Renowned Finnish vocalist, bassist, and songwriter Marko Hietala is back with a brand-new full-length. “Roses From The Deep” is a journey into the depths of emotion and imagination, where dark, introspective lyricism meets soaring, cinematic soundscapes. Inspired by myth, nature, and the human experience, Hietala weaves together elements of progressive rock, folk, and symphonic metal, creating a genre-defying album that resonates on a profound level. Read more about our special interview.
Introduction and Catching Up with Marko Hietala
So Marko, welcome back to Femme Metal Webzine. We talked back in 2019–20 in Amsterdam a few years ago. First of all, I want to ask you how you are today? And, yeah, how is this period treating you, considering the whole promotion?
I’d say that personally—and even professionally—I’m in a much better place than I was back when we last talked. At that time, I was carrying so much historical baggage that it was suffocating me. The weight of it all was killing me, and I reached a breaking point where I had to walk away from everything. Then I even left my home country to escape the constant demands of the world, the bureaucracy, and everything else pressing down on me.
I needed to figure out what was dragging me down, and eventually, I did. I found the root causes of my depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and the darkness that was consuming my mind. It turned out that a significant part of the issue was tied to something I’d been living with all along. As humans, we’re hardwired by evolution to be social creatures, to fit into the “pack,” so to speak. But being different from birth can be incredibly heavy to carry. I learned that this is true for a lot of people with ADHD—about 70%, according to what I read—who end up struggling with depression and anxiety as a result.
One of the new psychiatrists I saw suggested I might have ADHD. At first, I didn’t see how it connected to my long history of depression, but after reading up on it and reflecting, it started to make sense. Getting that diagnosis shed new light on the 20 years I’d spent dealing with depression. It explained why medications often failed—they might help temporarily, but I would always find myself slipping back into darkness.
That darkness was a constant cycle of self-blame. I was my accuser, my judge, and my executioner, always questioning what I had done wrong and why everything seemed to keep falling apart.
Understanding Mental Health and Self-Discovery
I completely get what you’re talking about. When I met you in 2020, I was going through the same thing. I was in therapy for depression. Unfortunately, I know what you went through and what you’re still going through.
Yeah, getting the diagnosis and learning about it gave me clarity and forgiveness—for myself and others. I could see that my behavior was part of the condition and not entirely my fault. And I started to forgive others too, realizing I must have been hard to be around during my worst days.
It’s like you’re rewiring yourself in a way—discovering parts of yourself that you never knew were there. But at the same time, it brings a lot of pain because you weren’t expecting all of it, and it can feel incredibly overwhelming.
But maybe the best part of it all was the forgiveness—being able to finally forgive myself. With this new knowledge and insight, I could see that many of the things I blamed myself for were just typical behaviors of someone dealing with these challenges. Those “things” were triggering me, pushing certain buttons, and it all spiraled out of control. But now, I understand—I couldn’t have acted differently back then.
And with that self-forgiveness comes the ability to forgive others too. This perspective allows me to step back, stand on my own, and see things for what they are. If you can imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes, you realize that on my worst days, I must have been a really difficult, even painful person to be around.
It’s so true. In my experience, forgiving others is easier than forgiving yourself because you’re often so hard on yourself.
Exactly. But despite everything, I’ve always strived to stay honest and fair. That part of me hasn’t changed—it’s still in the core of who I am, this musically obsessed weirdo.
The Journey to the New Album of Marko Hietala
So how has all this self-discovery influenced your upcoming album, “Roses from the Deep”?
It’s reflected in the album. For example, Marko Hietala ‘s“Left on Mars” is about severe alienation but also the immense worth of someone willing to cross that distance to find you and bring you back. It’s a very real story inspired by my wife.
Marko Hietala & Tarja together
Well, “Life of Mars” has become a duet. But how did the choice land on Tarja? To be honest, I never imagined reuniting with her—not even in the farthest corners of my mind. Especially considering how things were 20 years ago…
Yeah, those are things we don’t really need to dig into further—we both know exactly what happened. But we met again during the annual Christmas tour in Finland back in 2017. At the time, I was on my way down, struggling with everything, but it gave us a good chance to talk and work through things.
Once all the chaos—the media frenzy, the managerial infighting, and people pulling us in different directions—finally settled, what was left was the harsh truth: I had also lost a friend. And that’s not something you should lose. That’s exactly what we talked about back then, in 2017.
