Hi Bois from the North!! It is really pride for me to introduce you in my zine! Is Kalevalan Viikingit really band established by 2 skinheads? I could not believe that 2 people could make so strong and powerful excelent music! And what does mean your name Kalevalan Viikingit? Tell me please anything about the beginning of the band, ok?-Kalevalan Viikingit means "Vikings from Kalevala", it´s a kinda funny name since we do not count ourselves as "vikings", ´cos we come from Finland, which is a Nordic country yes, but with a bit different mythology/national epic. It´s more like an attitude. The 2 Skins? Heh heh, I´m a skin, but I think Harri does not consider himself being a skin, just a drunken fucker. I formed the band in 2007 and used couple of session musicians in the studio to make the first ep´s and then got Harri on drums and made more recordings with him.
And of course, we forgot introduce the members of your band…Tell us something about your age, business, family status (because of fan-girls here, haha)
-I´m 33, 2 kids, wife & house, (sorry girls!) the usual story. I work with people who have mental problems etc. Working Class. I read, lift weights and drink beer.
Harri has a house too, a girlfriend and somekinda blue collar job. He plays drums on some pub bands very often.
You sent me 2 CD: Work and Fight and Working Class Vikings. The first was edited by Olifant Records and the second by Living Dead Records. Did they contact you or did you find these records ? Are there not any recording labels in your country? Or what was the main reason for cooperate with polish and hungarian labels?
-I can´t remember, I think they did contact me first. It seems to be a hard job finding a deal. When I played in some metal bands, I did a lot of recordings with many labels around the world, but with Kalevalan Viikingit, it´s quite hard for some reason. Cheers to these labels anyway.
With which metal bands did you play ?
- I played in Morningstar (1989-2007), we did 6 albums, mcd and 7". Some tracks here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPTkxxR5lrc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o65s3ck2QbI
We played rough, true metal, inspired by Celtic Frost, Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Bathory..the older albums were more black metal & german thrah influenced, still epic.
I also played in doom metal band Minotauri (1995-2007), the 1st. trad, doom metal band in Finland, which did a real recording. We did 2 albums and lotsa vinyl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIJWOTGr9E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkzECqUP_Mg
I still play w/ Heathen Hoof sometimes, its trad. metal/hard rock, we did a 12", split 7" and demos. We will do a vinyl Lp this winter.
Which CD or EP of your discography do you like a lot and why? Are you satisfied with your recordings?
-I like all of them some way, they´re all different to eachother and that´s cool. I´m pretty satisfied, I don´t look past that much, they are the way they were meant to be. The new one is allways the best ;)
Is Kalevalan Viikingit studio band or do you play any concerts too? Would you like to play in Czech republic? How much money should we prepare
for you? :-) What dou you know generaly about my land?-We have actually played 2 small gigs with a session bassist, but they were private parties. We´re a studio band at the moment. I´m looking for a permanent line-up and yes, we will play shows then. I can´t say anything about gigs abroad yet, but everything is possible! I know that you have a rich beer culture there! and you know your ice-hockey!
I am very interested in your country. I think czech people dont know a lot about your land and specialy about your government and political situation. Tell us please some delicious interesting things. I think you have nice and wild nature, many beautiful lakes…
-Yes, we do have a beautifull land: forests, lakes, hills, rocks, rivers. Lotsa green & beautifull landscapes. And quite a lot of snow in the winter. Santa Claus/father Christmass lives in Finland by the way;) Our goverment suck at the moment and we do have all the usual parties from left to right, like in other western countries. We´re the only country who survived a war against Russia in WWII (they didn´t conquer us).
And about wild animals, there was a wolf at my backyard last winter..
And what about your scene? I know only Anti-hippie zine, but whats more? Are there any other skinhead or punk bands? Which cities or towns should we visit to meet any skinhead crews? With which skinheads are you in touch? Do you have any clubs where do you meet each other?
-I think the biggest skinhead crews are in Helsinki, Tampere, Joensuu and Turku. We have skinhead listeners from Sharps to Wp skins to just "skins", which is kinda odd. But I think that´s the case with so many other bands too. There are not that much zines here nor the bands, but some of the street punk/Oi! bands are Dead On´s, Wrongdoers, The Hoist, Fist Season (rip) to name a few. We have a totally different sound if compared to these names I think.
There are no clubs in my area.
You are apolitical patriotic band. I love this attitude! Do you have any problems with political wings inside the skinhead scene in your country? I know you had Mistreat and Sniper bands there but I am not sure if are they still alive. And why people from Finland stand for NS ideas? And what about the SHARP or Redskins…I think there are not any, am I right?-I´m not in to politics that much, but I do follow politics in general quite a bit. We have had no problems, we mainly get shit from internet punk-warriors, it´s not very "hip" to play Oi! in Finland. Most of the skins in Finland are more Wp-kinda people I think. I don´t know what´s the thing in supporting NS ideas here, sounds like bollocks to me. I stand for Finland, not NS. There are Sharps in Finland, but not many I think.
I am very, very interested in your original religion! I worship Asatru as way of natural life. Are you interested in this too? You wear Thor´s hammer so I think you are proud of to be real members of Viking family. I think you can be proud of your ancestors. Are you interested in your history?
Do you feel hatred when you see that vikings, runes and nordic mythology is misused by a few to any political stances?
And do you feel that Christianity is alien part of your society? Or do people in Finland coexist side by side (Pagans and Christians) ?
-I wear Thor´s Hammer from time to time to show some respect. Some people in Finland wore the hammer in the early days, but mainly in the coast, where there were more Swedish-influenced areas. My ancestos came from the woods, lakes & hills. There were Odin for the vikings and Ukko Finnish people, kinda meaning the same. Finland was one of the last countries in Europe to turn to Christianity, not long ago, some every-day-pagan rituals were practised by old people. My second name Tapio means the God of the Forest.
Is better for you to sing in english or in your native language? I cant recognize content of your native songs. About what are these song generaly?
-We have done both, Finnish and English, but I think we will do more in Finnish in the future. We sing about Finnish history (mainly wars), the usual skinhead topics and working class pride.
You sing about your country and I really like it. But some sentences are too sad. Just when you sing about land which it was in history. You stand
against globalization and EU too. And you are afraid of drugs, gangs and dirtiness in your land…Describe me please reality of your streets? Do you have big problems with these nowadays hell? What about immigration and EU politics? Do you feel big pressure and any steps against your freedom? -Finland used to be quite a safe country, but things have changed during the last decades. We have higher criminal rates: drugs, rapes, violence etc., and the laws are too soft. If you mess up with taxes/do financial crimes, you´ll go to jail, but if you rape somebody or even kill somebody while drink & driving, you can get a way from it more easily, or even don´t have to go to jail. All the factories will go to fuckin´ China and there´s no work for the people. Globalization did not bring any good. I liked the way, when Finland was more isolated. Immigration? If someone need real help, we can help, but if you just use taxpayers money & mess around, you should be kicked out of here, we don´t need you.
Do you often travel to Sweden or other lands for any gigs or festivals? Do you like viking rock and bands like Ultima Thule, Perkele, SOT, Hel, Kraftheim, Donars Groll or just bands like Midgaard Söner etc.?
-I don´t travel that much due my work & kids. I do like old Ultima Thule a lot as well as Perkele (which is a Finnish word by the way ;) Most of the viking rock are boring, old U.Thule kicks ass. Are you preparing any new songs? Tell me more about your future plans. Do you have any merchandising stuff for sale?