree with you. There are so
many shitty bands that get record deals and more talented ones are left
unnoticed. But it's all about the money and people in record companies
don't have the guts to take any risks. But I see some light it the end of
an anal canal. Smaller companies are showing more and more interest by
signing new bands, too. But when you get your chance, don't blow it
because it may never come again. We consider us really lucky that we got
signed to Dynamic Arts Records.
Corpse (Deathchain): It really sucks ass that bands that really do a
fucking great music and play straight from their hearts, they never got
their chance to show what they are made of. I hope that things will get
better, and record labels will start signing some more UG -styled bands…
like the ones you mentioned. Labels should be more open-minded towards
Metal bands in general as well.
Simo (WhereVictimsLie): As I was telling you a bit earlier, I
have not
been listening or keeping an eye for Finnish Metal scene for a long time.
I can still remember, however that Necromancer played at Tuska festival´s
after party this year. I must have been quite drunk at that time because I
can't remember much of it at all. Therefore I guess I need to be
relatively neutral with this question.
READ
ON...
|