23/10/2006 

Samir: How are you doing?

Tuomas: Fine, thank you! This week we have entered Fantom Studio to record our 3rd album and it seems to turn out very well.

Samir: Can you tell us who are the members of your band and what's the story of your band?

Tuomas: Of course. The line-up is: Jussi Kiiski -guitar, Tero Laitinen -guitar, Sami Vesanto -bass, Tuomas Ala-Nissilä -vocals and Tuomo Latvala -drums. The band has been in this line-up since 2002.

Samir: What's the meaning of your band's name?
Tuomas: Well, to put it short, DEMIGOD means Demi-god a.k.a. half a god. Our former guitarist found it from the DEICIDE album. Demigod - satan}s son, ha ha haa! For us it just sounded cool. We haven}t thought about the religious meaning behind the name.

Samir: Why did you choose "SHADOW MECHANICS" for the title of that album ?

Tuomas: In my opinion it describes pretty well the mood of those songs on the album. That}s why.

Samir: What actually happened after the release of "SHADOW MECHANICS"?

Tuomas: That}s another long story. One of the founder members of the band, Seppo Taatila(drums) decided to concentrate on his family and left the band. Then we got offers to do some major gigs here in Finland, so we had to found a new drummer and as soon as possible. Then, Jari Laine , our friend from the band TORTURE KILLER, told us about Tuomo, and he also gave his phonenumber. We called him and the rest is history. His playing style seems to fit perfectly to DEMIGOD.

Samir : Tell us about you local scene please. What are the bands you'd like to recommend us ?

Tuomas: The band is formed in Loimaa, but 3/5 of us are living in Turku these days, so maybe I}ll recommend some Turku based bands...TORTURE KILLER, a great band. They}re friends of us and have made two albums so far. Death metal as it}s best. Then HELLBOX. Now, these guys have released a good album INFERNOTHING recently. To me they}re a great mixture of thrash metal, black metal and drunken Motörhead. So, check it out!! Then I}d also like to mention HATEFORM. I don}t know much what they}ve done lately, but the songs on their myspace site sound very promising.

Samir : Can you tell me more about "SLUMBER OF SULLEN EYES"? What is your feeling about it?

Tuomas: It was re-mastered and re-relased in january 2006 (originally released in 1992)and if we listen it today, we}ll find out that it is a good combination of DEMIGOD songs composed in 1991-92. It has quite original sound. It seems it has been an important album for many death metal fans all around the world. We}ll still reach mail, concidering SLUMBER OF SULLEN EYES. That}s amazing!!

Samir : What are your thoughts and feelings about writing songs, recording them and playing live? And what do you like best ?

Tuomas: We have concentrated the lates year and a half to compose and record our 3rd album and we are still in the middle of that process, but I would say that you have to love at least writing songs and the practicing. Otherwise you won}t do a long career and that}s what we}re aiming. So, we like to write new songs, but we also love to play live. The gigs are kind of special events for us. And it is always interesting to decide the tracklist, what to play live tonight. We have tried to make a good combination of old and new DEMIGOD songs, so the live situation should be interesting also to the audience.

Samir : Is music your only hobby?

Tuomas: Music is a big part of our lives. Tero spends also some time with his motorcycle. I go to gym or play badminton or go out with my rollerskates. Sami is into movies. Tuomo has many bands besides DEMIGOD. He plays also (at least..) in TORTURE KILLER and FUNERAL FEAST, so most of his free time goes with his bands. I don}t know about Jussi. Maybe he is writing new killer riffs for DEMIGOD right now...

Samir : What can fans expect to see and hear at the show?

 

Tuomas: Five old and half-bald geezers playing outfashioned death-thrash metal, to be honest, ha ha! Just kidding...We}ll try to make our live set as interesting as possible, so you may hear fast and brutal metal music from our albums and some special stuff like unrecorded songs (for example SUCCUMB TO DARK from 1990)or totally new tunes. So our live shows are worth checking for.

Samir : How would you define your style of music?

Tuomas: I wouldn}t call it pure death metal any more. Hmmm..This is a touch one. Maybe our music is mostly technical death-thrash metal these days.

Samir : I suppose you can't live from DEMIGOD? So you had to leave behind your jobs. Did you get them back or did you find something else easily?

