Hanna Tsepesh: Moro Mynni! Thanks so much for accepting this interview for THE GATES OF METAL! First of all can you tell to us little bit about SOTAJUMALA history for the readers out there that don’t know your band yet…
Mynni: Hell-O! Well, Sotajumala is a Finnish death metal band founded in 1998 and we play aggressive death metal. Drawing influence from both old and new generations of death metal thus creating a sound of our own. The lyrics are in our native language and the band name translates to Wargod. We have two full lenght albums, Death Metal Finland and Teloitus. We´re now making material for the new album and hoping that it would be released end of the year or in the beginning of next year.
Hanna Tsepesh: What are the inspirations to creat the lyrics for SOTAJUMALA? Why you guys choose to have all the lyrics in your native language (Finnish)?
Mynni: The ideas come straight from our twisted minds. War, murder, torture, hate and all the good things in life. Basically all the themes comes from mans urge to destruction and self-annihilation. It´s not glorification, more like questioning of is it all worth the pain... And the listeners can decide is it?
It was natural for us to write the lyrics in finnish ´cause that´s how we can say exactly what´s on our minds. And it sounds way more brutal in finnish than in english. There are so many DM bans that sing in english we don´t so I think it´s advantage for us. And all the lyrics are translated to English so everybody out side of Finland can also understand what we are saying. Hell, we´re finnish guys so why wouldn’t we sing in finnish?
Hanna Tsepesh: Let’s talk little bit about you: What are your favorite bands at the moment?
Mynni: I´m a black metal guy so the basic shit like Dark Throne, Burzum, Mgla, DHG, Shining, Marduk, Avsky, Behemoth etc. But outside of BM I can think bands like Slayer, Pantera, Rob Zombie, Brujeria, Down, Danzig, My Dying Bride, Necrophagia, Ramones, Hank III, Cypress Hill. Also there are many fucking great bands in Finland like Ajattara, Swallow the Sun, Havoc Unit, Moonsorrow, Enochian Crescent, Torture Killer, Deathchain, Blake. And of course all hail G.G. Allin! So I listen to all kinds of music and not just BM or DM.
Hanna Tsepesh: You also have 2 more bands: Horna and Obscurant! One little curiosity: How are the things with these 2 bands? Horna for example have a new album, right? And what about Obscurant? Any new?
Mynni: Yes that´s right. We have a new album out with Horna and we were touring USA the whole last November so things are quite good. All though we are on little break now of recording, we are just doing gigs and shit like that. With Obscurant we don´t have record deal right now, but we are trying to fix that thing. Songs for the new album are all ready and in shape just waiting for the deal and studio. Four new songs are available in MySpace www.myspace.com/obscurantband. Check it out and comment what you think.
Hanna Tsepesh: thanks! You also play guitar! When you start to play? Any musician inspired you to start?
Mynni: Well I started to play when I was about 12-13 so quite late. I´m no "guitarhero" but I can play as good as I want which is good enough for me. Actually Obscurant´s second guitarist was the main reason for me to play. He had guitar and I was like let me try and then it all started. So there wasn´t any bands or idols who I admired and tried to copy. Only friens having good times with music and drinks.
Hanna Tsepesh: when/what age you see that you had talent for singing this kind of music style?
Mynni: When we started Unveiled back in 96, mainly then I tried to sing this way but I took many years to get where I am now. And I wasn´t singer at first, only guitarist. In 2000-01 I moved also to vocals in Unveiled and started to work with my voice more and it turned out quite nice. First recording session which I made was Unveiled´s debut album Anti-God Behavior 2002 and I´m very pleased with that.
Hanna Tsepesh: About “Teloitus” album, you really have a brutal voice! SOTAJUMALA is really great band and you guys prove that in this album! I don’t have anything bad to say about this album! For people who don’t listen yet can you tell to us about this album and what the band want to accomplish?
