Nov 2713 min read

战争，死亡，悲伤 - 芬兰Melodic Death / Folk Metal乐队Warfarer专访

今天采访到的是一支来自芬兰的Melodic Death / Folk Metal乐队Warfarer，是一支芬兰历史悠久的老牌乐队了，最初由吉他手 / 歌手Kalle和最初的歌手Ville Mnick在2010年组建，Ville在2013年发行的Demo作品中担任歌手，这张Demo发行之后Kalle搬家离开了他居住的城市，但是Kalle并没有放弃乐队而是转变成为了一支一个人的乐队，2016年Tuomas加入了乐队，Warfarer也开始新的旅程，2016年也是被创始人Kalle认为是新的起点，2017年乐队发行了他们的EP专辑“Under the Frozen Star”，这是一张史诗级的作品，气势磅礴，宏伟的旋律，经常的编曲，精准，富有变化的鼓点，键盘的安排也恰到好处，歌手低沉，有力的演唱为这张经典作品富裕更多的活力，随后乐队发行了三首单曲同样是非常精彩，20204年乐队在芬兰Inverse Records厂牌发行了他们的第一张正式专辑“A Tale Beyond the Pale”，这张专辑继承了2017年EP专辑的特点，是20204年Melodic Death / Folk Metal此类风格最精彩作品之一，在新专辑发行之际乐队与杂志取得联系进行了一次专访！

（V: 代表笔者 K: 代表Kalle）

Today's interview is with Warfarer, a Melodic Death / Folk Metal band from Finland, a long-standing Finnish band originally formed in 2010 by guitarist / singer Kalle and original singer Ville Mnick, with Ville as the singer on their 2013 demo release, which was released in 2013, but after the demo was released Kalle moved and left the city he lived in, but Kalle didn't give up on the band but transformed into a one man band in 2016 when Tuomas joined the band. After the release of the demo Kalle moved and left the city he was living in, but Kalle didn't give up on the band but transformed into a one man band, in 2016 Tuomas joined the band and Warfarer started a new journey, 2016 was also considered by the founder Kalle to be the year of new beginnings, in 2017 the band released their EP album ‘Under the Frozen Star’, an epic piece of work, with majestic, grandiose melodies, frequent arrangements, precise, varied drumming, and just the right arrangement of keyboards, with the singer's low, powerful vocals enriching this classic with even more vigour, the band then released three In 20204 the band released their first official album ‘A Tale Beyond the Pale’ on Finland's Inverse Records, an album that follows in the footsteps of the 2017 EP and is one of the best Melodic / Death / Folk Metal releases of 20204, with the band's first album, ‘A Tale Beyond the Pale’, being the first of its kind in the genre. On the occasion of the release of the new album ‘A Tale Beyond the Pale’, which follows the EP of 2017 and is one of the best works in the genre of Melodic / Folk Metal in 20204, the band got in touch with the magazine for an exclusive interview!

(V: for the author K: for Kalle)

采访对象：Adrie（Sinister乐队歌手）

采访时间：2024.11.27

V: 你好兄弟很高兴见到你，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杂志的采访，首先跟中国的粉丝们打个招呼吧，Warfarer乐队成立于2013年，是一支历史悠久的老牌乐队，当初是谁成立这支乐队的？

Hello brother nice to meet you and thank you very much for participating in this interview, I think this is the first time your band has been interviewed by a Chinese magazine, first of all say hello to the Chinese fans, Warfarer was formed in 2013 and is a band with a long history of veteran bands, who initiated the formation of this band in the first place?

K: 你好很高兴见到你！是的，你说得没错这是我们第一次接受中国杂志的采访，所以向我们所有的中国歌迷问好！我（Kalle，现任吉他手兼主唱）和当时的主唱Ville Mnick早在......2010 年就组建了'Warfarer'乐队，应该是2010年吧，Ville在2013年的第一首demo中担任主唱，但我搬离了奥卢，从那时起我就成了唯一的创始成员。我认为'Warfarer'的重生是在2016年，当时 Tuomas（键盘手、联合作者和作词人）加入了乐队，当时乐队只有我一个人。

Greetings, nice to meet you too! Indeed, you are right—this is the first time we are being interviewed by a Chinese magazine, so greetings to all our Chinese fans! I (Kalle, current guitarist-singer) and then-vocalist Ville Mnick formed 'Warfarer' back in... 2010, I think. Ville performed vocals on the first demo in 2013, but I moved away from Oulu, and since then, I've been the only founding member. I consider 'Warfarer's' rebirth to be in 2016, when Tuomas (keyboardist, co-writer, and lyricist) joined the band, which at the time consisted of just me.

