Fine, thanks for the interview! Album is out and we are on full force. We have played some dates in Finland advertising Dark Half Rising so let's see what winter and spring will bring!

We have identified ourselves as a Druid Metal band for quite a long time now. I think we've never really represented Gothic Metal. Maybe the melancholic melodies and female vocals combined with heavy guitars has something to do this (affiliation with Gothic Metal) plus maybe some (of our) promo photos. However, we do not have particularly sad songs about lost vampire romances or castles bathing in moonlight. The music of UNSHINE wells from the veins of Mother Earth, from the visible and invisible sides of nature. The new album is much more focused, both musically and lyrically than its predecessors. It is also a themed entity with an interesting connection to real history, if I may say so.

It's very nice if you also think that it is better than the earlier ones. There's actually been some time since the last album and the band has evolved and hopefully also our music. It's always good to learn from the past, but it's important to remember that you should also remember those parts that should be preserved in the music. Maybe we know now a bit more about production and things like that, but the most important part is we know each other much better in this band and we respect the individual qualities of the band members.

Usually, it's me who generates the basic compositions and lyrics. Of course then Susanna does part of the songs, she writes both music and lyrics. A good song is a one that starts humming in your head and won't leave from there until it's written down or recorded! I usually prepare the demos of the songs at my home studio. With this album, we concentrated very much also on the arrangements and those things were shaped at the band rehearsals. It was important for us that everyone could bring ideas that were included in the arrangements. We're not considering bringing in permanent male vocals, maybe a guest someday, but only time will tell. Susanna has a very different style compared to most of the soprano-style singers in similar bands and we would not be UNSHINE without her. I guess, with Dark Half Rising we tried to stretch our musical boundaries and created a bunch of very different songs. Our agenda is to intercept the destructive madhouse created by mankind. To turn us back to where we belong to: nature.

I'm pretty much interested on the music of seventies. I think that decade produced music that was free from the, say, current pressure of entertainment industry, so that time produced very liberal music. My current favourites include bands like CAMEL, KING CRIMSON, JETHRO TULL, (the latter years of) LED ZEPPELIN and especially analog synthesizer music like TANGERINE DREAM and KLAUS SCHULZE. As a vinyl collector I also enjoy soundtracks from The Wicker Man, Clockwork Orange and Twin Peaks. From the Metal side, I think MASTODON is the best band of the 21st century. Susanna has a fixation with traditional Finnish music and that shows up (in our records) especially in the melodies. The other guys are much more Metal-orientated than I am. They love stuff like BOLT THROWER, EXODUS, MOONSORROW and AMON AMARTH. Considering our position in the Finnish scene today, I think we are raising our head. We've noticed little things like getting really good reviews in Finnish magazines, radio interviews and some pretty fanatic fans, too. That's all very cool.

The metal scene in Finland is of course very active and alive. Unfortunately, there are so many bands nowadays that it is getting more and more difficult to get gigs here. We have only five million people in this big country and the number of places where metal bands can play is very limited. A Finnish tour is going on at the moment, so that's nice. We (also) have one more concert coming this week. We hope that we get lots of festivals next year and we're are really working along with our agency to tour in Europe soon.

For the readers: Thanks for your time, (we) hope to play in Greece soon. Stay Metal and respect the old nature gods!