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 MetalKings.com:
So how do you like Moscow?
Katla:
We haven't seen much yet. But the hotel is very cool.
MetalKings.com:
Where are you staying?
Somnium:
Some boat.
Katla:
It's very Russian. The design and everything.
MetalKings.com:
What are the expectations for the tonight's gig?
Somnium:
St. Petersburg was cool, so…
Katla:
So hopefully it's gonna be as cool as St. Petersburg. There's a lot more
people here.
MetalKings.com:
You are playing the first right?
Katla:
Yes, we go onstage at about 7 and then around 8 we finish, and all the
booze is for me!
Somnium looks gloomy. He is playing in both bands
tonight and chances are that by the time he walks offstage after the IN
show all the tasty beers will be devoured in the bottomless bellies of
his troll-mates. Upset by the perspective he put his nose to the glass
and takes a large sip.
TROLL-TRIVIA
MetalKings.com:
I was kind of wondering why Finntroll is always singing in Swedish…
Katla:
Oh, here we go again…
MetalKings.com:
And not in Finnish?
 Katla:
Well, the word itself Finntroll is Swedish. My mother language is Swedish,
so when we were making our first demo tapes, it wasn't even like, 'hey
we gonna sing in Swedish' we just did. We never actually discussed it
very much because it sounded quite good. I like singing in Swedish, because
first thing there's not too many bands doing it and secondly it's my mother
language and it's nice to sing in the language that I know best. I was
born in Helsinki, but my mother side is speaking Swedish, which is quite
natural because we have a lot of Swedes down there.
Yes,
any ties with Moonsorrow, another Finnish band that plays similar music
are entirely dismissed, cause those guys are singing in Finnish. The only
thing that connects the two crews is the keyboard player and pure coincidence,
Katla assures.
MetalKings.com:
Well, since it's been a while since 'Jaktens Tid' came out, you probably
already have something in store for the new album?
Somnium:
Something.
MetalKings.com:
Any ready songs yet?
Somnium:
One.
MetalKings.com:
You gonna play it tonight?
Somnium:
No.
Katla: There is no lyrics for it yet. Cuz I had problems with my vocal
cords, so I didn't really have much chance to rehearse. At least the new
things, cuz we have gigs now.
THROAT PROBLEMS
The
whole community was shocked recently, when Katla posted a message on the
band's official site saying he had to undergo surgery to remove a tumor
on his vocal cords. The news came shortly after the sad death of Chuck
Shuldiner and against the morbid background of cancer-problems with Testament's
Chuck Billy and guitarist James Murphy (ex-Death, ex-Testament, ex-Agent
Steel). Originally Katla was not even scheduled to come over to Moscow
for the show, but in the end run it worked out fine. Katla's voice is
indeed a bit husky but other than that he looks healthier than anyone
else I know.
 Katla:
It's good. It's good compared to what it was because I couldn't talk.
A few months ago I couldn't talk at all.
MetalKings.com:
What was it?
Katla:
I still have it, it's a tumor on my vocal cords. And it's a virus tumor
so, it's not cancer or anything, but it won't come off. So I have to do
surgery several times. I had two already. Now, it's very good but it's
going to get worse again soon I guess. I am going to have next surgery
in June.
Somnium:
But it's a lot better now.
Katla:
Yeah it's a lot better than the last time I had the surgery. But it's
still there. It's a virus and there is no medication. So they just have
to do the surgery until it dies.
MetalKings.com:
How does it affect your singing?
 Katla:
Well if you can talk, you can sing. Well, it's not a health risk. I have
no problems with the singing otherwise than it's very hard cuz I have
to use much more oxygen to get the sound. My voice is actually quite dry,
but I can still do gigs so… what the fuck. It doesn't sound perfect right
now, but I can sing.
MetalKings.com:
A lot of people were very worried down here…
Katla:
Yeah a lot of people thought that it was cancer. Yeah it was stupid, cause
when I put the note on the homepage, I just said 'tumor' and of course
most people when they hear about tumor its always cancer. It was quite
funny cuz I couldn't open my email inbox, it was stuffed with messages.
MetalKings.com:
Can you imagine life without singing?
Katla:
I had to imagine my life without singing last autumn, and it completely
fucked me up. But now I don't even want to talk about this, cuz I don't
consider it as an option.
FINNTROLL
WAS NOT A DECISION
MetalKings.com:
Why did you decide to start a band in the first place?
Katla:
We are stupid.
Somnium: Actually we never decided to start a band.
Katla:
The Finntroll thing it was not a decision.
Somnium:
We just made the first song why doing some other projects, so it rather
happened than…
MetalKings.com:
What were the other projects?
Somnium&Katla:
Some shit. Some gothic shit.