V: 新吉他手Seppo Kolehmainen在2021年加入乐队，他是如何加入乐队的？其他成员有变化吗？

New guitarist Seppo Kolehmainen joined the band in 2021, how did he join the band and are you happy with his work? Have you changed any of the other members?

K: 是的，Seppo在中国，他可能因长期在“梦幻童话”工作而更为人熟知。我第一次见到Seppo是在我们读书的时候。当时我们都在学习计算机科学，最后一起做了一个项目。由于我们是远程工作，所以在项目结束时我们才意识到我们真正的合作对象是谁。几个月后Warfarer开始寻找新的主吉他手。Seppo已经有了我的联系方式，所以他直接给我发了信息。一段播放视频和一次会面之后，他就加入了我们。Seppo的工作态度和经验非常宝贵。他经常第一个指出哪些可行，哪些不可行。除此之外他还是一个值得交往的大好人。2023年我们与Miranda友好分手，她是这张专辑的贝斯手，也是一些歌曲的共同创作者。不过她一直在后台与我们合作，帮助我们处理社交媒体、推广和其他工作。她给了我们很大的帮助。同年Klaus Telenius作为新的贝斯手加入了我们，从那时起他就成为了乐队的重要成员。他带来了巨大的能量和精神，与他一起创作新歌是一件非常快乐的事情。

Ah yes, Seppo. In China, he is probably more well-known for his long tenure in 'Dreamtale'. I first met Seppo during our studies. We were studying computer science at the time and ended up working on a project together. Since we were working remotely, we only realized who we were really collaborating with at the end of the project. A couple of months later, 'Warfarer' was looking for a new lead guitarist. Seppo already had my contact information, so he messaged me directly. One playthrough video and a meeting later, he was with us. Seppo has been invaluable with his work ethic and experience. He is often the first to point out what works and what doesn't. On top of that, he's just an all-around great guy to be around. In 2023, we parted ways amicably with Miranda, the bassist on this album and co-writer on some songs. However, she has continued to work with us in the background, helping with social media, promotion, and other tasks. She has been a tremendous help. That same year, Klaus Telenius joined us as our new bassist, and he's been a wonderful addition to the band ever since. He brings great energy and spirit, and it's been a joy to create new songs with him.

V: 你们乐队的每个成员都是金属乐创作方面的资深音乐家，能分享一下你们的创作经验吗？你们是如何创作新专辑的？

Each member of your band is an experienced musician in writing metal, can you share a little bit about your writing experience? How did you create your new album?

K: “Brotherslayer”这首歌是这张专辑的基础，是其他所有歌曲的基础。这张专辑的创作过程有点混乱，因为我们还在学习什么方法最适合我们。大多数时候我会用和弦和旋律为一首歌创建一个基本结构，然后我们一起演奏，每个人都尽自己最大的努力反复斟酌。有些歌曲从一开始就需要更多的合作。例如在“As the Portents Foretold”中，Tuomas和我仅用了几个晚上就写出了歌曲的大部分内容。我们交替着写歌词和分析歌词，一个人写，另一个人指导。“In the Gravelight”则是Tuomas（键盘手）、Miranda（本专辑中的贝斯手）和我共同完成的。

The song 'Brotherslayer' forms the foundation of this album, serving as the basis upon which all the other songs were built. Our songwriting process for this album was a bit of a mishmash, as we were still learning what approach worked best for us. Most of the time, I would create a basic structure for a song with chords and melodies, and then we would play it together, iterating on it as everyone contributed to the best of their ability. Some of the songs were more collaborative from the start. For example, in 'As the Portents Foretold', Tuomas and I wrote the majority of the song linearly in just a few evenings. We alternated between writing and analyzing the lines—one of us wrote while the other directed. 'In the Gravelight' was a combined effort between Tuomas (keyboardist), Miranda (who played bass on this album), and me.

V: 你们专辑的录音非常出色，是在哪个录音棚录制的？哪位制作人制作了你们的专辑？

The recording of your album is outstanding, what studio did you record the album in? Which producer produced your album?

