Maleficium Arungquilta – “Касание Сквозь Стекло” (“Kasaniye Skvoz’ Steklo” – “Touch Through the Glass”) (2011)

Review by Vard Aman

I have written before about the potential benefits of searching harder and farther through Femme Metal’s vast underground; there are some real gems out there. And then sharing those gems with others… I run a group on Facebook for Russian and CIS female-fronted metal bands, and one day a user posted a link to a band they had discovered on the group’s wall; a band that I had at the time not even heard of before, but a band that has since then become one of my favorites. That link was to a band called Maleficium Arungquilta.

Maleficium Arungquilta are from Izhevsk in Russia. They formed in 2009 and their name roughly translates to a dark spirit or supernatural force that performs evil sorcery (or evil deeds, if you translate “maleficium” directly). Musically, they live up to their name; lyrically, they are more diverse than that, although it does play a part. The strength of this arungquilta’s musical maleficium centers mainly around two great assets: 1) their ability to create haunting, and very powerful and beautiful melancholic melodies and 2) the quality and ability of the band’s vocalists, particularly the lead vocalist, Lisa Karkina (Lisa Shadrina now… sorry guys). Lisa’s voice must surely be one of the most beautiful female voices around. Her timbre and control are superb, as is the clarity of her voice – you won’t need lyric sheets to follow her (if you understand Russian that is). She also sings with an emotion that lies beneath her exquisite vocal control but is still very much there – a calm outer surface that still gives away just enough to reveal, or allows one to sense the turmoil underneath. It is very effective, especially when the vocal melodies she delivers are such as they are. To add to her normal voice, she also possesses a powerful operatic voice that would put most operatic singers in metal to shame, and thanks to the band’s exceptional songwriting skills, they are used wisely. Lisa is backed up occasionally by the smooth and sonorous clean vocals of Maxim Gankov, and by the blackened shrieks and wailing laments of Alexey Kirsanov (I hope I have them the right way around). Alexey is a potent Black Metal vocalist. Then there is the backing female vocalist, Yana Lindarskaya, who is a similar vocalist to Lisa and whose operatic vocals, when she uses them, are just as powerful. On the song “Чернобог” off “Касание Сквозь Стекло”, where Yana sings the intro, she brings an added folk element to her vocals.

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Interview : Marloes – Izegrim

Interview by Erwin Van Dijk

Izegrim is a thrash metal band from the east of the Netherlands. They have done numerous gigs with bands as Destruction and have done gigs at festivals like the Metal Female Voices Fest. Last year Izegrim´s singer and drummer left the band. Marloes, the bass player of Izegrim took Kristien‘s place as grunter.

How did you get into the music business? Did you have other bands before Izegrim?

I started playing guitar several years ago. This came to a point that Jeroen and I started a band together with Rutger (on bass) called Deluzion. We intentionally started Deluzion to play something different, that didn’t fit into the Izegrim-concept. We’ve recorded a mini-cd containing 4 songs in the likes of Göthenburg style. After 2 years things changed within Izegrim, and they asked me to join them, but we’ll talk about that in your next question, hahaha.

And, more important, how did you became a member of Izegrim?

The members of Izegrim were good friends of mine and Anita decided to move to Amsterdam so Izegrim was looking for a girl who could play bass and could take care of the backing vocals. So I took the bass and went to the audition haha you know the rest.

Are there any musicians that you admire?

There are a lot of good musicians in this world but I don’t admire anyone special.

To what kind of music do you listen yourself?

Well, some of my favourite bands are: Kreator, Lamb of God and Machine Head.

How do you see yourself: as a bass player who can sing or vice versa?

First and foremost I see myself as a musician and frontwoman of Izegrim. The fact that I play the bass and take care of all the vocals is just sheer coincidence. I already took care of the backing vocals, so it was a logical step that I’m taking care of all the vocal duties, now that Kristien left us in august 2008. So, how do I see myself? As frontwoman of Izegrim, screaming my lungs out and grooving my ass off on the bass.

What gear do you use?

I don’t think that’s very interesting but okey, you asked for it. I have an Ibanez Soundgear 905, HA3500, Korg tuner, Hartke speaker and I’ve got an SM58.

