Back in 2003 the legendary Finnish squadron of madmen IMPALED NAZARENE released their 8th full length album “All That You Fear” on Osmose Produtions. I was lined up for a chat with co-founder and vocalist Mika “Slutti666” Luttinen, though it was bassist Arc V 666, who joined the band in 2000, that ended up yelling at my questions!
Please introduce yourself and tell us why you still are alive?
It’s Arc v 666 answering back, instead of Mika Sluti666 Luttinen. I’m the Bazzooka player of IMPALED NAZARENE, that all of you should already know!!! Alive and kicking still because of a healthy alcohol diet, so we didn’t die yet!! Harh harha!!! We are also driven forward by the new album, the new line up and the new level of hatred against humanity. You can’t kill the evil, can you?
A thing I have missed with your latest releases, are the madness from the good old days. It has now returned on “All That You Fear” how come?
Because we have new, even more insane blood in the band now I guess. The band has been refuelled and everyone is more into the playing than ever before, including the old dogs. We just are fucking insane, mad, gone ballistic!!! Writing and playing IMPALED NAZARENE music is our top priority now, it outnumbers almost everything else in our lives. And we are writing the best IMPALED NAZARENE music now than ever before.
Please describe the new album in your own words?
It’s red..!!! And more likely it’s more brutal, violent and faster than any of the previous IMPALED NAZARENE albums with more professional playing and a really heavy fucking production. For us it’s like a trophy or some twisted sign of victory after all the shit that has happened during year 2003, especially in the first half of it. We are proud to have the album number 8 out, which kicks everyone’s ass like hell! Show me some other band that can do the same stunt?!?
What do you expect from the album?
I’m just happy we had it done so well and in schedule, the rest happens or does not happen. The signs are absolutely awesome so far with all the marvellous reviews “All That You Fear” has already got. All reviews have been positive and up on from that level, so we can’t complain. Of course we are looking eagerly to get on the road and to play live as much as possible.
Don’t you think it will push away some of the fans you gained with “Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace”?
No, we don’t make music thinking these kind of things. With this album we hopefully get back some of the old fans that we (maybe) lost with “Absence…”, hahaha!! Nah! People who found IMPALED NAZARENE through “Absence…” will not be disappointed at all. We have always had good and loyal fanbase and it’s getting better year after year. The main thing is that the band itself can progress with the ways of approaching the writing process.
Where is the madness of IMPALED NAZARENE created?
It comes from the life itself, misanthropy and that stuff. It’s not madness, I’d say it’s hate that has been filtered into our music. The band is a channel to project our hate and without the band we’d all be in jail, I guess, for murders and killings, hehe . . . seriously!
How does the band write the music, do you write the tracks together while rehearsing or are you individually making songs?
We write individually. Everyone finishes their own songs and then we check them at rehearsals if something has to be changed. Over half of the “All That You Fear” songs were done to demos even before bringing them into the rehearsals. We were still arranging some of the songs at the studio, which was fucking healthy! We had this space for rehearsing the guitars and bass at the studio and we played together every day, tripping over with ideas and harmonies and solos and alcohol… that was unique for IMPALED NAZARENE and that can be heard from that Devil Red CD…
Where do you find inspiration to write music now a day?
The inspiration more likely keeps finding us and we are happy with this deal, haha.
How much has your way of writing music and inspirational sources changed since the beginning of the band?
They haven’t changed. We still write the music the same way as always. Well, maybe the level of accepting riffs and new songs is higher than before and we use more time on arrangements also. Of course, if you have had a band for 13 years and for 8 albums, you learn certain things as a person and as a unit. If you don’t, You are wasting your fucking life!!
Even though the music has gotten more chaotic and crazy again, you have kept a lot of catchy parts. Why?
Why? The answer was in the question; they are catchy and they match in just perfectly with the insanity and controlled chaos. That’s what we want to do and it sounds fucking good.
How has your own musically taste developed trough the last 13 years?
If I may answer on behalf of Master Luttinen, it hasn’t. Hahaha, and that’s how it always should be!
Has the development in your own musically taste, affected the music of IMPALED NAZARENE?
I’ll pass this one, I’m not Mika. Why do you think his music taste has developed or changed??
What do we all fear?
IMPALED NAZARENE, because we are your deepest fear wrapped into this CD and its booklet.
Isn’t “All That We Fear” very close to the ultimate IMPALED NAZARENE album?
So far it is, yes and there will be a lot of thinking with how we will start to write the next album, how to top this “All That You Fear” album! But for now “All That You Fear” represents the ultimate success to us.
When will you come to Denmark and crush our venues with your lethal live show?
We’d wish to sail over and conquer Denmark, You can bet on that. If there’s a good promoter who cares to bring us over, then we will come straight away!!! I’d personally like to come over as my ancestors are originally from Denmark, hundreds and hundreds years back but still. The Viking blood is thicker than water, hehe.
Will you share your 3 all time favorite albums with all us Metal heads?
CELTIC FROST – “Into the Pandemonium” (+ all before that)
IRON MAIDEN – “Somewhere In Time” (+ all before that)
SLAYER – “Reign In Blood”
Thanks a ton for answering my questions, feel free to drop the last 666-megaton salute in this interview!
Keep on reading Nocturnal Horde and when not, Trust No One! “live like murder, die like suicide”!