Celebrating their 15th year in existence as a recording artist, Finnish power metal icons Sonata Arctica embarked on their 2014 North American tour in support of their eighth studio album, Pariah’s Child, which dropped this past Spring. The 33-show tour launched in Teaneck, New Jersey on September 3rd, and wraps up in Tampa, Florida on October 15th with 9 stops in Canada in there as well. Dutch Symphonic Metal band Delain are direct support and Germany’s Xandria are the opening act. The “Pariah's Child World Tour” marks the North American on-stage debut of Sonata’s new bass player, Pasi Kauppinen (SILENT VOICES, ex-REQUIEM, WINTERBORN), who replaced long-time band member Marko Paasikoski this past summer. Metal Exiles had the pleasure of sitting down with the new bassist, along with long-time keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg to discuss this exciting tour.
An interview with Henrik Klingenberg & Pasi Kauppinen
By Michael & John Knowles
Metal Exiles: Let’s begin with talking about Pariah’s Child, it’s been unanimously described as a return to form album for the band, overall how pleased have you and your bandmates been with the overall reception of the album?
Henrik: Yeah, I mean I think that the most important thing is to come up with an album that you are pleased with yourself, first, and the fans seem to like it, so I think we are on the right track.
Metal Exiles: So many highlights on this album, and perhaps one of the most lyrically diverse and musically expressive albums you have ever made, personally what are some of your favorite moments and songs from the record?
Pasi: Live, for me it’s “Blood” and “What Did You Do in the War Dad?” Also “X Marks the Spot,” that one’s really cool to play in a live setting.
Henrik: I think the song “Larger Than Life” was something that took a long time to work out but we’re really pleased with out that came out at the end.
Metal Exiles: To me the absolute highlight of the album is the epic closing track “Larger than Life,” that song seems to embody everything there is to love about Sonata Arctica. Was it a particularly gratifying track to create and arrange?
Henrik: It was a lot of work, but at the end I think it was worth it and I think it turned out really well, so it was gratifying to work on it.
Metal Exiles: Which songs do you feel are being received the best as live performances, and which new songs do the band seem to enjoy playing the most?
Pasi: I think we have played “The Wolves Die Young” the most.
Henrik: Yeah, “Blood” is another one.
Metal Exiles: Of course there is a new bass player in the band, Pasi Kaupinen, what do you feel he has brought to the band both in a live context and on the new record?
Henrik: His playing style is totally different from Marko’s. And then we worked together for almost twenty years in different bands and in the studio and stuff like that so there’s a lot of things that he brought to the band. For example, we recorded the new album at his studio. We recorded everything there, and mixed the album there as well. There’s a huge amount of work he has put in to being in Sonata.
Metal Exiles: This being your second consecutive North American tour following an album cycle – you toured the U.S. as well for SGHN – do you feel that this new record has helped you reach a greater audience, specifically in the U.S. market?
Henrik: I don’t know, I mean last time we did a really short tour. So there’s a lot of people that we didn’t reach and this time we wanted to make sure that we play as many places as possible and I think we have had a great turn out...so it’s going well.
Metal Exiles: Is it difficult at all to make the transition from large shows and festivals in Finland and around other parts of Europe, to more of a club setting here in the states, or does it almost feel like a return to your roots in a lot of ways?
Pasi: It’s different to play in larger venues than smaller venues but they both have their bright sides.
Henrik: I think the biggest adjustment is if you play some place with a really small stage. And if you haven’t done that for a while you may be bumping in to each other and stuff like that. But other than that it doesn’t make that much of a difference. It’s all good as long as somebody shows up.
Metal Exiles: In November the band will be releasing a re-recorded version of the debut album Ecliptica, other than the fact that the album has reached its 15th year anniversary, what was the motivation behind this release?
Henrik: Well, our Japanese label wanted us to do it, and at first we were wondering what the hell it was all about, but then later thinking about it there’s only two guys in the band still who were on that album so for the rest of us it was like, well, the songs are good and we’ve been playing them live anyway, so why not, and then it was more up to Tony and Tommy to see how they felt about it and they were like, “Yeah, sure, let’s have a go at it.” Its not like we’re trying to re-write history or anything. We thought it would be a fun project to do and we recorded it during the summer in between festival shows so it was like a one-off thing, and I don’t know if we’ll be doing that in the future, but it was fun.
Metal Exiles: What can fans expect from this re-recording that was not present on the original release?
Pasi: Those I’ve met here on tour have given me great feedback about the single release.
