Interview with Eicca Toppinen for Apocello.ru in Moscow, 11.12.2015

It has become a very good tradition to meet Apocalyptica in Moscow before a show and make an interview with these awesome guys for our web-site Apocello.ru. This time we met Eicca Toppinen in the hotel before the show in Ray Just Arena club. He was extremely tired after the long touring year and especially last month on the road, but still was so nice to answer our questions.

You are almost at the end of the big Shadowmaker world tour and tour in Russia, just one show tomorrow in St Peterburg and today in Moscow. How was it in Russia this time? Do you still enjoy the night trains?

Eicca Toppinen: Yes, I enjoy a lot, I think it's the best way to travel! We have night trains in Finland, but not when we are touring. Of course touring is easier with the bus, but in Russia it's way easier by train and it's way more fun than flying. Flying is the worst. But the Russian tour has been great, nice audiences everywhere.

You will continue the tour in the beginning of the next year in Japan. And before this tour you collaborated with the guys from Vamps. Did you record "Sin in Justice" working together in the studio?

Eicca Toppinen: No, no, we recorded our cellos in Finland, and Vamps recorded their stuff in Japan.

Do you know any other Japanese bands, I mean not only the bands you played with in tours?

Eicca Toppinen: Not very much, some like Baby Metal and some bands that we have seen when we have been touring. I can't remember all the names, but, you know, I always know when Japanese bands play in Finland, because, there's a certain genre for Japanese music and certain fanbase. And I think Japanese bands are fun.

Do you have any plans for a new video of the Shadowmaker album?

Eicca Toppinen: There is, the "House of Chains" is going to go to radio in America in January, so it's going to be released as a single there, so we will release a new video for that. But it's more like a live video type thing, edited together from different live material.

But at this moment there is no plan for a new kind of studio video like "Cold Blood" or stuff like that. The thing is that the whole idea of music videos has changed so much since there are no music channels anymore and everything is made for You Tube. Making videos is very expensive; it's even more expensive than making albums. You have some way to finance making videos. It's easy to spend 50,000 to 100,000 Euros on making a proper video, so you need to figure out a way to get the money for that. But of course, if a new single is going to be released, next year, at least we hope that we will release "Hole In My Soul" as a single worldwide, and if we do that we hope to do a video for that. But we also have a plan that during the cycle of "Shadowmaker", that we would release some kind of video for every song.

Yes, like lyrics video?

Eicca Toppinen: Like lyrics video with different style for different songs.

The last lyrics video was a little bit... disturbing.

Eicca Toppinen: But the song was rough.

Yes, but it was not the kind of beauty that we are waiting from Apocalyptuca music style.

Eicca Toppinen: Yeah not expected... Yeah, yeah, that's very true. It's rough and raw, but sometimes life is.

You have composed the opera Indigo, that is going to be released by Finnish National Opera in the beginning of 2016. How is the preparation going for Indigo premiere?

Eicca Toppinen: It's going well. Basically Perttu's and my work, it's almost done. Actually, I'm going on holidays, and Perttu will still do some tapes and some, few little things, but I think that I heard that they have already been having some rehearsals, the on-stage rehearsals and things have been going well. But we're not taking part of that because we're not performing there.

So you didn't visit rehearsals, see the costumes and stage decorations?

Eicca Toppinen: (shakes head) We've seen the designs and plans, the crafts, but we've been on tour the whole time. For the last ten weeks, we've been away so, we haven't seen it, but I'm going home now for two days, then I'm leaving to Mexico. Then when I come from Mexico, I'm two days home but I'm going to Japan, then I come one day home before the premier. So I won't be able...

But you will go to the premiere of Indigo in January 2016?

Eicca Toppinen: Yeah, but Perttu will be in Finland and Perttu will go to the rehearsals. Perttu has been more responsible for the whole opera and he has been composing the majority of the piece, so that's good that he's going to be around. Most likely I am going to be there. At this time I believe so. We come a day before, or two days before, from Japan.

How are the other guys, are they still alive after the hard tour?

Eicca Toppinen: Yeah, Paavo is sleeping and Mikko is already on sound check. Franky is doing his tourist part. He's never been in Russia so he has to do it.

Yes, he is very active on Instagram and will release the photo-book with photos taken in the different countries through the world during "Shadowmaker" tour.

Eicca Toppinen: Yes! I saw some people talking about it, yeah...

And it was very nice to follow you through the tours on Instagram and Facebook, and it was good to see that you are landed safely somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Eicca Toppinen: It's nice. It's like, these last days, it was horrible though, no sleep at all. Sleeping one hour, and then waking up is so violent... Yes, but it's very interesting for us to see how it will end up and how it will sound in so far inland. But we know the music will, but when we come to the mountains there, it's very interesting. Very interesting.

It's been a pleasure to tour in Russia, and we're really looking forward to coming back as soon as possible. Really big pleasure. I really must say, it wasn't such big audiences in Siberia, but the people were fantastic! Absolutely great! We were "woah"! Such lovely people, so good to be here.

Yes please, we are always waiting for you.

We wish you the brilliant show in Moscow and St Peterburg and safe trip to home!

We are thankful to Apocalyptica management and Melnitsa CA for accreditation and making this interview possible.

Special thanks for the help to:
Vordai Mercier and Michelle Schoofs

Photos:
https://www.instagram.com/eiccatoppinen/
https://www.instagram.com/perttukivilaakso/
https://www.instagram.com/apocalypticaofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/frankyperezmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/annaisakova92/