I interviewed VETTEN ÄPÄRÄT

I interviewed Leo from VETTEN ÄPÄRÄT band who recently released their debut album entitled “Syntyi Talven Kyynelistä" that means “Born from Winter's Tears”.

01. Hi Leo! 10 years ago was founded VETTEN ÄPÄRÄT. How did the idea emerge amongst the founders of the band ?

Sami Ferm had his personal reasons to start a band and found Anton at his high school. They bonded when Sami bought him drum sticks and got Anton to play for his band. They played with various people in various places in eastern Helsinki.

I met them way back in 2010 at Finntroll gig. We were all drunk and I was like: “Are you the guys who’ve been at all of the same folk metal gigs as I ?” They were like: “Hey, yes we are. Do you know anyone who plays guitar or bass ? We need people for our metal band.” I replied “yeah, I play guitar and/or bass. Nice to meet you.”

What then followed was a 30 minutes long episode with exchanging phone numbers because we were so shitface wasted at the moment. The next day I called Sami and asked him if he was serious and he asked me the same question. When our hangovers settled few weeks later,  I was playing for Äpärät. It was all about being young and loving metal, especially folk and wanting to that in our own way. In the next years the other players found their way into the band and I feel that every one of us bonded due to our love of Finnish folk metal.

02. What were these ideas exactly ?

I can assume it was because Sami wanted to do music. Maybe to express himself and how he felt or maybe to impress a girl. There’s this certain artistic drive in him that I’ve started to understand only in the last year when making the debut album. He and Anton close to nature and  I feel that some power from the forests of Finland drives them to music. 

03. What does the band name mean ? And why did you choose that name ?

Vetten Äpärät translates to “Bastards of the waters” in the most literal sense. The bastard part sort of refers to one being a pagan. We don’t claim to be 100% pagans since the members all hold their personal beliefs tho’. We are from the north (in a global sense anyway) and I have to quote Sami’s words from an earlier interview to get this name thing right : 

“The idea is back then people went to explore the wild north they encountered "natives" and called them "Bastards of the North of Thousands of Lakes". And later that got shortened as "Bastards of Waters" - Vetten Äpärät.”

04. Can you make deep explanation for that quote I do from your bio taken from your band pages : “VETTEN ÄPÄRÄT means to represent the second generation of Finnish folk metal with low-tuned guitars and traditional acoustic melodies” ?

The e second generation part comes in my opinion from the fact that we are kids who grew up listening to folk metal back during the so called “golden years of Finnish folk metal” (around 2006-2009). Back then one could almost say that there was a scene in Helsinki that was at every show of the big five bands (Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow, Finntroll and Turisas.) Most of us were somewhat a part of that scene and that was one place we got inspired to play folk metal. 

One could argue that “Syntyi Talven Kyynelistä” isn’t all that folk metal, so why do we claim to be folk metal? I kinda agree. The album is somewhere between folk and fantasy metal etc. but as a band, I feel like our roots in music are deep in at least mentally in the big five. 

I use a 7-strings guitar and Jarmo uses a 6-strings bass. So low-tuned comes from that. The traditional stuff is about Sami being inspired by well… traditional melodies. 

05. Your first production is a single out only in 2014 …. Why did it take so long to release that single, and the fresh debut album ?

It’s because of the band’s line up issues. It took that long for Sami and Anton to find the right people who were at the same wavelength. Now we, the six are those people and the music was recorded and released just when the time was right to us 

06. What were the feedbacks related with “Sydäntalven Viha” single ?

Viha’s feedbacks were very positives and we got noticed so much more after it’s release.

07. Is “Sydäntalven Viha” single and track available on the debut album, the same version ?

No, we re-recorded it because we wanted the song to match the sound of the album. What version is better, the single or the album one ? You decide!

08. Your first full length “Syntyi Talven Kyynelistä was released under Inverse records on April 1 st , 2016. Lyrics for “Syntyi Talven Kyynelistä album focus on a fantasy story. Is it a story taken from a book or is it created story inspired by some cultural items ?

 The story is set in a fantasy world similar to maybe The Elder Scrolls video games or the Game of Thrones books. Overall we have taken influence from all types of fantasy media, books, movies, games etc. but the actual story and lore are our own making. When we were deciding the songs to feature in the album, we had a few new songs that had overlapping story arcs written in already. Then we realised that if you put certain of our older songs in a certain order they match with the new songs and form a complete story. It was like destiny and it felt that it supposed to be like that all along. Many parts of the album’s lore are also inspired by European folklore and fairy tales and if you wanna mentally preview the album I suggest to start from those sources. 

The most important thing to mention about the story is that we wanted to tell a story not about heroism but survival. Many tales and folk metal songs sing about the champions, their victories and triumph. We take the side of the little guy in distress.

09. What are the tracks about ?
OK, so these are my interpretations of the story. Overall the story is about a serf (peasant slave) who is exiled from his home and joins an army crusading to the north realms of the world. We’ve intentionally left some elements open for your interpretation just even tho’ we have a certain lore in the background that we follow when writing. I feel that the best way to approach this album is the same way one should approach the lore of the Dark Souls video game series. By that I mean that there is a vast lore and a world to explore but some of it is hidden by clues. In our case you can patch together the lore for example from the lyrics, the artwork, the poems that describe the songs and from the music itself. We’ve hidden a few easter eggs and a few references to some famous works for ya’ll to find too. There is even an explanation (if you can figure it out) for why some lyrics are in Finnish and most of the album is in english.

But here is the story from my point of view and to the extent that I want to open it up for you. Let’s do this track by track:

1. Ancients’ Call : This is the intro. In the fantasy world we now are, something is happening, something huge like the start of a new era. It’s ties up to this feeling that people feel a calling to venture north. No one knows why. Is there riches there is there something even greater that earthly wealth? No one is certain but armies are being assembled for crusades to north. In the lyrics the serf recalls his father’s words from those moments.

