"People should listen to music with an open mind. Sometimes it is hard for metal fans because they are very strict for certain kinds of metal...that is really boring to think that one thing is good."

Apocalyptica is a very unique act based in Finland. This troupe produces a special kind of metal...it's all performed with three (3) cellos and a drummer! That's right, cellos. Our correspondent Alexi Front sat down with Paavo Lötjönen to discuss the band's successful jaunt across the States, the commercial success of their studio releases, working with fellow countrymen HIM, etc. Read on.

Alexi Front:  This is Apocalyptica’s second tour of the United States. Have you noticed whether there were more fans out this time around?

Paavo Lötjönen: The first time we were here in April, and those venues were smaller. It was a successful tour in some ways: the shows were more sold out and now we have double the audience and it is really great. Just yesterday, we were in Canada in Vancouver and it was a beautiful audience, really great! For us they are small steps. We don’t the new album out in the states yet.  It is a sad situation for us at this time because all the promotion is a bit difficult for us right now. To get our material out to the people is a bit difficult. We took a risk to come here, we get no support from the record companies, we lost a lot of money, but we still think it is important. We are very happy to be here.

Alexi: How has the response been to Reflections?

Paavo: We have a deal with Universal and Universal in the US did not want to release the new CD at the same time Reflections came out. When you take the second option after three months, the biggest fans have ordered the new album already. It is difficult, but things look better now. We are finished with our old deal and for our new album; we will have a world release date. This is the groundwork for the future. Most of the people might remember us from the first album, Apocalyptica Plays Metallica. It was a big success in the US, we sold something like 160,000 copies without any promotion here, it was amazing. But, that was a long time ago. What we are doing now is promoting ourselves to let people know we are doing the original songs at the moment. We still play the Metallica songs as well as the cover songs at our shows and it is a still important part of Apocalyptica. We would not exist if we didn’t have those songs.  There is a lot of work to let people know we are doing our own music.

Alexi: Some people even have no idea that Apocalyptica have been around for nine years!  Tell me about the influences that go into your music?

Paavo: That is a difficult question to answer. What makes the music inside the head? It is all the music I love, the music we love, and the music we listen to. I am always saying that music comes from the head and heart, and the head is the shaker, where you put all the kind of things you love.  I guess there is all kinds of stuff like classical music, metal music, and there is also stuff like Massive Attack, Radiohead, some rock and even pop.  We prefer music that is serious and dark mooded. In our music, you can hear the symphonic lines, which come from classical music, and it is also in metal music.  There are the symphonic lines the old Metallica songs. That gives the music power.

Alexi: So you feel as though there is a big connection between metal and classical?

Paavo: Of course, it is a journalist's work to categorize the music, but in our mind, there is no boarder line. People should listen to music with an open mind. Sometimes it is hard for metal fans because they are very strict for certain kinds of metal. Someone could think that only Manowar is real music [Laughter], but that is really boring to think that one thing is good.

Alexi: Does Apocalyptica open up doorways?

Paavo: People should be open-minded. You don’t have to like everything, but you should check it out.

Alexi: Is there a natural influence to your music? As in the natural landscapes and terrain of Finland, does that affect your music at all?

Paavo: Yeah, for sure! It is basically the landscapes, the nature, and the darkness in the winter.  It makes a certain mood to your identity, for your feeling to face all the things in life.  In Finland, we have rough and dark winters. You get depressed, you may not see much light, but the landscapes are just a very small part of the influences to the music. I think it is things that happen in your daily life and the relationships with the people around you.

Alexi: Tell me a bit about the song “Bittersweet" and the video.

Paavo: We have known Ville and Lauri [Ylönen] for over ten years. In those days when there was no Apocalyptica and when there was no HIM. When our groups came together around the same time and when our first shows were for a rock audience in the same night. We both played covers, we played Metallica songs, and HIM played Type O Negative songs. After that gig one guy from an indie label asked us to make an album for his label. HIM also got really good attention during that night. 

