地狱之火 - 芬兰Melodic Death Metal乐队Defiled Serenity专访

Volcano Magazine
Dec 9, 2024
11 min read

今天采访到的是来自芬兰的Melodic Death Metal乐队Defiled Serenity，2021年由Paavo Laapotti组建，在组建Defiled Serenity乐队之前，Paavo Laapotti一直在创作歌曲，所以Paavo Laapotti找来才华横溢的Jarkko Mäkelä和Mikko Sormunen组建了这支乐队，2022 - 2023年Arttu Airo和Lauri Seppälä加入了乐队，2022年乐队发行了第一首单曲“Voices from the Void”，这首单曲发行之后受到了芬兰歌迷的关注，同时也吸引了芬兰著名的Inverse Records厂牌的关注并且签约了Defiled Serenity乐队，随后2024年发行的两首单曲也深受好评，2025年乐队的第一张正式专辑“Within the Slumber of the Mind”也即将发行，在新专辑发行之际，杂志通过Inverse Records的协调与Defiled Serenity的歌手Paavo Laapotti取得联系进行了一次专访！

（V: 代表笔者 P: 代表Paavo Laapotti）

Today's interview is with Defiled Serenity, a Melodic Death Metal band from Finland, formed in 2021 by Paavo Laapotti, who had been writing songs before forming Defiled Serenity, so Paavo Laapotti approached the The talented Jarkko Mäkelä and Mikko Sormunen formed the band, and in 2022 - 2023 Arttu Airo and Lauri Seppälä joined the band, and in 2022 the band released their first single ‘Voices from the Void’. In 2022 the band released their first single, ‘Voices from the Void’, which was well received by Finnish fans and attracted the attention of Finland's renowned Inverse Records, who signed them to Defiled Serenity, followed by a pair of critically acclaimed singles in 2024, and the band's first official album in 2025, ‘Within the Slumber of the Mind’, which was released in the same year. With the release of ‘Within the Slumber of the Mind’ just around the corner, Inverse Records coordinated an interview with Defiled Serenity's singer Paavo Laapotti! (V: on behalf of the author P: on behalf of the author P: on behalf of the author)

(V: for the author P: for Paavo Laapotti)

采访对象：Paavo Laapotti（Defiled Serenity乐队歌手）

采访时间：2024.12.09

V: 兄弟你好很高兴认识你非常感谢你参加这次采访。我想这是你们乐队第一次接受中国的杂志的采访吧。首先向所有的中国乐迷和朋友们问好。Defiled Serenity成立于2021年，这是一支非常年轻的乐队，你是怎么组建这个乐队的？

Hello brother, nice to meet you and thank you very much for participating in this interview. I think this is the first time for your band to be interviewed by China magazine. First of all, I would like to say hello to all China fans and friends. Defiled Serenity was founded in 2021. It is a very young band. How did you form this band?

P: 我谨代表我的乐队Defiled Serenity向我们的中国歌迷致以最热烈的问候。多年来我一直在写歌，我知道我最终要用这些歌曲组建一支乐队。我喜欢Melodic Death Metal，也想加入这种类型的乐队。此外我身边有很多有才华的朋友，我想和他们一起做音乐，所以我让我的一些朋友和我一起组建了一个乐队。

On behalf of my band, Defiled Serenity, we want to send our warmest greetings to our Chinese fans. I’ve been writing material for years and I knew I was going to form a band around these songs eventually. I love melodic death metal and wanted to be in a band of that genre. Also, I’m surrounded by talented friends and wanted to do music with them so I asked some of my friends to start a band with me.

V: 你们的乐队在2022-2023年加入了两位新成员，鼓手Arttu和吉他手Lauri。他们是怎么加入乐队的？你对新成员的工作满意吗？

Your band joined two new members in 2022-2023, namely drummer Arttu and guitarist Lauri. How did they join the band? Are you satisfied with the work of the new members?

P: Arttu是一个很棒的鼓手，我很早就认识他了，因为我们住在同一个城镇。我们发行了“Voices from the Void”，用的是程序鼓，我知道有一天我们会用真正的鼓来做这首歌的新版本，我也希望这是一支现场乐队。所以我邀请Arttu加入乐队，他立刻答应了。Lauri为这张即将到来的专辑录音，我也是通过共同的朋友认识他的。我的吉他弹得还行，但我喜欢在舞台上专心唱歌，所以我很高兴把我的节奏吉他部分交给别人演奏。所以到了在录音室里弹吉他的时候，我问Lauri是否想加入乐队，弹节奏吉他。这些家伙做得非常出色，我很喜欢和他们一起工作。没有他们这张专辑就不一样了。

Arttu is an amazing drummer and I know him way back because we lived in the same town. We released “Voices from the Void” with programmed drums and I knew that someday we’ll do a new version of that song with real drums and also I wanted this to be a live band. So I asked Arttu to join the band and he immediately said yes. Lauri did the recordings for this upcoming album and I also know him through mutual friends. My guitar playing is ok, but I like to just focus my singing on stage so I was happy to give my rhythm guitar parts to someone else to play. So when it was time to do the guitars in the studio, I asked Lauri if he wants to join the band and do the rhythm guitars. The guys did an astounding job and I enjoy working with them a lot. The album wouldn’t be the same without them.