Henrik: The sound and production is going to be a little bit different. We didn’t do any major re-writing or arranging. So I think it’s pretty faithful to the original, just with updated sound.
Metal Exiles: I’ve always wondered something about your writing process and recording process from looking at the album credits all these years. What does the writing process look like for this band?
Henrik: Well for this last album we had a bunch of demos, and we kept hearing from Tony that he had a lot of ideas, a lot of demos, etc. And at some point me and Tommy were really worried so we said, alright, we’re coming to your house tomorrow and you’d better have some songs ready. So we went there and listened to a whole bunch of stuff and then the three of us first talked about it and there were certain songs we were really sure would be on the album and we talked about the direction and stuff. Then he wrote some more music in that direction. Then eventually we got together with the whole band along with the 10-15 demos that Tony had. We then started playing through them. There were some songs we cut at that point and eventually we had the songs that we wanted to record. We then started to rehearse them. We went through the demos to find a lot of stuff that was really good, some was not, and we just worked it that way to get the best versions of each of the songs. Then when we were done with the arrangement stuff we went into the studio to start to hammer it out. But up until the mixing, and maybe even through and after that we’re still changing things – You know, maybe that idea is not as good as we thought. So up until the album is mastered anything can happen.
Metal Exiles: So these demos, is Tony arranging different instrument parts in ProTools?
Henrik: Yeah, he does that stuff on the computer. He may have some drums going on, a bass track in here and there, and maybe some sample guitars, it depends. Some demos are more raw and some have more stuff going on.
Pasi: We start to play with the raw ideas and see how it sounds with the band.
Henrik: And a lot of times stuff that sounds great on the demo, when we start to play it, doesn’t work as well. So you have to change things. It took us about maybe three weeks to work everything out and then we went into the studio for a month, two months maybe?
Pasi: Two months.
Metal Exiles: Do you guys do a live-in situation for that length of time?
Henrik: Yeah we wanted to work in the same studio together because we hadn’t done that in a while. So we made a schedule in such a way that on Monday morning we left for the studio and then Friday we went home for the weekend. If we did it for a month straight-up people would start missing their kids, spouse, and what not and then it all falls apart. So we took the weekends off, and I think it was a good way to work. Get some rest and then go back at it.
Metal Exiles: Lastly, in 2011 you guys released Live in Finland in support of Days of Grays, truly an incredible live recording, are there any upcoming plans of filming a DVD or even a Blu-ray in support of Pariah’s Child?
Henrik: At some point, but we’re not going to do it from this tour. So probably on the next release we’re going to have to figure something out.
Visit the OFFICIAL Sonata Arctica page here.
BUY Pariah’s Child here.
BUY Ecliptica Revisited here.
An interview with Henrik Klingenberg & Pasi Kauppinen
By Michael & John Knowles
Metal Exiles: Let’s begin with talking about Pariah’s Child, it’s been unanimously described as a return to form album for the band, overall how pleased have you and your bandmates been with the overall reception of the album?
Henrik: Yeah, I mean I think that the most important thing is to come up with an album that you are pleased with yourself, first, and the fans seem to like it, so I think we are on the right track.
Metal Exiles: So many highlights on this album, and perhaps one of the most lyrically diverse and musically expressive albums you have ever made, personally what are some of your favorite moments and songs from the record?
Pasi: Live, for me it’s “Blood” and “What Did You Do in the War Dad?” Also “X Marks the Spot,” that one’s really cool to play in a live setting.
Henrik: I think the song “Larger Than Life” was something that took a long time to work out but we’re really pleased with out that came out at the end.
Metal Exiles: To me the absolute highlight of the album is the epic closing track “Larger than Life,” that song seems to embody everything there is to love about Sonata Arctica. Was it a particularly gratifying track to create and arrange?
Henrik: It was a lot of work, but at the end I think it was worth it and I think it turned out really well, so it was gratifying to work on it.
Metal Exiles: Which songs do you feel are being received the best as live performances, and which new songs do the band seem to enjoy playing the most?
Pasi: I think we have played “The Wolves Die Young” the most.
Henrik: Yeah, “Blood” is another one.
Metal Exiles: Of course there is a new bass player in the band, Pasi Kaupinen, what do you feel he has brought to the band both in a live context and on the new record?
Henrik: His playing style is totally different from Marko’s. And then we worked together for almost twenty years in different bands and in the studio and stuff like that so there’s a lot of things that he brought to the band. For example, we recorded the new album at his studio. We recorded everything there, and mixed the album there as well. There’s a huge amount of work he has put in to being in Sonata.