One year after, there was the same cover night, we were playing Metallica songs, and Ville was singing “Welcome Home/Sanitarium” with us. Since that was so fun to do, we talked about doing something like that again in the future. We waited and waited for when the time was right. We have all been very busy, but we finally asked Ville to do a song with us and he agreed. Originally, the idea was to have Ville do one song and to have Lauri do another song. But when Ville heard Lauri was participating, he suggested that he do a duet with Lauri. He suggested a duet with two men. There are not many duets with two men.  It was a brilliant idea. The song was written, Ville and Lauri wrote the lyrics and adjusted the vocals, and they sang it together. That is the story behind that song. I think that it works really well. What is good is that there is a dark feeling behind the song, and the cellos sound good, and there is a lot of distortion. There is a great connection between us three. Also the voices contrast. Ville’s voice is so low and Lauri’s is so high, so it fits perfectly. If two males sing at the same, level it becomes a bit complicated and confusing for the listener. Like the Nickelback and Saliva duet who did that. You really couldn’t figure out who was doing what. With Ville and Lauri, you can tell.

Alexi: How did you feel doing the video?

Paavo: Our director did the script and we were happy with the locations, especially the swamp which was very Finnish looking. The girl was really good, not pumped up! [makes breast holding motion to signify the girl was not a “fake”] [Laughter]  She was very beautiful and poetical. It was a great fun. We were hanging from the roof literally! [Laughter] It was so much fun. Imagine hanging from the roof, all the blood rushes straight to your head! We were held pulled up connected by harnesses and hung upside down. It was pretty crazy to do that for five minutes! [Laughter]

Alexi: Would you do another video?

Paavo: We would like to use this one, but because of Ville’s new record deal, we can’t show it.  That is record company bullshit. You can’t see that on television, and it is really bad. HIM just released a new record, and the company gave them a lot of money so the company did not want to take any risks. Maybe they can use the video later in the future. It is a great video in comparison to other videos [makes penis sucking motion and “raising the roof” motion accompanied by heavy laughter from everyone].

Alexi: There has been a great resurgence of heavy music with melody lately. Do you ever wonder why?

Paavo: No, not really. I think it is a really great thing to get more melodic stuff where there are more things that catch you.  I think the albums that are really heavy from beginning to the end, it becomes boring and it tries to be heavy all the time. There is no contrast. I understand that it is a mood thing, but our way of making music is making it with contrasts. There has to be beautiful parts that make the heavy parts even heavier. This is how we feel. For example, even Slayer who are one of the best heavier bands. But, if you listen to it for over thirty minutes at a time, it is hard for the listener.  You really need to be in a certain mood to do that.

Alexi: When you go from headlining a festival like Wacken Open Air to a venue such as this one [El Corazon, which has a capacity of 400 people]…

Paavo: In Europe, we play venues that are normally for 3,000 or so people. The stages are always really big and we have enough space to run around do fun things. But, this is a back to basics thing...this going back to the days in 1996 and 1997 when we played these places.  It is okay and it reminds you of realities, we can’t be that big everywhere. We are optimistic for the future. It is also a pity for the audience because they cannot see the Apocalyptica show as it normally is in Europe on the biggest stages. We can’t offer the normal thing.  We will do our best.

Alexi: What is happening next for Apocalyptica?

Paavo: After this tour, we are going to South America and to Central America and Mexico. It will be great for us! We will for thousands of people at our own show and we will be headlining. We can’t be heavy metal gods everywhere.

Alexi: What can fans of the Reflections look forward to on the new album, Apocalyptica?

Paavo: Soundwise, Reflections helped us identify our sound. Reflections is a bit more pop and rock in sound and songs. Apocalyptica is a bit more serious and dark. For our new record it will be heavier and darker, it will be a bit more like the Cult album. There are no questions with that record and sometimes I feel like it is the best album we have done. But now that we have released five albums, every album has to be the picture representing everything.  I am happy for all the albums. But I feel the new songs will be like the Cult album, more sophisticated and no compromises [Laughter]!

Alexi: Have you thought about working with a heavier darker metal vocalist to go with the music?

Paavo: We want to keep the main concentration on the instrumental music. That is the main part of Apocalyptica. But, we are always interested in the cooperations. These people always bring something new and new dimensions and directions to the music. We have plans to do some cooperations in the future with some big names, but it is better to not tell them now.  It is better to not say these things before they happen.

Alexi Front (alexi@pivotalrage.com)

We'd like to thank Paavo and his camp for the interview and to Alexi for submitting this article