V: 你能谈谈你的创作过程吗？新专辑的创作过程如何？

Can you talk about your creative process? How did the creative process of the new album go?

P: 我写这些歌已经有几年了，其中有两首歌已经写了七年多了。我花了很多时间把整个专辑的结构做成一个连续的故事。我不知道我从哪里得到了旋律的灵感，但我只是在最奇怪的情况下（例如开车或半夜醒来）然后立即写下来或用手机录下来。一旦我有足够的样品材料在我的手中，我坐下来工作材料到歌曲。我已经写了比专辑所需的更多的材料，所以希望有一天我们也会发布这些。

I have been working on these songs for a couple of years and two of those songs are actually over seven years old. I took my time to make the whole album structure as one continuous story. I don’t know where I get the ideas for the melodies, but I just do in the weirdest situations (for example while driving a car or just waking up in the middle of the night) and immediately write them down or record them with my phone. Once I have enough demo material in my hands, I sit down and work the materials into songs. I have written more material than what was needed for the album, so hopefully some day we’ll release those as well.

V: 你们的Logo设计很有特色。谁为你设计的这个Logo？你的专辑封面是以油画的形式设计的。这幅画是为你设计的吗？

Your logo design is very distinctive. Who designed this logo for you? Your album artwork is designed in the form of oil painting. Is this artwork designed for you?

P: 们最初的带树的Logo是我做的，我用记号笔把它画在纸上。新的文字Logo是由VisionBlack的Nikos完成的。他为我们的专辑做过封面，也为Wolfheart、Before The Dawn和Mors Subita做过封面。我们的艺术作品是用数字技术完成的，混合了现实主义和超现实主义。我确实和Nikos一起设计了它，因为我对它的外观有一个清晰的愿景。这棵树在表面上活得好好的，但在它的下面却有着永远燃烧的地狱之火。它完美地反映了音乐；这张专辑代表了我的人生之旅及其障碍。

Our original logo with the tree was done by me and I drew it on a paper with a marker. The new text logo is done by Nikos of VisionBlack. He did our album artwork and he has done artworks for Wolfheart, Before The Dawn and Mors Subita. Our artwork was done digitally with a mix of realism and surrealism. I did design it with Nikos, because I had a clear vision how it should look. The tree is alive and well on the surface, but underneath there’s an eternal hellfire that burns forever. It reflects the music perfectly; the album represents my journey through life and its obstacles.

V: 你们乐队的专辑录制得很好。你是在哪个录音棚录制的？谁为你制作了这张专辑？

Your band's album is excellent in recording. Which studio did you record it? Who produced the album for you?

P: 非常感谢！我们在吉他手Lauri Seppälä位于芬兰Raisio的E.A.R.工作室录制了这张专辑。他负责这张专辑的录音和混音，我和Lauri是这张专辑的制作人。这张专辑由Juho Räihä （Swallow The Sun, Before The Dawn）在SoundSpiral Audio制作。

Thank you so much! We recorded the album at our guitarist Lauri Seppälä’s E.A.R. Studio in Raisio, Finland. He did the recording and the mixing of the album. I was the producer of the album together with Lauri. The album was mastered by Juho Räihä (Swallow The Sun, Before The Dawn) at SoundSpiral Audio.

V: 黑暗，痛苦，死亡和精神斗争是你的音乐主题。你为什么选择这样一个音乐主题？你想通过这样一个音乐主题表达什么？这些歌词是谁写的？他的灵感是什么？

Darkness, Pain, Death and Mental Struggles are your musical themes. Why do you choose such a musical theme? What do you want to express through such a musical theme? Did you write the lyrics? Who wrote these lyrics? What was his inspiration?

P: 专辑的歌词主题围绕着抑郁、死亡和我对这些话题的思考。在写这些歌词的时候，我用了很多我自己的生活经历，我觉得这对我来说是一种治疗。我想表达我自己在某种程度上，为我自己做这张专辑。但我知道人们和我一样经历过或正在经历同样的消极情绪，希望这样的信息能传达给人们。我是芬兰人，我们有一种天生的倾向，在我们的艺术中使用忧郁，在悲伤中看到美。

Album's lyrical themes revolve around depression, death and my thoughts around these topics. I've used a lot of my own experiences in life while writing these lyrics and I feel like it has been some sort of therapy for me. I wanted to express myself and, in a way, do this album for myself. But I know people have experienced and are going through the same negativity as I’ve gone through and hopefully that way the message reaches people. I am a Finn and we have a natural tendency to use melancholy in our art and see the beauty in sorrow.

