Amoth goes hunting in the “hour of the wolf”
Amoth, completely unique band from Helsinki, Finland combines elements from heavy-metal, thrash, jazz, progressive rock and classical in a way never heard before!
Hello Amoth! How are you? A pleasure to be able to interview you.
Hello there! We are doing great, thanks for asking. Always a pleasure to do interviews.
First of all, happy new year!!! How did you do in 2020 in the midst of the terrible pandemic?
Happy new year too! Let’s hope this year is better for gigs and concerts. In 2020 we were preparing our latest album, mixing and making everything ready for the release.
I understand that the band emerged in 2006, so you have been active for more than 15 years. How did the idea of creating the band come up?
Yes, we were looking for members in 2006 but found session players in 2008 and then made our first EP” Wounded Faith” with them.
The band was originally called” Withered” but that band split. Then around 2006, we decided with our bassist Anne Lanttola to form a new band and we named it Amoth. The point was to make demos, EP`s, and full albums with Amoth.
What would you mention as your main influences?
As a songwriter, my influences come from bands and artists like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, King Diamond, W.A.S.P., Cradle Of Filth, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani. But also, elsewhere like jazz and classical music.
Who are its current members?
The members on the new album are:
- Pekka Montin: vocals / keyboards
- Tomi Ihanamäki: guitars
- Mikael Rauhala: guitars
- Anne Lanttola: bass
- Oskari Viljanen: drums
We have news about the member situation later this year!
Let’s talk about “The Hour of The Wolf”, your latest album, which will be released at the end of this month. How was the editing and recording process?
The recording process was long and challenging. It started out smoothly and on schedule but then we had some issues like studio equipment failing and whatnot. But we finally got to the end and all was sounding awesome! Then the pandemic situation came and it delayed the mixing process and the whole album.
How many songs does it include and what are it about?
The album has 9 songs in total. Here’s a brief explanation of every track:
-Alice: the first track / the” heavy metal” track of the album. The verse riff of this song was shown to me by Alice Cooper in my dream! I woke up and immediately wrote the riff down. That’s where the name of this song comes from, so thanks Alice!
There are two main characters in this song: a stripper and her pimp. The lyrics are almost like a dialogue between those two.
Very catchy and” easy to get into” song with strong and memorable melodies. I knew this song needed an 80’s style chorus so that’s what it has.
-The Man Who Watches The World Burn: very loosely based on the Joker character from the Batman movies. The world is burning before your very eyes; how do you react? It’s a new world and it’s in chaos and you must adjust to that idea. The only down-tuned song in the whole album. Oh, and it has a bass solo!
-Wounded Faith: One of the thrashier songs on the album. Very fast with complex solos. Also, very dark lyrically. It’s about burning (yourself) out and having suicidal thoughts. There’s no hope in sight in this one.
-Wind Serenade (part I): the first instrumental of the album. This song has only guitar and keyboards. Beautiful clean guitar” tapping” and a place to relax before the coming storm…
-Wind Serenade (part II): a direct” sequel” of the” part I” but this has the whole band (except vocals). Has distortion guitar melodies and solos. This is for the guitar nerds out there! Steve Vai and Joe Satriani fans will love this. Also, for the fans of instrumental guitar music in general.
-We Own The Night: Okay, so this is one of the most complex songs of the whole album! Has many parts and different tempos and time signatures. It’s a strange one. What makes this song special is the contrast between the band and the vocals. The music is fast and heavy and has blast beats and stuff but the vocals remain calm and haunting.
Be careful what you wish for…If you curse someone, it might just work. There’s more going on in the darkness than meets the eye.
-It Ain’t Over Yet: a full-scale thrash attack with no mercy! This is about school bullying or bullying in general. We are totally against bullying! Unfortunately, it’s a thing that’s going on all around the world. Remember if you’re a bully that it may be over for you but it ain’t over for the victim. Things might get ugly if the bullied person decides to retaliate…
-Traces In The Snow: the ballad of the album. We are very pleased how this turned out! I think many people will like this even if they don’t otherwise listen to metal music. Very strong lyrical content. Can’t wait for people to hear this.
