北国列车 - 芬兰Heavy / Speed Metal乐队Arched Fire专访

Volcano Magazine
Dec 7, 2024
15 min read

今天采访到是来自芬兰的Heavy / Speed Metal乐队Arched Fire，由Aslak，Mika在1989年组建，几个月后Janne加入了乐队，当时他们是一群14 - 15岁的孩子，没有任何的演奏经验，但是他们还是坚持创作原创作品，根据乐队成员回忆他们从一开始创作原创作品只是因为他们不会翻唱任何其他乐队的作品，不久之后乐队在1990年因为阵容的不稳定和成员之间音乐风格的分歧和没有任何演出机会宣布解散，但是乐队成员并没有放弃对音乐的热爱，2019年宣布重新组建并且第一代成员全部回归，同时新的歌手Kristian加入乐队并且在2021年发行了第一张正式专辑“Remote Control”在WormHoleDeath厂牌，2023年乐队的第二张正式专辑“Trust Betrayal”也在老东家发行，今年乐队发行了最新单曲“Northbound Train”，新单曲选择在芬兰的著名Inverse Records厂牌，前不久杂志和Arched Fire乐队取得联系进行了一次专访！

（V: 代表笔者 A: 代表Ari K: 代表Kristian）

Today's interview is with the Finnish Heavy / Speed Metal band Arched Fire, formed in 1989 by Aslak and Mika, joined a few months later by Janne, the band was a group of 14-15 year olds with no experience in playing, but they insisted on creating original compositions, and according to the members' memories, they started creating original compositions only because they wouldn't cover any other bands. The band soon disbanded in 1990 due to line-up instability and differences in musical styles and lack of gigs, but the band members didn't give up on their love of music and in 2019 announced that they were re-forming with the first generation of members returning and a new singer, Kristian. New singer Kristian joined the band and released their first official album ‘Remote Control’ in 2021 on the WormHoleDeath label, followed by their second official album ‘Trust Betrayal’ in 2023 on their old label. In 2023 the band's second album ‘Trust Betrayal’ will be released on the same label, and this year the band released their latest single ‘Northbound Train’ on the famous Finnish label Inverse Records, and recently the magazine got in touch with Arched Fire for an interview! Arched Fire for an interview!

(V: for the author A: for Ari K: for Kristian)

采访对象：Kristian，Ari（Arched Fire乐队吉他手，歌手）

采访时间：2024.12.07

V: 你好兄弟感谢你接受我们的采访，我想这是你们乐队第一次接受中国杂志的采访，首先向所有的中国歌迷问好，Arched Fire乐队成立于1989年，是一支历史非常悠久的乐队，当初是谁发起成立这支乐队的？你还记得当时的情景吗？

Hello brother thank you for taking part in this interview, I think this is the first time your band has been interviewed by a Chinese magazine, first of all say hello to all the Chinese fans, Arched Fire was formed in 1989 and is a band with a very long history, who initiated the formation of this band in the first place? Do you still remember what it was like back then?

A: 你好中国朋友们！感谢你们接受和阅读这次采访并对我们的音乐感兴趣。是的这是第一次。激动人心的时刻！我们当时只是喜欢Heavy Metal乐队的孩子。音乐--Rock, Metal和Punk--对我们来说意味着一切。我们有远大的梦想，却毫无常识可言，这是我印象最深的。我们组建乐队时只有14、15岁。首先我们开始和鼓手Aslak一起演奏。他带着他的朋友Mika开始弹贝司。几个月后主吉他手Janne也加入了我们。我们开始学习演奏、组建乐队和写歌，我们从一开始就创作自己的音乐，因为感觉很好，也因为我们不会翻唱歌曲。

Hello, Chinese friends! Thanks for doing and reading this interview and being interested in our music. And yes, this is the first time. Exciting times! We were just heavy metal kids. Music – rock, metal and punk – meant everything to us. We had big dreams and no common sense whatsoever. That’s what I remember the most. We were just 14, 15 years old when we started this band. First, we started to play together with Aslak the drummer. He brought in his friend Mika, who began playing bass. Janne the lead guitar player joined us a few months later. It was all about learning to play and to be in a band and to write songs. We made our own music right from the start, because it felt right and because we didn’t know any cover songs.