For the people who have never touched a bass: what’s the difference between a 5 string bass and a normal bass with four strings?

When I started playing bass, I immediately started playing on a 5-string. It actually felt comfortable from the beginning. Jeroen and Bart play 7 string guitars. And that’s why I play 5 string. With a 4 string bass you’ll miss the low-end punch of the b-string.

What are your favourite Izegrim songs live (now you are also the singer of the band) and what are the highlights so far?

My favourite live song so far is “Angel of Demise”. But we are writing new material so maybe in future I’ll prefer another song haha.The highlights with the old line up is our European Tour with Flotsam & Jetsam and Non-Divine March 2008. We went to Austia, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Germany by tourbus. It was great living in a bus for a week and doing shows in venues you’ve never been before. The highlights of the new line-up are Metal Female Voices Fest and our upcoming mini cd. MFVF was fantastic. Huge stage and awesome crowd!! We are busy recording our new MCD so we can show you the new Izegrim.

Izegrim went to a lot of changes this year (2008). The most visible change was the news that Kristien left the band, just after drummer Joep decided to quit Izegrim. You took over Kristien’s place but you is of course a whole different person than Kristien. I’m not going to ask why Kristien left the band (this interview is about you after all, although you may answer that question) but was it clear from the start that you would take over the vocal parts or have you and the band considered to find a new singer? Being honest, after I’ve seen Izegrim live with the new line – up at the 013 I do not have the idea that much have changed when it comes to the music.

Yes, it was clear from the start that I would take over the vocals. I already took care of the backing vocals, so it was a logical step that I’m taking care of all the vocal duties, now that Kristien left us in august 2008. You’ve seen us in 013 and it’s obvious nothing has changed when it comes to the music. We’ve played our “old” songs there. I think when you will hear our new MCD you will hear changes in the music.

How did the public and the media react on the news that Kristien had left the band? She was very visual on stage and when Izegrim started all those years ago she was one of the few women in Holland who actually could grunt and sound like a man. Most front women in Holland go the Within Temptation way and try to sound like Kate Bush.

I thought there would come a lot of reactions on her decision but there were only a few. Most people stepped over it. Probably busy with other things.

Since all the songs were written while Kristien was still in the band, was it necessary to adapt them to your voice and the way you sing?

Nope, I’ve taken over all the lines. And with grunting it doesn’t matter if you sing high or low

Most people seem to forget that Izegrim also have a new drummer.

I’m glad you mention Ivo!! We are very pleased that he joined Izegrim. Ivo is our youngest member but he´s a hell of a drummer. With his style we’ve got a lot of opportunities for new material.

You guys are still in the middle of the Jägermeister tour but are you already working on new songs now you have a new line- up?

The Jägertour has come to an end but we did work on new songs. As I told you, we are in the middle of the recordings for our MCD right now. We want to let everybody know and hear what Izegrim is now.

And, do you think Izegrim is going to change with you as new singer?

Izegrim is going to change and not only because I’m the new singer. With our drummer Ivo we’ve got a lot of new possibilities and we will use it. We are very motivated to make new songs and to do gigs.

The last question, Are there things that we should know that I haven’t asked?

Come and see us if you like! Want to know more about Izegrim check our sites below. Thank you for your time.

Links

MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Site

Interview : Jens Faber – Dawn of Destiny (2008)

Interview by Erwin van Dijk

Dawn of Destiny is a German power metal band and was founded in 2005. They have done numerous gigs since then (mostly in Germany). With their latest album “Rebellion in Heaven” I think it is about time to do some gigs abroad. Or at least an interview. Usually we interview the females of the band so this interview with Jens Faber is a first.

The first question: how did your album release party with guest (& my friends from) A New Dawn go?

It was a very nice evening with hours of good music, friendly people and many drinks.

You are the bass player of Dawn of Destiny and that makes you the Steve Harris of the band. Who are your favourite bass players and to what kind of music do you listen yourself?