I swear, things were probably a little awkward and uncertain at first, but after that, we’ve been fine. Two summers ago, we were headed to a festival in Switzerland—Tarja with her band, and me with mine. That’s when I got this message from Tarja, asking if I’d be interested in doing The Phantom of the Opera together. Of course, I was immediately excited and thought, Whoa, yeah, let’s do it!
Why not make this a duet?
At the same time, we had already started demoing new songs. That’s when the idea came up: Why not make this a duet? It just made sense—it was a no-brainer who I’d want to sing it with. So we put together a demo version, went to Switzerland to perform with our respective bands, and then did The Phantom of the Opera live.
While we were there, I gave Tarja a USB stick that had a roadmap of the song. I’d recorded all the parts, our keyboardist had played along with some AI work, and we’d even added a 13-euro generic female vocal to flesh out the idea. A few days later, Tarja wrote back saying how much she liked it—everything sounded really professional. She mentioned she’d be heading into her home vocal booth to start recording her parts.
The Phantom of the Opera
When we got the tracks back, they were nearly perfect right away. We only had a few minor tweaks, like asking her to double some vocals to strengthen the choruses. But what hit me was during the Switzerland show. Performing The Phantom of the Opera live together was such a powerful moment—seeing the audience laughing, crying, and fully immersed in it all. That’s when I realized just how much this collaboration meant to so many people.
It was clear that if we were going to include this song on the album, we’d need to shoot a video for it—even before the album was fully mastered. And that’s exactly what we ended up doing.
The Emotional Response from Fans
I know this might sound like a silly question, but how does it feel to realize the reaction of the people in Switzerland? They were crying seeing you and Tarja together. How was that for you? Wasn’t it overwhelming?
It’s incredibly touching because, in the end, all any of us want—beyond what we do—is for it to be meaningful. For it to matter, for it to be something that resonates, either with ourselves or with others. Seeing so many people moved so profoundly… made me realize that what we did, coming together with Daria to perform that song, had a deep impact on them. And that’s meaningful to me, too. I love performing, and in that moment, I was truly touched. I was happy, deeply so.
Marko Hietala on Collaboration and Future Possibilities
I also wanted to ask—do you see a possibility in the future, even if it’s not something we could do right now, of creating an album together with Tarja? I’m not talking about starting a new band, just the two of you coming together and putting something special out.
My honest assessment is that, yes, we could do that. But given our history and the exceptional music we’ve created, particularly with Nightwish, it would have to be musically ambitious. We’d need to push boundaries and experiment with bold ideas because I’m not the type to settle for something half-done or just created for the sake of making money. I don’t care about that. What matters to me is that the music has substance.
There’s still a long road ahead
I believe it’s possible, but right now, I don’t see us diving into it seriously. From what I know, we’ve got a ton of shows lined up through 2026, so it’s hard to focus on anything else at the moment.
There’s still a long road ahead, a lot to travel. I also know that Tarja values the freedom of leading her group, and I feel the same way. I love the setup I have with my guys—it’s a tight, classic team I’m comfortable with. Starting something new would mean figuring out who to bring on board, and who not to, and making all those business decisions… and honestly, I’m not ready to dive into that. I’m enjoying the shows we’re doing right now. We can revisit those ideas sooner or later, but I wouldn’t say you should hold your breath for it. As I said, we both value our freedom.
One thing, though—when it comes to Life of Mars, I did promise Taria that I owe her one. So when she starts working on songs for her next album, I suspect I’ll be there for at least one of them. We don’t have a contract. We just have a deal between a road brother and a sister.
The Role of the Band
Yeah, you guys sound much more connected on this album. I had the chance to listen to it, and it’s great. I was curious—okay, the album is being promoted as a Marko Hietala album, but I suspect that, aside from Marco, your bandmates have a significant role in it as well.
They’re a huge part of the whole process of how the album comes together—both albums. These are guys I’ve known for quite a while, a handpicked group who already respect each other and have had good times together on different projects in the past. It’s important to have a group of people who understand how to play this kind of rock with punch, where the bass drum hits big, but doesn’t necessarily need to be double-kicked.