K: 你好，中国歌迷！很高兴听到你们的声音，很荣幸来到这里。

Hello, Chinese fans! It’s amazing to hear from you. It is an honor to be here.

V: 你们的乐队在1990年宣布解散，直到2019年才重新组建，是什么原因让你们宣布解散？又是什么让你们重新走到了一起？

Your band announced that you were disbanding in 1990 and didn't re-form until 2019, what made you announce your disbandment? And what brought you back together?

A: 1990年的时候，我们还很年轻只有16岁，这可能是我们宣布解散的最大原因。我们不知道如何让乐队运作下去。当时我们的阵容出现了一些问题，个人和音乐上也有一些分歧，我们没有任何经理人或其他人来指导我们度过难关。我们当时住在拉普兰的一个小镇上，远离一切很难找到演出机会，因为我们还未成年。我记得当时感觉乐队哪儿也去不了，也不再有趣了。我脑海中一直在想，如果能完成我们的事业该有多好，我想其他人也一样。2019年时机和环境都很合适。我们有能力、有时间、有技术，也有做这件事所需要的精神状态。

At that point in 1990 we were still very young, only 16. That was probably the biggest reason to call it a day. We didn’t know how to make the band work. At the time, we had some line up problems and some personal and musical differences, and we didn’t have any managers or anyone else to guide us through that rough patch. We were living in a small town in Lapland, far from everything, and it was hard to find gigs, because we were underaged. I remember feeling like the band wasn’t going anywhere and that it wasn’t fun anymore. It was always in the back of my mind that it would be great to finish what we started. I guess that goes for the other guys as well. In 2019, the times and the circumstances were right. We had the skills and the time and the technology and the state of mind we needed to do this.

V: 你们的乐队保持着第一代的阵容，只有主唱Kristian Herkman在2019年加入了乐队。为什么第一代主唱没有回归？新主唱是如何加入乐队的，你们对他的工作满意吗？

Your band maintains a first-generation lineup with only singer Kristian Herkman joining the band in 2019. Why hasn't the first-generation singer returned? How did the new singer join the band and are you happy with his work?

A: 事实上，以前是我们的鼓手Aslak在唱歌。我们一直想找一位主唱，但在我们家乡没有足够好的人选。当我们重新走到一起时，我们必须找到那个人，因为我们都不想唱歌。Kristian是Mika的朋友。他们一起演奏了很多年，他们其中一支乐队叫Death Experience，出过一张叫 Fragments of Sanity的唱片。当Kristian给我们寄来他为我们的老歌“Escape”录制的一首Demo时，我们就知道我们找到了合适的人选！从那时起他就成为了Arched Fire乐队的重要一员。他是一位了不起的音乐家和作曲家，同时也是一个好人。

Actually, it was Aslak our drummer who used to sing back in the old days. We were always trying to find a lead singer but there just wasn’t anyone good enough or available in our home town. When we got back together, we just had to find the guy, because none of us wanted to sing lead. Kristian was Mika’s friend. They had played together for years. One of their bands was called Death Experience and they made a record called Fragments of Sanity. When Kristian sent us his first demo vocals for our old song “Escape”, we knew we had found our man! He’s been a crucial part of Arched Fire ever since. An amazing musician and a songwriter and a great guy as well.

V: 你们都是创作金属乐的资深音乐家，你们是如何创作歌曲的，能描述一下创作过程吗？你们刚刚发行了最新单曲，最新单曲的创作过程是怎样的？

You guys are experienced musicians in writing metal, how do you write your songs and can you describe the creative process? You guys just released your latest single, how did the writing process for your latest single go?

A: Kristian是我们中最有创造力的，他总能想出新歌，Mika最近也写了很多。如果我想出了一些东西，通常都是一些旋律，然后我把它们发给Kristian，让他构思如何演唱。每个人都会安排自己的部分并提出自己的想法。有时写作的协作性更强，有时协作性较弱。“Remote Control”专辑中的“A.T.W.”有三段不同作者的歌词。

Kristian is the most productive of us all, he’s always coming up with new songs. Mika has written a lot lately. If I come up with something it’s usually riffs, and I send them to Kristian so that he can come up with a vocal line. Everyone arranges their own parts and throws in ideas. Sometimes writing is more collaborative, sometimes less. “A.T.W.”, which is on the Remote Control album, has lyric lines from three different writes.

