I N T E R V I E W
Evolution 4.0 is our fourth studio album, as the title implies. In my mind mind it
is also a step forward in our music, therefore the word 'evolution' in the title.
Yes, definitely. However, we did not plan the musical change very consciously. We
just started writing songs that came out a bit heavier than the previous ones, but
still sounded like Thunderstone. We liked the direction, and what you have in your
hands is end result.
I think that already on 'Tools' we were heading away from the generic power metal
thing. There are still some elements of that, but to compare 'Tools' to some of the
bands we were compared with earlier, is a sign of deafness mostly. So I think that
although the new album is definitely different from what we've done before, we were
already on the way there on 'Tools'.
Comparisons are always needed in the beginning of a bands career, and one could do
worse than being compared to Stratovarius. However, I think that quite early on we
developed our own approach to the music, largely of course thanks to our singer
Pasi, who has a very distinctive voice that's more akin to singers like David
Coverdale than the usual high-pitched power metal thing. Also, our musical
influences come from the 70s and 80s, not from the contemporary metal scene. I think
that shows quite early in the compositions.
I'm very happy that after hibernating for almost a decade, Nordic and Finnish metal
in particular have become such a big thing. I can't say I've heard many of the
bands, since I'm more into the 70s stuff, but of course I've seen many of the bands
live. There's so much great musicianship and music that it's difficult to name just
a few. I think Children of Bodom is always awesome and I like In Flames a lot. Both
bands are extremely nice guys, too. The Finnish band that I like most at the moment
is Kiuas.
We recorded it at Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki. Nino is one of the owners and the
manager of the studio. We've done all our records there, although 'Evolution 4.0'
was recorded at a new, much improved location. It's a great place to work.
Previously we pretty much made songs on our own and brought ready pieces to the
rehearsal, but this time we did everything differently. We just sat down and started
jamming, which I think brought out some of the best qualities of the band. I hope we
keep on doing it like this on the next album too.
Nino Laurenne, our guitarist has produced all our albums, the new included. He's the
one who's sitting in the studio from the beginning to the end of the sessions
anyway, so it is a natural choice.
I'd say we are melodic heavy metal. I'm not into labels much, but I'm glad that
we're usually not dumped into the generic power metal fold anymore. There's honestly
some embarrassing stuff there that we don't want to be associated with.
At the moment we're all working on Thunderstone only.
Unfortunately promotion is not up to us, so if you ask me, I'd love to play every
corner of the earth, but sometimes that is just not possible. The best thing YOU can
do about it is to go and buy our album and demand the local promoter to take us on
the bill, hahahahaa. But seriously, so far we are very busy in our homecountry
Finland, but are looking up all possibilities of touring Europe in the Fall.
We just collected all our material from the four tours we have done and there's a
ton of it, so perhaps one day we'll put it together and make a DVD out of it. That
one is definitely going to be K-18 stuff!
Thank you!
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