Into Haunted Oblivion: An Interview With Lasse Pyykkö of Hooded Menace
Wanna relive the good times? Tough shit, compadre… Youth is wasted on the young and we’re stuck here in this era where blue hair, absurdity and Death Metal commercialization have become the norm. The mystique and the danger of those first pure days was like a drug - Peruvian - the tan shit… Now, some of the most nefarious characters of the late ‘80’s - early ‘90’s have made cartoon music videos at one point or another... Thank the Gods we have the Underground. The thrill is still burning under all that dirt. One band to whom you may or may not have taken a shine to yet is Finland’s Hooded Menace. Death/Doomers! Riff junkies, brutality Mongers and purveyors of Death/Doom that hits at gut-level, but with a sense of melody. The band formed in 2007, but Hooded Menace visionary, Lasse Pyykkö, has been a working part of the scene since the late ‘80’s, particularly with his band Phlegathon. During my latest interview, Lasse and I discuss the good old days and the current state of the scene, all the while as he provides a striking look into Hooded Menace’s forthcoming album, Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, which is scheduled for an October 3 release via Season of Mist.
FMP: What’s up, Lasse? Welcome to Frozen Moon Promotions. Congrats on a great new album! Really digging Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. You’ve been on the Hooded Menace journey since 2007, but, you’ve been a part of the Death Metal scene since the late ‘80’s. Who were some of your major influences back in the day, and how did you come to form Hooded Menace?
Pyykkö: Hi there, glad to be talking to you. And happy to hear you like the new album! When we formed Phlegethon back in 1988, some of our major influences were bands like Slayer, Death, Sepultura, Kreator, Bathory and Dark Angel. Big Candlemass fans as we were too. Doom Metal with Death Metal vocals was a musical direction that Phlegethon considered to take. But as you know, we went for Death/Thrash instead - a bit less of a radical option in those days. Here’s the thing, we loved Doom Metal like Candlemass, but we didn’t know anyone in our area who could do melodic vocals for that sorta stuff. So, we pondered about doing something similar to Candlemass but using Death Metal vocals. Soon, we figured it comes off kinda cheesy and gave up. You know it was 1988 - apparently we didn’t have the pioneering attitude and vision to go for it. We were just young brats anyway; somewhere in our fourteens and fifteens. Fast-forward to 2007, and I was really inspired to play something heavy again, so I formed Hooded Menace and finally gave this style a shot - better late than never, right?
FMP: I’m old-school. Grew up during the early ‘90’s Death Metal heyday. Naturally, a lot has changed since those days. I’m of the mind that most contemporary Death Metal; even the stuff that’s being released by the legends of the genre, is just shallow and soulless compared to the old days. I miss Morrisound. How do you feel about the current state of Death Metal/Death-Doom and how the scene/industry has evolved over the years?
Pyykkö: I don’t follow the scene too much, but it seems to be really active. There’re too many bands to keep up with. It’s a bit too much for me, really. With so many vomit-emojis coming left and right, it gets pretty boring fast (laughs). Mostly, I stick with the classics, but of course there’re some excellent current bands playing great music like Sijjin, Excarnated Entity and Grotesque Bliss to mention a few. Considering how alienated kids are from Rock music nowadays, let alone extreme metal, it’s cool to see some of them still picking up guitars, tuning them down and going for it. It’s pretty good here in Finland at least. It’s not supposed to be music for the masses anyway. Obviously, the industry has changed a lot from the pre-internet days - I’d switch back in a heartbeat. But it is what it is. I don’t even bother to dwell on this topic too much. Instead of complaining, I try to adapt to the situation.
FMP: Your forthcoming album, Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, is a throwback to the ‘80’s and the horror film movement of that era. I’ve gotta say, I’ve only ever heard Children of Bodom be able to capture that vibe as profoundly as you have. What are some of your favorite ‘80’s horror flicks and did you draw inspiration for the new album from any one in particular?
Pyykkö: In fact, we mostly draw inspiration from horror movies older than from the ‘80’s. For example, some films that inspired the lyrics on the new album are The Blood Splattered Bride, Carnival of Souls and of course, The Blind Dead movie series. That being said, I love ‘80’s horror! That’s the stuff I grew up with: Day of the Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, The Beyond and City of The Living Dead are some of my favourites from the decade.
FMP: The new record has an overall different feel to it when compared to some of your previous albums. What kind of risks or different creative avenues did you take as far as writing/recording?