-The Hour of The Wolf: the title track of the album. Very personal song lyrically. There was a time when I couldn’t even listen to the song without getting emotional. I think many people can appreciate the lyrics and reflect them in their own lives.
Musically there’s a lot going on. Lots of cool melodies and riffs and A LOT of solos. Many parts in this song, including the solos, were played and recorded at the hour of the wolf.
”The hour of the wolf is the hour between night and dawn. The hour when most people die, when sleep is deepest when nightmares are most real. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their deepest fears when ghosts and demons are most powerful.”
Any audiovisual material?
We have 5 lyrics and music videos coming out and maybe even more!
Regarding the diffusion and promotion of the album. How do you plan to make it known?
The album is coming out via Rockshots Records and they market and promote the album. Also, the videos that we put out are an awesome way to reach new audiences. Way more effective than Spotify etc.
Those who” get the idea” behind this band and the music that we make will surely like and appreciate the album! Why? Because there’s really nothing else like it. It can’t be directly compared to any other band. It’s pretty unique stuff. That’s our greatest achievement in my opinion. Already we’ve read reviews like” Wow, it’s rare to find a band nowadays that makes something new and surprising, that just happened with Amoth.”
How do you think it will be received, in general, both by the public and by the specialized press?
On the other hand, some reviewers and listeners will probably not” get it”. This music needs time to sink in. It’s not your average” easy listening” experience. But when it hits, it hits hard!
I understand that this album is undoubtedly the band’s most ambitious.
How does it differ from your previous albums?
It differs so that the songwriting is stronger and production is WAY better than our previous albums. Also, we have keyboards on board this time which adds much air and feeling to the songs.
Do you feel satisfied with it?
We are very satisfied with how it turned out!
Where will it be possible to get a copy of this new album?
You can get a copy from Rockshots Records online store! Also from all the common (online) stores like Amazon etc.
As a detail of this new album, you have the collaboration of Pekka Montin from Ensiferum, as vocalist. How did the idea of this collaboration come up?
Pekka has always been” around” this band. He’s on some albums helping us out. We met in 2001 when we were in the same music school. We have been collaborating on/off since then.
How was it working with Pekka?
He’s a phenomenal singer! He can sing literally anything, so there’s no wondering if he can pull it off. This time he also arranged and played keyboards to this Amoth album.
Back to the initial question. As I said, you have been in existence for more than 15 years. In fact, you will be turning 16 this year. How do you feel so far?
Feel confident about the future. I think we will compose and release our 4th album way faster than this one. Some of the songs are already written!
How much has the band grown in all these years?
We have grown and learned much from studio work because we have worked with many top professionals. The vision of how to achieve our goals is much clearer now than in the past.
How would you like to see yourselves in the future, 20 years from now for example?
Hopefully, we have many albums released in the future and will have gigs and tours around the globe.
Back to the band. Besides the release of the new album, what other immediate plans can we expect?
Actually, I think we will start rehearsing brand new songs very soon and get to the studio again sooner than later.
Do you already have any tour planned, national or international?
Right now, we don’t have tours planned cause of the pandemic. Also, we are looking for a good manager to get good quality gigs for us!
Well Amoth, that’s all. Thank you for your time and wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your new album. Before we finish, something you want to say.
Thank you so much for this interview! You will hear much more from us in the future. Stay healthy and stay safe!
Follow the band:
- Alice (4:46)
- The Man Who Watches The World Burn (6:57)
- Wounded Faith (4:31)
- Wind Serenade Part I (2:02)
- Wind Serenade Part II (5:20)
- We Own The Night (5:34)
- It Ain’t Over Yet (3:27)
- Traces In The Snow (6:26)
- The Hour of The Wolf (7:27)
Album Length: 46:34
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