Finntastic Interview(s) and Then Some...

For my first editorial (and for my first written piece) for Metal Review I was going to compose a lenghty introduction focusing on yours truly and then move on to express my overflowing gratefulness to every single person inhabiting this wretched planet for letting me have the chance to write for one of the best metal zines in the whole wide world. I buried the idea, when it suddenly occured to me that it's really not the way to do things, if you're a Finn. Yes, it's legal, if not legitimate, for us to marry our cousins, and nobody will ask you any questions, if out of the blue you make a decision to go on a six-day binge, but thou shall not get all introspective and emotional publicly under any circumstance, or you will be swiftly deported to Sweden. I am not also a huge fan of those tiresome, scream-for-attention essays or columns, where the primary subject matter is the writer's poor, deprived psyche. Actually, as loathsome displays of ego-fapping and narcissisim disguised as a serious attempt to write something interesting they are one of the lowest forms of any kind of journalism, as far as I'm concerned.

So, instead I decided to offer you something else. Before doing that, I would like to use this opportunity to once again extend my sincere gratitude to the whole of Metal Review staff for inviting me to join their ensemble of jolly good fellows. The dedication, passion and overall professionalism, which infiltrate every single word that gets written here, are nearly unmatched in current metal journalism and something you cannot and should not take for granted especially in the world of three lower case w's. I'm proud and honored to get to work with people, who I look up to as excellent scribes, connoisseurs of heavy music and, above all, cool dudes.

Anyway, as you'll probably see my name mostly tagged on written interviews from now on, I would like to give you a chance to try something you probably don't get to do every day, i.e. to learn Finnish with Insomnium. The piece you're (hopefully) about to watch is a part of a series of video interviews we do at www.stalkermusic.com, which is the dearly beloved Finnish zine I write for. The whole shebang was shot and produced by members of the infamous Stalker crew during the last couple of months, and there's also some exclusive footage from Insomnium's latest European tour with Swallow the Sun and Omnium Gatherum. So, without further ado and with the kind permission of Stalkermusic, may I present to you: Insomnium, interviewed in Finnish and subtitled for your pleasure. Enjoy!

- JM