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Interview with Mika of
Impaled Nazarene
February 2008 by Sam Thomas |
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Impaled Nazarene are one of the most extreme
bands on the planet. They’ve come through a catalogue of disasters
and strange events, exhibiting a degree of longevity that is quite
frankly amazing. Their latest album, Manifest, is one of their
strongest and definitely one of their best-produced in years. I
caught up with Mika, who shared a few thoughts with us …
How would you prefer to describe your music
these days?
We have been calling it nuclear metal since 1996. You take death,
black, thrash metal, throw in punk and crustcore, add some dirty
rock´n´roll and there you go, nuclear metal.
Would you care to elaborate on the themes
behind “Manifest”?
Mushrooms tell us the truth, meanwhile things that have happened to
us are ripped right open and our opinion about certain individuals
is expressed pretty fucking clearly. Add healthy dose of nihilistic
views and cynical attitudes and there you again. And do not forget
alcohol.
The new album seems to be a lot better
produced than previous albums. Was this a deliberate choice? Some of
your early works were quite crudely recorded.
We have always tried to have the best sound possible. Sometimes we
have had very limited studio time (and have been interested more of
alcohol than other things like getting a good sound). In the early
days, we recorded with 16-channel analogue equipment. Lots of early
albums were done really fast, like in less than one week. We changed
our working methods with Nihil and from there on it has been sober
times while recording shit on tape (or computer as it is nowadays).
How come an extreme Finnish metal band ends up
on a French label, Osmose? Have you had a good working relationship
with them, given that you’ve been with them for so many years?
We were not originally even looking for a deal. Our friend send our
2nd demo tape to Osmose and rest is history. We always sign only for
two albums without any bullshit options. They have treated us well
and we are more friends than we are business partners. And, most
importantly, they give us 100% full artistic freedom. No bullshit
label schedules, no complaints about studio budgets or with whom we
work with. We do what we want to, when we want to, where we want to
and with who we want to.
How important is your Finnish identity to you?
I don't have a Finnish flag on my wall if that answers your question.
Would it be possible for a non-Finn to ever be
part of Impaled Nazarene?
Of course. Any Japanese female especially. |
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Do you think that much of the rest of Europe
is out of step with the Scandinavian countries, in terms of banning
your CDs for assorted reasons? Should music, which is after all a
form of expression ever be banned?
There seems to a lot of confusion about this banning stuff. And no
wonder if people rely on crap sites like Wikipedia for example. Our
only cd, which has been banned, is Nihil. And that is in Germany
alone. No other cd of ours have been banned any-fucking-where. Music
for me is entertainment and I see no point of banning it.
If you could ban anything, what would it be
and why?
Child porn. The answer should be obvious.
What is the most extreme event that has
occurred during your time with the band?
We did a show in Mexico, in a town called Leon. Lots of things went
wrong and we got blamed for shit that we did not do. We had to run
for our lives as 500+ angry Mexicans were chasing us with knives and
shit after the show. We have never packed a van in 5 seconds before.
Like this was not enough, our driver was stoned to death and
suddenly cops pull us over. We were inside the van with all our
stage gear on, bullet belts and shit, thinking "we are going to end
up in Jail in Mexico looking like this...we will die tonight". It
turned out our tail light was broken, that is why they stopped us.
The show itself was a fucking nightmare, they threw everything from
combat boots and half-filled water bottles to ice blocks at us. That
was fucking insane night.
Do you feel that you have become less extreme
with time?
Absolutely not. You just show it different way. You become more
nihilistic and cynical. We are still an extreme metal band and most
definitely have NOT wimped out or followed any fucking trends. We
have seen bands and trends come and go and come back again.
Have Impaled Nazarene deliberately sought to
be extreme, or is it just a reflection of how you are?
People would see through it if it was fake extremity.
Are you all the same offstage, or do you go
home to nice houses in the suburbs with girlfriends, 2.4 children,
dogs etc?
Of course being on stage is different thing, it is its own world
where for once, you are in control and nobody else. We do not live
with our parents and go on tour and come back to mommy's dinner
table. We work normal bullshit jobs and at least we are lucky enough
that we can compensate our miserable daily lives by playing metal
and going abroad. Without it we would be dead.
Finally, is there anything else you’d like to
add?
Life is a dead corpse that has motorized butt-plug up its arse.
Thank you and good nite!
www.campnazarene.com |
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