Voices From The Underground: Urn Interview

Urn is a total underground act from the beginning to now. You are reigning in your realms and only fanatics know you better as expected over the years. Could you please explain your way and band to the guys who had no chance to catch you before?

Sulphur: We have been walking this path as we do still, we just go and see what it will be.

Axeleratörr : Things are growing and lots of gigs coming on so there is a chance to catch us! Can’t blame us for not doing the shows, get your lazy asses to the concerts, now!!!

The world is changing day by day and music has changed a lot since Black Metal was invented back in the ’80s. How do you identify your music and your mind as a musician?

Axeleratörr: The world is changing for the worse and metal music too, but we won’t give a damn about that! We can only identify ourselves as URN and our collective influences and visions. Our style can be labeled as black thrash and that’s fine to me. But there are decades of listening and playing music behind what we’re doing, so I think we have the capability to be a bit diverse too sometimes.

The Burning is one of the personal favorites of Extreminal editors this year that I would like to mention. What is the background of this skull crusher release?

Sulphur: Well, being out of motivation, and busy with daily things in life for a couple of years maybe did well for me when finally decided to get back with Urn with a real hunger in me. I had very few riffs from the Soul Destroyers era and just start gathering those with the fresh ideas that I got. It was like a breath of fresh air the whole writing process I mean, as it just came out with no pain or other issues..I just call it more likely a natural progression as it’s purest.

How did you start to get into the underground music scene? What things are really different for you in Finland then and now?

A: I started playing in a band and getting familiar with the scene around, for example, I saw Suplhur playing in Barathrum back in the day because we were playing at the same gig with my own band. And after spending years on different projects I joined Urn.

S: Well it’s much easier to keep in contact with people nowadays, that’s for sure. But specifically in Finland hmm.. I guess there more bands from here touring abroad and having some popularity, than back then when it was only a handful of acts. So the scene is a bit more well-known worldwide and respected with some having a “kvlt” reputation nowadays.

-Black Metal is considered a political way of self-expression by the media and new generations nowadays. Neoliberals, neo nazis, far right and far left acts, hippies who wear corpse paint, and moreover self-claimed black metallers who support conservative Christian parties, etc…No end to this!… Actually, my eyes are bleeding after all I have seen lately! Is really Black Metal politics? What do you think about these modern-day dramas going on in both underground and mainstream black metal scenes?

A: All I can say, is that I miss the days when everybody wasn’t so sensitive! But we definitely want to have nothing to do with this political black metal drama that’s going on.

S: Hahaha, the world has gone mad but all we say is fukk you politics! We have never been political and we never will we are free souls. We are here to deliver metal and keep up the spirit of independence, that’s all!

Can we speak about an idiosyncratic sound called Finnish Black Metal or not?

A: There is a certain sound for sure, to me it’s mostly stuff from the 90s like early Impaled Nazarene, Beherit, and Archgoat with a pretty atmospheric but brutal sound. Plenty of others, but everyone can make their own studies and opinions with their own ears.

S: Yeah, copying Norway’s sound aint making it Finnish.

What are the most dangerous bands and acts that you support to poison new generations? Do you have comrades on the scene?

A: I’m not the best expert in upcoming killer acts haha! Some of our favorites are of course Destroyer 666, Nifelheim, Sodom… the obvious (sorry my brain is dead)!! On the last EU tour the support act was this Italian group Necromorbid, so big Hailz goes out to them!!

What is the best and worst part of touring as a band? What are the upcoming shows or tours
for URN?

A: Best is of course Slaying out the Metal, meeting all kinds of people/fans, and tasting many excellent beers in foreign landz! =) It’s what many musicians would want to do, and not everybody has the chance to do so you have to try to keep that in mind when the rough moments come heh. The worst is probably the waiting, and sometimes problems with the organizing or equipment malfunctions.

Do you guys have any other projects except URN? What bands did you play in before?

A: No we really don’t do much musically nowadays outside Urn. It’s a busy time for the band and we are working 666% to make the follow-up to “Burning” the best possible. I played in a couple of pure thrash/speed metal bands before, called Devastracktor and Axegressor… also a BM band Nightside in the 90s. Our drummer Gravementor has a project called Gravesoil, too. And of course, Sulphur played in Barathrum. You can check it all out on Metal-archives heh!

S: Being so busy with the stuff we do by now can’t give many choices to concentrate on other projects as we really send lots of stuff between us to compose new tracks..I would call it as a daily business..with no payment, ahah!

What kind of blasphemous tunes do you focus on while composing songs as a guitarist? How do you compose your chants as a band?

A: Me and Sulphur try to make the riffs as interesting and haunting as possible! You hope it would be easy but some of the time it takes a lot of work to come up with something that satisfies us also the listeners! But we enjoy it of course and a lot of time is spent on thinking and arranging the riffs and songs. Everybody has their say and we arrange finetune stuff at rehearsals.

How is the co-operation between Iron Bonehead and URN?

Sulphur: No complains at all. Totally fine. I contacted Patrick in a case he would be interested to release Urn next album, it was very clear and fast response and we did the deal got the money for the studio and cover art, pass the stuff to him and to the press, yes!

Thank you for your time and efforts to answer my astonishingly boring questions.Here we go for a life time classic to finish a conversation. What would you like to say to the fans and our readers?

A: Thank you very much, it wasn’t boring! Hail to the Legionz and see you at the shows! Black steel worship 666!! Horns up and kindly regards!

This interview was conducted in May 2018.