When I first encountered Mausoleum Gate, it was with the release of their ‘Obsessed By Metal’ 7“ EP. I saw it in the Iron Bonehead Records shop and picked it up out of curiosity – back then, 7” singles were still reasonably priced enough to take a chance on. My curiosity was mainly piqued by the artwork. The use of color made the cover unique, to say the least. The music turned out to be a perfect match, also unique. Heavy Metal, but different. Occult with a generous dose of 70s progressive rock à la Jethro Tull. The albums and singles that followed went down the same path of quality and originality. The latest album, ‘Space, Rituals And Magick’, took no less than eight years to complete, but it does not disappoint. I spoke with guitarist Count LaFey about this new album, the new singer, and the creativity driving the band.
To start things off, with ‘Space, Rituals And Magick’ you have recorded your first with your new vocalist Jarno Saarinen. As far as I have been able to find out, Jarno hasn’t been overly active over the past decade or so. How did you end up with him after the departure of your previous singer?
Well, Jarno is an old friend of mine from the 90’s. And as V.P left we asked him to sing something and he sang ’Lost Beyond The Sun’. It went really well so we decided to continue with him. I knew he was a singer and die-hard Maiden fan so it was nice. We also thought back in the 90’s we would someday play in the same band and here we are!
Honestly, when Veli-Pekka Varpula left the band without a singer, I was a bit afraid of the future of Mausoleum Gate. He left quite a mark on the band’s unique sound. What went through you all when V-P told you he was going to leave you? Did you have the same concerns?
Well, I think we saw it coming because opera is a tough game and when you get a chance like he had there is no choice really. Of course he is a wonderful singer and was a key member of the band in his time. I think it was no place for a copycat but a different voice that we had with Jarno. But I like to state that there’s no bad blood or anything with V.P. We fully understood his decision. I just remember I thought we have to now look forward and try new voices.
And, to continue on with the previous two questions, now that you have ‘Space, Rituals And Magick’ in your hands and heard the final product, how do you think the whole transition of vocalist turned out?
It went remarkably well eventually. The new songs were pretty much made for his voice. And I felt the material was very, very strong. On my part I focused on vocal lines which had to be nothing but great, also the songs had to be strong melodies and that’s just what we had in my opinion.
It has been about eight years since the release of ‘Into A Dark Divinity’. First I assumed that you needed a bit of time to find a suitable replacement for the vocal duties, but it turned out Jarno already joined you in 2018, even if he did not appear on ‘The Demon Age Of Aquarius’ 7″ single. So, just to kill a bit of curiosity, what took you so long?
He actually appears on ’The Demon Age Of Aquarius’. He sings that song and V.P sings on the other side on ’Before The Snake Sneaked In’. It was kinda welcoming Jarno and Farewell to V.P. The album took so long for various reasons. The songs evolved and songs were dropped and so on. Basically the music revealed to us in these years. The album revealed us. But in the end I can say it was worth it.
For me, the album came as a surprise. Not only because the previous one was released back in 2017, so honestly, I was not expecting anything at all, but also because I thought the album took a big step in what you could say is “musical maturity”. There’s not a whole lot that sets it apart from your previous output, in the sense of your musical cornerstones, it is just that things fall into their places much smoother now. How would you yourself describe the progression between the two last albums?
The debut was raw pure heavy metal with a touch of prog. The second had more than a touch of prog and this new one took a step back to heavy metal and away from progressive stuff. The songs are maybe more compact and in my opinion songwriting has taken a big step forward. In that sense this is more of a group effort than previous ones.
I just touched upon the term “musical cornerstones”. One thing that intrigued me most about the band’s signature sound is that it echoes the influence of a wide range of different genres, styles and bands. At least, that’s what I presume, based on what I’m hearing. In my review I mentioned bands like Count Raven, Pagan Altar, Warlord, Burning Saviours, Saracen, Marquis De Sade, Sanctus, Black Magick SS/Tarot, Jethro Tull… How would you describe your music to your old uncle over a Christmas drink?
Since it would be my old uncle I would mention Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. Tull is an old favourite of mine. I love the band and worship Ian Anderson’s composing skills.
Honestly, looking at your band photos and the very recognizable way you decorate your releases, I think nobody would expect any regular sort of music. Yet, I still felt a bit confused by a certain contradiction. Your average band photo shows a bunch of guys who don’t give a flying fuck about how they look or fit in any scene at all, but your artwork, although equally misfit, looks like it was designed not only with care but also with a clear vision. Enlighten me…
To be honest we woke to realize that we need new promo shots for the new line-up quite late so… well it looks kinda raw but on the other hand its honest hah! It has also that “what the fuck” impression to someone I think. The artwork is done by our 7th member Timo Raita and it’s all based on his vision and fits to the music perfectly. If I understood correctly this was very challenging to do as was the music. Great job!
A question I regularly ask bands and something I am always genuinely interested in is what their creative process looks like. But it’s obviously especially interesting when the question is asked of a band that’s less concerned with unwritten musical rules and rigid genre aesthetics. So, how does this work in the Mausoleum Gate camp?