K: 大约是在2011年，我们和Mika一起发行了Death Experience乐队的“Fragments of Sanity”，当时乐队的阵容出现了一些问题。Mika有一些Hardcore Punk的想法，我们录制了这些想法。我弹吉他，Mika用芬兰语演唱。在最初的版本中我可能还弹了贝斯，我们用DAW编写了鼓的程序。其中第一首歌后来被改编成了Speed Metal并最终成为Arched Fire首张专辑"Remote Control"的第一首歌"Back on Track"。“Northbound Train"可能是我们在该设备上创作的第三首歌曲，它经历了一段较长的旅程，最终成为金属版本。最初的芬兰语歌词是Mika卡写的，我翻译了歌词并在最后添加了几行。

It was somewhere around 2011 after we had released the Fragments of Sanity by Death Experience with Mika, and there were some issues with the line-up of that band. Mika had these hardcore punk ideas that we recorded. I played the guitar and Mika did the original vocals in Finnish. I might have also played the bass on the first versions, and we programmed the drums in DAW. The first one of those songs was later on turned to speed metal and it ended up as the first song “Back on Track” of Arched Fire’s debut album “Remote Control”. “Northbound Train” was maybe the third song we did on that setup and it had a bit longer journey until it was realized as a metal version. The original Finnish lyrics were written by Mika. I translated them and added a few lines in the end.

V: 你们的所有作品都是在重组后发行的，我很想知道你们刚成立时是否发行过任何作品？

All of your work has been released since you regrouped, I'd be interested to know if you released anything when you first formed?

A: 没有，那时我们没有发行过任何作品。我们在排练场和演出时用录音机录了一些唱片，现在还保留着。我们还为自己录制了四轨磁带Demo。此外我们的几首现场歌曲还在电台播放过，现在也还保留着。但所有这些老歌都很粗糙......我想用“原始”这个词来形容再合适不过了。如果你听一听我们首张专辑“Remote Control”中“Hindsight 20/20”的前奏，你就能听到老Arched Fire的一些老片段。

No, we didn’t release anything back then. We made some recordings with a c-cassette recorder in our rehearsal place and at our gigs, and we still have those. We also made a four-track cassette demo for ourselves. Also, a couple of our live songs were played in the radio, and we still have those as well. But all that old stuff is really rough… I guess “primitive” would be a good word to describe it. If you listen to the “Hindsight 20/20” intro on our debut album “Remote Control”, you can hear tiny snippets of the old Arched Fire.

V: 你们的音乐主题是什么？为什么选择这个音乐主题？你们想通过这个音乐主题表达什么？你们还创作了歌词部分，这些歌词是谁写的？

What is the theme of your music about? Why did you choose this musical theme. What do you want to express through this musical theme? You also created a lyrics section, who wrote these lyrics and what inspired him?

K: 这个问题很好，也很有趣，我们的音乐风格来自于我们年轻时喜欢的乐队。速度和强有力的声音让我们感觉很好，很有能力。因此到目前为止我们音乐的主题主要是力量和活力。我们表达我们的力量，也表达人类在生活中遇到的一些挫折。歌词大部分由我来写，但我们会一起检查和修改也有一些例外情况，大部分歌词是由其他人来写的。灵感可能来自亲身经历，也可能来自书籍或电影。

Very good and interesting question. The genre of our music came from the bands that we liked when we were young. The speed and the powerful sound were things that made us feel good and able. So, the theme of our music so far has mostly been empowering and energetic. We express our strength and also the frustration in some issues that humans have in their lives. Lyrics are mostly written by me but we check them and fix them together and there are some exceptions where someone else has done the majority of the writing. Inspiration may come from the first-hand experiences or from books or movies.

V: 你们乐队最初在WormHoleDeath唱片公司发行了大部分专辑，直到你们2024年的最新的单曲，你们才选择与芬兰著名的Inverse Records唱片公司合作。你为什么没有继续与WormHoleDeath合作，而是选择了Inverse Records？你对两个厂牌的工作都满意吗？

Your band initially released most of your albums with the WormHoleDeath label, and it wasn't until your latest single in 2024 that you chose to work with Finland's renowned Inverse Records label. Why did you choose not to continue with WormHoleDeath, but instead chose Inverse Records? Were you happy with your work on both labels?

