Exclusive Interview: Kaamos Warriors talk “Spirit From The Void”!

It has to be said that the new Kaamos Warriors album is a masterpiece from a trio of musicians who know their way around a recording studio and it seems that everything the touch turns to gold, metaphorically speaking of course. Not only were we lucky enough to be able to preview “Spirit Of The Void” but multi instrumentalist Mikko Ojala (vocals, guitars, drums, keyboards) took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our burning questions…

When Dark The Suns returned we had a feeling that Kaamos Warriors might be put on the back burner but with this new album you have proved that it is not the case; how important has it been to keep the two projects distinctly separate? Has that been easier because of the other collaborators on each project? “Even though they have similarities highlighting the importance of the atmosphere in the music, Dark The Suns and Kaamos Warriors walks two different paths. Dark The Suns is more melancholic death metal and Kaamos Warriors is more melancholic black metal”

Before the album’s first single, footage of Jani Moilanen playing the solo from “Varjojen Vaeltaja” (or “Hiker of Shadows“) appeared on social media and the fact he was armed for the apocalypse with an eight string guitar that was something of a surprise but it sounds great! How impressed were you with his performances on the album and how do you feel about the extra dimension that the extra stings have brought? “Actually all the guitar work of the album is recorded with 7 and 8 strings guitars (except for two solos which are done with Janis old and dear Jackson rr1). It really gives more dimension and atmosphere for the song with some really low tunes. I like that Jani’s solo very much, Jani has great talent for the technic, fast but some time melancholic solos”

“Spirit From The Void” has seen a continuation of the evolution of the Kaamos Warriors sound so now you have Death, Doom, Symphonic and even Gothic elements in the new music. Do you have a complete vision for the band’s sound and the direction that you want to take the project in or has it been a more natural evolution that has happened over time? “When we start to write the album we always have quite clear vision what kind of elements we want to bring in. Day by day and song by song the vision becomes clearer. In this album we wanted to use more choirs and pianos while in our previous album ”Kirous” we used violins and horns. In this new album Spirit from the Void we also had quest voice in five songs. Our friend Mikael Heikkilä made great work with some additional cinematic voices”

One of the album highlights is the almost cinematic “Catacombs of Existence” which begs the question, have you considered writing some instrumental music that follows that left hand path? If you were asked to score a bleak art house film about the aftermath of a drowning in a cold Nordic lake is that something you would consider? “I also like very much the song Catacombs of Existence. I wanted to write some instrumental soundtrack song for the album and for that purpose I think it works very well. When building up this song it was quite clear that it doesn’t need growling vocals, Mikael’s cinematic voice fits perfectly for the song. This song also gives more atmosphere for the album”

What has been the inspiration for continuing to create and explore new music with both of your projects over the last decades? “I have long history with melodic and melancholic death and black metal. I really enjoy this kind of music and art, so it’s really natural for me to write new music. I also think that my every album is kind of a mirror expressing an era of my life”

What is next for Kaamos Warriors? “We have some new ideas in the making, but it takes still time until the vision of new music and visual aspect is ready. We put a lot of effort in this album to get it exactly right which led us into a kind of artistic void for a moment”

“Spirit From The Void” by Kaamos Warriors is out now via Inverse Records and is available over at bandcamp.