Ruttokosmos Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new full length?

1. We did a few live shows here in Finland during the autumn. Next we will start rehearsing new songs for the next album.

2.In 2024 you released your first full length, musically how do you feel it differs from your previous demo's?

2. Although ”Apoteoosi” is our first official full length, in our minds the two demos are also ”albums” or entireties of their own. The process with all of them has been the same: we work with the album by ourselves and we deal with the recording etc. by ourselves.

Of course, there was almost a 15 year gap between ”Kärsimys” and ”Apoteoosi” and therefore one could expect things to change during such a time period. But what actually differs...perhaps now there is even more uniqueness of our own style to be found. There are more elements which play in the limits of black metal and some other styles of music. Yet, it is clearly black metal, and yet it still is clearly recognisable as Ruttokosmos. Of course, there were some ideas and new perspectives we wanted work with, but that is a part of the process

 

3.The band was broken up for 14 years, what was the cause of the split and  also the decision to reform?

 3.There was never actually any official split-up. After the release of ”Kärsimys” we ended up in different parts of Finland for personal reasons, and Ruttokosmos went on a hibernation mode. We still continued our musical endeavours separately and for example couple of the ”Apoteoosi” album`s song prototypes came to be around that time. When Werewolf records showed interest in re-releasing the first two demos, we began to work with the new album and then eventually ended up playing live shows too. So even though ”Apoteoosi” came out just now, we had been active again already from around 2019-2020.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

4. Ruttokosmos is a death worship project. That has always been very clear. We examine the aspects ofdeath. But to speak of death, to make it visible, you seek for things which are around it; suffering in its different forms, angst, agony, gritty existential moments in life, the will to death, depression, humanworthlessness, isolation, spiritual fulfillment, liberation and the refinement of the soul in death, gods of death, moments of death, urban life emptiness, gnostic and spiritual concepts of death and illumination.

5.I know that he bands name means 'Plague Cosmos' in Finnish, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

5.The name of the band was the first thing that came to being over twenty years ago. It is not in the finnish dictionary. You may construe your own interpretation if you will, but for example 

a) a universe infested with the imperfection of life, a place of suffering and meaninglessness, where your liberation comes eventually only through death.

b) a spiritual ”place” or state, in which there is suffering but also spiritual growth of the soul through acceptance and realization of death and darkness.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

6.It is euthanized horses, skulls in various poses. The idea for the art was somehow clear since the beginning of the recording process. Then there are some song related pieces in the booklet. The layout was done by Werwolf.

7.Currently there are only 2 members in the band but had more members in the past, are you open to expanding the line up again or do you prefer to remain a duo?

7.When it comes to artistic things, duo is the way to go for us. We have a third member, a drummer, who plays on the album and also does the live gigs with us. We just really haven`t felt necessary to disclose these matters any further at the moment.

8.With the live line-up what where some of the best shows that the band had performed?

8.Steelfest 2023, great venue and first official live show after all these years.

9.The music on the demos while recorded almost 20 years ago are more rawer and aggressive then a lot of the newer bands, do you feel black metal has gone into more a lighter and safer direction during the time the band was on hiatus?

9.There is some truth in that maybe due to bands recording with computers these days in favour of analog gear of the past. But there are plenty of harsh and aggressive stuff around and seemingly endless amounts of bands creating sub genres based on different styles of black metal.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

10.We are still quite an obscure act, and there`s probably still loads of BM people who don`t know Ruttokosmos. We assume, that in the end of the 2000s our demos were distributed by torrents, and that`s how people in Germany, Russia and Poland, for example, got to know us. The demo issues were so low, that they had to get the albums some other way. The demos were received well back in the day.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

11.The next album will be somewhat similar to ”Apoteoosi”. But of course there will be some exploration on the Ruttokosmos sound, trying to build on those things that have previously worked well with us

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

12.Musical influences back then: Abyssic Hate, Mortifera, Burzum, Horna, Satanic Warmaster, Beatrik

 Our musical taste  these days is varied to say the least. Best not to speak of it.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?  

13.For all the non-finnish listeners: Explore our lyrics from all our releases. They are as important as the music itself, so we recommend translating them to your own language.

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