Impaled
Nazarene
Impaled Nazarene
is one of the most controversial bands in heavy metal mnsic and every album
of theirs creates a fuss in the worldwide scene. This fact along with some
unfortunate events, made the band stronger, more determined and offered
them the necessary stimulation and inspiration to release "Manifest" one
of their best albums according to me. So, here we have Mika Luttinen at
his best giving us some really interesting, sincere and funny answers!!!
1. Hi Mika! How are you?
2. Congratulations on “Manifest”! Are you happy
with it?
Yes of course! I think you won’t put out an
album if you weren’t happy about it.
-I don’t totally agree with this. I mean there
are some bands who release albums just because their label forces them
to do so.
Well, maybe for some bands, but not for us!
Thankfully we have a record label that doesn’t give us any schedules, so
we get to do whatever we want to do and when we want to do it.
3. You are a band that exists 17 years and
you have a strong fan base. So which are your expectations from your releases
now?
We have learned during these 17 years that
we don’t expect anything! (Laughter) It’s much easier, because if you are
thinking that now we have the master piece that is going to sell one million
copies, you will end up into shit or something like that.
-What more do you think you have to offer to
the scene?
I don’t know if we have anything to offer
to the scene, but first and foremost we do the music for ourselves. Of
course I know this is a cliché, but that’s a fact and when you are
doing the music, you just hope that people are still interested or that
you will find a new generation of fans who will be interested. That’s a
fact in life that old bands like us, need to have new fans as well, because
there are always people who grow out of metal or get married or whatever
or their wives don’t let them listen to this stuff…
-Bad wives!
(Laughter) Yes or something like that…
4. What happened to Impaled Nazarene from the
release of “Pro Patria Finlandia” up to now?
We went on a European tour, which ended up
in total disaster, because the German anti-fascistic organization managed
to get us banned in lots of places. We were supposed to have 13 shows and
we played only 2. We also had a show in Vienna in Austria which was also
cancelled, the local anti-fascistic organization managed to ban us there.
We had to change the location in Switzerland… never-ending disaster!
-It’s strange, cause I was reading the news
and I saw that there were communists against you and fascists against you…
Yeah! That’s true! In France we were banned
by the right-wing party and in Germany and Austria and Switzerland we had
problems with the left wing. I don’t know what to make out of this. There
are people from right who hate us and people from left who hate us! Haha!
-So, this means that only people in the middle
party listen to Impaled Nazarene…
(Laughter) Yeah! I suppose this makes us the
middle band! Anyway, back to the actual question. We did the tour, it ended
up in total disaster, we lost shit loads of money, then we played a couple
of summer festivals in Finland in August 2006. We were supposed to play
Poland for the first time, but surprise, surprise we got banned!!! Haha!
This was the last straw for us. We almost split up!
-Were things so bad for you?
Yes! We were so fucking tired of the whole
thing and there was a very odd period between August 2006 and the Greek
dates that we did in Athens and Thessaloniki. We didn’t really talk to
each other and there was complete uncertainty about the future, because
we didn’t know what we should do. Everyone was fucking tired and we had
lost so much money with all that crap and then we came to Greece and both
shows were fucking great! Those shows restored the burning fire within
the band members. I remember when we were flying back from Greece we were
talking in the airplane and everyone was saying “Fuck that was good!”.
This is the reason why we are doing this and we realized that it would
have been the biggest mistake ever to split up the band because of just
a shit that happened in Germany. If we had done so, then the people who
were opposing us they would have won and I’m not going to give them that
you know! So, the Greek dates was something that basically saved this band
and I’m really happy about it. So, when we got back home from Greece we
said to each other that “OK! We need to do a new album” and we didn’t want
to wait 2 years as we usually do. So we said let’s go into the studio in
May 2007 and basically we started writing the new album seriously from
that point on and here we are now!
5. Is this why this album is so aggressive
and extreme?