At the same time, everyone brings a wealth of experience and diverse musical backgrounds, which makes for a versatile group. They have ideas and imagination, and when you bring a song to the table, some things stay pretty much the same, while other elements get completely transformed into something you never expected. Oh, fuck, this is great. Like that happened quite a lot with my favorite from the album “The Dragon Must Die”, for instance.
Highlights of the Album
I have another favorite, not just because it’s the single, but Frankenstein Wife—it’s straight out of the ’80s. That song takes me back, reminding me of all those ’80s bands. It has that heavy rock, arena rock feel, like something you’d hear from those club bands of the era, yet it has this stretched-out quality to it. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it just captures that vibe perfectly.
It’s intentionally a hybrid—kind of a blend of ’80s LA hard rock filtered through a Black Sabbath lens, with a touch of Gothic love story and the theme of conquering death. It’s a bit quirky, even humorous at times. It’s meant to be somewhat comic, with things like “stitches in our hearts” and all that. But that was one of the songs we came up with. I wasn’t sure it would work as an album opener because it’s so obviously pop-ish. But then I figured, there’s going to be a lot of different things on this album, and if you get past the first track, you’re not expecting mainstream anyway. So, it works as a solid intro.
The musical versatility
Besides being a great opener, what I like about “Frankenstein Wife” is that it also reveals some of the different nuances of the album. It’s easy to imagine a whole album in that same style, but what makes it interesting is the variety. I love the first album because it was different, but at the same time, it had a bigger picture—there was a mix of AOR, symphonic elements, artwork, and classic ’70s rock. All of that is unmistakably present, and it reflects who you are at the end of the day.
Yeah, it’s true, and I’m proud of achieving that level of versatility in both albums. We managed to put together songs that jump from one genre to another, and there’s a wide range of atmospheres, emotions, and even lyrical themes. The fact that we can build all of that together as a band into something cohesive and solid, like a complete album, is exactly what we aim for. And what’s great is that it happens so naturally; we don’t have to force it. Especially when you consider how open-minded the guys are musically—we have this group of people who can sit there, laughing their heads off at a show while listening to Chaka Khan, which happened in Utrecht, for example. Anthony Jackson was playing bass on those. He’s a bloody model.
Chaka Khan, Ian Gillian and Little Richard
I mean, don’t get me wrong, but listen again—go ahead and grab me, because she deserves it. She has an incredible voice, and let me say, she’s one of the best R&B vocalists I’ve ever heard in my life. So, there’s nothing wrong with listening to Chaka Khan.
No, not. I mean, most of the heavy metal falsetto screams from the high registers—those are things soul singers, especially black soul artists, did. And let’s not forget Little Richard from the old-school rock scene. These falsetto screams in hard rock and metal? Ian Gillan and Rob Halford took it from there—it all comes from that. We have to acknowledge that young Gillan, for example, started with Little Richard in the ’60s. So, when people say we’re just playing “heavy metal,” trying to box it into one category, that’s just bullshit to me.
I’ve always believed that if you narrow yourself down to a single genre, saying, “This is what I love, and everything else is out,” you’re putting yourself in a kind of mental prison. I mean, every genre has its moments—even mainstream pop, even mainstream hip-hop. Gangsta’s Paradise has an incredible chorus, for example. All of these can be absorbed into your musical self, and whatever comes out will be a hybrid of everything you’ve heard and learned.
The music in general
I love that kind of mentality because, at the end of the day, music is music. I may not be a fan of today’s hip hop, but when you talk about groups like Run-D.M.C. or Coolio, or all that stuff from the early ’90s, it still holds its value.
All the genres do bring great ideas and elements. All of them do, but it’s just of course, shifting through the corporate-led business policy mainstream as it just, it’s a small work every goddamn day. Sorry to say that.
Upcoming plans
You mentioned a bit earlier that you’ll be busy with touring. I saw there are dates scheduled for Finland only, but does that mean you’ll be touring across Europe later this year?
A week after those Finland shows, we’re going to be in the Baltics and starting to go down through Eastern European countries. Okay, yeah, so more shows is coming.
Can we expect Marko Hietala always in small places, not big arenas, right?
That depends on totally how successful the band gets. But I like club shows, the closer you get to the people, the more great vibes we can create together.
Yeah, I think so. Well, Marko Hietala, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I hope you enjoy it. Um, hopefully see you on tour this time back in the Netherlands. Thank you again.
You’re welcome.