HI THERE THANKS FOR ANSWERING SOME QUESTIONS FOR US.
Answers by Lauri Sillanpää / Guitars and backing vocals, Juhana Haavisto / Bass
We are Heathen Hearts, a metallic hardcore band from Kotka, Finland. Aggressive yet melodic hardcore influenced by various subgenres of metal. Heathen Hearts consists of Antti - vocals, Lauri - guitars and backing vocals, Jere - guitars and backing vocals, Juhana - bass and Ville - drums.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
We released a three-song EP in May of 2022. The S/T EP is an aggressive piece that shows different sides of Heathen Hearts music. “Ichor” comes straight at your face with full force and aggression. “Loyal to Sacrifice” is maybe a more traditional hardcore song and “World of Ash” shows the more melodic aspects in our music. - Lauri
WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Lyric wise the world we live in. Mankind is a beast. So the songs are not about flowers and sunshine. - Lauri
CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?
Tight 10 minutes filled with fury and aggression. - Lauri
10 minutes of musical ass-kicking.
-Juhana
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
Children of Bodom - Hatebreeder. I don’t remember if I was 10 years old or under when I first heard some songs from the album, but what I remember is that I was completely mesmerized by the songs. One might say the album was a gateway for me to more extreme forms of metal music. - Lauri
There are several. All of those records have introduced me to a new musical genre and I have been absolutely taken away by music on those albums.
Too many to list all of them here but I would like to mention Type O Negative: October Rust, Wardruna: Runaljod Yggdrasil and Kvelertak: Kvelertak.
-Juhana
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER
ARTIST?
We have two music videos and at this moment I cannot name which I like the best. I like them both. But Thriller is the greatest music video that has ever been made. - Lauri
Like Lauri said. I cannot choose between our own videos.
But from recently made videos ”Anoana” by Heilung is really nicely done and the song is awesome!
Also ”Raido” by Wardruna has a special place in my heart.
-Juhana
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
In my freetime I like to listen to a lot of music, read books and play videogames. Pretty basic stuff I guess. - Lauri
Spending time with my family and friends, listening to music, watching tv shows, documentaries and movies, walking in nature and reading history books.
-Juhana
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
For me, getting a little nervous is the key factor in playing live. You feel the blood starting to really run in your veins and that gets you really excited and pumped up. So getting nervous is not a negative factor to me. - Lauri
Every time. Little bit but not too much for it to affect performance. The nervousness goes away during the first song usually. I rather like the feeling and get a great adrenaline rush from it.
-Juhana
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
In 2020 I gathered the guys to play a Turbonegro cover show at a local Turbojugend party. Things got canceled back then due to covid and we let things be. Then year later in the fall of 2021 our drummer Ville asked us if this line-up wanted to play some hardcore. And here we are now going full steam ahead. - Lauri
HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK
TOGETHER?
Jere is the key songwriter in Heathen Hearts and Antti mainly does the lyrics. We do arrangements together as a band and me and Jere co-write some riffs and melodies. Like I can come to Jere with a basic song structure or few riffs that he then arranges to a point that it fits into our music. - Lauri
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
I can get inspiration for example from a Dua Lipa song, which sounds rather funny. But different music genres inspire in a way that I cannot really explain. And just noodling around with my guitar can end up in a pretty nasty riffs. - Lauri
WHAT IS NEXT?
We are constantly working on new material and playing live as much as we can. Our plan is to release a new EP later this year or at the start of 2023. - Lauri
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.
You can find all our links from our
linktree: https://linktr.ee/heathenheartshc
https://www.facebook.com/heathenheartshc
https://www.instagram.com/heathenheartshc