{"id":2176,"date":"2015-06-08T07:02:07","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T07:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kkdowning.net\/steelmill\/?post_type=interviews&p=2176"},"modified":"2024-09-06T09:45:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T09:45:07","slug":"diablo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kkdowning.net\/steelmill\/diablo\/","title":{"rendered":"Diablo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"aadolf\"<\/a>
\n\u00a9 Aadolf Virtanen<\/span><\/p>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

AADOLF VIRTANEN<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Diablo bass player in a Steel Mill Interview<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Interview By Kimmo Tattari \/ June 2015<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

After a strong decade in the noughties, highlighted by the finnish chart topping position with 2006’s Mimic47 -album, finnish metal machine Diablo has been stirring from its slumber and putting finishing touches to a new album and plans for live gigs are in the schedule. Steel Mill spoke with band’s bass player Aadolf Virtanen who coincidentially happens to own one of the coolest looking musical instruments in the world!<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0been a while\u00a0since the latest\u00a0Diablo\u00a0album, Icaros, which\u00a0was\u00a0released in 2008. What\u00a0has\u00a0happened in the Diablo\u00a0camp\u00a0during the past\u00a0years?<\/p>\n

Well, everybody\u00a0has\u00a0been\u00a0doing\u00a0their\u00a0own\u00a0things\u2026 Our\u00a0drummer, Heikki Malmberg,\u00a0has\u00a0concentrated on his studio work\u00a0as well as\u00a0teaching\u00a0drumming. Both\u00a0guitarists, Rainer Nyg\u00e5rd and Marko Utriainen, besides\u00a0their\u00a0work and family\u00a0activities, have\u00a0written\u00a0most of the material for the upcoming new album. And I have\u00a0been\u00a0pretty\u00a0much\u00a0involved in playing live. There\u2019s\u00a0been\u00a0enough\u00a0interesting, and sometimes\u00a0challenging, bassduties\u00a0available. It\u2019s\u00a0been\u00a0basically\u00a0everything\u00a0from pop to brutal\u00a0metal. It\u00a0keeps\u00a0you\u00a0flexible and open for new things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"diablologo\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

So, the new album is\u00a0almost\u00a0done\u00a0now?<\/p>\n

The songs\u00a0are\u00a0finished, but the lyrics\u00a0still\u00a0need\u00a0some\u00a0trimming. We\u00a0should\u00a0be\u00a0finished\u00a0with the album\u00a0during\u00a0this summer.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0kind of material\u00a0should\u00a0we\u00a0expect\u00a0this\u00a0time?<\/p>\n

More of everything! More\u00a0melodies, more\u00a0aggressiveness, more\u00a0technical\u00a0skill. The new material is very\u00a0strong, although\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0also\u00a0more\u00a0challenging for\u00a0the musicians and also for\u00a0the listeners. There\u00a0ain\u2019t\u00a0gonna\u00a0be\u00a0plain\u00a0ballads\u00a0included\u00a0this\u00a0time!<\/p>\n

How\u00a0about the touring\u00a0plans?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0a bit\u00a0too\u00a0early to\u00a0say, really. In Finland there\u00a0are\u00a0some\u00a0plans made for the next\u00a0autumn, but\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0really\u00a0looking\u00a0forward\u00a0to going\u00a0abroad, as well. With\u00a0this new material,\u00a0we\u00a0are\u00a0confident\u00a0enough to go on the road\u00a0again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"diablo3\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Diablo<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You\u00a0are\u00a0known as a huge fan of Judas Priest. How\u00a0did\u00a0it\u00a0start?<\/p>\n

It\u00a0started\u00a0during the MTV era, somewhere\u00a0between 1984-86. I saw\u00a0their\u00a0videos and heard the band\u00a0from the c-cassettes I borrowed\u00a0from my friends. So, it’s\u00a0some 30 years of Priest digging\u00a0behind me\u00a0now.<\/p>\n

I was\u00a0a huge fan from the start, but\u00a0when\u00a0Rob\u00a0came\u00a0back in 2003, it\u00a0really made things\u00a0more\u00a0serious. Then I realised\u00a0that Judas Priest is a\u00a0band\u00a0whose\u00a0career, production and ‘getting\u00a0older’ should\u00a0be\u00a0monitored\u00a0closely\u00a0through\u00a0the fan’s\u00a0binoculars, to the end\u2026<\/p>\n

A while\u00a0ago\u00a0you\u00a0got\u00a0a very\u00a0interesting\u00a0birthday\u00a0present\u2026<\/p>\n

Yes, that\u2019s a one\u00a0string\u00a0fretless\u00a0bass\u00a0guitar made in a Judas Priest style! My good\u00a0friend,\u00a0boatwright Jari Kareinen from Joensuu,\u00a0handmade\u00a0it for me as a 40th birthday\u00a0present. Absolutely\u00a0stunning\u00a0workmanship\u00a0with\u00a0all\u00a0its design and painting! The\u00a0body is basically a huge\u00a0JP-logo, and the good\u00a0old Judas Priest fork\u00a0has\u00a0found\u00a0its\u00a0place at the end of the neck. And in addition to\u00a0these\u00a0details\u00a0it\u2019s a fine\u00a0fully\u00a0functioning\u00a0bass\u00a0guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"aadolf2\"<\/a>
\n\u00a9 Aadolf Virtanen<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

How\u00a0does\u00a0this\u00a0bass\u00a0work\u00a0with\u00a0Priest\u2019s\u00a0material?<\/p>\n

So\u00a0far I have\u00a0tried Turbo Lover\u00a0only. It\u00a0worked\u00a0fine\u00a0after\u00a0some\u00a0practising. Reckless\u00a0from the\u00a0same\u00a0album\u00a0might\u00a0be\u00a0cool\u00a0also. Have to try\u00a0that\u00a0one!\u00a0Breaking the Law is\u00a0simple\u00a0enough for one\u00a0string\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n