Albums of Purgatory interview Aarni's Markus Marjomaa

Albums of Purgatory: Firstly, whats the band up to right now?

Markus Marjomaa: Waiting for the Split CD to be released through Firebox while contemplating on a
recording deal offer. And writing/recording/mixing new material, as always.

AoP: How would you describe the Aarni sound?

MM: It's kind of mid-budget: homegrown, yet not annoyingly stuffy. Mellow
rather than all gloomy and doomy.

AoP: How did the band begin?

MM: It started when I quit a local gothic metal band and was free of its limitations. I began utilizing the many riffs, melodies etc. that I had come up with over the years and forced them into songs.

AoP: Who have been your influences as you've grown up and formed the band?

MM: Finnish folklore and folk music, the Cthulhu mythos, the psychological theories of Jung, Hermetic philosophy, delusions, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Candlemass, King Diamond and Piirpauke to name a few.

AoP: Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?

MM: Aarni hasn't played live and won't in the foreseeable future. We don't believe in live performances, being a doom band and all...

AoP: What are your favourite Aarni tracks?

MM: Hmm.."Reaching Azathoth", "V.I.T.R.I.O.L." and "Lampaan Vaatteissa". The best songs are yet to be recorded, of course :P

AoP: What are your favourite all time songs or albums?

MM: My favourite albums include almost all MDB records, but especially "Like Gods Of The Sun". Others: "Draconian Times" by Paradise Lost, "Elegy" by Amorphis, "The Wild East" by Piirpauke, "New Dark Age" by Solstice, Joe Satriani's albums in general etc.

AoP: What was the first record you bought?

MM: It was some embarrasing Kiss LP in the early 1980's..

AoP: What would be your dream band line-up?

MM: I'm sure the original line-up of My Dying Bride would produce satisfying results...to gather different members from different bands seems irrelevant, because it's the musical effort as a whole that matters and
not individual performances.

AoP: What do you think of the position of metal and music in general today?

MM: Metal has always been the music of minority, even if that minority is pretty large (at least in Northern Europe). The fanbase seems to include people from Beavis & Butthead-style oafs to intellectuals, and
generally consists of people who don't adjust to the norm. So evidently metal will never be accepted by the masses. And I'm just true(tm) enough to view this as only a positive thing.  Having said that, of course I don't mean you should stick to labels. Instead you should follow your own concept of good music, whether that includes metal, jazz, classical, pop etc.

AoP: Which bands in the scene stand out for you at the moment?

MM: If we're talking about doom in general, then: Shape Of Despair, Electric Wizard and My Dying Bride.

AoP: Do you have any funny stories about the band you can share with us?

MM: Not really..all the laughs you get from Aarni are strictly unintentional.

AoP: and finally, what do you see in the future for Aarni?

MM: A journey abroad and a romance. Oh, and releasing our debut album (not counting the Split CD) sometime in the not-too-distant future. The wheels are turning already...