MetalKings.com:
Gothic? Yaiks! Did you ever plan to start real accordion for the show?
Somnium:
No, we thought about that, but its very hard to find like a person…
MetalKings.com:
In Finland? Hard?
 Katla:
Yeah, we are talking a metal person who plays accordion.
Somnium:
Of course there are lots of accordion players but all of them are really
old and hate metal. And actually hiring an accordion player is fucking
expensive because they all get paid really cool. And also this Finnish
band - Turisas - they use accordion live so…
Katla:
But anyway we are six already in the band. We used to have Joni Arvela
with us doing the joik singings, but he is into his own band, they made
a new album with a band called Shaman, so he sort of doesn't have the
time anymore. But we have enough with the six of us, because with six
people that's a fucking lot, especially because everybody is so occupied.
MetalKings.com:
I heard you were planning to do a video?
Katla:
We were, but it never happened.
Somnium:
We will on the next album We didn't get the money that we needed. We wanted
to play it from the stage, and they just gave it [money] to some fucking
goth band.
MetalKings.com:
Lemme guess - To/Die/For…?
Somnium:
We never said that.
 MetalKings.com:
I never said that. Yes, so what was the concept for that video that you
never made.
Katla:
Oh, Jakten's Tid. It was… Yeah… I don't wannna explain too much, because
then it would be sad for the people, since it never came out. But it was
like very a Finntrollish thing, like these people sitting and drinking
in sort of a like medieval bar. And then this guy comes in and says they
gotta be leaving, because there's gonna be some trouble coming on. There
were no special effect planned really, just shadows and stuff, and trolls.
It's what we wanna do in the future.
SPEAKING
UP FOR THE ELK
MetalKings.com:
Jakten's Tid is - hunting time, right? [nods] So do you refer to the wild
hunt, oskorei?
Katla:
No I refer to humans. I got pissed off when I read this in the news. They
hunt elk in Finland and they made the numbers bigger recently for how
many elk can be killed. And I thought what the fuck, its wrong just to
put a number for an animal, on how many you can kill. So I thought why
don't trolls go ahead and hunt humans.
MetalKings.com:
There's also a song on the new album about these two priests.
Katla:
Yeah on the first album we had this song about these two priests who went
to a sauna for the first time. And then the trolls realized that they
were using their sauna and came in and just bashed them. And of course
on the new album we had to have the same two priests. And they built a
church on this one. And they were having their first ceremony there. And
then Troll comes in…
MetalKings.com:
So these two priests are for you like Kenny in Southpark?
 Katla:
No, because we don't like them. And Kenny is so nice. But they are going
to stay, they will get fucked up several times in the future, so… We haven't
actually made up the new one yet.
MetalKings.com:
Is the troll-thing becoming a trap for you?
Katla:
No, I don't think so 'cause we have normal lyrics anyway.
Somnium:
We are sort of refreshing the troll image.
Katla:
We just wanted to use the trolls, trolls were the first religious anarchists.
MetalKings.com:
OK, it's pretty much clear with the new album but for one thing, when
it's gonna be released, or at least recorded?
Somnium:
Autumn. Autumn-winter. So it's gonna be released later this year.
Katla:
Yeah we got sort of stuck with this stupid tumor thing right now. We can't
make any exact plans about it right now, but soon enough, I think.
MetalKings.com:
Three things you gonna do when turned into a blonde with 36D tits?
Somnium:
[Chants] Fuck me! Fuck me!
Katla:
Jerk off and look at my tits. Get drunk and try to hit a guy. Hit on him
(points to Somnium) and not give anything.
MetalKings.com:
Your most bizarre drunken experience.
 Katla:
Oh he wouldn't want to tell about this one. [Somnium tries to protest
but Katla is merciless] He went to this metal festival in Finland and
he just wandered off, cuz he got drunk. He wakes up in a sauna. He's like
broken into it. And there's like this bunch of elderly people staying
in there cabin. And they turned him around like 'what the fuck is this
shit?' And he broke into their sauna, and he found this piece of raw frozen
meat they hanged outside, so that it would melt and they could fry it
the next day. He is taking a bit from that one and shitted on the porch.
Then he gives them 50 marks and walks away.
MetalKings.com:
Okay now you get to tell an embarrassing story about him?
Somnium:
Most embarrassing story about him?
Katla:
That's hard I've never done anything embarrassing.
Somnium:
He's a lame ass he doesn't do anything crazy?
MetalKings.com:
Well, that's pretty embarrassing.
Katla:
Uhuh, that's very embarrassing being a lame ass.
MetalKings.com:
What was the strangest rumor you heard about Finntroll?
Somnium:
That Tarja the singer of Nightwish was playing the accordion for us.
TROLL
MetalKings.com
(March, 23 2002)
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