Mynni: Thank you very much! Well, we just tried to do one badass Death Metal album which people can remember after few years. Songs with brutal and slow, technical and easy, groovy and crushing, with something you can bang you head off and go totally apeshit in moshpitt. And we are 100 percent satisfied with it.
Hanna Tsepesh: How has the response been to the album by the media and fans? I know that the people from your country (Finland) like a lot your band! You must be very proud, right?
Mynni: The response has been fucking great! Of course it can´t all be good but you have to have some rotten apples also in the basket. I´m not that much into charts but I have the say that it was quite overwhelming when we got the info that Teloitus went straight to place 17 in finnish national charts! I was like what the fuck?! ´Cause we aren´t like Soilwork of In flames with clean vocals and parts that everyone can feel good with. Of course I´m proud but I´m way more amazed and I hope this feeling continues also after next album...
Hanna Tsepesh: You guys also have another album “Death Metal Finland-special edition”! It was fun to recording this album?
Mynni: Well I´m not singing in that album. Only in the single versions in the end. But when I listen that album I can think that everything went fucking great ´cause the album sounds like that. So good work guys! After that album the guys asked me to join as a session member to do some gigs. Everything worked very good so they asked me if I would like to join as a fulltime member, and hell yeah I wanted! So that´s why we are in this situation.
Hanna Tsepesh: SOTAJUMALA sings with new label call “Cobra”, you guys are happy to work with them? It was a difficult process to choose a right label for the band?
Mynni: Yeah, we have a great confidence with Cobra. We have known the main guy for some time now and it was great that He asked us to join his label. It was hands down the best offer that we got. But time will tell how things will work out, but I´m looking forward to work with Cobra. Hell why not, ´cause Stallone did also!
Hanna Tsepesh: One of your Portuguese fans asks me to ask you this: What means SOTAJUMALA in English and if exist any reason that the band gave this name?
Mynni: It means Wargod in English. Guys were little bit drunk in sauna one night years way back and talked that it would be fucking great name for a band (it sound way cooler in finnish than in english). And that´s how it all started and it worked out quite good. Alcohol showed us the way and knowledge to understand the brutal road of Death metal. Yeah, right...
Hanna Tsepesh: about concerts, you have any date/places that you want to tell to us? Exist any plain in the future to play in Portugal or maybe to make a tour in here with Portuguese metal bands? You guys are open in those ideas?
Mynni: There are some plans for five gigs in Spain with Kataplexia in late may. That is the closest we come now... It would be total amazing to come Portugal to do some gigs in there. Hopefully some day near future. We had gig in Caos Emergente festival with Horna and it was fucking great! Great people and great atmosphere so I would be a blast to come there and play with Sotajumala.
Hanna Tsepesh: So cool, I am very happy that you like our country! What is your favorite concert with SOTAJUMALA and why?
Mynni: I like every gig ´cause I think it´s the best thing in all this music shit. Tuska was totally breath taking and there are videos in youtube to proof it. Every gig with intense audience and great feeling. It doesn´t have to be huge stage and the best PA that you could have ´cause if you got people how really are into to your music and has great feeling. I prefer small places ´cause you can relate to the audience much better.
Hanna Tsepesh: Last question: You want to send any message to your fans around the world and also to our readers that going to read this interview and don’t know your band yet?
Mynni: Feel free to check our website at www.sotajumala.com. See you all crazy motherfuckers in gigs and let´s share couple of beers with shots and all the good shit!
Hanna Tsepesh: Thanks so much for your answers and time! THE GATES OF METAL wishes the entire band a great success and we are waiting for you guys to play a brutal show in Portugal…
Mynni: Just drinking Bacardi with lime-soda, listening Brujeria and doing this interview so it can´t be much better! Thanks for the interview and keep it brutal! Cheers!
Hanna Tsepesh: thanks so much! All the best…
By: Hanna Tsepesh
IMPORTANT: A few days after this interview was done, the promoter canceled the tour in Spain.
To listen some SOTAJUMALA songs and for future information’s go at:
www.myspace.com/sotajumala
www.sotajumala.com/