I listen to nearly all kinds of metal. I like Helloween as well as Dimmu Borgir, Nightwish or Nile. I must confess that I do not care so much about who might be the greatest bass player because the songs are much more important to me but I think Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and John Myung (Dream Theater) belong to the best.

Did you have any bands before Dawn of Destiny or are you currently in other bands besides Dawn of Destiny?

There were probably rather more projects than real bands that I played with and currently there is nothing more than Dawn of Destiny.

What do you prefer: The traditional four strings on your bass or five?

By now I prefer five strings basses because it gives me more opportunities to vary my sound and my play.

And what kind of bass and amplifier do you use onstage?

I use a five string Grass Roots (ESP) Bass and a Line6 amplifier on stage. I am satisfied with both of it.

Power metal and Germany are almost identical in the world of metal. Why is this kind of metal so popular in Germany?

This kind of music has its roots in Germany. Helloween played that style first and some many followed. Maybe people in Germany still like tunes and melodies with high screaming voices and fast double bass attacks but I think it’s similar in other countries like Greece, Italy or Finland.

And what makes Dawn of Destiny different from all those other Power Metal bands?

We have a different approach concerning songwriting. We do not use the classical structure with Verse and Chorus. Furthermore we have more influences than just power metal because we like to express different feelings and emotions within our music. We want to create our CD’s diversified and obviously it was proven to be right considering the reviews we got for “Rebellion in Heaven”.

Another ‘German’ question: how big is metal really in your country? We foreigners know Germany mostly from all those festivals like Wacken Open Air and this might give some the impression that one out of five Germans is into Metal. Is metal really that big in Germany?

As far as I know metal is more popular in Finland (related to the population). In Germany metal was big in the 80’s and almost dead in the 90’s. By now Hip Hop is unfortunately the most popular music in Germany.

Does the album title (“Rebellion in Heaven”) have any special meaning?

Some lyrics deal with a examination of God, so we thought this title would be fitting. Besides it just sounds cool to us.

Is there one mastermind behind Dawn of Destiny’s music or is song writing teamwork?

No, I am the only songwriter but we all discuss the songs and the other members share their ideas to change some arrangements.

Can you tell us something about the songs on the album?

There are 14 songs and most of them sound different from the others. We have classical power metal stuff like “Angel Without Wings” or “Days Of Crying”, some heavy thrashing parts like “Inquisition” or some Gothic influences like “Tears”.

Your debut album is called “Begins” which is of course a perfect name for a debut album. What have you done different compared to “Begins” while writing and recording “Rebellion in Heaven”?

There are not so many differences between both albums. To me “Rebellion in Heaven” is the consequent continuation of “Begins” with the difference that we had a producer (Siggi Bemm) this time.

And the artwork: How did you get in touch with Mattias Nòren?

We found some very good material on his website and asked him to work with us for our first album.

Can you tell us something about the other members of Dawn of Destiny?

Tanja Maul – Vocals

Tanja and me make music for nearly six years. When we met each other she liked everything in music – everything but Metal!! Seemed to be a misunderstanding that we did not want to have a female singer and she did not want to sing in a metal band but it worked. Contemporaneously she sang in an a cappella band which has been a total contrast to our kind of music. Tanja has a very strong will and would do nearly everything for DOD. Her voice is crystal clear and enhances the emotions in our music perfectly.

Veith Offenbächer – Guitars

Veith is an extraordinary guitarist and a very pleasant character who fits perfectly to DOD. He was the latest member and joined us during the recording session of “Begins”.

Dirk Raczkiewicz – Keyboards

The ‘Grandfather’ refered to his age with a good sense for nice tunes.

Ansgar Ludwig – Drums

Maybe you wouldn’t expect him playing drums but he has very fast feet and a heavy groove.

What are Dawn of Destiny’s ambitions for the future?

We want to spread our name all over the world and maybe there is one day a chance for touring the whole world and selling enough CD’s to make DOD a full time living! We had several fantastic experiences and will always remember that.

And, the last question, is there anything the reader should know that I have not asked?

Not really. We thank you for the interview and hope that we could advise the reader of our band.

