Konsta Vehkala might not be the first name to pop up when thinking of Finnish drummers, but he certainly has his hands full with several bands and genres, from melodic metal outfit PSYCHEWORK to hardcore punk troupe PSYKOANALYYSI, to alternative rock band LOJOHH and GIAN and SCARS OF SOLITUDE (as rhythm guitarist) in the past. Along with release of PSYCHEWORK’s new single, “Siege,” we asked Konsta what the playlist of his life looks like:
1. The first song you remember hearing as a child
STATUS QUO – “Going Downtown Tonight”
My dad has been a huge fan of STATUS QUO for as long as I can remember, so when I was a little child he played their songs to me all the time and from what I’ve heard, I loved this track the most. I guess he purposely ‘trained’ me to become a QUO fan too, because later I started to listen them more and I became sort of a fan as well. I don’t know if it was the trucks in the music video or that synth riff in the beginning why I liked the song.
2. The first song you can recall ever really and truly loving
RAMMSTEIN – “Links 2-3-4”
It was this song that got me into RAMMSTEIN. I think I was 11 when I saw the music video of this song and the massive wall of guitars; the simple and effective drum beat and Till Lindemann’s low voice was something I had never heard before, and the video was awesome as well. I then asked my dad to find more songs by RAMMSTEIN for me. Then a few days later he gave me a CD-R full of RAMMSTEIN which was pretty much the best thing ever. I still remember the day when I walked to school after listening to the song for the first time with good speakers and loud volume – it felt like something had changed in me.
I can’t express enough how much RAMMSTEIN and especially the album “Mutter” has influenced me in pretty much everything I do and how much it has formed my taste in music!
3. A song that you loved as a teenager/reminds you of high school
SKINNY PUPPY – “Worlock”
During my high school years I had my most ‘electronic period’ in music. I listened to a lot of industrial, EBM, synthpop, and other electronic stuff and not that much metal, though grindcore came into the picture during that time. This song was kind of my anthem at the time and SKINNY PUPPY is still one of my favorite bands.
4. The song or band that got you into metal music (or the current genre you play in)
LINKIN PARK – “In the End” / SLIPKNOT – “My Plague”
I think LINKIN PARK, and numetal in general, are somehow responsible for getting me into metal. At the age when I started to understand something about music, numetal was at its high point and I was listening to LINKIN PARK, LIMP BIZKIT, PAPA ROACH, etc. that kind of stuff. Then I went deeper, found heavier stuff through my friends, and here we are.
Another remarkable track would be ”My Plague” by SLIPKNOT. I remember when I was around 11 when I discovered this song with an old friend of mine, until one day he came to me and told me seriously that ”Man, we can’t listen to this anymore. There were 666 signs and pentagrams on the stage in their video!” We were terrified. And as we know, SLIPKNOT is satanic as hell. This felt kind of forbidden and exciting, so I borrowed ”Iowa” from a local library and started listening to it. I think Slipknot was the gateway to the more extreme metal.
5. The most recent song to get stuck in your head
PRIEST – “History in Black”
This and their other singles from their upcoming debut album have been on heavy rotation lately over here. It’s a synthpop/electronic/somewhat industrial-ish band formed by ex-members of GHOST. Really good stuff, I’m really looking forward to their debut album which comes out later this month.
Other songs that are worth mentioning here would be ”Time I” by WINTERSUN, ”Where’s the Revolution?” by DEPECHE MODE, and ”Spit it Out” by IAMX.
6. Your guilty pleasure song/band
KENT – “Om du var här”
I don’t really think anything as “guilty pleasures” or something that I wouldn’t be allowed to listen to because I don’t really care if something is kind of “banned stuff” or something like that. I picked this because it would probably be something that people wouldn’t guess that I like. Kent has some good sad pop tunes and this is one of those.
7. The first album you bought with your own money/the first album you were really excited to own
CARCASS – “Choice Cuts”
I can’t really remember what it was exactly. I think the best of album “Choice Cuts” by CARCASS was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was 14 or something. It was one of my first touches to grindcore too. I remember that I had heard only one newer track by CARCASS and it was kind of a shock when the album kicked off with their earlier material. The first actual CDs that I got were probably “Smurffit vol. 1” and a dance hits compilation CD when I was a kid; I guess that was really exciting stuff back then…
8. A song that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a hot beverage
NINE INCH NAILS – “The Great Below”
NIN’s “The Fragile” would be my perfect soundtrack for cold and rainy autumn and winter nights. One of my favorite albums ever as well. It was hard to pick just one song from it so I picked up this just for the overall feeling of the track. This is also one of the less recognized tracks by NIN that I think needs more attention. I could imagine myself curling up on the couch with a hot cup of tea and listening to it with good headphones while it’s raining and dark outside.
9. A song to blast at full volume while you’re on the road
MINISTRY – “Just One Fix”
I actually drive around quite a lot just for fun, mostly just to listen to music at full volume. Therefore there are plenty of options for this, but my list wouldn’t be anything without posting a track by Ministry, so let it be this! The main (and the only) riff of this song just never gets old and it’s meant to be listened at maximum volume. Anything from RAMMSTEIN would fit into this category too.
10. The song you’d most like to be played at your funeral
GHOST – “Monstrance Clock”
I’d love to hear a choir singing this song at my funeral, just listen to the ending of the song with the choir and church organ. That would be my kind of funeral! Great track by a great band. This would give a nice little twist for the party.
Interview by Lene L.
Musicalypse, 2017
OV: 2010
Links
Recent posts
[recent_post_carousel design=”design-1″]
Related posts
News post
