Exclusive Interview: Dark The Suns talk “Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä”!

Re-activated after a seven year hiatus as a duo by original members Mikko Ojala (vocals, guitars, drums) and Inka Ojala (bass, keyboards) in 2020, Finnish Metallers Dark The Suns already had a rich history in the form of three full-length albums (“In Darkness Comes Beauty”, “All Ends in Silence” and “Sleepwalking in a Nightmare”) released between 2007 and 2010. Their return to the paths once travelled has seen then unveil a fourth offering to the Metal Gods in “Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä” via Inverse Records blending beautiful piano melodies and dark vocals in the Finnish tradition of melancholic and Melodic Death Metal with some Gothic and Black Metal influences. We had the pleasure of a conversation with Mikko Ojala himself about the record and the bands legacy…

How did it feel to return after seven years to create a new Dark The Suns record? Did you have it in mind that it would be in the style of Dark The Suns, or did your writing take it that way? Were there any concerns about the legacy of Dark The Suns going into making a new record after so long?

Mikko: “Inka and I have written music together almost 15 years. It was really natural way to continue the band as a duo because we have written almost all music and lyrics for the band in the bands history. I took a break of writing music during the years 2013-2014. It was really important to take a break to have a time to think about how I want to continue living my life with all responsibilities and music. I started to write music again with my another band Kaamos Warriors in 2018. Soon after that I realized that it’s time to come back with Dark the Suns”

There are themes of sorrow and grief running through the album but what were the influences on the record as a whole?

Mikko: “I’m very interested in reading books about philosophy and psychology and thinking about meaning of life etc. That was one of the themes in the new album. For example the songs Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä and Seeker are very import and special songs for me personally because of their lyrics. Of course also feelings of loss and sorrow have always been important themes in our music, as you wrote“

As the record was created as a duo, what does this mean for live performances? Do you plan on fleshing out the line up or getting session musicians to fill in?

Mikko: “At this moment we don’t have a chance to play concerts. I also think that world is changing and bands won’t play so much live-concerts in the future. Of course this Covid-19 has changed a lot the world, but I think that it will be part of future that bands are going play virtual shows with some special elements. For example Behemoth’s In Absentia Dei was an amazing show. I have never seen anything like that“

Songs like “Suru Raivosi Sydämeni” are incredible and easy to get lost in. How do you go about finding the balance between them and the guitar work in the songs?

Mikko: “When Inka and I started to write new music for the new album, everything started to take shape very naturally. I’m really happy for the result and of course I think that the new album is our all time best album. I think that we combined the best elements from our three previous albums and got also some new and fresh elements for the music“

Three songs on the album are in the Finnish language; how did you come to include them and what was behind the language choice?

Mikko: “I like very much metal music with Finnish lyrics. It also gave us better chance to show the deepest emotions in the lyrics when we use our own language”

What’s next for Dark The Suns?

Mikko: “At this moment we enjoy the new album. I’m very proud of it and happy for the support. Actually we have also have started to write new music. At this moment we have almost two new songs ready to be recorded. Time will show what is going to happen and when“

“Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä” by Dark The Suns is out now via Inverse Records