Absolutely! There was lots of frustration
and anger and you know just pure hatred that was left… The amount of shit
we got was unbelievable, because of that tour, so this album was some sort
of a catharsis. We needed to do this album, to get rid of all that crap.
We were hoping that this shit in Germany would be over, but I just learned
today, actually five minutes ago I got a phone call from the German promoter
and we were supposed to play this festival in end of December in Germany,
but we have been banned again!
-Is this now for “Manifest” or is it still
the remnants of “Pro Patria Finlandia”?
It’s still the old shit! The thing is that
the Germans were not really against the “Pro Patria Finlandia”, because
you can still hear and find this album in Germany. This isn’t a problem!
But they are still against “Nihil”. That’s the ultimate black metal album
for them! So, we cannot play in Germany, because of the album we did 7
years ago…
-This is stupid!
It’s stupid, it doesn’t make any sense, because
when the “Nihil” album came out we did lots of German dates. When “The
Absence Of war…” came out we did lots of German dates and we played songs
from “Nihil”. The when “All That You Fear” came out we played in Germany
and we played songs from “Nihil” again.
-Then those people must be retarded and it
must have taken them 7 years to realize why they didn’t like “Nihil”.
Absolutely, yes!!! (Laughter). I really don’t
know what to make out of all this… We are not the only band who is suffering
this. There was a festival called Hellflame in Germany in the beginning
of October and Benediction and Onslaught from United Kingdom got also banned,
because they said that those bands were Nazis too! Can you imagine fucking
Benediction? Come on!!! (Laughter) It’s really sad… The whole German issue
is sad. That’s the only thing I can say…
-It’s pathetic! You can’t claim to be open
minded and then start banning groups and using censorship everywhere. Where
is the freedom of speech?
I mean they should remember their own past…
What happened with Hitler… it started with banning all the books and stuff.
-They are trying to get rid of the Hitler past,
of those dark pages in their history, so they end up doing exactly the
same things, because they think this way they are going to prevent their
past from coming to the surface…
They are repeating history…
-Have you ever answered to any of those left
and right wing parties, trying to explain your music and your lyrics and
that they haven’t got anything to do with such stuff?
When we had that tour going on, we did shit
loads of newspapers in Germany and stuff, but it was like talking to a
brick wall. Nobody was listening what we were saying and they were editing
the interviews the way to make us look like complete idiots. So, when they
want to ban something, they will find a reason to do it and they have friends
in high political places and somehow they are connected. When you have
power, then you can easily destroy small people like us, because we don’t
have the money or the resources to fight back. We cannot hire a good lawyer
in Germany. It would cost us a fortune.
6. If your label asked you to advertise “Manifest”
by writing a couple of lines, what would you say trying to be as objective
as possible?
Well it’s like the most dynamic and the most
varied album that this band has ever done, so basically it’s like this
album respects our back catalogue. It’s like taking the best elements from
the previous album and mix them with the new influences. It’s hard for
me to say! Haha! Basically in my opinion if you compare it with “Pro Patria
Finlandia”. There are a lot of differences. Even the production for our
previous album was very digital sounding. So, this has a much warmer sound,
because we wanted to create a more analog sounding record. When “Pro Patria
Finlandia” came out, I really liked the production, but when I was listening
to it one year later, I was thinking “Jesus, fucking Christ this sounds
so digital and compressed”. So, that was something that we wanted to change
and this is why we didn’t use any triggers. We wanted to have amore live
sound and that’s what we did!
-And I totally agree with you because most
bands nowadays have a digital sound and end up sounding identical to one
another.
Exactly! And you know they use the same triggers,
setting, the same pro-tools and programs, that’s why everything sounds
the same nowadays. You are absolutely correct!
7. Which are the highlights of the album?
Let me see… I have to take the album so I
can remember… (Laughter) For me the best songs are “Mushroom Truth”, “You
Don’t Rock Hard”, because it’s completely different and “Funeral For Despicable
Pigs”…
-You know you’ve just mentioned some of my
favourite songs!
