Amorphis

Interview date

25 Mars 2012

Interviewer

Orion, Evanessa

I N T E R V I E W

Interview Jan Rechberger (by mail)


Your new album "Circle" will be available soon, in April 2013. What can you tell us about it?

Well, it´s a strong album, perhaps the strongest album with this line-up in my opinion. We had a pretty good plan on how to proceed with the sessions, and we managed quite well I´d say. We wanted to do things a little bit different this time, you know, to use different studios, a different producer, some different gear, and overall, to have more intense session going. Musically, I think it´s a tighter package than its predecessors, it has a heavier and more modern sound, and it is more intense as it is shorter with only nine songs. It pretty much has every aspect the band has been known for over the years, the heavier stuff with death vocals as well as the moodier feel. Personally, I´m very pleased with the result.

I didn’t have the time to listen to it as much as I wanted but as usual we can hear a lot of folk influences through your music. And this time I noticed strong Celtic sounds (especially on the track “Narrow Path”), am I right?

Yes, obviously it has some of that vibe going on, it has this flute theme, which is pretty “celtic” in nature if you like. We had this kind of melodies in the past too though.

For the first time in your whole career you worked with Peter Tägtgren. How was it to work with him? What are the main differences between him and Mikko Karmila, your previous producer?

It was great, I mean, we have known him for a long period of time, since the early years of the band already, and we have been talking about doing something together every time we have met him along the road, so it´s cool it finally happened. We had a really good time working with him and sometimes he made us do things we never would have thought of. Maybe he was more like leading the sessions than producing in the traditional sense, cause we have a quite strong vision on our music to begin with. The differences in terms of producing is bit hard to compare as Peter was with us from the first note till the last, and Mikko was “just” mixing the albums, as we produced those albums ourselves along with Marco Hietala, but sound wise there are some differences, as Mikko´s sound is bit softer and deeper, and Peter´s on the other hand is more “in your face”, heavier and modern sounding to my opinion. Great bunch of professionals both of them.

For this album you also worked with Denis Goria who is a French photographer and producer. You already worked with him on your album “Skyforger”. This time he made a "making of" documentary showing all the stages of the album production. Was it nice to work with him again? When and where this documentary will be available?

Yes, we have worked with him in many occasions, he was also involved in the shooting of “Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes” DVD package, so it was an obvious choice to do something with him again. The documentary is available as a bonus DVD with the digipack edition of the album I think, so be sure to get yours in time! It was nice to work with him again for sure, as always.

Are the songs in this new album still referring to the "Kalevala"?

The lyrics in “Circle” are not directly from any particular story or character from Kalevala this time. It is a complete story of its own written by Pekka Kainulainen. It´s about the protagonist who has been dealt a bad hand at birth. He’s always felt himself an outsider with strong potential to become marginalized. Through an accident, after a crisis, he finds a connection with his inner powers. A guide is sent to him, from some other time and place. He gets a chance to take hold of his own life and change his destiny. From the past of Karelian Finland he finds his own spiritual tribe and the power to turn the course of his doomed life. So this is more a story about survival. The album title “Circle” represents integrity. Back in the days, when there was something special to talk about, wise men used to sit in circle. Not everyone was invited to join them. But in this story, the protagonist was invited among the wise men's circle. We have worked with Pekka since “Silent Waters” and he is a multi-talented artist at the most unique level you can possibly find. Alongside lyrics, his works include drawings, paintings, songs, multimedia, sculptures, and performance art, so he really operates in pretty much all fields of art. There is a bonus DVD with the album where a chapter is about Pekka, where he shares more of his thoughts, so perhaps you might look into that as well.

What can you tell us about the artwork of this album? What about the character on the cover? Is there a special meaning to it?

The artwork is done by Tom Bates , and he did a great job indeed. I think his art represents the mood of the album perfectly. I think the character on the cover reflects the main character's journey through the story, or maybe more like what he/she has become spiritually after that experience.

What are your favorite songs on the album?

Aaargghhh, hard to pick really, cause I love all of them, but I´d choose “Mission”, Into the Abyss” , “Nightbird´s Song” ,”Shades of Gray” and “Hopeless Days”.

For your previous album, “The Beginning Of Times”, you worked with some guests, including a singer: Netta Dahlberg. Tomi Joutsen sang a wonderful duet with her. Are there any guests and duets in "Circle"?

Maybe not so much like duets, but we used quite a lot of female voices on this album too by Mari M. They´re more like harmony parts as well as some choir stuff and backing vocals in general. There are also some flutes and saxophones performed by Sakari Kukko as well as some cello parts by Tuukka Helminen.

Did you ask Marco Hietala to be your vocal coach again?

No, not this time, as we wanted to do something fresh and new. The vocal production was done by Tomi and Peter.

Speaking about voice, here’s a question for Tomi Koivusaari (if it is possible for him to answer it): You were Amorphis first singer. When Pasi joined the band, you kept singing, but only the Death vocals, until you stopped using them in your songs. And now Tomi is the only singer in the band, don’t you feel like singing anymore?

Well, Tomi is not here at the moment, but let me answer this on his behalf. I think he wants to put 100% of his effort on playing the guitar, and because Tomi Joutsen has unarguably one of the most powerful death-metal voices on the planet, I don´t think he needs to do that really. And his throat gets too sore every time he tries to do it nowadays, so maybe it´s just better this way anyhow :).

You will come to France in June to play at the Hellfest. Are there any other shows planned later in France? A tour maybe?

Yes, we'll also play in Toulouse and Paris during the upcoming European tour.

Finland is a country blessed with a very rich and varied metal scene. You were one of the pioneers. What do you think of today’s Finnish metal bands? What are the most interesting bands according to you?

Well, there's so many of them, but Barren Earth is pretty good as well as Ghost Brigade to name a few... Honestly speaking, there are too many bands that I have lost track of what's happening ages ago...

You started as a Death Metal band. Do you still listen to Death Metal today?

Not that much honestly, maybe sometimes during touring or so, when somebody picks a new album of some group, but not so much at home nowadays.

Your music and style keep on evolving; your albums are always different from one another. What is your favorite one (apart from the new album)?

I still think "Eclipse" is pretty strong, and "Elegy" from the older ones...

What are your favorite Amorphis songs, the ones you enjoy the most on stage? Are there any songs you rarely play live that you would like to add to your setlists?

I enjoy playing faster songs like for example “On Rich and Poor” or “Against Widows” they have been killer tracks live, also when we play some really old shit like “Vulgar Necrolatry” things can get pretty crazy.... We hardly do any songs from “Tuonela” these days, so it would be nice to put on “Greed” or “The Way” for a change.

Is there a good memory from your long career that you would like to share with us? And a bad one?

Well, getting the first record deal, and then realizing that you have been ripped off covers pretty much both :). There are tons of good and bad memories along the road, but I think they´re strongly on the positive side.

Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the “Tales of The 1000 Lakes” release. Are you planning something special for this occasion, maybe something like playing the whole album live?

Not so far, but we might consider doing that for sure.

Thanks for all your answers. Finally, do you want to say something special to our readers?

Thanks for having us on your site! Get "Circle" as soon as you can, and I hope you´ll like it as much as we do. Support the artists you like, go on and buy the records, go and see the shows and remember to enjoy yourselves! Cheers.


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