Omnium Gatherum – 28-03-2015

Interview with: Jukka Pelkonen
By: Basak Günel

The melodic death metal legends Omnium Gatherum were the support act of Ensiferum during the “One Man Army” tour in Europe. Before their show in Bremen, I had the chance to interview the vocalist, Jukka Pelkonen, about the upcoming album, the band’s sound and his personal influences.

Hello Jukka! Firstly, thanks for taking the time for the interview. How is it going so far?
It’s been really amazing! This is the 17th day of the tour and it’s ending maybe too quickly. There have been a lot of sold-out shows. We have enjoyed the tour and we are also good friends with both of the bands. The crowds have also been amazing so nothing to complain!

Any highlights from this tour so far? Were there any shows that you liked in particular?
The gig in London was excellent as well as the shows in Munich and Pratteln. The gig in Biebob was also a nice surprise. We played there a few times and this has been the best gig that we played there.

It’s been a while since the release of “Beyond” (2013) and you guys have been recording a new album. How is it going?
It’s going nice but steady. We are planning to release it next year. Recording process is almost done. We have about 10-14 songs. I don’t know how many songs there will be in the album but I guess around 10. We are not playing a lot of gigs now because of the album process. We will only do the festivals and a couple of gigs in Finland and then we will go to the US in August and then we will finish the album.

What will be different this time?
Basic sound of the band will still be there but it’s gonna a bit more straightforward. There will be a couple of fast songs there but also lots of melodies as always. I am really excited about it because I personally want every album as a step forward for the band (writingwise), kinda like evolving. This is really like the direction we want to take. You can hear that it’s Omnium Gatherum; the sound is there but also new aspects.

Do you want to experiment with your sound with the upcoming album?
Experimenting is a risky road in a way. Of course we always wanna keep evolving but soundwise, we are really satisfied. There are little things that change but we are happy with it overall.

Who writes the lyrics?
I write all the lyrics. Markus [Vanhala, guitar] and Joonas [Koto, guitar] do the composing. We have the clear singing parts, which I compose so it’s basically us three.

Omnium Gatherum, in my opinion, is not a typical melodic death metal band but you have influences from many genres. Personally what inspires you during the songwriting? What makes the sound so unique?
Inspiration comes from different stuff, not only music but from everything. In the past, there have been bands that inspired us but nowadays it’s not any specific band. It’s a spontaneous idea.

Do you get inspired during touring?
It’s possible but it’s also routine during touring so it’s hard to think about the concept for new songs. But when I get inspired, I have something that I can write to and save it for later.

Finland is country known for death metal. Do you consider Omnium Gatherum as a Finnish band or as a more universal band?
We see ourselves as universal. In the past, our sound was more Finnish because of the Finnish bands that inspired us but personally, I don’t believe that is limited to Finland or being Finnish. Maybe that authentic Finnish sound sticks to the band; we might not see it or hear it but it’s there of course.

What are your favorite albums that you’re listening to in general?
I listen to all kinds of music. Personally, I like Dave Matthews Band. It’s not so far away from metal as well. Psychedelic/ trance is also really close to my heart. I also make those kinds of songs although I don’t have any projects since I don’t want to divide my time. I also have an acoustic guitar which is nice to play.

Do all the bandmembers listen to different kinds of music?
Yeah, we all listen to different kinds of music which also influences the band’s sound. It doesn’t matter what the genre is. If the song is good, it’s good. I don’t wanna restrict myself in that way.

Are you following the death metal scene?
Not so much anymore. I try to but nowadays with the internet exploding and being spread, you have to spend time but I don’t have time since I am also occupied besides music.

What do you wanna achieve as a band in the future?
We want to tour more. We have performed over 200 shows since “Beyond” was released, which is a lot but it would be nice to go to South America and Australia. India would also be interesting.

A funny thing has actually happened: I got a Facebook message from a guy in Israel. He’s my friend on Facebook and he was like “Is it true that you’re coming to Israel this summer?” That was the first time I heard that we were gonna play there! I was like “ I don’t know. Are we?!” [laughs]. He was like “If you are coming, I can interview with you for this local TV”. I found it really cool but it’s crazy how these rumors spread!

I am also originally from Turkey and it would be really nice to see you guys play there. Death metal is really a loved genre in Turkey!
Yeah it would also be really nice to play there! Middle East would be a cool experience. There are also lots of underground bands there. Surely, in some ways, it must be a bit difficult to play there and be a metalhead. But I don’t mind playing in any country at all. For me, performing is always fun. We are there for the audience.

When you look back, is there any show that stayed in your mind particularly?
In Quebec (Canada) last year, we had a really good show and the venue was also weird because there were bar-chairs like you see in normal venues. At some point during the performance, I went crowdsurfing and ended up even on those bar-chairs. Those kinds of memories are always good!

Any last words to your fans?
Keep listening to metal! It eases the frustration!

Special thanks to: Jukka Pelkonen and Lifeforce Records

Links:
Omnium Gatherum Official