A: WormHoleDeath对我们很好，他们是好人，让我们的音乐在全世界发行。只是这次我们想试试别的看看效果如何。Inverse做得不错--今天单曲发行了，我就在这里接受了中国的采访。

WormHoleDeath has been great for us, they’re good people and got our music released all over the world. It’s just that we wanted to try something else this time around and see how it goes. Inverse seems to be doing a good job – the single came out today and here I am, giving an interview to China.

V: 你们的Logo设计非常简单，但这种设计形式是我个人最喜欢的，因为我很容易就能记住你们的名字，这个Logo是谁为你们设计的？你们的专辑封面设计也非常漂亮，尤其是今年最新单曲的封面设计我非常喜欢，是谁为你们设计的专辑封面？

Your logo design is very simple, but this form of design is my personal favourite because I can easily remember your name, who designed this logo for you? Your album artwork is also very beautiful, especially the artwork for this year's newest singles I love it, who designed the album artwork for you?

A: Logo是一个叫Ari-Pekka Lehtisalo的平面设计师设计的。我认识他本人并向他提出了设计Logo的要求，他很专业地完成了任务。他还和我的另一位朋友Aku-Tuomas Mattila一起经营着一家名为Plastic Passion的唱片公司。“Remote Control”的封面设计由Papa Wilska完成，“Trust Betrayal”的封面设计由Darkgrove Design完成。我们是在芬兰金属场景中认识他们的，他们也是音乐家，非常有才华。最新单曲的封面设计由Umar Setiawan完成。我们在网上看到了他令人惊叹的黑白艺术作品并询问他是否愿意与我们合作。

The logo was designed by a graphic designer called Ari-Pekka Lehtisalo. I know him personally and asked him for a logo which he delivered like a professional that he is. He also runs a record label called Plastic Passion with another friend of mine, Aku-Tuomas Mattila.

The Remote Control artwork is by Papa Wilska and the Trust Betrayal cover art is by Darkgrove Design. We know them from the Finnish metal scene. They’re musicians as well, very talented guys. The latest single artwork is by Umar Setiawan. We saw his amazing black and white art online and asked if he’d work with us.

V: 祝贺你们今年发行了最新单曲"Northbound Train"，这是一首非常棒的单曲，节奏非常快，编曲很棒，鼓手的表现非常稳定，连续而精准的击打给我留下了深刻印象，歌手安静而有力的歌声也为歌曲增色不少！很棒的亮点，你对自己的作品有什么想法吗？

Congratulations on the release of your latest single ‘Northbound Train’ this year, it's a great single, very fast riffs, great arrangement, the drummer is very consistent and impresses me with his continuous and precise hits, the singer's quiet and powerful vocals are also a great addition to the song! A great highlight, do you have any thoughts on your work?

A: 我认为这首歌非常适合我们现阶段的职业生涯。这首歌是关于我们的乐队和过去五年的职业生涯的。“Northbound Train”是Arched Fire带我们回到很久以前一切开始的地方。我最喜欢的部分是歌曲最后Kristian唱的 “因果关系......决定论......”和"复活......脱轨......” 对我来说，这确实概括了我对这支乐队的感受。而Jussi Hevander制作的这段震撼人心的抒情视频也完美地反映了这一切。

I think the song suits this phase in our career very well. The song is about our band and the past five years in our career. The “Northbound Train” is Arched Fire, taking us back to where it all began a long time ago. My favorite part is in the end part of the song where Kristian sings “Causality… Deterministic…” and “Resurrection… Off the rails…” For me, it really sums up my feelings about this band. And the powerful lyric video by Jussi Hevander reflects it all perfectly.

V: 2024年即将过去，2025年即将到来，在新的一年里你有什么新的工作要进行？关于新专辑的创作和录制，你能向大家透露一些信息吗？

As 2024 draws to a close and 2025 approaches, what new work do you have in store for the new year? How about writing and recording a new album, can you reveal some information to everyone?