Pyykkö: On the previous album, The Tritonus Bell, the classic ‘80’s heavy metal influences had begun to blossom, and I’d say that the new album goes even further in that direction. It’s a bit hard for me to objectify, because I’m so close to it, but I feel that Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration has a bit darker and a more grandiose vibe to it with all those epic, fist-pumping sections; synth choirs and stuff like that. I think the guitar sound has improved too. It’s got that micro-pitched static chorus tone that I’m quite obsessed with. This was also the first time that we used a cello on our album. The very ‘80’s Iron Maiden-esque synth sounds are something new to us as well. It was a good idea to book a local studio (Guru Studio), so I was able to be present at all stages of the process; hence it was easier to get my production ideas across and try different things. Shout-out to engineer/mixer Heikki Marttila for being so cool to work with.
FMP: You decided to cover Duran Duran’s “Save A Prayer” on the forthcoming record, and you pulled it off nicely! What inspired you to cover such an unorthodox song?
Pyykkö: Duran Duran is an old favourite of mine. When I was a kid I secretly kept borrowing my big sister’s Rio Cassette and played it in my room again and again. I loved that stuff. You know, I was into heavy metal and I guess I didn’t want her, or anybody else to know how much I liked that new wave pop band! Duran Duran have stuck with me for all these years, and at some point I started to play with an idea of making a Duran Duran cover with Hooded Menace - one of those threat or opportunity type of things (laughs). The heavily melancholic “Save A Prayer” sounded like the best song for us. Actually, I was a little hesitant at first because our version sounded almost like a lost track from Paradise Lost´s Icon album or something. But what’s wrong with that? It’s no secret that they are a huge influence on us. It’s kinda funny actually, almost like we covered two bands in one song (laughs)! I think it turned out pretty cool. It’s forged in Metal but still recognizable. It is sure to confuse some people, which is not a bad thing either.
FMP: I wouldn’t call Hooded Menace an underground band. Wouldn’t call you guys mainstream either. A lot of vital pieces to what constitutes a band’s identity are sacrificed whenever a Death Metal band becomes mainstream: the mystique, the dangerousness and a lot of the band’s freedom. What’s it been like to be on the fence that divides the underground from the mainstream? Do you have mainstream intentions for Hooded Menace?
Pyykkö: Nowadays, there’s no mystique or danger in Death Metal anyway when everything’s just a mouse click away. Yeah, I guess you could say we have one foot in the underground and the other in the mainstream - or a toe at least. It’s of course nice if there is a growing audience for our music. You can’t take that for granted. It makes you humble. Maybe to some people we are not a cool band to like anymore, as in our early, more underground days… I don’t know and honestly, I couldn’t care less. It’s such a cliche to say this, but above all, our intention is to create music that brings us satisfaction and we can only hope that people dig it as well. If more and more people get into us, I’m not going to tell them not to. This is marginal music anyway and unfortunately, it’s not going to make us rich dickhead rockstars or anything.
FMP: Remember the whole smashing posers mentality of the late ‘80’s - early ‘90’s? It surprises me when I see some of the people who listen to Death Metal these days. The whole scene is comparable to what happened to Las Vegas once the Mob lost control of it. After that, it just became a soulless tourist destination. Has popularity been good for Death Metal?
Pyykkö: I do remember, and I thought that the smashing posers mentality was ridiculous in the first place. Even the musicians of the early Thrash scene went to see “poser bands” like Ratt play live because they had amazing guitar players. And Ratt is brilliant indeed! But I’m definitely with you about how much more exciting Death Metal was before it became popular. We were in the right place at the right time, and when you experience something like that at a young age, it’s almost unfair to compare it to anything that comes later. But like I said before, Death Metal is not a huge business. Cannibal Corpse is not Taylor Swift. It’s not a bad thing to see Blood Incantation hit the Billboard charts when at the same time most kids could not care less about rock music, let alone death metal. So, let’s just be happy that death metal is still alive and kicking.
FMP: What are you most proud of when you think about Hooded Menace, particularly when it comes to Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration?
Pyykkö: Right now, I’m proud and happy that we might have made a better album than The Tritonus Bell, which was a really good one - probably our best by then. It’s a great feeling, especially when you’re already at your seventh full-length.
FMP: Do you have a message for the fans?
Pyykkö: To quote King Diamond: Stay heavy!