V: 你的专辑将在2025年发行，这张专辑是由Inverse Records发行的，Inverse Records是你们国家最好的厂牌。你们是怎么联系到这个厂牌合作的？你对这个厂牌的工作满意吗？

Your album will be released in 2025, and this one is released by Inverse Records, the best brand in your country. How did you get in touch with this brand to cooperate? Are you satisfied with the work of this brand?

P: 我有很多朋友过去一直在Inverse Records工作，我们需要一家唱片公司并邀请他们中的一些人与我们合作。 Inverse Records似乎对这次发行最为兴奋，我只听到关于他们的好东西，所以决定很容易，我很高兴厂牌已经完成了他们的任务。

I’ve a lot of friends who have been working with Inverse Records in the past. We needed a record label and asked a bunch of them to work with us. Inverse Records seemed to be the most excited about this release and I had only heard good things about them so the decision was easy. I am very pleased how the label has done their part.

V: 首先祝贺你们的首张正式专辑"Within the Slumber of the Mind"将于2025年发行。这是一张激情悠扬的作品。渐进式击鼓很有特色也很多样。连续快速的Riff也给我留下了深刻的印象，歌手的演唱给我留下了深刻的印象，尤其是清声部分，这确实是整张专辑的亮点。你认为你的工作怎么样？

First of all, congratulations on your first official album "Within the Slumber of the Mind" to be released in 2025. This is a passionate and melodious work by The gradual drumming is very distinctive and varied. The continuous and rapid Riff also impressed me, and the singer's singing left a deep impression on me, especially the voice clearing part, which is really the highlight of the whole album. What do you think of your work?

P: 谢谢你！我对这张专辑感到非常高兴和自豪。一切都做得很完美，压力也很小。我们仔细考虑过这个问题，整个乐队对结果都有一个清晰的愿景。当然我做了歌曲和大部分的设计和策划工作，但我也需要感谢乐队的其他成员。没有他们这张专辑就不一样了。每个人都尽了自己的一份力，通过集思广益，清理他们的时间表，参与专辑的创作，只是成为最好的同事。

Thank you! I am extremely happy and proud of the album. Everything was done perfectly and with minimal stress. We’ve thought this through and the whole band had a clear vision of the outcome. Of course, I did the songs and most of the designing work and planning, but I need to give credit to the rest of the band aswell. This album wouldn’t be the same without them. Everyone did their part and more by brainstorming ideas, clearing their schedule for this, participating in the costs of the album and just being the best co-workers there is.

V: 你们乐队参加过哪些现场演出？哪些现场表演给你留下了深刻的印象？你能介绍一下当时的气氛吗？2025年你们有什么新的现场演出？

What live performances did your band take part in? What live performances left a deep impression on you? Can you introduce the atmosphere at that time? What new live performances do you have in 2025?

P: 我们打算在专辑发行后进行现场演出，我们现在正在一起排练和演奏这些歌曲。

We are going to do live shows after the album release. We are currently rehearsing and playing the songs together.

V: 2025年即将到来。除了发行新专辑，你还有一些新工作要做。你能介绍一下吗？

2025 is coming. Besides releasing new albums, you still have some new work to do. Can you tell us some information?

P: 目前，我们计划在2025年举办现场演出、设计商品和宣传专辑。我也要和Before The Dawn一起去欧洲巡演并和他们一起计划这一年。我让自己忙于4个乐队，哈哈。

We are currently planning the year 2025 by organizing live shows, designing merch and promoting the album. I am also going on an European tour with Before The Dawn and planning the year with them aswell. I keep myself busy with 4 bands, haha.

V: Defiled Serenity是一个非常年轻的乐队，但它是一个非常有前途的乐队，我会一直支持和关注你们的乐队。我也希望通过这次采访让更多的中国歌迷关注和支持你们的乐队。最后你有什么想对你的中国粉丝和朋友说的吗？

Defiled Serenity is a very young band, but it is a very promising band. I will always support and pay attention to your band. I also hope that through this interview, more China fans will pay attention to and support your band. Do you have anything to say to your fans and friends in China at the end?

P: 听你这么说真是太棒了，我们很感激。我们也希望如此！我们希望有一天能来中国，在你们美丽的国家演出或旅游。我从来没有去过那里，但它肯定在我的愿望清单上。我们想对所有支持我们、听我们音乐、预订我们专辑的人说声谢谢。就我个人而言，我很感谢你通过我的乐队给我的所有支持，我希望在我们去那里演出或巡演时能见到你。谢谢大家！

That’s awesome to hear, we appreciate that. We hope so aswell! We’d love to come to China someday to do a show or a tour in your beautiful country. I’ve never been there and it’s definitely on my bucket list. We want to say thank you everyone who have been supporting us, listening to our music and pre-ordering our album. Personally, I appreciate all the support you’ve given me through my bands and I hope to meet you all when we get there to do a show or a tour. Thank you all!