Ydin

interview by - Wouter Roemers

The death metal underground is fertile and alive in Finland. The land of a thousand lakes has already given us many important genre acts. Besides scene monuments like Impaled Nazarene or more commercially successful export products like Children Of Bodom death metal is definitely on the rise again. Ydin is together with rising stars Torture Killer amongst the latest crop of Finland's more brutal and malevolent brethren. Blending the best of the US and European scenes, Ydin's latest EP is a piece of highly recommended listening. Talking to us at length are guitarist duo Jukka Kangas and Ahmis with drummer Kauko Kuusisalo providing his insight every once in a while.

Hi! Thanks for taking the time to talk to Masterful Magazine. How's everything in the band for the moment?

Ahmis: Quite good, we are rehearsing for the next Ydin release and planning to start recordings at the end of this year or beginning of 2007. I am looking forward to release new material with our new drummer Kuusisalo. Ydin is now stronger than ever.

Bitch is that there is not much places where to play gigs but hopefully that will be fixed in the near future...after all we are ready for the gigs 24/7.We are also looking for some labels if they would be interested in our music and also looking for distros for wholesale of our records.

This your second demo so far. What would you describe as the major differences between both recordings?

Kangas: "Silvottuna ja Häpäistynä" is a bit more technical and maybe not so old school than "Verityöt". Differences between releases are not intentional. All just happened. I think that it is just a natural evolution.

How would you describe the reactions your latest offering has been getting in the specialized press so far?

Kangas: Our first demo got quite good feedback in different medias. Some liked specially its old school influences. The feedback for "Silvottuna ja Häpäistynä" has been better by its developed aggression..

Ahmis: Reviews have shown that there is demand for us. So far, all feedback has been positive.

Is there a particular song that you prefer that you feel really stands out on the new EP?

Ahmis: In my opinion ‘Kylmä ydin' differs from the other songs because of its strong and raging atmosphere. I get very pissed of by this song..... So, then it works.

Kangas: There is no favourite track to me. They are all equal.

It sounds like for instance Morbid Angel, (early) Vader and Monstrosity have been a source of inspiration?

Ahmis: I can't say that any particular band had been inspiration for Ydin, rather the music style itself. There is so many great bands and of course for example Morbid Angel is one of them. True influences for us are violence, sickness and the brutality of humanity.

Kangas: It is hard to say certain influences. In Ydin there are no specific bands that we listen and then decide to sound like them. Like Ahmis said, there is a lot of great bands and of course all music that you listen can effect on the music you play sounds like.

What do you feel you can offer to the worldwide audience with "Silvottuna ja häpäistynä"?

Ahmis: We believe that we are different kind of band in the death metal scene because of our Finnish madness combining in the musical style. We don't offer technical death metal just to be the most technical band out there, rather we want to create a primitive atmosphere with some kick ass attitude.

Kangas: We offer all our published material this far for download in our webpage. http://www.ydinband.com . There you can find both "Verityöt" and "Silvottuna ja Häpäistynä" demos and some videoclips.

By this we can offer the best chance to get our music for YOU to listen. We also sell our demos so you can buy records and support us.

I don't master the Finnish tongue – could you explain to me what the title refers to?

Ahmis: Silvottuna ja häpäistynä = Mutilated and dishonoured, Inho = Disgust, Verivaltias = Bloodruler, Kylmä ydin = Cold core, Ikuinen = Eternal

"No.1" - songs are trilogy and final part will be on upcoming Ydin release.

A philosophy behind the name Ydin is that when you think about the most sickest things in the world; you find out that the one of those things is a human mind, the human's core (ydin). All sick, twisted and brutal sides of mind. These elements are strong in our lyrics.

Why sing in Finnish? I reckon it limits the audience somewhat.

Kangas: In the beginning it was clear that Ydin will rage in Finnish. It just felt right for us. I think that it is one of our strongest sides. A thing how we can differ from other bands. Also, it can limit the audience but also people can think that it is exotic and good thing.

I think that language is not a problem because there is so much metal bands that sing in their native language and people still like them although they don't understand the lyrics.

Are there any plans to switch to English in the nearby future – or will Ydin sing exclusively in Finnish for the time being?

Kangas:I think that we will stay in Finnish; but you should never say never. So, of course it is possible that someday some lyrics could be in English.

Ahmis: We won't limit our lyrics or music in some way or other. I have planned that we will translate previous and upcoming lyrics, so that other than Finnish listeners could understand what we are saying.

The artwork and lay-out of this latest release are done by guitarist Ahmis. Is he doing artworks for other bands as well?