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Site

Interview : Kryssie Ridolfi, JP Soule, Josh Barker & Kip Kiebles – Deadmanswake

Phoner interview & trascription by Robin Stryker

Well, this was a new experience … interviewing all five members of a band at the same time by phone. Please join Femme Metal in welcoming the members of Chicago hard rock band, Deadmanswake: Kryssie Ridolfi (vocals), JP Soule (guitar/backing vocals), Josh Barker (guitar), Troll (bass) and Kip Kiebles (drums).

Welcome to Femme Metal everybody! JP, I understand that Deadmanswake did not start out as a female-fronted hard rock band. How did you guys get to where you are today?

JP : Well, I was actually the original vocalist for the band,and that lasted right about until I heard our first recordings, heard my voice and decided I didn’t want to sing anymore. (all laugh) Not as a main vocalist, anyway. I do fine if I’m blending with somebody else, but I just REALLY can’t stand the sound of my own voice. After that, we went through a couple of different guys. At the time, I was kind of going for an In Flames, Dark Tranquillity kind of sound. Then it just really got to the point where screaming ended up sort of feeling like it was gonna be a trend that was eventually going to go away. I didn’t want to be a band that was trapped in one specific era and I also didn’t want to be limited by somebody who didn’t have a strong melodic voice. So we let our screaming vocalist go, and started looking for other people. I wasn’t looking for a female vocalist, but I was definitely open to the possibility. And by the time we ended up working with Kryssie, it was down to her and one other person. I personally was sold from the first audition; the rest of the band, it took a little bit more convincing. She showed up at this other guy’s audition and just smoked him. I was already sold before that point but, by the time she finished that song, it was like “Okay, no one else need apply. We’re done”. That was the song “Screaming in Silence”, which is actually not on any official recordings as of yet but we have played it live a couple of times.

Let’s talk about the new album, “It Comes to This”. Give folks an idea of what they will hear when they listen to your album.

Kryssie: I know vocally all of the songs are lyrically from my heart. I know every vocalist says that. But the reality is, when I joined this band, I was at a really big renaissance (as I like to call it) in my life. I had just lost a two-and-a-half year relationship, I had just gotten my own place. My first audition with this band was the day I signed the lease on my first place by myself, and it was this big rebirth in my life. And all of the songs that I wrote lyrics for were within the first month of being in the band. That’s how emotional I was. Every single one of these songs is either about pain or about being confused about something or a personal loss or a personal gain, and all of that stuff was something I was feeling in the Fall of 2007 when these were written. So it’s very personal to me and I hope that people who hear it really identify and feel connected to me through it because I want people to know and I want to convey that they are not the only ones feeling stuff like that.

I’m fascinated by the album cover. You all are cartoons, with Kryssie as a nurse looking rather alarmed to see over your shoulder the rest of the band as zombies coming after you. What’s up with zombies?

Kryssie : A lot of us are really big fans of the horror genre and the name of the band Deadmanswake… when I first heard the name of the band… all I could think of was the walking dead. A friend of mine is a published comic book artist. I was talking to him one day when he popped into my work — which is ironically a horror collectible store — and he drew this quick little thumbnail sketch. It went through a lot of different incarnations, and the one that we ultimately ended up with I think is absolutely hilarious. I think all the caricatures look exactly like the boys. There are so many ways you can look at it… me being the only one who is not a zombie and everyone coming after me, you could go the cliché way of “oh, I’m a woman in a man’s world and it’s tough to not get eaten alive”. Or you could just go with the fact that we are all big dorks and we all like horror flicks. It’s probably a little bit of both if you want complete honesty.

If you could pick a horror film to have a Deadmanswake song in, or any film for that matter, which song would it be and which film would it go with?

Kryssie : I would choose the song “Back to Blood” and I would put it in “Shaun of the Dead” in the scene where they are beating the zombies with the pool cues in the Winchester. The Queen song, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, the fact that that’s in there is amazing but if I could throw our own in there I would totally put “Back to Blood” at that exact spot.

Kip : Just to stay away from the mainstream, I would have to say “Fright Night” is one of my favourites. Kryssie could probably tell you who stars in it and then some, I’m guessing. As far as the tunes go, I would use all of them on the soundtrack.