K: 非常感谢！我们在赫米纳的Supreme Sound Studios录制了鼓声，录音师是Juhis Kauppinen。Juhis还负责主唱的录音和制作，Seppo（主吉他手）和我则负责吉他、贝斯和键盘的录音和制作。我（Kalle）是这张专辑的正式制作人，但出色的音质是Juhis Kauppinen的混音、Mira Kiiskinen的母带处理以及Seppo在录音过程中善于发现愚蠢的错误和失误的结果。

Thank you very much! We recorded the drums in H?meenlinna, at Supreme Sound Studios, with Juhis Kauppinen as our recording engineer. Juhis also recorded and produced the lead vocals, while Seppo (lead guitarist) and I recorded and produced the guitars, bass, and keyboards. I (Kalle) am the official producer on this album, but the great sound is the result of Juhis Kauppinen's mixing, Mira Kiiskinen's mastering, and Seppo's ability to catch silly mistakes and errors during the recording process.

V: 你们的logo设计非常漂亮，是谁为你们设计了这个logo？你们的专辑封面绝对是我今年见过的最漂亮的封面，是谁为你们设计了这个封面？

Your logo design is beautiful who designed this logo for you and your album artwork is absolutely the most beautiful artwork I've seen this year, who designed this artwork for you?

K: 谢谢！Samuli Mkel早在2017年就设计了我们的logo，我们一直沿用至今。对于我们的专辑封面，我们希望传达出芬兰名画的感觉，而我们的艺术家Sofia Sinivuori绝对做到了。

Thank you! Samuli Mkel designed our logo back in 2017, and we've stuck with it ever since. For our album artwork, we wanted to convey the feeling of famous Finnish paintings, and our artist Sofia Sinivuori absolutely delivered.

V: 故事、战争、幻想、死亡、黑暗、悲伤、冬天是你们乐队音乐的主题，你们为什么选择这些主题？你们想通过这些主题表达什么？你们还创作了歌词部分，是谁写的歌词？

Tales, War, Fantasy, Death, Darkness, Sorrow, Winter are some of the themes of your band's music, why did you choose them? What do you want to express through these themes? You also write the lyrics, who writes the lyrics and what inspires them?

K: 这张专辑的歌词是合作完成的，不过大部分是我和Tuomas写的。对我们来说这些主题就像是芬兰身份的一部分，自然而然地与芬兰诗歌Brother-slayer（或Brothers-slayer，我们选择将其风格化）联系在一起，这也是这张专辑的基础。虽然与维京人有关的一切都已风靡全球，大多数人也都从这个角度了解北欧文化，但我们希望突出北欧生活中维京人以外的其他方面--例如，对北方生活的适应、丰富的芬兰神话、忍受严寒的斗争以及在黑暗和寒冷中茁壮成长所需的毅力。

The lyrics on this album were a collaborative effort, though Tuomas and I wrote the majority of them. These themes felt like part of Finnish identity to us and naturally connected to the Finnish poem ‘Brother-slayer’ (or ‘Brotherslayer’, as we chose to stylize it), which serves as the foundation for this album. While all things Viking-related have become popular worldwide and most people know Nordic culture through that lens, we want to highlight other aspects of Nordic life beyond Vikings—for example, the adaptation to life in the North, the rich Finnish mythology, the struggles of enduring the cold, and the perseverance required to thrive in darkness and cold.

V: 你们今年的新专辑是由芬兰的Inverse Records厂牌发行的，这在你们国家也是一个非常好的厂牌，你们是如何与这个厂牌取得联系并进行合作的？你对他们的工作满意吗？

Your new album this year was released on Inverse Records in Finland, which is also a very good label in your country, how did you get in touch with this label to collaborate? Were you satisfied with their work?

K: 与Inverse Records合作非常愉快。事实上就在我们完成专辑母带制作的时候，他们通过电子邮件找到了我们，所以他们的时机把握得非常好。

It has been a joy to work with 'Inverse Records'. They actually approached us by email just as we were finishing the album's mastering, so their timing was impeccable.

V: 你们乐队发行专辑的速度一直很慢，在2017年发行了一张EP专辑之后，直到2024年才发行新专辑，是什么原因让你们花了这么长时间才发行第一张专辑？

Your band has been very slow in releasing albums, after releasing an EP album in 2017, nothing new was released until 2024, what took you so long to release your first album?

