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Very early on in my Metalhead days I fell in love with a Finnish band that made heavy, catchy Power Metal songs. One main thing that drew me to this group was the charismatic voice of their singer. Today, I’m very happy to present you this interview with none other than Noora Louhimo of BATTLE BEAST. We talked about the effects of the pandemic and how she is able to perform as powerfully as she does. Read all that and more below!
Huge thanks to lightinmirror.de for the amazing pictures!
Shieldmaiden’s Voice: What makes BATTLE BEAST unique in your opinion?
Noora Louhimo: We are a very positive kind of Heavy Metal Band and we want to bring a smile to people’s faces instead of making them crumple. I think t the kind of thing that makes us unique is that we always have something fun going on on stage. Of course, we do have serious parts to but overall we’re all about enjoying our lives and our music with our fans. There are also not many female fronted Metal bands whose singer has horns! [laughs]
SV: What would you say are you main musical inspirations that make your music so unique?
Noora: The thing is that every member in the band has so many different influences. Everything that we have ever listened to has influenced us as songwriters and not just some specific things. Janne, for example, has always been influenced by more Pop-like music and he is really good at coming up with the orchestral parts. He is also very much into the theatrical stuff, which I also love. On the other hand, there is Joona who very much likes to do the „traditional“ Heavy Metal stuff. Eero makes more Power Metal. So I think, it depends on what kind of music is the thing at the moment and what our current musical preferences are.
SV: Your last album was titled Circus of Doom. Where is that doom aspect coming from? What is the downfall of society, or the doom of society, for you?
Noora: It’s a very wide question and it would take hours to answer that, but talking about the album it’s about the weaknesses and strengths of people. What I want to always say to the people is to remember that when you were born, you were good at first and you should try to maintain that goodness inside you. The world is filled with bad things, so I really want to reflect positive energy on stage!
SV: My favorite song from that album is Where Angels Fear To Fly which is about discrimination and finding the strength to spread your wings. How personal are these kinds of things for you?
Noora: Very personal! I had been bullied since I was a little kid all the way until the end of High School. Unfortunately, in my adult life I have also been met with discrimination from colleagues and in the music industry it’s sadly like in the Wild, Wild West when it comes to these things. Some people, and colleagues, feel like I’m a threat and that they can’t be nice to me. I always try to be as friendly as possible to everyone, even though some people won’t give me the same courtesy. Whenever I get to sing about these kinds of issues, I feel like it’s one of my life’s tasks to help people cope with and get over these problems.
SV: Are you able to channel these feelings to make your show better?
Noora: Yes, of course! All the things I do on stage have a true background. I’m a very emotional person, instead of being guided by logic, I’m very much influenced by my emotional thinking. [laughs]
SV: We’re also coming out of a pandemic. How has that time affected you and the band?
Noora: For me, personally, it was a good time, a period of creating. I made my own solo album (NOORA LOUHIMO EXPERIENCE, Eternal Wheel of Time and Space) and I’m super happy about that. For over a decade, I’ve been holding that in and it felt great to finally be able to blurt it all out. Aside from that, I got to see and spend time with my family and friends. In the past 8 years, before the pandemic, we were on tour for like 60-80% of the year, so I really missed my family and friends. Even when the pandemic was at its worst, it was still a time to self-observe and to reflect on what really matters (to me) in life. I imagine that it was the same for the other band members as well. Some of the guys have had babies in that time and all those kinds of huge life changing situations. While it’s not the pandemic anymore, I made the decision to move to the countryside. Up until that point, I had always lived in the city and now I’m a country girl! Because of that, I’m now mentally in a really great shape!
SV: Now, let’s shift the topic to something more positive: What is the best thing about being a part of BATTLE BEAST?
Noora: Everything is great. Of course, there are some downsides, but the best thing is being able to perform with the guys. We have such good chemistry, both on and off stage. I feel like we’re a bunch of brothers and one sister and while we sometimes fight, we love each other anyway. And our crew is also part of that family! It’s not just the band, but the crew that has been with us for a bunch of years. Lukas, our sound guy, for example, has been in the band as long as I have been. In this BATTLE BEAST gang, we’re all friends. It’s providing a sense of belonging and it doesn’t really feel like working, but more like a life mission. It’s a life style and not just a job.
SV: Where do you see the band in five to ten years?
Noora: [ominously] Bigger than ever, conquering the world! [we both laugh]
SV: That’s the only right answer to give!
Noora: Yes! Be prepared!
SV: We’re already at my last question though… If you could wish for one thing for BATTLE BEAST’s future, what would it be?
Noora: Universe, listen to me now carefully! We’re manifesting now! I want BATTLE BEAST to be the biggest band in the universe!
Yes! We love a confident queen and the sky is the limit after all! I’m so happy we got to have that talk and it was truly wonderful to see BATTLE BEAST live again.
While this was already the second Rockharz interview, the third on is already awaiting you, so stay tuned!
Shieldmaiden's Voice 