Lemiläinen Stam1na on kuulunut kotimaisen metallimusiikin ykkösketjuun kohta 20 vuoden ajan. Se ei ole aina ollut itsestään selvää, sillä ensimmäiset kahdeksan vuotta yhtye joutui sinnittelemään ilman levy-yhtiön tukea.
Kun Stam1nan ensialbumi lopulta julkaistiin, se julistettiin metallin uudeksi tulemiseksi. Kultalevyt, listaykköset ja palkinnot ovat seuranneet toisiaan, vaikka Stam1na on säilyttänyt äärimmäisen omapäisyytensä ja vekkulimaisen ilkikurisuutensa.
Kattavassa historiikissa yhtyeen jäsenet kertovat ensimmäistä kertaa, kuinka he pääsivät mahdottomilta näyttäneiden esteiden yli ja nousivat metallikansan kestosuosikiksi.
We have a new single fresh outta oven today, featuring the legendary Tim ”Ripper” Owens!
Check it out!
Pestilence (feat. Tim “Ripper” Owens) / Mr. Death
“Pestilence” is the second video and single off Arched Fire’s second album Trust Betrayal, to be released in the spring of 2023. The b-side “Mr. Death” is not on the album.
Lyrically, “Pestilence” observes a pandemic from a societal point of view. Among other things, a virus is a handy tool in politics.
“As people gather closer to each other, diseases rise from poor hygiene. People want to find someone to blame for the disease”, says Kristian, the band’s singer and main lyricist. “The main principle in magic is to direct your attention to somewhere else while you do the trick. This is what some people in charge may use to their advantage,” he continues.
Musically “Pestilence” is a pure heavy metal song with some speed/thrash influences.
“Some ideas, or shall we say primitive versions of them, are so old that I would bore everybody by rambling about how they’ve evolved from a mournful arpeggio intro to a twisted middle-part riff and so on, but let’s not go there,” says Ari, the rhythm guitar player. “Let’s just say that we found some ancient stuff of ours that really clicked with some of our latest riffs, and ta-dah, we had this killer new song called ‘Pestilence’.”
The song features some fiery vocals from Tim “Ripper” Owens(Ripper, Judas Priest, Iced Earth, etc.).
“I heard Ripper for the first time when Judas Priest’s Jugulator came out and I loved that record”, says Kristian. ’Cathedral Spires’ was my favorite tune because of Ripper’s high screams. I used to blast my stereos and sing along with him. I could not even dream that 25 years later he would sing with me on our album. It’s totally awesome and incredible to have Ripper featured in our song. Great respect and gratitude to him!”
Arched Fire Is Kristian Herkman (vocals), Aslak Purojärvi (drums), Mika Rytilahti (bass), Janne Särkelä (lead & rhythm guitar) and Ari Väntänen (rhythm guitar). Musically, Arched Fire is where heavy metal meets speed metal. The prologue of the band took place in 1989–1990 when a bunch of school kids formed Arched Fire in Finnish Lapland. Thirty years later they got back together and recorded their acclaimed first album Remote Control, out on Wormholedeath Records in 2021.
The band’s second full-length effort Trust Betrayal, out in 2023, takes their old-school metal game to a whole new level.
The Finnish metal band’s second album deals with the concept of trust.
“Fear” is the first video and single off Arched Fire’s second album Trust Betrayal, to be released in spring of 2023. The “b-side” song “Trigger” is a Motörhead cover originally recorded for Antichrist magazine’s tribute album.
“’Fear’ is one of those songs that just happen,” says Ari Väntänen, their rhythm guitar player. “I had some riffs that I asked Kristian (Herkman, the vocalist) to record. As it turned out, the song was right there, just waiting to be born. We came up with the chorus part while recording the verses and the bridges. Kristian probably wrote the vocal parts while driving home from my place. And after the guys arranged their own parts, ‘Fear’ started to sound like us. Like Arched Fire.”
Besides the aforementioned two, the band consists of Aslak Purojärvi (drums), Mika Rytilahti (bass), and Janne Särkelä (lead & rhythm guitar). Musically, Arched Fire is where heavy metal meets speed metal.
Mixing rock groove and metal riffage, “Fear” represents a lighter side of the dark theme on the Trust Betrayalalbum. It’s about how a general lack of trust can make things difficult.
“Don’t be afraid to live! Do things before it’s too late! And be careful because everything tries to kill you and death is horrible!” says the singer/lyricist Kristian Herkman with a sneer.
The prologue of the band took place in 1989–1990 when a bunch of school kids formed Arched Fire in Finnish Lapland. Thirty years later they got back together and recorded their acclaimed first album Remote Control, out on Wormholedeath Records in 2021.
The band’s second full-length effort Trust Betrayal, out in 2023, takes their old-school metal game to a whole new level.
Vierailin äskettäin Tampereen kaupunginkirjastossa Musiikkikirjojen illassa. Ennen minua haastateltavina ovat Aki Sirkesalosta kirjan kirjoittaneet Antti Luukkanen ja Laura Haarala. Katso video täältä.
Turun Sanomien TS Kirja -klubilla Tuomo Karhu jututti minua ja Sauli Miettistä. Katso video täältä.
Seuraava vastaava keikka on Helsingin kirjamessuilla perjantaina 28.10. klo 16. Nähdään!
Today’s the official release day of my latest book, the English version of Razzle – The Story of the Hanoi Rocks Legend.
To me personally, this book project felt very special and important. I’m happy to see people have been looking forward to the English version.
I’d like to dedicate this book to those who aren’t with us anymore. During the writing process, several people involved in Razzle’s story sadly passed away. So, this is for you, Timo Kaltio, Seppo Vesterinen, Scott Bushburt, Ron Creaser and Shaun Newnham. We remember you, and we remember Razzle.
Razzle played drums in Hanoi Rocks. His life ended in a car accident involving the singer in Mötley Crüe. But who really was Razzle, and what was his life like?
To answer these questions, the author of this book interviewed dozens of people who knew Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley. Together with old interview quotes, their stories create an image of a lovable rascal who was always up for a practical joke, kept his band together, and loved his rock’n’roll lifestyle from the bottom of his soul.
Razzle lived fast and died young, but he affected countless lives.
People often ask me where to buy ”All Those Wasted Years” the book. It’s been out of print for a while now, so i really don’t know.
However, I found a couple of links to it today. Check these out, I hope they’re what you’re looking for. Expensive as hell, but whatcha gonna do about it?
Ari Väntänen 