Hanna Tsepesh: Moro Puijon Perkele, how are you?
Puijon: Olá Hanna! Well actually i’m dead, been for few hundred years. I look like shit because i was murdered and i’m also bit decayed. Otherwise i feel fantastic. Thanks for asking.
Hanna Tsepesh: (ahaha) Don’t need to thank me, i thank you for giving us this interview! First tell me a little bit about Verjnuarmu history and the name of the other members and what they play and who is the guy that write the lyrics?
Puijon: In the year of our dark lord 2001 Musta Savo (drums, lyrics) and Savon Surma (guitar, lyrics) created a studio project called Verjnuarmu. It was so successful that they decided to put up a real band. So the Devil sent three more musicians to join the. Woema (bass) Puijon Perkele (vocals, most of lyrics) and Viitakemies (ld guitar, lyrics). After that Verjnuarmu have spread their gospel of misery, death, bad old times and of course dialect of savo.
Well all the characters exept Viitakemies used to be living human beings in their past life. Viitakemies means Reaper. So he is the one who we all gonna meet some day. I, Puijon Perkele used to be undertaker in the local parish. Once i was caught eating dead bodies in cemetary. Locals didn’t like it they took my life. Musta Savo was farmer who had bad dinking poblem. One day he burned whole village where he lived and people who survived from that firestorm burned him. Woema was satanistic verger and he accidently hung himself in the churchbell rope. Savon Surma was a priest who started to kill people. Send their souls to heaven. Really crazy man. Well that was also something that surrounding sosiety just don’t understand. So he was sent to meet his maker. In hell..jpg)
Hanna Tsepesh: That’s a very interesting begining! What are your musical influences?
Puijon: i like old school heavymetal. Dio, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath. I also like grunge bands. That is wery difficult question i like so many different kinds of music, bans, composers (Eino Juhani Rautavaara, Ennio Morricone) that it would be easier to say where influenses don’t come.
Hanna Tsepesh: What is the inspiration to create the lyrics for Verjnuarmu?
Puijon: I like to write lyrics of old ghost stories that my mom use to tell me when i was young. I’v also read finish folklore wich is full of stories of gods, spirits, living deads, elvs, and other kinds of supernatural beings. There are also names of real places like “Mustan virran silta” or something that is very savonian like “kukko” a local food. So the lyrics comes from the pass and aroud me.
Hanna Tsepesh: So cool, and what is the meaning of Verjnuarmu and Perkele?
Puijon: Bloodscratch. Satans name in old finish bible
Hanna Tsepesh:ok, thank you! I made a little search about your music style (Savo Metal) and you guys are the ONLY ones who play that style right?! And I also read that Salvo is a dialect in Finland, that are spoken in the Savonia region (Northern and Southern) and also in North Karelia, right?! Can you explain to us a little bit about this and why the band choose this kind of style and write in salvo dialect...
Puijon: We invented savo metal. Dialect was natural choice because we speak it all the time. At the moment i even think this text in savo first then write it in english.
Hanna Tsepesh: For you what was your bigest concert with Verjnuarmu band and why?
Puijon: Nummirock 2006. beautiful mids summer day in the midle of now here, fresh and green nature aroud us and front of us huge and crazy crowd.
Hanna Tsepesh: your style is very cool and different; you guys also dress in very cool way! You use one “mask” that remember me Jack from “Nightmare Before The Christmas” movie, I don’t know if this inspired you for that, but when I see your promo pics it was the first thing i remember ! But tell me about your style and why to use the “mask”...
Puijon: We don’t look like normal people. Because we all are dead. I’v allways liked tuxedos that’s why i wear one, it was my friend who got the idea of mask that look like Jack.
Hanna Tsepesh: In my opinion is a great idea, i like it a lot! Talking about the new album “Ruatokansan Uamunkoetto”, as you can imagine I don’t understand anything of what you sing, so i only can talk about the sound, and i really like it and also the voice! So for me and the rest of people out there, that doesn’t understand tell me about the “history” of this album and what have changed between this album and the pass one?
Puijon: This is a album of restless deads. Every song tells somekind of story of dead or how they died or what they want, why don’t they rest in peace. When we started to make this album, we decided that the sounds should be more natural than in Muanpiällinen Helevetti. We also wanted it sound we like we sound live. I think we did pretty good job with that.
Hanna Tsepesh: I think the same way ! Sorry to ask again, but what is the meaning of “Ruatokansan Uamunkoetto” and also “Mustan Virran Silta”, “Räähähenki”? This was the 2 music’s that i stay with a little curiosity about their meaning because i really like the riffs and the style that you sing in this 2 music’s...
Puijon: Ruatokansan Uamunkoetto = Dawn of the dead. Mustan virran silta = Bridge of Black stream. It’s a story of a dead girl who dances with the devil before her funeral. Räähähenki = Poltergeist
Hanna Tsepesh:Cool, thanks again! Who was the studio recording process? It was hard? The band had all the lyrics and riffs?
Puijon: Everything was ready when went to studio. Every man worked a lot for the band and we played together those new songs many many times before the studio sessiion. But our schedule was so tight it was wery hard for few of us.
Hanna Tsepesh: For all that we talk about your own style to sing and dress, it was hard to get some kind of support in Finland? From people and records label? I think it was this year that you signed for Dynamic Arts Records right?! Are you happy to work with this label?
Puijon: I’m very happy to work with this label. Without this label you wouldn’t have our new album. We have lot of fans specially in savo region.
Hanna Tsepesh: Great! Talking about concerts, do you have any dates and places that you can tell us? Did you have some kind of plans in the future to play in Portugal?
Puijon: we have few gigs at summer next one is toothrock at henry’s pub 15july. Portugal sound nice. I’v Never been there but of course i would like come there.
Hanna Tsepesh: What do you like to do in your free time?
Puijon: I’m so gloomy badass mother fucker that i just sit in my hellhole and wait for the next gig.
Hanna Tsepesh: (ahahaha)! So for people who are starting a band with a different style, do you have some advice?
Puijon: practise like hell, believe in yourself, don’t copy anyone, laugh at everything especially at yourself, raise the hell when you are at stage.
Hanna Tsepesh: That’s a great advice, i agree 100%! Do you play any instrument?
Puijon: I’m very bad piano player. It was my mother who picked this instrument for me when i was a kid. Few years ago i started to practice again(very litle).Last 6 months i have spent with Beethovens moonlight sonata and i can play about 3 minutes of it. I play piano when no one listens.
Hanna Tsepesh: thanks a lot for your great and nice answers Puijon! THE GATES OF METAL wish you all the best for the band with this new album, and hope to see you guys in Portugal some day...
Puijon: Thank you!
By: Hanna Tsepesh
