Totally fresh sounds from the north
Frontlines hail from Oulu, Northern Finland. The band want to present totally fresh sound from the north. What kind of a sound is that, then?! Just read on... Lane/AM sent a pile of questions to the band and the bassist Jussi Lassila was kind enough to answer to them, with a little help from the band's guitar player Kai Kinnunen. Photos snapped by Iisakki Kennilä.
AM: Hails to Northern Finland! How is it rolling for Frontlines?
Jussi Lassila: Things are going great. We are doing a lot of work to get our stuff heard.
AM: Frontlines was formed during the summer of 2006. Any interesting historic events to tell about for the people? It took quite a long for you to record your first demo. Why so? How do you feel about your debut release?
Jussi: For two long and frustrating years (06-08) we were searching for a vocalist. We had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted. All the misfortune we went through only made this vision more clear. We wanted a vocalist who could really represent our music, attitude and the vibe of the band. Then we found Simo Järvinen from here in Oulu. Chemistry between the members clicked and we started working on the vocal tracks for the first demo. We already had the songs recorded and we used samples of those recorded songs to find the vocalist. We are extremely proud of the first demo. Hard work paid off!
AM: Frontlines blast some groovy metal. I hear strong Pantera influence in your music. It is an influence, not stolen. It definitely smells more Texas than Oulu to me! How do you see your music yourselves?
Jussi: Well it's definitely groove oriented. Big fat beats with catchy riffs played with attitude and passion. No lame ass melodic choruses. Just bulldozer crushing!
AM: How is the Oulu metal scene today?
Jussi: It seems that the scene in Oulu woke up from a deep sleep in last summer. Many new bands released great demos and local bars started to take metal bands to play shows and people are really getting into this new atmosphere. I believe it's going to get even better and bigger because we got some great active bands here.
AM: What is your lyrical message?
Jussi: Well all the stuff that I've written for Frontlines deals pretty much with everyday stuff. Personal thoughts and ideas about things how they are and how they could be. It's all about the human experience. Neither dragons nor corpses.
AM: You've played some gigs lately. How have they been? How is your setlist? Just curious about it, as you've only released one demo to date. More gigs to announce?
Jussi: We have only played three gigs with Simo on vocals. So when you keep that in mind the gigs have been crushing! Our second gig in Hevimesta here in Oulu was a great experience. It was a dream come true! People really got into our grooves and the atmosphere was very positive and encouraging. We have a full setlist of songs and more are coming. The creative side in this band works perfectly. We already have material for our next and third demos. Our first demo includes a couple of old songs and they are a little different from the new material. We are beginning to figure out what this band is all about.
AM: You Frontlines' guys operate in several bands. I guess it's great, when different styles can be performed in suitable bands? Is there a band bigger than the other? How did Frontlines come together?
Jussi: We all have our ambitions to create some killer music. Some of the stuff don't fit the Frontlines vibe so naturally you let it flow out though other suitable projects. It's all about music and being creative. At this point I put my attention to all my projects.
Frontlines (from left to right): Kai Kinnunen (guitar), Jussi Lassila (bass), Simo Järvinen (vocals), Marko Jaara (drums).
AM: I'm still struggling to really understand the sad incident, where Damageplan / ex-Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot on-stage, and 3 other innocent peoples got killed too. The incident sent shockwaves through the metal music community throughout the world, and many a tribute band have payed respect to the legendary axe-man and personality. Also Frontlines members have taken part to Dimebag Darrell tribute shows, am I right? How was it all?
Jussi: Me, Simo and Marko were in the audience watching Kai play 'Walk'! The whole place went apeshit! The crowd is always extremely into this "Dimebag Beyond Forever Tour" everytime it comes to Oulu. Lot's of feeling and showing respect to the axe-god!
Kai Kinnunen: It was stunning experience. I was watching the DBF 2007 in crowd and it became a dream to play Pantera with those great musicians! So I wrote an e-mail and sent couple of videoclips. One or two months passed and I thought already that "not gonna happen". Then I got a response from Euge Valovirta that I could come and play one song with them! I was crapping my pants! It was the best 5 minutes of my life so far.
If you can dream it, you _can_ achieve it. Period.
AM: And let's continue with another sad incident. Miika Tenkula, the ex-Sentenced guitarist passed away a couple of weeks ago. How has this been seen in Oulu, Miika's second hometown, so to speak? And how have Sentenced touched Frontlines' guys?
Jussi: You can hear a lot of Sentenced music in rock/metal bars in Oulu and majority of the people in the music scene is aware of the sad news. I respect Sentenced for their music and all the work they have done. I'm not into their melancholy and suicidal themes in their art.
AM: Any hot news to announce? Something else? I'm out of questions, so it's free speech
Jussi: In May Frontlines will record the second demo. It's going to be something you have never heard from Oulu before. Totally fresh sounds from the north! If the stars line right we'll have some great gigs coming in the next summer so come and check'em out! Bang your pretty heads silly!
Interviewed by Lane.03/19/2009 18:53