Haha! And I also think that “Goat Justice”
also stands out. And the “Dead Return”. Actually I’m very proud of that
song, because it was fucking hard for me to sing it. If you can call my
screaming singing, of course, but I went to the studio and I didn’t have
time to rehearse with the band, so I went alone to the rehearsal
place and I was just playing it from the CD and I was rehearsing it alone
and I was thinking “This will end up in a total disaster”. So I left it
as the last track of the album for the studio and I did a couple of takes,
which sounded like absolute crap and I was thinking “Fuck we have to leave
this album out, because I’m not able to sing it!” (laughter) Then I did
another take and suddenly it just clicked, I was listening to it and was
thinking “Fucking hell! This actually works!”.
-Are there any weak moments you can trace or
is it too early?
Hmm… I think it’s too early! Maybe a year
later I’ll be able to say “Perhaps this song…”.
-OK then I leave the question aside and I’ll
ask you in a year’s time!
8. In which ways has your sound changed throughout
the years of the band’s existence?
I think the biggest change in the sound was
basically when “Nihil” came out, cause that was the point when we started
having two guitar players. So, that changed the composing factor to the
point that we started having leads and stuff. But if I listen to this album
and then I listen to our first album, it still sounds like the same kind
of band. It’s maybe more technical now, better played and better produced,
but still the spirit is exactly the same!
-And how has it changed from “Pro Patria Finlandia”
to “Manifest”?
Well, “Pro Patria Finlandia” was a really
fast album, so there wasn’t really difference among the tracks in that
sense, there weren’t any tempo changes. This one is more dynamic and varied
definitely. You have the slow songs and you have the fast songs, then you
have the rock song, and the punk song, blah blah blah. So there is a lot
of different kind of shit on this album and even if it’s a mixed package,
it still works. At least in my opinion! I hope people will agree!
9. This is the longest, if I’m not mistaken,
album of yours and yet it’s like you said very diverse, containing not
only the typical extreme metal elements, but also solos, classic heavy
metal themes and punk-ish riffs. How do you achieve this balance and yet
create an interesting and homogeneous album?
You know we don’t plan anything. We don’t
write music as a band, but we write music at home as individuals. So every
member in the band writes music and then we meet at the rehearsal place
and we play the songs we have written. If everyone agrees we will keep
the song and if everyone says your song is total shit, then we just throw
it away. And you know it’s very democratic in a sense. I didn’t really
know what to expect after we started writing “Manifest”. The first song
that was ready was “Planet Nazarene” and it’s a really fast song. It was
kind of like an indication that this album is going to be really fast,
but then suddenly we had songs like “Funeral For Despicable Pigs” and I
was thinking “OK! We aren’t going to have a fast album after all!” It’s
an interesting package!
-Well though it’s approximately 50 minutes
long, it doesn’t get boring.
Exactly and if it does bore you, you can keep
the tracks you love! (Laughter) When we had finished the recordings and
were mixing the album, that was the point when we started talking to each
other and asking if this album is too long. So, I took a CD-R at home and
I put it on my computer and I started to fuck around with the track list,
at the time we hadn’t had an idea which way to put the tracks, so when
I finally came up with the final track listing of the album, how it is
now at the final version, I was listening to it and I was thinking “Sure
it’s a long album, but it works, because it’s not only fast songs”. And
like we’ve said a thousand times in this interview it has the diversity
and this is what makes this album work.
10. Is it my belief or are the lyrics on “Manifest”
a bit more serious and angrier?
Yes absolutely! There are a lot of songs about
the tour and the aftermath of the tour. So you can basically say that “You
Don’t Rock Hard”, “Pandemia”, “Funeral For Despicable Pigs”, “Goat Justice”,
“Suicide Song” and “When Violence Commands The Day” are all songs that
directly deal with that tour and its aftermath. Then you have a couple
of other songs that aren’t so connected with the tour. Haha!
-What are they dealing with? Your typical topics…
nuclear war, death and blasphemy?
