INTERVIEW WITH TORMENTOR
Thursday, March 9th 2006
Hello Tormentor! How are things there in Germany? You just came back from Sweden, playing a gig with Desaster, right? - Hails Finnish warrior! Yezz, we just came back home from Sweden and much snow! It was a real winterbattle. We played in Sandviken with Deceiver and we had a fukkin' great time there... Sandviken... I remember years ago Zorugelion from Sabbat teached me some nasty Japanese words in Sandviken. What do you think about this fellow drummer? - Zorugelion is a great guy. All our meetings in the past were funny and we had many beers together. His English isn't that good, but we all speak the language of Heavy Metal, right?! I really like his simple but effective drumming. So now that you played in Sweden, you have a new country in your personal invasion list... Sweden, Finland, Japan, USA, Brazil, Italy, Hungary, Spain etc. etc... Which country is next? I guess Deutschland is starting to be almost too familiar place for you to play gigs? - Yes... We just counted on the way back from Sweden, that Desaster has played in 23 different countries, so I have two more with the US and Japan. Next gigs are only in Germany... Some Open Airs and single gigs. We're preparing for a new record... Germany in case of Desaster is a bit difficult. Many organizers want us to play, but we think and also thought in the last years, that it's better to stop playing live that much like the years before... We'll see what happens in the future... In case of Metalucifer it would be so fukkin' killer to play again with mastermind Gezolucifer... It's every time killer to meet him... About Metalucifer... What's the Metaluciferic situation at the moment, any new plans? - We stay in touch with Gezol and at the moment he is writing new tunes for the upcoming album "Heavy Metal Bulldozer"... After he finishes his work he will send us the CD-Rs for rehearsing and recording the guitars and drums here in Germany again. But it's not sure if Gezol will, or better, can come to Europe to help us... Time will tell... Maybe we'll play some shows in 2007... But there isn't planned anything 100% by now... Maybe Finland is the next country which will be conquered by the Neal Tanaka army! Great to hear that the new material is in the making! The Heavy Metal Hunter, Neal Tanaka, could you tell something about him? Only things we know are that he likes to ride on the chariots with a chainsaw and a drill, and that he has huge amounts of those big black disc things. - On our Japanese gigs in 2003 or 2002 (?!?! fukk I can't remember, haha) he told us that he has over 30.000 vinyl records at home... Or better Gezol told us, because Neal cannot speak English very well. But it was a fukkin' amazing situation to meet him the first time in Osaka... This guy is a real maniac and also had a special appearance on stage. He helped Gezol, because he was attacked by a modern-metal fan... It was good theatre! Haha... This is the Japanese style... Neal went on stage with a chainsaw to show that "non-metal bastard" what real Heavy Metal is! Pure chainsaw metal attack! Haha... That was really cool! 
A chainsaw metal attack, now that sounds the way I like it also! Is there any difference in the Japanese way of headbanging? (Well, of course you just told about Japanese chainsaw attacks, but any other differences?) - The whole concert-situation is different... You know, here before and after the show you'll find many drunken maniacs and for the owner of a live-club it isn't easy to kick them out after the gig... But in Japan everything is different... After the gig I changed my clothes, drank some beer backstage and went out to talk to the people... But within maybe 10 minutes everybody was outside... No alcoholic wisdoms, no drunken metalheads... Haha... The bar also was only open between the bands, so at a gig nobody had a chance to by some beer. But we had fun. It's more strict and disciplined, in a way? So it's headbanging from the beginning of the gig until the end of the gig, and then it's "See you on the next gig!", ne? - Yes you are right! Bang that head that doesn't bang! That was the way... They gave everything to give us a good time on stage! We also had great bands we played with... For example Master Shige and mighty Gorgon, Solitude and many more... Good bands and great music! Which place/aspect/thing in Japan you enjoyed the most? And I'm curious, when you arrived to Japan, did you have a Nightflight to Tokyo? - I really like a lot of their food! Haha... Also the way people live... We also visited many record shops... Real Heavy Metal hunters! To be in Tokyo was