Tarot - April 2010

Interview with

Marco Hietala (vocals) of Tarot

From the land of the thousand seas comes yet another good, old school Metal album which shows up why we love that music for such a long time and why we started listening to Heavy Metal! TAROT released their 2n CD on the German Label Nuclear Blast (the 11th Album at all) so it was time to talk with the most known band member Marco Hietala (Nightwish, Northern Kings) about the band, existing since 1986.

Kira: First of all: Congratulation to #2 in Finland’s charts! I love the new album, because it sounds so down to earth. Just good old school Metal.
Marco Hietala: Thank you!

Kira: I hope to see you 2010 somewhere in Germany!
Marco Hietala: And we’re very seriously planning for that to happen.

Kira: Do you think the 2007 change to Nuclear Blast can finally lead to the well-deserved success over Finland’s borders?
Marco Hietala: We saw a really great change concerning album sales already with the last album. I don’t know what’s possible since I don’t have a crystal ball, but so far we’re doing really well with NB.

Kira: How happy are yourself with the final album, does it come up to your expectations?
Marco Hietala: We’re happy! We managed to keep the trademarks like the basic groove of a - 70s rock band and coated it into a titanium harness of 2010. And all the contrasts seem to work well together. Of course the public will decide the ultimate worth of ‘Gravity of Light’.

Kira: What’s the intention behind the album title ‘Gravity of Light’?
Marco Hietala: It’s a kind of a theme that runs through different songs on the album. I guess that the most obvious thing in the lyrics is that, as a writer I cannot trust these people who are force-feeding their light to you. Politicians, religious people, philosophers and such. Their enlightenment is oppressive and heavy. Their constantly at your back with their systems, ensnaring the weak and endangering everyone else. Didn’t Bush and Osama both say that God is on their side? Total bullshit! What’s wrong in being yourself and finding balance in your way?

Kira: When German’s think of Finland, the first thought is always: darkness (followed by mosquitoes and vodka). Would you say there’s a connection (or influence) between the amount of dark winter days and metal from Finland?
Marco Hietala: Darkness is where you get the mood! Mosquitoes are where you get the rage! Vodka is where you get the energy! Seriously: this has been thought about a lot and I’d say it’s very much possible. Even likely. However, I’m not qualified to say. I’m inside the business and that ruins my objectivity.

Kira: The biggest TAROT trademark sign is the sound which is going back to the roots of good, traditional heavy metal. Would you say that TAROT is a base for you and your music development?
Marco Hietala: TAROT is probably the platform where I try out the things I’ve learned. The old school metal that I grew up with is just one part of it. I use my studies in musical theory. Everything I’ve listened to and read and watched since I was a kid is in there somehow. Whether it’s your life or a novel or a movie, it’s always a matter of a study. In the end you get something tied to the times you live in anyway.

Kira: It’s it like a meeting good old friend, who never changes a lot whatever there’ll be?
Marco Hietala: Somewhat like it, but changes are no trouble if you can trust them to be good. In fact you need them in order to keep things interesting.

Kira: Do you think that tarot benefits from the international back-to-the-roots trend in metal?
Marco Hietala: That’s something we’ll just have to see again. We sure wouldn’t mind it. The road’s been long and hard already, and that’s one thing we definitely would like to change.

Kira: Will there be again a European tour in 2010?
Marco Hietala: We’re working on booking it as we speak.

Kira: Which band would be your number one candidate to go on tour with?
Marco Hietala: Damn if I know! There’s so many friends already in the business, that almost anybody goes. We’re easy going guys and don’t ask for much. Just let us do our jobs and everything’s fine.

Kira: The band is a long time in business. What are the best developments from the foundation of the band till now, what is worst for you?
Marco Hietala: The best thing probably is that we’ve grown to accept each other as players and people, without any preconceptions or prejudices. Of course we might not agree on some things, but you learn to look over it and concentrate on the essentials. The worst thing for me is that I don’t have time enough to rehearse and go over things with the guys on a face to face basis. I think we could work out a lot more kick-ass solutions that way.

Kira: How did you luckily survive with TAROT till today?
Marco Hietala: The most important thing here is the personal chemistry. We’ve had our ups and downs but we’ve always come together after whatever trouble. We also watch each other’s backs whenever need be. And of course we like to do the kind of music that we make.

Kira: The last album ‘Crows fly black’ was recorded on the run. Did you take yourself more time with ‘Gravity of light’?
Marco Hietala: I think we used less time for this album than for the two previous ones. We just had so much stuff ready for it. I was playing really a lot of acoustic on NIGHTWISH tour at the backstage and such. Lot of that stuff ended up on the album. Zac and Janne had demoed from 10 to 20 ideas both. After NIGHTWISH tour we just got together and started to go over everything. Bam! In two months we were in studio recording the album. Lyrics were exceptionally painless to write this time too. I just let them find a life of their own and it was an almost continuous flow.

Kira: Why is the video ‘I walk forever’ being filmed in Egypt?
Marco Hietala: It was the idea of the director Ville Lipiäinen to go over there. He said that we will get the kind of surroundings in two days that would take a month with CGI, and cost ten times as much. In hindsight I really think he was right. I’ve seen the video and it does have a certain kind of ageless majesty, which we couldn’t have found otherwise...

Interview by Kira Appelt (in German) for Legacy Magazine
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