Metal Exiles: This being your second consecutive North American tour following an album cycle – you toured the U.S. as well for SGHN – do you feel that this new record has helped you reach a greater audience, specifically in the U.S. market?
Henrik: I don’t know, I mean last time we did a really short tour. So there’s a lot of people that we didn’t reach and this time we wanted to make sure that we play as many places as possible and I think we have had a great turn out...so it’s going well.
Metal Exiles: Is it difficult at all to make the transition from large shows and festivals in Finland and around other parts of Europe, to more of a club setting here in the states, or does it almost feel like a return to your roots in a lot of ways?
Pasi: It’s different to play in larger venues than smaller venues but they both have their bright sides.
Henrik: I think the biggest adjustment is if you play some place with a really small stage. And if you haven’t done that for a while you may be bumping in to each other and stuff like that. But other than that it doesn’t make that much of a difference. It’s all good as long as somebody shows up.
Metal Exiles: In November the band will be releasing a re-recorded version of the debut album Ecliptica, other than the fact that the album has reached its 15th year anniversary, what was the motivation behind this release?
Henrik: Well, our Japanese label wanted us to do it, and at first we were wondering what the hell it was all about, but then later thinking about it there’s only two guys in the band still who were on that album so for the rest of us it was like, well, the songs are good and we’ve been playing them live anyway, so why not, and then it was more up to Tony and Tommy to see how they felt about it and they were like, “Yeah, sure, let’s have a go at it.” Its not like we’re trying to re-write history or anything. We thought it would be a fun project to do and we recorded it during the summer in between festival shows so it was like a one-off thing, and I don’t know if we’ll be doing that in the future, but it was fun.
Metal Exiles: What can fans expect from this re-recording that was not present on the original release?
Pasi: Those I’ve met here on tour have given me great feedback about the single release.
Henrik: The sound and production is going to be a little bit different. We didn’t do any major re-writing or arranging. So I think it’s pretty faithful to the original, just with updated sound.
Metal Exiles: I’ve always wondered something about your writing process and recording process from looking at the album credits all these years. What does the writing process look like for this band?
Henrik: Well for this last album we had a bunch of demos, and we kept hearing from Tony that he had a lot of ideas, a lot of demos, etc. And at some point me and Tommy were really worried so we said, alright, we’re coming to your house tomorrow and you’d better have some songs ready. So we went there and listened to a whole bunch of stuff and then the three of us first talked about it and there were certain songs we were really sure would be on the album and we talked about the direction and stuff. Then he wrote some more music in that direction. Then eventually we got together with the whole band along with the 10-15 demos that Tony had. We then started playing through them. There were some songs we cut at that point and eventually we had the songs that we wanted to record. We then started to rehearse them. We went through the demos to find a lot of stuff that was really good, some was not, and we just worked it that way to get the best versions of each of the songs. Then when we were done with the arrangement stuff we went into the studio to start to hammer it out. But up until the mixing, and maybe even through and after that we’re still changing things – You know, maybe that idea is not as good as we thought. So up until the album is mastered anything can happen.
Metal Exiles: So these demos, is Tony arranging different instrument parts in ProTools?
Henrik: Yeah, he does that stuff on the computer. He may have some drums going on, a bass track in here and there, and maybe some sample guitars, it depends. Some demos are more raw and some have more stuff going on.
Pasi: We start to play with the raw ideas and see how it sounds with the band.
Henrik: And a lot of times stuff that sounds great on the demo, when we start to play it, doesn’t work as well. So you have to change things. It took us about maybe three weeks to work everything out and then we went into the studio for a month, two months maybe?
Pasi: Two months.
Metal Exiles: Do you guys do a live-in situation for that length of time?
Henrik: Yeah we wanted to work in the same studio together because we hadn’t done that in a while. So we made a schedule in such a way that on Monday morning we left for the studio and then Friday we went home for the weekend. If we did it for a month straight-up people would start missing their kids, spouse, and what not and then it all falls apart. So we took the weekends off, and I think it was a good way to work. Get some rest and then go back at it.
Metal Exiles: Lastly, in 2011 you guys released Live in Finland in support of Days of Grays, truly an incredible live recording, are there any upcoming plans of filming a DVD or even a Blu-ray in support of Pariah’s Child?
Henrik: At some point, but we’re not going to do it from this tour. So probably on the next release we’re going to have to figure something out.
Visit the OFFICIAL Sonata Arctica page here.
BUY Pariah’s Child here.
BUY Ecliptica Revisited here.
