{"id":18374,"date":"2013-10-02T07:30:40","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T21:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=18374"},"modified":"2013-09-30T06:28:46","modified_gmt":"2013-09-29T20:28:46","slug":"tomi-jousten-of-amorphis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2013\/10\/tomi-jousten-of-amorphis\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomi Jousten of Amorphis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n\u201cFor our Australian fan base it\u2019s great because it is the first time they are going to hear Amorphis songs and we\u2019re going to play stuff you know, not only the latest songs, we\u2019re going to play as much songs of the history as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Tour Release: Amorphis\u00a0 has been at the forefront of the scene for well over two decades. Encompassing a large and\u00a0loyal fan base they have been able, and continue, to win over fans of all genres. They will be in Australia performing tracks off their latest release\u00a0\u2018Circle\u2019\u00a0but will also perform classic and fan favourite Amorphis\u00a0tracks across their comprehensive discography.\u00a0Amorphis\u00a0are seasoned professionals, they are a class act, they are the complete package, and they are at the top of their\u00a0genre. Their upcoming performances will be something to behold and their shows are a musical spectacle. This tour will be something special for fans of all musical genres.<\/p>\n

We spoke to front man Tomi about the band\u2019s upcoming Australian tour and what we can expect, as well as new music and being the \u2018new guy\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n

Well, at over twenty years as a band this will be Amorphis\u2019 first time to Australia, what\u2019s taken so long?<\/strong>
\n*laughs* I remember we had some plans to come there two or three years ago but I don\u2019t know what happened, I think business things, but now it\u2019s finally going to happen and I\u2019m really excited that it\u2019s the first time, I haven\u2019t been there, so I don\u2019t know what to expect, man. *laughs* I\u2019m really positive and I think it\u2019s going to be great.<\/p>\n

So, seeing as you haven\u2019t been here before, what are you most excited to see?<\/strong>
\nI think it\u2019s going to be hot, that\u2019s for sure, I don\u2019t know if we have any spare time to hang around, but it would be nice to go and see some exotic things like animals and stuff but I\u2019m just happy that we can come there and I hope next year it will be easier to come there.<\/p>\n

Have you been given any idea of what to expect down here?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t know, I\u2019ve been talking to some other bands that have played there and they said that the scene is great there and lots of metal heads, I\u2019m sure we have a lots of fans there but I don\u2019t know how many of them are coming to see our shows *laughs* but it\u2019s the first time, so many next time it\u2019s easier.<\/p>\n

This is always hard for artists, but can describe a typical Amorphis live show?<\/strong>
\nIf we have enough time we try to play shows from every album, we try to play a couple of songs from \u2018The Karelian Isthmus\u2019 and \u2018Tales From the Thousand Lakes\u2019 but of course we are promoting the latest Amorphis album the \u2018Circle\u2019 album and I think we\u2019re going to play four or five songs from Cricle album. If we have enough time we\u2019re going to play maybe sixteen songs or something, it\u2019s going to be interesting. For our Australian fan base it\u2019s great because it is the first time they are going to hear Amorphis songs and we\u2019re going to play stuff you know, not only the latest songs, we\u2019re going to play as much songs of the history as we can.<\/p>\n

With \u2018Circle\u2019 out now for a few months, how has the reaction been to it so far?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s been really positive, I think it was good to work with Peter T\u00e4gtgren I think it was really interesting thing for fans and also for the press, Marco and Mikko was the producer only for before, but this time Peter was producing the whole album so it was an interesting thing. We have had really great reviews from the press and played a lot of sings from Circle in the festivals during the summer and the feedback has been great, everything seems to be alright in the band at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>What does \u2018Circle\u2019 represent for you?<\/strong>
\nFor me personally it represents getting power the history and getting emotions from the past and stuff like this, and in the circle album I think the main idea is there is a moment in your life that you can\u2019t go forward, you have to start again and look backward in your life and maybe you can get some motivation from the things that happened for you many years ago and that\u2019s the kind of thing on this album. I think this is kind of a positive story, like you have to move on and you can\u2019t just stop living.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great album, when making it what if anything did you do this time around that you hadn\u2019t done on previous albums?<\/strong>
\nWell we wanted to start the whole recording session the way that we are all in the studio at the same time, and that\u2019s what we did, we rented a studio in the countryside and we stayed there like four or five days and we recorded all the drum tracks there. There was lots of talking about the songs and it was just nice to hang around with the guys, one big thing was Peter T\u00e4gtgren, he spent maybe five weeks here and it was a big challenge for him and us also, as we didn\u2019t know Peter that well, we met him a couple of times when we were touring around Europe, but this is the first time we really spent time with Peter. I don\u2019t know, it took five weeks to record the whole album it was really intense but it was fun also.<\/p>\n

