Being on the scene for more than 20 years successful melancholic dark rock/metal masters AMORPHIS still manage to surprise. Their newest album is called The Beginning of Times and the central character of the new songs is the iconic hero of Finnish mythology, Väinämöinen, whose tale has been masterfully retold by lyricist Pekka Kainulainen. The new album definitely marks AMORPHIS' most challenging release so far in terms of both music and lyrics. Read this very special interview with the Tomi Joutsen, vocalist of the band, who told us many intersting information from the process of making of the new record and many more.

Your new album has just come out and I´ve read that it´s your most experimental album what do you think about it?

Yeah. In a way it is quite challenging album. It´s another small step for us. There are some progressive elements. It´s quite long album that lasts almost an hour. There are some new elements but it´s not like a whole new band. And when you´re listening this album you hear that it´s Amorphis again. We have some new stuff there, for exapmle new sound of guitars. It´s not a traditional heavy metal instrument at all. Tomi Koivusaari learned how to play these kind of guitars with beautiful melodies. 

Could you reveal to us some details of this brand new record? What could we expect musicwise?

Musicwise, OK. As I said it´s quite progressive. We are really playing. That´s what we wanted people can hear. We´re band playing music. For example, our drummer is playing lot more than with previous album. And Santeri Kallio, our keyboard player, he also used some new effects. We have some female vocals also there. There´s also some really sensitive and acoustic stuff. There´s something for everyone, I think. I think this is album that you have to listen like two or three times to get some kind of idea of the album. It´s quite challenging that way. 

Fine. I don´t like simple stuff. 

Cool. Maybe you´ll like this album.

What´s your main inspiration to compose a song and to write lyrics?

This time it´s again a concept album. Pekka Kainulainen is the man who wrote lyrics again like on our Skyforger and also for Silent Waters album. He took the inspiration again from Kalevala book which is traditional Finnish book. This time, it´s a story about the main character, Väinämöinen. It´s not like whole story but some moments as well as some of his ideas and feelings. This is really important for our culture. He is like a main character, very powerful. He´s a great singer and when he starts to sing, everyone has to listen. People are crying and stuff like that. 

The Beginning of Times is the title of your new album. Who and why have you decided to choose title like that?

It´s always difficult to pick title for the album. This title is present like a world was born. And this guy, Väinämöinen, was first man. There are some songs that are telling about how the world was born. That´s why we decided to pick this title. 

The cover artworks of the new album as well as of the single You I Need are very interesting. What the meaning of it? What does it represent?

You mean the leg and fish thing?

Yeah.

OK. It´s a reflection from the lyrics. And story behind the lyrics is that this Väinämöinen, he has his maid and this maid drowns herself instead of marrying him. So she goes to lake and he turns into fish. That´s the reason for this picture. And Väinämöinen tries to find her in the deep waters but he didn´t find her anymore. 

And since we´re talking about the song. Who is the person you need?

It´s like a love song. It´s like Väinämöinen telling her maid: “I need you!“. He tells how much he needs her and stuff like that. It´s a love song in our way.

And what about the cover of the album?

The egg?

Exactly.

It´s an Eastern egg. No, I´m just kidding you. (Laugh.) In our beliefs, in Finland people believe that world was born from the egg. There were couple of eggs. And it´s like a cosmis egg. But in our portraits it is like a duck egg or something like that.  

The title and the artwork of the the new album were annouced on February 28, on Kalevala day. Why is this day so important to you, Finnish people?

The Kalevala book is really important because it´s full of old beliefs and old traditions we used to have many years before Christianity came here. Now, people just think it´s a book full of old stories and religious folklore. But here we have our old history and old stories. And of course, people from Finland are pround of their old history. 

Is it something like a “Finnish Bible“?

I don´t know. In a way, for some people it can be but Väinämöinen is not a Jesus for us. (Laugh.) 

The vocals were recorded under the guidance of Marco Hietala. How was the cooperation?

It was wonderful again. This was third-fourth time I was working with him. He was a producer only for the vocals so the rest of the music is produced by band. This time we recorded all these vocals in Marco´s hometown in Kuopio, he´s living there. And he has his own personal little studio there. He was also recording all the vocals. There were only me and Marco and we cooperated like 15 days. So, it was quite intense moment and really relaxing. Marco is really talented and full of ideas. He´s also a great singer. 

So the atmosphere had to be really like in a family, right.

Yeah, it was great. The first thing I remember was that everyday, it was really snowing. We started in the morning and it was snowing everyday. And there was a little window in the studio and I was watching the snowflakes and singing. So it was really beautiful.  

Some time ago, you performed on a charity concert in Finland where you performed the new song You I Need for the first time. How was it? Is it important to you to participate in such nice projects by means of help to the other people?

We were just playing only one song. It was a benefit so that´s why we wanted go there and it was also promotion for us. But we´ve done already. We made one concert years ago, after the Tsunami accident. And this is the second benefit. I used to be a youth worker before Amorphis. I was talking to young people and giving some help, trying to do sonething for them. I like the stuff. Nowadays, when I´m singer, I don´t have much time anymore. Of course, these are all important things. 

Do you have any special message for your Slovakian fans?

Yeah. I really hope you´ll listen this album couple of time and it´s quite challenging but if you just give a proper for the album I think it will open to you and you find somthing interesting in it. It would be nice to come to play there. We´ll have an Europeen tour by the end of this year but I don´t know the countries yet.

Thank you very much for this interview! Kiitos paljon!

Oh! Hyvää! Nice, nice! (Laugh.)

Thank you so much once again. It was really nice to talk to you.

Thank you! Have a good day!