Ahmis: I have made lay-outs for my other bands (Teardown, Malignus) and now I'm working with artwork for Incarnate's (Löytynoja's band) new recording. I have plans to continue making artwork for Ydin also in the future. Generally, I make artwork periodic by slave of inspirations...so it's not a fulltime job at this time.

Ydin is one of those bands that keep the leads/solos alive in their music. How important are leads in general terms for a band like yourself?

Ahmis: I am not so great fan of solos, especially those ultimate fast drills, so I have decided to try make the solos little bit different way than usually. We don't use solo sections in our music really much anyway, we like to count on very aggressive riffs and chaotic atmosphere.

Kangas: I personally don't play solos and it feels right to me to let Ahmis play them.

What were some of the intentions the band strived for when crafting the new EP?

Ahmis: "Silvottuna ja häpäistynä" was composed with real intensity and everyone had a strong will to get blood spilled after our first demo. We wanted to create even more furious and personal tracks. This same attitude haven't cooled off by anyway - hunger grows day by day.

It seems that you were all very comfortable in the studio. Do you feel that making this record on your own terms ended up in a better overall result?

Ahmis: I am very pleased how "Silvottuna ja häpäistynä" ended up even if we recorded all in four days. Mixing turned fine because Löytynoja is professional in mixing and we knew what we wanted. If in the future there is a producer with us, I think that it would be only a good thing because after all we just want to give our best.

Kangas: All went great considering that the studio was a home studio and we did not spent time with recording so much. I am satisfied with the result. Of course, there are always things you could do better but considering the circumstances all went good.

Ahmis: And how was those four days? Shitload of alcohol and a blast-attitude. There was not any hurry after all and somedays we ended up to be so damn wasted and doing great tracks at the same time...that's what I call "the art of drinking".

What is the songwriting process for Ydin like? Who brings the ideas? Are the songs born during rehearsals? Who is the main songwriter?

Ahmis: Usually I or Kangas bring the ideas together with our drummer. Then we create riffs to complete songs together with whole band.

Kangas: And in our both demos some riffs are made by Löytynoja. Lyrics are usually made by Punishment.

Do you feel that the band's live set can be easily digested by those who have not had the opportunity to hear the band's music previously?

Ahmis: I believe that at live our music with its all rabid feelings, stimulates the audience, even if they haven't ever listened our material. The strength and passion of our playing will surely transmit to the audience.

Kangas: It is always hard to get the right feeling in gigs if you don't know the songs. I believe that when band plays aggressive and good and don't just look at their guitar necks like they had shit in their pants, audience will get their heads banging.

Kuusisalo: I agree with Kangas that it's pretty hard to listen to a gig by a band that you've never heard, especially if we are talking about extreme metal. We are trying to choose the live set so that it would be more "listener friendly" by playing different songs. What I mean is that we don't want to play only the fastest songs but instead of that we are mixing different atmospheres by playing songs like ‘Tulikaste' and ‘Ikuinen' which differ a lot from most of our songs but still are great live songs, in my opinion.

Do you have any live activities scheduled for the coming months in support of this incredible new EP?

Ahmis: We are searching all the time some gig places but like I mentioned before, in the area where we live it is really hard to get bars and other gig places interested with this kind of music. I think that other metal bands in this area have the same problem. We will continue active promotion of our EP and seek visibility in different medias.

Are there any plans to take Ydin on the road outside of Finland – should the demand arise?

Ahmis: We don't have the resources to do this on our own, but we are ready to play gigs in foreign countries if we will get a chance.

How do you find the scene in your country?

Kangas: There are many great bands in Finland and level is very good. Many things work with personal relations. Our main problem is that we live in a small town far away from big towns, so getting gigs is hard and therefore it is hard to make our music better known to audiences.

What's in the cards for Ydin in the next twelve to eighteen months?

Ahmis: Most important thing at the moment is upcoming Ydin's EP.I believe that it will be our breaking point if "Silvottuna ja häpäistynä" won't make the result that we want. Also, I think that we will start getting more gig booking and in that way things will develop more.

Kuusisalo: Before the recording we need the rehearse A LOT because the new songs aren't exactly the easiest songs to play and the last thing we want to do is to ruin these songs with sloppy playing.

Kangas: We will create new songs and like Ahmis said a new record is our main target in the near future. It will be recorded in some different circumstances. Earlier demos have been recorded in Löytynoja's Coffin-studio and we have plans to record the next one in some other place. Also, the release format may be other than cd-r.

Thanks a lot for your time. Closing comments are yours...

Ahmis: Keep an eye out for our next release, cheers!

Kangas: Check our websites and stay metal!

Site: www.ydinband.com
Info/booking: ydinband@gmail.com

Ydin

interview by - Wouter Roemers

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