Rovaniemi-based melodic black metal act SUOTANA recently released their new album, “Ounas I,” via Reaper Entertainment. We chatted with singer Tuomo Marttinen, bass player Rauli Alaruikka, and guitarist Ville Rautio after their show at On The Rocks in Helsinki on March 30th, 2023, during their tour with MORS SUBITA and melodic death metal act KALMAH. Check out the complete transcript below…
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. You just had your first show of the Finnish tour, starting in Helsinki. How did it go?
Tuomo: Very good, there were lots of people. Since this is a Thursday evening, it was quite a surprise to see so many people.
Rauli: It was our first show of the tour and I’m not sure if it was actually sold out, but at least it was nearly sold out and so many people came out early to see us. Of course, it was absolutely amazing.
Was it your first show in Helsinki for some time?
Ville: I don’t even remember what the last time was when we played here. It was before COVID.
You guys had a supporting slot for the melodic death metal act KALMAH, so you weren’t able to do a full set. How did you decide what songs you were going to play; was it difficult to choose?
Rauli: I think it was quite easy to choose. There was only one song we weren’t sure whether we should go for. It was clear that we would play “Through The Mammoth Valley” because it was the first single of the album, of course, that had to be there. Then, when we played our album release show in Rovaniemi and we saw the effect of “River Ounas,” we knew that was the perfect ending to our set. After that, you can’t play anything because of the ending and because of its message. Of course, we wanted to include one song from both our other albums, so we naturally “Embrace” [“Frostrealm”] and “Into the Ice” [“Land of the Ending Time”]. “The Ancient” was the only song debated on against “Legacy,” so it was quite easy.
“River Ounas” was quite surprising because of the audience. It was great to see them react and participate so much, which is something you don’t really get from a recording. Do you try and include moments like that in your music in general?
Ville: To be honest, no. That’s something when writing the music, we don’t really think about. It’s nice that some songs work in a live situation though.
Is it a surprise for you when you see it happening live, in that sense?
Rauli: Those things were a little bit planned to engage with the audience. Of course, those things happened after we were done with the song, we thought that, “Hey, in that part we can interact with the audience and get them to light up their flashlights.” We were not sure, but we tried.
I think it was pretty cool to see because you are not a Helsinki band, people still came out so early for you and then participated.
Rauli: Maybe we’re exotic because we’re from the Arctic Circle. [laughter]
“Land of the Ending Time” was released in 2018, so already quite a while ago. What happened in the meantime?
Tuomo: COVID-19 happened.
Ville: Yeah.
Tuomo: But now we have a tour in Finland and some festival shows in summer.
Rauli: Our first show outside of Finland. If you’re asking why it’s been five years since we released something, partially it’s been because of COVID. We were ready already about two years ago. It was decided that there is no point to release something before COVID ended, because it’s easier to get live shows with a new record to promote it. Without the shows, it’s just another record among the others, and there are so many. It’s a bit hard to get noticed like that, just with an album [and without shows]. Even though we were really happy about the record, the live shows are just part of our band, so we decided to wait it out on purpose.
You mentioned you had the album already ready two years ago; what was the time frame of this record?
Rauli: We started during the pandemic.
Ville: I think the songs were quite composed already, but we mostly focused on the arrangements and getting the details ready.
Rauli: We started to record music in 2021, but we waited to see what would happen with the COVID-19 situation.
You mentioned the arrangements and details. There are a lot of layers to your music and in general; I feel like the listener can tell that you come from up North. Is that something that comes organically?
Ville: I think it’s, of course, nice to hear that it can be heard in the songs because it’s something that we don’t try to do consciously. It’s very natural for me and it’s easy to do.
This album is also a concept album; can you talk briefly about the concept?
Ville: “Ounas” is a meaningful word in the region we live in. We have also been thinking about using it for a long time; it’s hard to explain what it means.
Rauli: It is kind of like a strong sense of belonging to the North and the Arctic region.
Ville: There are many places with that name, like the Ounas River, it’s very based in the North. But then, this album is also about injustices towards nature. Of course, there are songs about the beauty of nature, but we wanted to write more about injustices, and “River Ounas” is about water ecosystems and how animal species became extinct.
Rauli: The songs are based in a different time period because there are mammoths, but it’s not literal, because there is no proof that mammoths did roam in the Ounas River. But it has kind of the same wisdom in the lyrics about how animal species are extinct because of humans, so it correlates to the other themes on the album well. “River Ounas” is really long river so it required a song for its glory, so it’s also really long. It came quite naturally for Ville; he was not intending to do a 14-minute song. In my opinion, it became a masterpiece.
Would you say that because you’re from up North, nature is much more important to you and that’s why you write about these themes?
Rauli: Yeah, definitely. We breathe nature.
Ville: Of course, how we are dealing with nature, like cutting trees in the forest, there’s a lot of mistreatment of nature, so we write music about it.
Tuomo: It forces us to survive.
Rauli: Ville is a very enthusiastic fisherman. During wintertime, I hunt. It’s very close to us and to the rest of the guys too. They also spend time in nature and the forest, so it has a very high value to us, as we were born there and we spent our childhoods in the woods. So of course, it’s something that came with us from a very young age.
Sometimes, some bands host writing sessions in nature. Do you have these kinds of writing camps too in your band?
Rauli: Actually, Ville started SUOTANA to write songs about his not-so-successful fisher-trips, so in that way, it was an inspiration. [laughter]
Ville: Of course, it’s inspiring to be in the forest, that’s something we have to do at some point, record an album in the forest or so. Not in the forest, but in a cabin- I think it would be a bit more about the nature if we actually spent time there.
Rauli: Two weeks inside a cabin in the middle of nowhere and then we don’t come out before the album is ready. That sounds like a plan.
Well, looking forward to when that happens! The album is called “Ounas I,” I presume that there is going to be an “Ounas II,” anything you can say about that already?
Rauli: Well, it’s partly recorded already.
Will it be the same style?
Rauli: More or less, I guess.
“Land of the Dead” is a cover song. Was it difficult for you to arrange it so it would fully fit into the album and its concept?
Rauli: It fits quite well in the concept of the album. We just realized that at some point, that actually the lyrics fit quite well in the theme. It felt natural, because Ville picked that song and arranged the melodies, and did a good job in suotanizing the song.
Ville: We’re the kind of band who never thought of doing a cover song, but that song turned out so well.
What are your other plans for 2023? Anywhere else your fans can catch a glimpse of you?
Rauli: There are some discussions about having more shows for this tour. Right now, Saarihelvetti, Warhorns Late Summerfest in the United Kingdom, and the Kaamos Metal Cruise are confirmed. There are more shows to be announced, some need to still be settled, and some already in the works. This is not the last time you will hear from us.
For those who are curious about what your shows look like. What should people expect from seeing SUOTANA live?
Rauli: You should come and find out. [laughter]
Good answer! Well, that’s it for my questions. Do you have any last thoughts you want to share with your fans?
Tuomo: You should go to the forest, dip into the cold water, go into the ice, and hopefully you will see some mammoths in there!
Rauli: Enjoy nature and listen to metal!
Interview by Laureline Tilkin