2. Exile : Now we jump to the life of the soon to be exiled serf. An innocent peasant framed by his brother to crimes he did not commit. In the first verse the lord of the serf serves tells him how he despises him for what the serf has claimed to have done. The serf is exiled from his home and without a place to go plots revenge on his brother. With a disoriented mind he somehow ends up with an army. An army that follows the same calling he has to the journey.

3. Brothers of Hate : Fury and Jealousy are the names of two demigods in this world. The song describes the hate between humans and their violent nature becoming so real that the negative feelings have formed into a divine state. These are grounds on which the armies start their crusade. I feel that this song is a statement on all things violent and negative that we as human bring to the world around us. “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering” as they say in the Star Wars universe. 

4. Winterheart’s Silence : The first parts of the army reach the northern realms. They step into it’s wintery forest and begin their journey to a place where snow falls and the moon shines at the same time. A magical, beautiful place.

5. Winter Darkness : Those same soldiers wander and wander on in the wintery realms through fields of snow. As the weather gets worse and as the troops get tired they start to hear voices in the wind. Are they real ? The voices sound like words ? What language are they ? Are we just hearing things ? Broken from the fact that they’ve found nothing of value yet someone from the army starts to vocalise his displeasure in all of this. Soon to be followed by an avalanche triggered by his yelling or by someone else ? First men of the army die. 

6. Grief of Woods : The marching of the army starts to break the balance of the whole world, forcing the end of an era and the beginning of a new. The winter starts to spread from the north. The father tree feels this and knows that it’s it’s time to die. This a funeral song sung by others beings in the forest. No one wants to die alone.

7. Sydäntalven Viha : An old song. Words from a time long gone. The major part of the army has reached the north. This has startled the smaller spirits of the forest who sing Sydäntalven Viha as the last warning to leave the north. Some men who’ve wandered too far away from the army’s campsites have been found dead. Without caution these killings are ignored because the greed of humans drives them deeper into the north. 

8. Herätys : Humans have come too far. They have been warned but their call to crusade the north is too tempting. There’s no turning back. Humans are here to exploit nature.They have disturbed the peace and balance of nature. It is time for war, declares the lord of Halla and raises his troops for a battle to defend their home. 

9. Swords’ Dance : This song depicts the battle between humans and the creatures of the north. For me this song starts from the perspective of the human army as they await the upcoming battle. The later part of the song is the lord of Halla motivating his troops to defend their home. 

10. Wind of Exhaustion : The humans were outnumbered. They were weak from countless of days traversing the in the wintery lands. They never had a chance. Before they were annihilated by the spirits of the winter a command was given to retreat. This song tells the tale of a soldier escaping to stay alive. The tides have turned. It’s not about humans versus nature. It’s now humans surviving in it.

11. Ice Made New Kingdom & Vala : Those who’ve escaped the battle have regrouped and build a small wooden fort to protect them from the winter. They are surrounded by their enemy who call them to the forest outside, tricking them to a certain death. Resources are running low. The oldest and the youngest are dying because of the cold. The survivor’s are starting to lose it. In the middle of the song, someone decides that this is it, now it’s everyone for themselves. Friends stab friends. Human flesh is better than no food at all. In the midst of all this our serf sees no other way to stay alive than to escape into the forest where he sees the lord of Halla who knows that all humans are not bad, they just need to understand to value the nature to live. There was always that chance. The humans could have resisted the call or they could have come in peace. The serf hears the words of Vala and speaks them. He bows to the northern throne. He is left alive to live in the new kingdom made of ice. Why ? Was he pure of heart ? Will he become a king in this new realm or just another servant ?

That was my short and cryptic summary of the story and lore. There are questions left open. Who are the Ancients ? Why the call if it meant war or did it? How do the six of us relate to these events ? Is the serf the only one who survives ? This is just the first chapter of our story. 

10. Can you describe the artwork linked with the fantasy story I guess ?

The artwork is made by our friend Anssi Kallio. For me, the cover describes a moment between the tracks Swords’ Dance and Wind of Exhaustion. Humans are already losing the battle. This character on the cover still raising a sword against a ghastly beast. 

11. Have you got positive feedbacks regarding that album ?

We’ve got positive and ok feedbacks. The most negative dwells on the fact that the album’s production is top notch but the songs are a bit too generic. From our side, this album had to be made so that we could clear our table so to say and make new and better music. I’m personally satisfied with the album because it was a good learning process on making an album. Now we finally have some clue how to do a project of this size. On the negative side, guess the album didn’t meet the expectations of being as folk metal as promised and as I mentioned earlier, I agree. We do what we want to do as an “indie” band and if you don’t feel our music, put on something better. 

12. Lately, you created your VK page but what’s up with your official website ? I can read the following to the footer : “Fatal error: Call to undefined method JDocumentHtml::get() in/home/u590679035/public_html/templates/simple2/layouts/template.php on line 103” …

The website is under construction still :( We hope to get it up before summer because Irene is writing short stories based (in Finnish only at first) on the album that we are going to publish there. 

13. Do you plan a tour soon ?

Working on getting as many strategically good gigs as possible. Officially we’ve got nothing outside of Finland happening at the moment though. 

14. What are your next plans ?

To get people to hear the album and find a way to tour in Europe. Let’s have fun with the new album for now but when we’re ready, there will be more music coming. Maybe something more acoustic and maybe something more in Finnish. 

Thanks for the interview, Leo! The last words are yours.

Syntyi Talve Kyynelistä is out now! Give it a listen and also: “Value the nature and you shall live!”