Well, not really. Let’s say that the blasphemy
song is the “Original Pig Rig”. Do you know what it is about?
-No! Please tell me.
It’s about crucifix. It tells the story of
the brave men who built the crucifix that Jesus was crucified on. And then
you have a song like “Pandemia”. I said it deals with the tour, but it
doesn’t really deal with that tour. When we did our live album we had some
censorship problems in Italy. There was a catholic organization that managed
to get us banned in a couple of towns. But we were lucky and we managed
to change the locations. In the end we managed to play there, but “Pandemia”
is a very anti-Catholic song.
11. The artwork is minimalistic and there are
no colours present, just black and white. Why?
You should ask the artist! Haha!
-Didn’t you have a say on it?
We have this house artist called Ritual and
Ritual is the guy who has been doing stuff for us since the “Absence Of
War Doesn’t Mean Peace” album. What you see on the cover of “Manifest”
was originally a T-shirt design for us. When we saw this one, we said “Fuck!
That’s it! We’re not gonna use this only on a T-shirt” This is going to
be our album cover!” It has the gas mask and all the trademarks of Impaled
Nazarene.
-I think it’s really powerful and it reveals
that the album is going to be intense.
I think so too! There have already been a
couple of people who said that they are going to take the album cover as
a tattoo. We got some emails from people who wanted to have a bigger picture
version and I just gave them the artist’s email and told them please ask
him directly, because I don’t have the original painting.
12. You sing with a lot of passion and disgust,
so I was wondering if certain images come to your mind every time you’re
interpreting a song. Which are these?
Hahaha! It depends! When I’m writing lyrics
I want to have the music and then I start thinking of the song titles first.
I need to have a song title before I can’t write the lyrics. That’s always
the hardest part to come up with a song title that a) nobody has ever used
before and b) something that you haven’t used before, so that you don’t
repeat yourself. I have already written hundreds of lyrics, because we
have made so many albums and I’ve had so many side projects… When you get
the title, like for example the “Original Pig Rig” I started thinking what
the fuck original pig rig is and then suddenly the whole thing became clear
that this has to be about crucifix. But it’s not people will see it. When
you hear a title like “Original Pig Rig”, the crucifix isn’t the first
thing you will think. That’s the way my mind works and sometimes on this
album was very easy to make some of the lyrics just because of what had
happened to us these last couple of years, so it was like fuck them and
fuck you and fuck this and fuck that!
-This would make interesting lyrics! You should
use them for your next album!
(Laughter) I think it would be really boring!
Fuck, fuck, fuckitifuck! Haha!
13. What feelings do you think your music creates
to your listeners?
I don’t really know! It’s hard for me! I don’t
ever think about such things, because when I’m listening to music I don’t
really like to get any feelings in that sense. I just like to enjoy the
music. I don’t listen to music I don’t want to listen to. I’m not a journalist
thankfully! So, I don’t have to listen to boring CDs all day like you!
Haha! And most of the times I’m listening to old records I grew up with,
cause that’s the shit I like the most. When sometimes I get promos from
new bands, I listen to them once and I think… “Well it doesn’t really do
anything for me so goodbye!”
-What feelings or thoughts does your music
create to you?
I’m just basically happy that it’s ready and
it’s out! I don’t really listen to it and be like “Yeaaahh!” Sometimes
I listen to it in the car, when I’m driving, so I think it’s a fucking
good CD to listen to when you are driving. It makes you drive fast! Haha!
-Well, that’s not good!
Sometimes you have to break the law!
-As long as policemen aren’t around though…
14. Is there a question you’d like to be asked
and no one has ever considered asking you all these years?
Hahahaha! I have no answer to this! I cannot
come up with anything really intelligent! (Laughter)
15. What do you think of the Finnish metal
scene?
After the Lordi won you know in the Eurovision
song contest, metal became really hugely popular in Finland. Only the same
kind of metal like Lordi though and you cannot really call that metal in
my opinion. So, you have still the bands that are huge like Nightwish,
Children Of Bodom, H.I.M.… It’s the same bands continuing being popular…
But all this hasn’t affected our sales at all. I mean we are still selling
the exact shitty amount of CDs that we have done with all our albums in
Finland.