This time like I mentioned it was more of a band effort. I had ideas, me and Jari had ideas and Tuomas had ideas. Basic ideas really. Then we took them to rehearsals and Oskari and Jarno Koskell added some flesh to the bones. And Jarno Saarinen was the cherry to the top of the cake with his vocals. And then there’s tons of arranging, changing ideas, criticizing and so on. Then Wicked Ischanius does his magic recording, adding keys and mixing the thing. This all comes in some kind of flow but it’s sometimes difficult to set yourself in the mood. That’s one reason that the album took so long to make. This must not feel like a job. Me and Jari Kourunen -our second guitarist- have a song making and band history back to the 90’s. We have good chemistry in songwriting. We wrote the basic ideas for ’Vision Divine’, ’Sacred Be Thy Throne’ and the title song.
Even though your music might be a bit out of the ordinary, judging from the artwork and song titles a lot of the non-musical inspiration seem to come from rather traditional metal themes like demons and occult subjects. What is Mausoleum Gate about? For instance, what is that Dark
Divinity that you dedicated your previous album’s title to nd what about those Rituals and Magick on this new record?
Since I was a kid I have been interested in horror stuff, the occult figures and so on. Someone somewhere described Black Sabbath so that their music always includes that tragic, sad element. That is very true. So does Uriah Heep. These melodies require a certain type of lyrics. Abstract – like someone speaking through you and you can’t really put the meaning of the lyrics into words. It’s not about hate or aggression like extreme metal but spiritual tragic sad experience. ’Into A Dark Infinity’ is actually about death. ’Space, Rituals And Magick’ is pretty much what it says: songs about Space, Rituals and Magick. For ’Witches Circle’ I was inspired by Blondie’s Gary Valentine’s book about Aleister Crowley. It is a description of his last days. So I made up the lyrics of this fictional witch who draws his last magic circle and fades away. Beautiful!
Now that we discussed the rather versatile background of the band, musically and otherwise, I am very curious how Mausoleum Gate fits in the Finnish metal scene. Despite some links to bands like Iron Griffin and Barathrum through past and current members, Mausoleum Gate to me feels like being a bit of an odd one out, even on an international level. How do you see yourself within the Finnish scene? If you care at all, that is…
I think when we started somewhere around the ’Obsessed By Metal’ 7” single Wicked Ischanius made this slogan: ”Very Obscure, Strictly Underground!”. It still stands the test of time. We are indeed a bit of an odd one, really, but we feel very comfortable with old-school metal underground. Personally until the band was formed I was kinda frustrated about Heavy Metal with all sounding kinda same – I mean guitars and all. But through this band I found Heavy Metal again. And great bands from the 80’s that I only knew by name back then. Also I really support the metal underground stuff and its various genres. The DIY thing is really what makes metal alive today. Iron Griffin is our drummer Oskari Räsänen’s solo project. He is a guy with very strong vision. ’Storm Of Magic’ is a really strong album. I strongly recommend it! It’s unique stuff!
Even when I called Mausoleum Gate “unique” and “the odd one out”, from very early on you have been backed up by Cruz Del Sur Music. For sure it is a label with some great and unorthodox bands on the roster and Enrico is known for his excellent musical taste, but I am still curious to know how you guys ended up there, just in the same ranks of one of my all-time favourites The Lord Weird Slough Feg. So, can you share some of those memories? How did you go from self-releasing your first 7″ single to Cruz Del Sur Music?
Okay. As we are some kind of a DIY-unit, we decided to start to make our first LP somewhere in 2014 I guess. We made the album ready for as far as mixing state and some kind of listening mastering. Wicked Ischanius told me to send it in digital mode to Oliver Weinsheimer (Keep It True festival organiser). He was very impressed and shared his opinion on his Facebook-page. So, from there on we got in touch with Enrico and Cruz Del Sur. It’s pretty much to Oliver to thank all of this and of course Enrico.
— Cover artwork for ‘Obsessed By Metal’ 7” single —
Although I missed out on your 2010 released demo, I picked up your debut 7″ single ‘Obsessed By Metal’. I saw it at the Iron Bonehead webshop and was drawn to it by the colourful but also creepy, occult artwork. I was instantly sold. But, not only because of the music and the artwork, I admired your dedication that showed in that self-released 7″ single, a format that is dear to me. You continued to release your music on vinyl and a couple more 7″ singles followed. Do you consider this a part of Mausoleum Gate’s identity as well?
A good point! We have always released 7” with songs that won’t appear on LP’s. This thing of course goes way back to the 70’s, 80’s and so so on. We had this crazy idea to make a VHS live video back in the day too – hah! On the other hand we have also released all that stuff on CD. When it comes to artwork master Timo Raita was also behind this too.
I suppose it is rather inevitable to ask whether a follow-up to Space, Rituals And Magick’ is coming sooner than the whooping eight year gap between ‘Into A Dark Divinity’ and this new album..?
I hope not! But it has to meet the standards we have made. Now we focus on a new album and possible gigs ahead. And rehearsals.
For now I’ll leave it at this, thanks a lot for your time and I’ll keep spinning ‘Space, Rituals And Magick’ for it will surely end up in my top of the year list. The last words are yours…
I thank you for your interest. Very good questions! It was a pleasure to answer! Enjoy the album