Troll : Do you know how “Maximum Overdrive” is an all-AC/DC soundtrack? Replace it with the “It Comes to This” album.

JP : In keeping with the zombie theme, it would probably be “Save Me”. I would use it at the end of the original “Dawn of the Dead”, where the zombies bust into the mall and they are ripping the bikers apart. There are all sorts of guts being pulled out and limbs being chewed. It’s just beautiful!

Quite the bloodthirsty crowd we have here. Guitarists – JP, Josh and Troll – tell us about your most prized instrument. (Keeping it clean, of course.)

Kryssie : My mind went there immediately. (laughs)

I knew it would, Kryssie. That last part was actually for you and not for the boys.

(all laugh)

Kryssie: I am seriously a fifth grade boy. I went right there, too. Okay, go on.

JP: This is actually a really easy one for me. Thanks to the miracle of Craigslist, I stumbled across a 2002 Ibanez Destroyer, an actual for real made-in-Japan Ibanez, and I managed to pick it up including the matched Ibanez case for less than $350. The Destroyer just sounds huge. I am one of the world’s greatest living Iron Maiden fans and Adrian Smith played a Destroyer back in the “Live After Death” era. I thought they were the coolest thing and, of course, they are! Plus it has a similar shape to a Gibson Explorer, which was James Hetfield’s weapon of choice, and he was one of the reasons I picked up the guitar in the first place. The Destroyer fills a whole bunch of guitar-hero rock star fantasies of mine.

Josh: To be honest, all of my ideal guitars, I don’t own. Of the ones that I play, the two that I like the most are an LTD Explorer, which I got for fairly cheap when I got it. I was young and stupid and was like, “Oh my god, it looks like an Explorer!”. It was the kind that James Hetfield played. Like JP already said, Hetfield was one of the reasons I picked up the guitar. I use that one pretty much for the bulk of the set. I also have an Ibanez SA that I recently put the new Steve Vai Evolution pickup into, which has improved its sound a whole hell of a lot. I just love Ibanez guitars overall. Ibanez has a pretty sick Flying V that I’d love to get my hands on.

Troll: My Kramer bass is definitely my prize possession. It’s technically the second bass I ever owned, but my first real instrument. I had an old Cort P-Bass copy that was a piece of crap that I broke within two months. Then I got the Kramer in maybe late 1988 or 1989, when I’d only been playing for a few months. I still have it to this day, and the shop that I got it from still exists so I can still go there and get a free set-up whenever I want. That thing has just been through hell and back. It’s my trusty at-home practice bass. I’d love to play it out, but it really doesn’t sound that good. It is priceless to me, though.

Kip, what is it like to be the new kid in the band? Did they make you feel welcome; are you part of the family; are they sharing their beer and all of those things that one would hope of good bandmates?

Kip : They don’t share beer. (Kryssie : We give him wedgies every day). The fact that they beat the hell out of me on a regular basis gives me the feeling that I’m loved, yes. Because that is what I did to my younger brothers, when I was younger. The band has definitely made me feel very at home. It’s kind of difficult to put into words where I am at with this band, but ultimately I’m the metal cheerleader in the band. Saddle shoes, skirt, pom-poms … good to go! There were some benefits that I could offer to the band, like a rehearsal space and a big truck to pull the equipment trailer, but those were just circumstantial. So I guess, when it’s all said and done and the smoke clears, we’re all pretty lucky because they offered me things like a damn good gig that I could be proud of.

Here is something that I’ve been dying to ask. What was it like when you held the first copy of your CD in your hand?

Kryssie : Can I just tell you about the text message conversation Troll and I had when the UPS man was delivering? We had been texting that whole day because the CDs were supposed to show up that day. (It’s common knowledge that, when we are not out doing things, Troll and I especially are huge advocates of pyjamas. We are always in our jammies, no matter what). Troll texted said something about the UPS man. I was like, gasp, “Is he coming?” And he was like, “The bastard just drove by!” I didn’t hear from him and I was getting nervous. Then I got a picture message with just a photograph of all seven boxes of our CDs and I screamed like a little girl … it was amazing! All of us have been musicians for so long. Before I was a vocalist, I used to be a guitar player. I was playing guitars since I was 10, so I’ve been in the “business” for 15 years almost. This is the first actual, physical, honest-to-god, pressed from a factory CD I’ve ever had. This is a HUGE emotional thing for me, and it was nice to show it to my mother and give her a reason why I quit college.

