When metalheads hear the term “Scandinavian melodic death metal,” chances are at least one of three bands comes to mind, all of which hail from Gothenburg, Sweden: At the Gates, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. But Finland has its own set of MDM bands that are almost equally impressive but often overlooked: Amorphis, Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum. (RIP Children of Bodom.)
In an effort to pick up more traction in the U.S., more than 25 years after they formed in Karhula, Omnium Gatherum are now dead-set on upping the ante not only with their last LP, 2021’s Origin, but with their Slasher EP that drops today through Century Media.
We recently caught up with Jukka Pelkonen to talk about the new four-song short-player, Omnium Gatherum’s brand-new rhythm guitarist, why introverts are misunderstood, and how he finds light in the darkness.
Here is our interview with vocalist Jukka of Omnium Gatherum.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today, Jukka. What does it feel like to finally headline your first shows in the U.S. after 25 years as a band?
Well, of course, it’s a cool thing. Blues comes from American rock ‘n’ roll. You can go to Graceland. We’ve toured the States five or six times at this point, so we’ve had enough time to visit many respectable relics in America.
To what or whom do you credit for the sharp rise in Omnium Gatherum’s popularity? Was it due to changes in the band’s sound or lineups—or did something else happen that goosed the size of your fanbase?
Perseverance. Death had an album called The Sound of Perseverance. Sound-wise, we have made minor changes along the way. But… we’ve always wanted to keep the OG style.
Did you write Slasher due the pandemic?
Actually, we wrote a lot of (2021’s) Origin album in that period. During the latest hours of COVID, we were all about Slasher. But Origin was also made during that period of time. We were in States on tour at that time; we had to fly back home after one show. After that, we started to write new stuff. So then came Origin.
After that, we were able to tour a bit. Then came Slasher. We have a couple of new songs, and we’re making new music. COVID was, like, something that slowed us down, like everyone else. But personally, for me, it gave me more power to be able to be more creative.
If I’m not mistaken, Slasher and your lyrics provide something of a roadmap to how the mind works. Is that accurate?
Yeah, yeah. As the title says, you go back to the origin (of the situation) and try to figure out (what went wrong). Surprisingly—well, not so surprisingly—I found nothing.
Do you believe darkness can help you or stimulate your creative efforts?
These are mundane things in a sense, but every time I lose my cool in a situation, there’s a negative aspect of darkness. But, every time I lose my cool—when it helps someone or if the situation can be resolved in a positive manner—then the darkness did help me in a positive way.
When did you come to that realization?
I always challenge myself in both positive and negative aspects because I really haven’t found anything. But I have discovered a lot of things about myself and the world. Like… I cannot speak for other people. They continue to be a mystery—and that’s a good thing. Origin dealt with these existential and philosophical ideas.
Was it fun to make an EP?
Yeah, absolutely. Slasher has a different style for us, in a sense, because we cover “Maniac” (from Flashdance). My next song is gonna be more closer to the bone, lyrically.
When you think about some things enough, you have to destroy them, in a sense, to make something new to appear. Slasher is a gateway to that—what we’re gonna do next on the next album.
And this is your first EP you’ve ever made, right? That’s crazy, to have gone 25 years without making one before.
Yeah. We’ve been (on a cycle of) album, touring, album, touring, album, touring. So now we made this, and it’s a new experience for us. It’s also more focused because (Slasher) only contains four individual songs.
Along the same lines, did Nick record on any of those songs?
Actually, he did. On “Slasher,” he made the solo. He also worked on two other songs that haven’t been released yet are from the Origin (2021) sessions.
(Our Slasher tour cycle had) such a schedule that we weren’t able to include Nick, unfortunately. But he does have a fucking banging solo, and we’re super-excited to have him to join fully in our next album. He’s a cool guy and a fucking amazing player.
Congratulations on snagging him.
Yeah. He played last year with us. It went smoothly. And so we were thinking like, “You know, this guy (is) down to earth but still has enough ego to post onstage.” He’s not the kind of guy who loses his mind when trouble starts to arise in different situations. He’s also a hard worker. I think that Americans and the Finnish people… we like fucking hard work.
Do you feel like hard work is more and more undervalued these days? Globally speaking, people project a sense that they’re entitled to certain things in life and don’t have to work for them. Do you see that a lot?
That’s a that’s a really good question. In a sense, the flow of information through social media and the globalization of the internet (is prompting) the question. Nowadays, the pace of information is so fast. (But it’s) hard to think hard work has not vanished from the world. But all in all, it’s really hard to tell.
That’s a great point. Writers and musicians often need hours-long blocks of uninterrupted time to work on their projects. Are you saying that, thanks to all the distractions in the world, those blocks of time aren’t as available as they used to be?
You have a really good point. There used to be specific blocks (of time to work on time-consuming projects), but now they are intertwined together in… social media. And it’s only been going on for 10 to 15 years. We are so early (in these new technological developments); it’s really hard to predict. What kind of conundrum will it be in the future? It’s interesting to tackle these kinds of questions because dialogues like this serve a purpose.
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“Americans and the Finnish people… we like fucking hard work.”
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Mikael Stanne from Dark Tranquillity, lead guitarist (Björn Gelotte) from In Flames and some other melodic death metal groups all recently spoke with us about their frequent lineup changes. Why are they more common in your next of the woods than in the U.S.?
You’re onto something here. … (For) personal reasons, our band has been fortunate in that sense, that the lineup changes, for the most part, have been really (agreeable to) both parties included.
Our last drummer (Tuomo Latvala), who played on (2018’s) The Burning Cold… his exit from the band was so hostile. Still, to this day, we have tried to (find out why he left), and we never got a reason. So it’s a big question mark. But, with that, we don’t hold grudges.
There is some reason he had to do what he had to do. And I hope he move forward, we move forward, and now we have a fucking great, excellent drummer (Atte Pesonen, formerly of Whispered) who fits the band. And also we have (rhythm guitarist) Nick (Cordle). So, our band is strong.
The Gothenburg guys are, famously, friends and get along really well. Are you tight with Amorphis, Insomnium or any other like-minded bands in Finland?
I don’t know them really well (but did) spend some time with them. I really enjoy when I meet them, and we have a good time. We have a couple of beers and talk. But for me, I like to keep things to myself, in a sense. So, I’m really outgoing, but not that much.
What drove you to become a vocalist?
It’s always been this thing that I have to do. It’s cliché in a sense, but I’m not ashamed of it. Actually, I think it’s one of those things that drives me today. But when the years went by, and we got our first demo, we got our first album… it became clear to me that there are things I have to improve. So your inquiry in that sense was really right.
As somebody who is more of an introvert, is the world driving you crazy right now because of social media and all the chaos in general?
No. There’s a lot of myths and misconceptions about introverted people. Like, they are easily driven crazy about different kinds of things. For me, at least, that’s not true at all. (The chaos) actually makes me more sane. Introverts like me, for example, try to understand people. I try to listen to what people are saying, even if they’re shouting.
[This interview was edited for length and clarity.]
Photo courtesy of Omnium Gatherum