K: 这是一个非常好的问题！那时我正在完成音乐技术专业的学业，辗转于各个城市之间，试图找到一个可以扎根的地方。最后我来到了坦佩雷，然后就开始了漫长的寻找合适的人一起创作音乐的过程。老实说组建一支能创作出专辑的乐队感觉也很靠运气。乐队中的每个人都很重要，但我要感谢Seppo，是他将我们紧密团结在一起并使我们的制作工作步入正轨。他在制作方面的经验非常宝贵。由于我们现在的工作方式比第一张专辑要好得多，我希望下一张专辑的制作时间不会像第一张专辑那么长。

This is a very good question! Back then, I was finishing my studies in music tech, moving between cities, and trying to find a place to set my roots. I finally ended up in Tampere, and then it was a long process of finding the right people to create music with. Honestly, forming a band that can create an album feels like it's also a lot about luck. Everyone in the band is important, but I want to credit Seppo for essentially gluing us together and kicking our production into gear. With his experience, his work in production has been invaluable. Since our way of working is now much better than it was on the first album, I'm hopeful our next album won't take as long to create.

V: 首先祝贺你们今年发行了第一张正式专辑“A Tale Beyond the Pale”，气势磅礴，宏伟干净的旋律给我留下了深刻的印象，键盘在你们的制作中起到了关键的作用，使你们的制作氛围浓厚、精准。快速的打击乐非常出色，你们对自己的作品有什么看法？

First of all, congratulations on the release of your first official album 'A Tale Beyond the Pale' this year, I was very impressed with your majestic, grandiose, clean riffs, the keyboards play a key role in your productions, making your productions ambient and precise. The fast percussion is really outstanding, what do you guys think of your work?

K: 谢谢！我承认我们没想到观众的反应会如此热烈。也许是我们与这些歌曲相处的时间太长了，我们只是习惯了它们并没有完全意识到我们所拥有的。不过我们确实为此付出了很多努力，希望为听众带来尽可能好的体验。

Thank you! I admit, we didn't expect such an overwhelmingly good response from the audience. Maybe it's the fact that we lived with these songs for so long that we just got used to them and didn't fully realize what we had. We did, however, put a lot of effort into this and wanted to deliver as good an experience as we could for our listeners.

V: 作为一支乐队你们参加过很多音乐节，哪些音乐节给你们留下了深刻印象，能否描述一下音乐节的氛围？

You've played a lot of festivals as a band, what festivals have impressed you and can you describe the atmosphere and are there any festivals you're planning to play in 2025?

K: 我们在小型演出场所演出过很多场，但还没有机会在大型音乐节上演出。就我个人而言，我非常喜欢小型演出场所的亲切氛围，这样我们可以更容易地与乐迷交流。明年我们计划在芬兰的主要城市巡演，希望能扩展到周边国家并在一些小型的夏季音乐节上演出。

We've played plenty of gigs in smaller venues, but we haven't had the chance to perform at any big festivals yet. Personally, I really enjoy small venues for their intimate atmosphere and the way they allow us to connect more easily with our fans. Next year, we plan to tour major cities in Finland, hopefully expand to neighboring countries, and play at some smaller summer festivals.

V: 2024年即将过去，你们在2025年有什么新的计划？能否向大家透露一些信息？

As 2024 draws to a close, what new work do you have in store for 2025? Can you reveal some information to the group?

K: 我可以透露一下，我们第二张专辑的前期制作已经进行了一半！“A Tale Beyond the Pale”侧重于神话和悲剧，而下一张专辑可能会深入探讨北欧文化中更“日常”的方面：盛宴、黑暗和冬季、它们对北欧人的影响、心理健康、毅力、先祖以及类似的主题。

I can reveal that we are about halfway through the preproduction of our second album! While 'A Tale Beyond the Pale' focused on myths and tragedy, the next album will likely delve into the more 'everyday' aspects of Nordic culture: feasts, the darkness and winter, their impact on Nordic people, mental health, perseverance, the forefathers, and similar themes.

V: 你们是一支伟大的芬兰乐队，我会一直支持和关注你们，也希望通过这次采访，能有更多的中国歌迷关注和支持你们的乐队，在采访的最后你们有什么话想对中国歌迷说吗？

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

K: 非常感谢您接受我们的采访，让我们有机会与中国的歌迷交流！致我们的中国歌迷：昂首挺胸，继续摇滚！希望有一天我们能为你们演出！

Thank you very much for this interview and the great opportunity to connect with fans in China! To our Chinese fans: Keep your heads and horns up high, and rock on! Hopefully, we’ll get to play for you someday!