Deadmanswake is having a pyjama party gig. Is this just another excuse for Kryssie and Troll to appear in public in pyjamas?

Kryssie: More or less. It is a CD release for another band, and their frontperson sent me an e-mail and was like,”The theme of this show is freakshow. Take that and run with it, and do what you will.” We were tossing around ideas for playing at a different venue on a different day, and we were like, “Oh, we should show up in our pyjamas.” And then it dawned on me … how funny would that be for the freakshow theme?!? I have a feeling that Troll is going to show up with pigtails and the whole nine yards and I’m digging out a special pair of slippers. It is absolutely another excuse to be seen in my jammies in public.

JP : I’m not totally familiar with everybody in the band’s sleeping habits, so I’m just really hoping that no one in the band sleeps naked.

Kryssie : I’m not totally familiar with everybody in the band’s sleeping habits, so I’m just really hoping that no one in the band sleeps naked.

With as diverse as your musical tastes are, how hard would it be to decide what the cover song would be on a new album?

Kryssie : We’ve actually had pretty good luck — with this incarnation of the band, anyway – we’ve had a really, really easy time picking out covers. We do have diverse influences, but when it comes down to it, if there is some silly, ridiculous deep-cut that one of us mentions that everyone thinks is funny, we go for it. The one that we are talking about putting on the album is one that lots of people on our Facebook page – people that I’ve never met – have mentioned that they would really like to hear us do. It’s kind of cool that if we make that happen, they’ll hear it and be like, “Oh, I suggested that.”

Okay, album is out and you have dates lined up. What is your tour scheduling looking like for the summer? Will you be travelling away from Chicago? Will folks in other parts of the United States and perhaps our friends in Europe have a chance to see you too?

Kryssie : We did an interview last week where we were asked a similar question about whether we would like to get out to Europe. That’s a frustrating question because I would tour there tomorrow if I could afford it. Realistically speaking, if we were able to do it, it would have to wait until next summer. Hopefully by then, we can create enough of a buzz and maybe after our A&R showcase get people who are willing to invest in us to go over there. But that is, realistically, something that we can’t even think about this summer, which really, really is painful. We have got another band that we are hooking up with. None of the dates are set in stone yet, so we are not announcing them. But we are going to have a two-and-a-half week tour towards the end of the summer that will take us from Chicago all the way as far south as Florida, then we are going to come back. It is just going to be a two-and-a-half week run. We definitely are going to make it a point to travel this summer, and get out there. We can’t keep doing all this Internet networking if we can’t put our money where our mouth is and go play in front of people..

Links

MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter

Interview : Heidi Parvianen – Amberian Dawn (2009)

Interview by Eetu “Ene” Niskanen

An Interview with Heidi, the soprano singer of the Finnish Metal Band Amberian Dawn. During this interview, we’ll talk about about the new album “The Clouds of Northland Thunder” that is coming this summer.

You just released your second album “The Clouds of Northland Thunder” with Amberian Dawn, how much work did it take?

Our front man Tuomas had already started the composing the new album when the “River of Tuoni” album was released and some of the song were already ready. Almost everything was recorded before the Epica European tour 2008 but some choir and vocal parts had to be done straight after the tour. It took lots of work from everyone and especially from Tuomas who almost lived at the studio during the recordings. I did all the choir parts except the “Incubus” male role so I had quite a lot to sing too.

Is there an lyrical concept behind the album?

Not a clear one. But of course I wanted to bring a bunch of exiting stories to this album and also pour some Finnish cultural heritance into the lyrics too. Some of the lyrics are based on the Finnish national epic Kalevala as also on our previous album. On the “Clouds” album the Kalevala songs are “Kokko- Eagle of Fire” and “Birth of the Harp”. But there are also lyrics based on my own stories and legends or even fairytales.