The songs are so melodic, it really is great, so when putting them together, how do you work out the balance that takes place within an Amorphis song where clean vs growling vocals are present?<\/strong>
\nIn our case vocals first comes the music and once they are recorded we start to work on vocals, and of course as a singer it\u2019s obvious if there\u2019s a heavy riff going on I use growls and when the music is getting lighter or more melodic it\u2019s quite obvious that I\u2019m using clean vocals. I\u2019m just trying to use my emotions and as a singer I\u2019m happy that I have a chance to use both styles as they are both really important for me as a singer. When I started as a singer I started growls I was a singer in a small band here in my hometown, so growls are really a natural thing for me. I\u2019m also happy about the fact we are playing all the old songs from \u2018Tales from the Thousand Lakes\u2019 for example, and I think it\u2019s great for the fans also.<\/p>\n

Looking back at \u2018Eclipse\u2019, compared to \u2018Circle\u2019 and where you are now, how have you personally seen yourself evolve as an artist?<\/strong>
\nI think of course \u2018Eclipse\u2019 was a very important album for me as it was my first one, and I didn\u2019t know how the fans will react and the feedback was really positive and lots of people came out to our shows and it was really motivating and I was really happy that it went so smoothly in a way, as when a lead singer changes it\u2019s a huge step for the band and \u2018Circle\u2019 is now my fifth album with the band and now for me it\u2019s easier now as it\u2019s eight years and they know me and they know my style, so there\u2019s not much pressure anymore, so it\u2019s easier now to trust yourself and trust that you can do this *laughs* as with the \u2018Eclipse\u2019 album I didn\u2019t know how it will end up, so now it\u2019s kind of easier. Of course every time you start to work with a new album I\u2019m really scared and really nervous and that\u2019s something that motivates you when you\u2019re in the studio, if it\u2019s too easy or too safe I think it\u2019s really boring *laughs* so every time I got to the studio I\u2019m living on the edge in a way.<\/p>\n

Are you still nervous about being the \u2018new guy\u2019 or are you fully settled in?<\/strong>
\nI think I will always be the new guy, eight years but still old school dudes are thinking who is that hippy guy at the front? For me it\u2019s alright because there\u2019s been the same kind of examples in history, like Sepultura for example, for Derrick it\u2019s still a challenge for him, it\u2019s not that easy and I can understand it, for the fans it\u2019s really boring when the man changes at the front, but that\u2019s what happens in the business, you just have to live with it and continue. As long as you enjoy doing music and doing shows then that\u2019s enough you know?<\/p>\n

Other than Australia, what does the rest of the year have in store for you?<\/strong>
\nAfter Australia we\u2019re going to play shows in Japan, we\u2019re going to do Loud festival in Tokyo, then we go to China and maybe to South Korea also, we have some plans, I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to happen. Before Australia we have the Russian tour, we have some shows in Russia which is going to be quite interesting also, after Australia also we have the European tour, were going to play twenty maybe twenty five shows in Europe and at the end of the year we\u2019re going to play six shows in Finland, so by the end of the year we\u2019re going to have played fifty shows or something, so it\u2019s going to be quite busy for us. I think next year I really hope that we\u2019re going to do an Eastern European tour as now we only do Western and Southern Europe , it would be nice to go up to Bulgaria and countries like that and if everything goes well we\u2019re going to have some sort of huge tour as we haven\u2019t played there for years, it\u2019s the time to go there but it\u2019s always a big challenge to go there because it\u2019s so expensive to get there and the countries so huge and with lots of bands touring there at the same time, so it\u2019s a challenge.<\/p>\n

And hopefully we\u2019ll see you back here again next year\u2026<\/strong>
\nWhy not? *laughs* if everything goes very well.<\/p>\n

Well we look forward to seeing you this October first though\u2026<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s going to be great; we have played many festival shows during this summer so we\u2019re in good shape, so it\u2019s going to be a powerful show.<\/p>\n

Essential information<\/h2>\n

From: <\/strong>Helsinki, Finland<\/p>\n

Band members:<\/strong>\u00a0 Tomi Joutsen, Esa Holopainen, Tomi Koivusaari, Niclas Etel\u00e4vuori, Santeri Kallio, Jan RechbergerJohn Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), James LaBrie (vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards and continuum) and Mike Mangini (drums). John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), James LaBrie (vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards and continuum) and Mike Mangini (drums).<\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong> Circle (Out Now \u2013 Nuclear Blast Records)<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> \u00a0http:\/\/www.amorphis.net<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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