K: 哦，是的，其实我们在2023年发行了“Trust Betrayal”专辑之后，一直都在制作新材料。我们挖掘了所有Old Thrash和Death Metal Riff并创作了大量歌曲。然后我们决定从这些歌曲中挑选出最好的，再次重新制作。我们现在有足够的歌曲来制作第三张专辑，我们期待鼓手很快就能进入录音室。在专辑发行之前，我们还将发行另一首单曲。

Oh yes, we have actually been making new material all this time after we released the “Trust Betrayal” album in 2023. We dug up all the old thrash and death metal riffs we had and built up a plenty of songs. Then we decided to select the best of those songs and rebuild them once again. We are now having enough songs for a third album, and we are expecting that the drummer will get to the studio quite soon. Before the album we will be releasing another single.

V: 你们参加过哪些音乐节，哪些音乐节给你们留下了深刻印象，你们能描述一下音乐节的氛围吗？2025年你们还受邀参加哪些音乐节？

What festivals have you attended and what festivals have impressed you and can you describe the atmosphere? What other festivals have you been invited to in 2025?

A: 我们根本不做现场演出，但我喜欢参加音乐节，看其他乐队的演出。Hellsinki Metal Festival和Tuska Metal Festival是芬兰最大的重金属音乐节，但芬兰还有很多其他的夏季音乐节。我听说Sex Pistols乐队的主唱Frank Carter将来到芬兰，我想明年夏天去看。我喜欢音乐节，就是因为它的氛围。美妙的音乐，快乐的人们，还有什么不值得喜欢的呢？

We don’t play live at all, but I enjoy attending festivals and seeing other bands play. Hellsinki Metal Festival and Tuska Metal Festival are the biggest heavy metal happenings in Finland, but there are a lot of other great summer festivals in Finland too. I heard Sex Pistols is coming to Finland with Frank Carter as their singer. I’d like to see that next summer. I love festivals namely because of the atmosphere. Great music, happy people, what’s not to love?

K: 虽然最新阵容没有现场表演过，但Arched Fire和我们所有人过去都有过现场表演。也许有一天Arched Fire会进行现场表演，我们只能拭目以待。目前我们正集中精力录制新材料。正如Ari提到的，除了这些大型金属音乐节，还有一些小型音乐节，如Helsinki Deathfest和Tampere Speed Metal Party，你可能想去看看。

Although the latest line-up had not performed live, Arched Fire and all of us have been playing live in the past. Maybe Arched Fire will play live again someday, but we’ll have to wait and see. Currently we are focusing on getting the new material recorded. As Ari mentioned, there are these bigger metal festivals but there are also some smaller happenings like Helsinki Deathfest and Tampere Speed Metal Party that you might want to check.

V: 你们是一支伟大的芬兰乐队，我会一直支持和关注你们，我希望这次采访能让更多的中国歌迷关注和支持你们的乐队，在采访的最后你有什么想对中国歌迷说的吗？

You guys are a great Finnish band, I will always support and follow you, and I hope that this interview will bring more attention and support to your band from Chinese fans, is there anything you would like to say to your Chinese fans at the end of this interview?

A: 非常感谢，我真的很感激你们的赞誉。其实我曾经来过中国一次，大概是15年前。那是一次非常奇妙的经历。我记得在北京看了一些Punk乐队的演出，玩得很开心。乐队是在一个小俱乐部里演出的，每个人都度过了一个愉快的夜晚。我很高兴能在那里见到当地人。每个人都很友好，虽然我们没有共同语言，但我们能很好地理解对方，音乐是一种很好的联系。

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind words. I’ve actually been in China once, maybe 15 years ago. It was such an amazing experience. I remember seeing some punk bands in Beijing and having a great time. The bands were playing in some small club and it was a fun night for everyone. I enjoyed being there and meeting local people. Everyone was friendly and although we didn’t have a common language, we understood each other perfectly well. Music is a great connection.

K: 谢谢！我还没有去过中国，但我希望有一天能有机会去那里，了解中国的金属场景。我祝愿你们一切顺利，也希望你们能发现我们未来的发行也会给你们带来启发。

Thank you! I have not been to China but I hope I will someday have a chance to visit there and get to know Chinese metal scene. I wish you all the best and I hope you find our future releases inspiring as well.