How the band has grown from the debut “River of Tuoni”?

The biggest growth has happened in the bands skills and of course our lineup has changed too. First came Kasperi to replace the former guitarist Sampo and just recently Tuomas decided to retire from guitar-business, at least the live guitars, and his replacement was Emppu with his wild hair. The sound of the new album is in my opinion more solid and there is more variation in musical ways.

What is your personal favourite song from the album?

Hard question because I kind of like them all but from different reasons and it is really hard to put them into any order. But maybe I would say “Sons of Seven Stars” because in my opinion the story and the music go so well together in this song. The story linkes quite remotely to the book about Seven Brothers of Aleksis Kivi, a Finnish author. But in this version of the story, the seven brothers were born in the ancient times from the alliance of a bear and a human. The bears left the land to their sons and moved to the stars. The seven sons grew up under the constellation of Ursa Major and the North star and persistantly and with vigor they plowed the frozen land and peopled the cold and dark North. They could have also been the forfathers for Finnish people.

How did you joined Amberian Dawn?

I was a keyboardist and a backing vocalist in a metal band called Iconofear from the year 1997. During the ten years with Icono-boys I developped my singing skills and felt that is was time to retire from the keyboards. I simply felt I was better as a singer than a keyboardist and I could give most on that area. So it was 2006 when I started to search a band as a singer. Tuomas and Tommi spotted my ad and I did some singing samples and also the lyrics for “Passing Bells” from “River of Tuoni” album as a test. I think I got the job…;)-

How long have you been singing?

I went on a music oriented school and I started taking singing lessions when I was 14 years old. By that time I didn´t even think about being a singer one day. I wanted to take some lessions because I felt tensions and pain in my throught when singing. I wanted to emprove my tecnique to get rid of the tentions which made my singing unpleasant. I enjoyed singing a lot and I wanted it to stay that way too. I joined a choir at the age of 14 and after that I have sang in various choirs and some ensembles too. I´m still taking singing lessions and trying to develop my skills – I feel that it´s an neverending project…..but I don´t mind as long as I keep developping!-

How would you describe your voice?

I’m a classically trained soprano and some would say I’m a soubrette soprano. – The soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range and with no extensive coloratura. The soubrette voice has a lighter vocal weight than other soprano voices and a brighter timbre. Many young singers start out as soubrettes but as they grow older and the voice matures more physically they may be reclassified as another voice type-.

What kind of music do you listen yourself and how often?

I listen to a lot of different kinds of music from heavy metal to classical. I don’t listen too much music because I´m not too much at home. But when I do I first listen to my mood and then I choose the right music for it.

Do you think it’s easier to rise as metal band on big metal country such as Finland?

Finland is the promised land for metal but because of that the competition is hard and the level is really high. You have to have a good concept, skilled musicians, good compositions and production, some luck, reliable and hardworking people to work with and a great team to built everything up. And not to forget the hard work from everyone. Sounds like recipe for a cake doesn’t it! Bake it in 666 degrees to make it metal…hahhah -

You did big european tour with symphonic metal band Epica last year, how was the experience?

It was a great experience and we all grew up as musicians during the four week on road. The Epica people were really fun to work with and everything went really as planned. Except we all got a bit sick on the tour and I was in a terrible flue for almost 3 weeks from the 4 weeks tour…there were mornings I didn´t have almost any voice but duringthe day I managed to get some of my singing voice back. In Germany I went to a doctor but I only got some herbs and allready in France I needed to see a doctor again who gave me antibiotics and some cortizone. I missed a lot of scenery because of being sick but none of the shows so I must be content.

There are a lot of female fronted metal bands in the world at the moment, how Amberian Dawn is different from them, how do you keep unique?

We play fast tempo, guitar driven metal with purely classical female vocals. To continue the baking theme I would say : the ingredients have been used before but not in this kind of mixture.

What are the plans of Amberian Dawn for the future?

We are planning a new European tour for the fall 2009 and maybe some touring also for the spring 2010. Tuomas has also started to compose new material for the becoming third album.

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