really great, but maybe too big for me... And I'm sure we only saw maybe 10% of the whole city! To be at Gezol's home... Sleep, eat and drink there was killer too! We had many hours we spent listening to old bands and watching many videos. We did a lot, like visited old ninja-castle and such normal "tourist"-things... The flight to Japan was the first flight ever in my life... Haha, we arrived after 14 hours in Nagoya... That was really hard... Pretty extreme duration for a first flight ever hah! Watching band videos at someone's home while you're on tour is one of those things which stays as one of the best memories. - Yes, all Japanese maniacs are fukkin' crazy... They have so much records, all of them! Gezol showed me records from band from Germany I've never seen in my life! But... That's collector's life! Of course both shows with Blumi, Mem, Gezol and his brother Samm were total amazing and we really blow the audience away... Wow, that's Heavy Metal hunting... Metal way of life is sure full of suprises! Do you have any particular rituals before going on stage? And your routines after a gig? - I think before every gig I'm a bit nervous which 
means that I smoke määäny cigarettes before the gig... But that's good... You have to be nervous.... Otherwise you have routine and that steals all feeling in my eyes. But no real rituals before the shows, only some beers and warming up a bit... After the shows normal drinking sessions... Music is my hobby and I do all music in my holiday/free time... So I want to do what I will...Yes, I agree that you have to be at least a little bit nervous and eager to play, every time! - 100%! Now, about drumming in general, how do you alter your way/feeling of playing when doing fast Desaster stuff and when "switching" to traditional Metaluciferic Heavy Metal? Of course, it's the same Metal in it's different forms, Metal is Metal. But I mainly mean the changes in your technique/drumkit, or do you just go and play without thinking about it that much? - Metal is Metal! You know, Desaster drumming is fast but still heavy... Or better I try to keep it heavy... Metalucifer is the same only a bit slower... Of course it was a bit hard for me in the beginning of the rehearsals to play a bit slower, the only problem is that in fast songs you don't hear mistakes that much, hehe. But I play really simple rhythms in Metalucifer. So it's more going out and play my soul to Heavy Metal hell... But drumkit and the technique I don't have, is the same. Yeah! And playing simple/slow is difficult also... you hear the little mistakes more clearly. - Yes... But I'm no professional drummer... So I don't care, I play what I can. Playing with a Metal heart is the main thing! As I already mentioned, you have played in Spain also. Did you enjoy your stay there? And what do you think about Spanish Metal Forces? (I'm moving to Spain, so that's why I ask.) - Haha, we played on our 2nd tour with Zemial in Spain and had the first show in Irun around 8 people... And in Barcelona (on a Wednesday) maybe 50... But Spain is great! One of the biggest Desaster fans is coming from Spain! Hails Alberto Hängöver! Haha... The only thing from Barcelona I remember was the fukkin' hot weather and that our crazy roadie Duke had run naked (!) on the main street because he felt like it! Good for him that it was in the middle of the night after a bottle of Vodka and many beers... I will never forget that picture! Haha... Hey, why do you move to Spain?! I really like Finland! A great country... With much water everywhere. Yes, I think Spain and Finland are both good countries, Finland is in the north and Spain is in the south, so there's Germany in the middle! I was in Germany for the first time last summer, and I really liked it, it's a total Metal country, i think! But I think you already know that heh! - Haha, Germany is ok... But in case of Metal for me South America is the best... So many metal stores, amazing. But anyway, Germany is a good country to live but there are more which are better I guess... As tons of other Metal activities are calling, the time's up for this dangerous meeting... Any last words? - Yeah, Tuomas... Thanxx a lot for this great interview, good luck with your website and hopefully meet you one day, would be killer. Horns up to all Metaluciferian metal hunters, keep on thrashin' and never forget... Heavy Metal will never die! Cheers to my friends in Desaster and all in Metalucifer! BANG OR BE BANGED! Tormentor... I think we will meet in the future... It was a real pleasure, I thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview! Warrior's farewell! |