Finnish ‘Violent Pop’ innovators BLIND CHANNEL are no strangers to pressure. They felt pressure to sing in their native tongue in order to be successful at home, they felt pressure taking to the biggest stage in Europe during Eurovision in 2021, but they also felt pressure to just generally give up. As many people do, the band wanted an escape from this feeling. So they took it upon themselves to create an album that allowed them to get all this anger and frustration out, resulting in their newest release: Exit Emotions.
Now experiencing recognition across the globe, the band continue to push their own boundaries and strive to connect with even more people through these shared experiences. Lead singers Niko Moilanen, Joel Hokka and guitarist Joonas Porko spoke to Distorted Sound about their mission to create this safe space for their old and new fans alike. “I think this album is like a roller coaster. Like when you enter that roller coaster, we hope that by the end you will feel that you kind of had the exit from your emotions. We wanted to create a soundtrack for an escape from daily struggles we all go through. I don’t know if it’s a hell for everyone, but you know what I mean? Like, like the everyday struggle, everyone is going through so much stress and there’s like wars going on and pandemics and all that crazy stuff. So we we kind of wanted to have this little 35 minute work of art where you can feel that you are not in this reality and you could just escape in the music and hopefully feel free for for a while.”
And BLIND CHANNEL have gone to great lengths to achieve this mission, even flying across the globe to work with collaborators such as Jason Aalon Butler of FEVER 333 and FROM ASHES TO NEW vocalist Matt Brandyberry. Niko explains, “we approached this album, even the songwriting process, from the live perspective. We did the previous album completely by ourselves, just us in the band because we had a new member and we were practising the chemistry in the studio. But with this one we wanted to make an international sounding record. So we left Finland and we went to Berlin, then we went to London, then we went to eventually Los Angeles to work with local songwriters and producers to make this album happen.”
He continues passionately, “we’re always aiming for the element of surprise, we don’t wanna be stuck in our own way of making music. And that’s also the main reason why we collaborated with so many different artists and producers to get a new perspective on the songwriting and the production. I think with each and every album, we aim to surprise ourselves in the songwriting process. Like, if you surprise yourself, do something you couldn’t have imagined doing before, then that’s usually the gateway to something cool.”
As well as exploring this new international take, BLIND CHANNEL have also delved into the heavier side of their sound for this new release as Joonas explains. “We’ve been listening to a lot of SLIPKNOT, so since we played at Knotfest Finland, we were supporting them and then we saw the whole show and we were like, ‘damn, we have to make some heavier tracks!’.”
As all bands will know, not everyone is going to love your music. But Moilanen isn’t afraid of this, in fact he embraces it. “I hope that listeners will be surprised, and some of them will love it. But I also hope someone hates it, because that’s always been our way to provoke listeners, like the songs that polarise opinions. They’re always the fun ones.”
For this album cycle, BLIND CHANNEL created some super fun music videos such as for their single Deadzone. Porko explains why that shoot in particular was so much fun. “The Deadzone shoot was super nice since there were a lot of our fans there. We spent the whole day with them and we had a good chat and there was a nice team spirit. Joel and Niko were arm wrestling and everybody was yelling each other and that was so fun.”
The music video may have also awakened a new career aspiration in Hokka. “That was the first video where me and Niko were acting. There are a lot of moments when we were like pure acting like movie characters. The intro, it was directed like a movie scene. It kind of felt like a real movie where everyone was shouting and the director was saying that everyone needs to do this and do that, and they had to panic right now. It needed to look like a real panic, we had police officers and SWAT teams coming in and we needed to act properly for that role. So that for me was a really huge experience and I got this little spark that one day I want to do like a movie role somewhere. I don’t know where and when but it gave me that little spark and it was super inspiring.”
Porko says that at times it did feel a bit intimidating on set. “The SWAT team were German and they didn’t speak any English, so they basically didn’t speak at all. They just arrived in the room and we felt like there was an actual SWAT team coming into the room, so that made us all go like ‘whoa holy shit!’. It was huge and we loved it.”
Looking ahead to their European tour running through March and April, Moilanen explains, “you know, these songs need to be experienced from a live perspective like this isn’t an album that you just listen to on Spotify or iTunes or whatever. These songs were written to be performed on stage with the big production that we’re having on the upcoming tour. So yeah, definitely come check it out, the live aspect really brings these songs to life.” Hokka adds, “Where’s The Exit? is super special. We have some cool tricks on that one for the live set, so we can’t wait to play it.”
When asked if there were many differences between playing gigs in Finland versus the UK, the guys mentioned their confusion with some slightly specific elements of touring such as, “what is it with those electric showers you have!” and “your doors open the opposite way to ours so that’s confusing.” But then Proko then adds, “UK fans are loud in a good way. I love the football hooliganism or whatever!” Hokka then sings a lovely rendition of Sweet Caroline before. “I love UK people. In a good way, they have this added attitude that no one else has. I think German fans and UK fans are kind of similar because they know how to act at a metal show and it’s just on another level. I keep on saying this to Finish audiences, because they act so serious and stand still. But in the UK and Germany they go all in, like, full on fucking nuts and they’re losing their minds and their bodies and everything to the music. And that’s what I love about metal music and playing in the UK. I always say in Finland that everyone who keeps saying we don’t have any cool live shows here, that they need to come to the UK or Germany and you’ll see a proper metal show.”
Moilanen rounds the interview off by conveying a heartfelt message to the fans. “We hope you find the songs relatable and helpful, and come to the shows. We want people to come and experience Exit Emotions with us. We hope people come as they are, with nothing to lose, put your phones away and let’s just live in the moment together for a while. Let’s Exit Emotions together.” Solidified by a simple “Amen” from the other members.
Exit Emotions is out now Century Media Records.
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