Interview by CriX
Hi Sini, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine! How are you?
Hi! Thank you so much for having me. I’m doing really great right now; just trying to enjoy life!
Would you mind to introduce Crimson Sun and give us some biographical hints?
The band got its start way back in 2001. Guitarist Joni Junnila and bassist Jukka Jauhiainen have been in the band the longest time and Joni is one of the founding members. The band had been searching for its own sound and identity. With some key member changes, Antti Rantavuo joined the band as drummer and Miikka Hujanen joined as keyboardist. Crimson Sun recruited me as their new singer in 2011 and with this new revamped line up we made our first recording, “The Border” EP back in 2013.
Your band’s name (Crimson Sun) is quite intriguing, so I was wondering if you can give some insights about it?
When the band first started out, the songs were pretty much in a power metal style. The name just seemed to fit right and it sounded cool. Even though the band’s sound has diversified somewhat from its power metal roots, I still think the name works really well!
Can you share any details about the cover of “Towards the Light”?
The cover art was made by Serbian artist Slobicus Doomicus and naturally he designed it based on the songs and lyrics from the album. In my opinion the cover visualizes perfectly the meaning behind the album title “Towards The Light”. It depicts the journey of Crimson Sun from dark beginnings, to what we have achieved so far, through the band’s dedication, experience and new vision.
Your debut album “Towards the Light” has been released a few months ago and it’s really a great work but what can you tell about its genesis and lyrics?
Joni and Jukka are the main composers of the band, and took great care with the initial song writing process. The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Saku Moilanen at Deep Noise Studios in Finland. The whole band and Saku collaborated on the final arrangements of the songs. I think we kind of continued with the same atmosphere from where we left off with the EP “The Border” but I would say that “Towards the Light” is more straightforward and more energetic, compared to the EP. The fun fact is that we have all written lyrics on “Toward the Light”, so there are quite a few different stories behind the songs and lyrics but I think that this is what makes this album more unique in one way.
You define your music modern melodic metal but which are your main influences? I can sense that “Towards The Light” was influenced by progressive metal too, isn’t it?
Yes, some of the songs on“Towards The Light” also have a progressive metal feel to them but the main influences of our composers, Joni and Jukka are bands like Pantera, Soilwork and Megadeth. The keyboards and the vocal melodies is why we define our music as modern melodic metal but the guitars and rhythm section add the power and aggression.
You’re currently playing some shows in Finland but what are your next band plans? Are you planning a full European tour?
We have a little break now over the holidays and we are concentrating on writing some new songs. For next year, we will play some shows not only here in Finland but also abroad. A tour across Europe is already in the making. It would be so great!
Talking about your career, would you like to tell us how did you start your musical journey? And what are your main influences?
Well, when I was little, I took some piano lessons but that’s about it. Later I found the joy of singing and participated in karaoke events with my friends but I also loved heavy metal music since I was a teenager. Who would’ve known that sometimes dreams do come true, when the time and place is right. That’s the story about one night when Jukka came over to ask me if I wanted to join a band. Well, the rest is history!
We’re at the end, thank you so much for your time. Would you like add something for our readers?
Thank you, it was a pleasure! To all the Femme Metal Webzine readers I would like to say that, take hold of your dreams and make them come true. Crimson Sun wishes you a great New Year 2016, full of heavy metal, and hopefully we’ll see you down the road at our shows in the near future!
Links
facebook.com/pages/Crimson-Sun/138132725334