-You are stable then.
Yes we are but we are selling very little
in Finland. You know Finnish people don’t give a shit about this band.
It’s clear! It has always been like that and I know it’s going to be like
that. So, this is why I’m glad we have at least a fan base in other countries.
16. Well… would you ever consider contributing
a song in the Eurovision song contest?
Hmmm… Are yoy asking me seriously?
-No! It’s just a fun question.
Well then if it would make us as big as Lordi,
then hell yes!!! (Laughter) Can you imagine the whole Europe would be voting
for a song like “Sadhu Satana”, that would be the best thing ever! Hahaha!
-What would you do if you won? Would you like
to have a square named after the band in a Christian country like Finland?
Yeah, but that wouldn’t be enough! They should
rename the Helsinki as Impaled Nazarene town. Then we would be happy!
-You have big expectations then!
Yes of course! Why go for the square when
you can have the whole city? (Laughter)
17. Recently many famous bands create sequels
of their most successful albums, like Helloween, Queensryche and Gamma
Ray. Would you ever consider doing anything like that? An “Ugra Karma”
number 2 perhaps?
No! Not us! I think when you have done an
album, that’s it! All the sequels usually suck.
-Do you know what this makes me think? That
these bands know they are doing bad and their careers are going down the
drain and they think by using the title of one of their biggest successes
will bring them again glory and recognition.
I agree! If you think about Helloween who
did the Keeper ii and Keeper III, it’s kind of sad. Have you run out of
ideas that you have to borrow your own work? You will never see that from
us. I say never and then in 5 years we do it!!!! (Laughter)
-OK! I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll keep the
tape and I’m gonna come and accuse you of this!
Then I will say that wasn’t me who said that!
(Laughter)
18. Have you got any plans for a tour?
No and the reason is the German situation.
Actually we didn’t know until today.
-What about the other countries like Italy,
Greece, etc? I don’t think you’re going to have any problems there…
No, but the big problem is that we are talking
for a full European tour. It’s very hard to find the agency that is willing
to plan a tour that doesn’t have any dates in Germany, because Germany
is still the biggest heavy metal market in Europe. So, we are now waiting
to see what happens. In January we will go to Portugal and hopefully we
are going to have some weekend shows around Europe and hopefully also get
a couple of summer festivals. The big problem with us is that we haven’t
got a management and it’s really hard to sell your own band to the big
festivals, because they tend to take the bands from the agencies and from
the managements. When you are offering yourself “Hey take us!”, they will
see “Well what the fuck!”
19. Is there a movie you think Impaled Nazarene’s
music could be the ideal soundtrack?
-I don’t know! Any kind! You tell me!
Hmmm… Considering that I personally think
that “Manifest” has a good driving music, I would use it as the soundtrack
for a movie like “Die Hard 4”!
-Great movie!
-Is there a movie you’d like to write the soundtrack
for?
I think I don’t have the skills for this kind
of thing.
-I’m not talking about the typical soundtrack.
Your own music used as a soundtrack…
Oh, then it would be a movie like “Die Hard
4”! It would have to be like that, because I cannot really imagine somebody
would come to me and tell me “Hey we have this love story and we need you
to compose the soundtrack” and then we’d come with some shit like “Pandemia”!
They would say “Well, this isn’t exactly what we were expecting”! (Laughter)
-What about a war movie?
I think metal music as a soundtrack for a
war movie wouldn’t work. That’s just my personal opinion. Because the war
movies don’t really need a soundtrack. You just have to listen to the gun
fire and the bombs. That’s it!
20. Thank you! Leave your message to our readers.
Thank you too! Since Greece basically saved
our band, I just want to say the biggest fucking hail ever to the great
fans who came to those 2 concerts, because it’s really thanks to them that
we are still here!
Christine Parastatidou
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