Interview BATTLE BEAST at Wacken
Place: Wacken Artist Village
Interviewer: Angelina Korzakova (Metal Mad TV)
Interviewee: Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast)
Angelina (A): What can the fans expect from Battle Beast in terms of songs for your next shows? Old and new or mainly new?
Noora (N): They can expect very explosive shows!
And of course we always want to keep the atmosphere very light and fun, we want to give people the feeling that they can just forget about everything in their lives and just enjoy music by jumping, waving their hands, dancing, you know? This is the most important thing. Now that we have so many fun songs already behind, we can do different kinds of variations for our setlists, we also want to show what Battle Beast is, and it's not just Power Metal, it's not something particular, it has so many forms in music.
A: Can you describe how your composition process is?
N: Hmm, organized chaos! Like we all have different kind of styles and methods to write music. So, some of us like writing together or solo, then they bring the songs to me and I start to see if we need to change the melody or the lyrics to fit my voice. And there is also collaborative writing that we start doing. This is the way that we have already started working on the next album, so there are different forms of writing music, but that's the thing! We first start writing music and then Demos, and then we record them.
A: Do you have some unpublished compositions?
N: Yeah, there are a lot of songs that have been, you know, “on the line”. Maybe we'll put them on our next albums, we'll develop them and maybe use them in future.
A: Noora, how do you take care of your voice during tours?
N: The most important thing is to sleep well and a lot! That's what I'm good at, I really like to sleep! And I can sleep anywhere anytime, like on the way here to Wacken I slept in the bus. Yesterday we had a show in Finland, so we took a bus and I slept there for a few hours. Then we went to the airport. I got some sleep in the plane, on the way to the show... If I had time, I would sleep in the backstage as well! So, sleeping is very important to rest your voice, of course.
While talking, I'm trying to keep it as low as possible, so...when I am excited, it GOES LIKE THIS, but mostly I'm trying to keep it low when I'm talking. That is something I had to change a few years back, when I went to the therapist, and she told me to lower my voice, to keep it safe when I'm singing. When you're in a crowded place with much noise, you should get as close as possible to the people you're talking to... Things like this and basic stuff of course, like hydrating yourself, because we're 70% water, so keep your water with you, especially when it's summertime like today.
Then l have a lot of technical rehearsals for my voice. Actually, I sing daily, not like all the time, but daily I always spend some time singing. It can be like just doing my laundry and singing at the same time. It's kind of automatic for me, to use my voice every day, that's something that helps me to maintain my abilities as a singer. I kind of keep reminding my vocal muscles about how to use my voice.
A: What do you think of the use of playback? Necessary evil or state of the art for the modern times?
N: I really prefer to sing live! I haven't used playbacks for the lead vocals, sometimes they only came as the backing tracks, like some choirs and harmonies for my lead vocals. It's already kind of my trend, that I can jump and do all this stuff on stage while singing. It is very important for me, even though I've been sick on tour and it felt like I'm dying, but I could go anyway, push myself to the limit. That is something I get the enjoyment from also, that I can survive something like that, even though I've been sick for example. I just go do it with the adrenaline help… Yeah, no playback!
A: Tell us about your experience at this year's Wacken.
N: Well, this is my first time at Wacken and it's great! It's amazing! I was just kind of blown away on the stage, when I saw a sea of people, and I asked myself, "Where am I?", so it was a really, really pleasant experience and I really hope that we can come back here as soon as possible!
A: Would you come here as a visitor one day?
N: Sure! Why not, if I have time, why not!
A: How do all of you keep your energy on stage?
N: Well, of course I do training! I like to run and do some boxing. I love to dance, I go to some Salsa nights sometimes! I do different kinds of things in my spare time. And when I'm doing the show, most of the energy comes from the audience and from my band members. I'm like enjoying their faces, when everybody's feeling good, and when we have situations like everybody's symbiotic, a kind of connection, while we all and the audience have the same emotions... It's the best thing that can happen and it's really important for me to, for example, hear the audience, so that I can react physically and emotionally as a vocalist. I get true reactions from people. When I can't hear them, I think "okay, did they like it or not?". It is very important to hear both your music (band) and the audience.
A: Is it like when somebody in the band has a bad mood, everyone can feel it?
N: Of course, it's important! It's part of being a professional, you know, even though you could have the most terrible day, you have to keep it away from the stage, it's not going to be there. And it actually helps! If I had a shitty day, I think "okay, I don't know what's going to happen now that I'm going on stage", and then all the bad feelings disappear right away when I get on stage, and my band mates, and the audience happen make all the problems go away!
A: Anything else that you'd like to tell the audience, the fans.
N: Well, we're having a seven week US tour coming with Kamelot and Sonata Arctica. We start in September and it's gonna last for seven weeks! So get your tickets and then the European tour is starting on 15th of November, so If you can't get to the United States, come to the European tour!
A: Great, thank you!
N: Thank you!!