Tag Archives: Esa Holopainen

Interview: Tomi Joutsen and Esa Holopainen of Amorphis

Due to our enormous influence on the metal scene, the uncanny negotiating abilities of our own Alex, and the kindness of Markus Jacob from Nuclear Blast, I’ve had the chance to bust my proverbial cherry and take my first interview ever. As luck would have it, I got to talk with one of the bands I like very much: Amorphis.

After stalking their tour bus and attracting several suspicious looks I approached them, taking advantage of the fact that they were basking in the late November sun and that their tour manager assured them I was harmless (a big thank you to Mr. Gerrit Wissdorf!). I warned them about DoM being an ubercool metal humor site, only to be warned back: “We don’t laugh. We are people from the dark North”. “Yep, I know, and you also don’t talk before breakfast”, I quipped. Witty comeback, huh.

Once all the kidding around finished and my persona was firmly established as a dork, we headed to the tour bus, where Tomi Joutsen and Esa Holopainen were more than accommodating hosts.

So, here goes the interview. I still wonder how tough these guys are, since they heroically resisted my assault of lame ass questions…

One more thing, all photos were taken by yours truly during the gig, while trying hard not to bust my camera with my own metal frolicking. You can click them for a larger version (that’s what she said!)