Tuomas: No, we haven}t finished our day jobs. Sami works with computers, Tuomo has a job at a furniture market and Jussi works in a window factory. Tero works in the harbor. He makes big ships. And I}m a fuckin} student...

Samir : What's tour best memory with the band?

Tuomas: Jussi and Tero might mention here our early tours in Germany and Sweden, but I wasn't in the band at the time, so I mention our big festival gigs here in Finland, Tuska Open Air 2002 and Spikefeast 2002. A lot of audience and a killer band on the stage, hah!

Samir : Did you play any cover tunes in your early days ?

Tuomas: As far as I know DEMIGOD has made cover songs at least of the bands like DEFECATION, ENTOMBED, BOLT THROWER and CARCASS. Cover songs have never made a big deal in DEMIGOD, to be honest.

Samir : Can you imagine a life after DEMIGOD? Can you imagine to stop DEMIGOD one day?

Tuomas: Yes, DEMIGOD was almost history in 2001, but the we found the right line-up and have continued since.

Samir : What is your musical background? Your personal influences?

Tuomas: We are more or less self-learned musicians. For example Tero was 17 when they formed DEMIGOD, so this band has been a major project since 1990 for most of us. My personal influences are too many to list here, but I can mention few of them. Or maybe I don}t do it, because thousands of metal bands have influenced me. Recently I have been listening bands/artists like JUDAS PRIEST, BALLS, DIABLO, MACHINE HEAD, PESTILENCE, BACKSLIDERS and ABBA. As a singer I have always liked Taneli Jarva}s voice (SENTENCED, THE BLACK LEAGUE). There are a shitload of good vocalists here in Finland like Tony Kakko, Marco Hietala, Rainer Nygård and Mika Luttinen to mention but a few.

Samir : Do you follow the evolution of the Death Metal scene nowadays ?

Tuomas: I think Tuomo is the only one who is aware of what}s happening in the DM scene. I check some newcomers from time to time, but it seems that I}m more into those 80}s heavy metal, thrash and death metal bands these days.

Samir : And with which bands ?

Tuomas: I can recommend finnish DEATHCHAIN. They}re pretty good. Then I can mention DAUNTLESS. They play good death metal and we have also played some gigs with them. Then there}s those finnish (again) thrashers JUMALATION. And of course I}m following what IMPALED NAZARENE is doing these days!

Samir : if you 'll be invited to playing here in morocco, do you accepte about this invitation?

Tuomas: Sure, if the expenses are covered. And if we get some free time from our jobs...That would be the main problem.

Samir : How far would you like to go with Demigod ?

Tuomas: I would like to do many albums and many many great gigs with this band. Let}s put it that way...

Samir : Do you believe in the phrase "stay brutal" ?

Tuomas: I believe in anything that}s called "brutal", ha ha!

Samir : Any closing comments?

Tuomas: Thanks Samir for this interview. It was a pleasure to do it. Right now (July 2006) we are recording our 3rd album and it is out some day in somewhere...We don}t know the label yet, ha ha! But seriously speaking, check it out as it comes out!! Meanwhile you can find us at www.demigod.tv or www.myspace.com/demigodband. You must also check our brand new forum at metal-realm.net. That}s about it!

Samir : Thank you very much for precious time, last words are yours !

Tuomas: If you live in Spain or Portugal, beware!! We might tour there later this year...See you there!

Links :

www.myspace.com/demigodband

www.demigod.tv

Albums :

Rehearsal demo 1 Demo, 1990
Unholy Domain Demo, 1991
Demo Rehearsal 1991 Demo, 1991
Demigod / Necropsy Split, 1992
Promo 1992 Demo, 1992
Slumber of Sullen Eyes Full-length, 1992
Promo '93 Demo, 1993
Promo '94 Demo, 1994
Promo '97 Demo, 1997
Promo 99 EP, 1999
Shadow Mechanics Full-length, 2002

Members :

Tuomas Ala-Nissilä - Vocals
Jussi Kiiski - Guitar
Tero Laitinen - Guitar
Tuomo Latvala - Drums (AN, Deep Red, ex-Hellbox, ex-Torn, Torture Killer)
Sami Vesanto - Bass