(promotion)* Finland is known as the land of heavy metal. Today, I would like to present you the Finnish band Bailout, a really cool alternative metal and hard rock band from Jyväskylä. The band has developed a fascinating music style. The five guys combine groovy heavy metal and hard rock vibes with melodic trumpet melodies. In February the band released their second album “Road to Redemption”. I talked to the Bailout lead guitarists Teemu and Simo about their new album and how it is for a rising Finnish metal band, to be able to survive during corona crises and in the heavy metal music business in general.
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Interview with Teemu and Simo of the Finnish heavy metal and alternative hard rock band Bailout
Finntastic:
Moikka, hauskaa tavata! Nice to meet you guys! You released your second album „Road to Redemption“ in February this year. But before we start to talk about your music style and the new album, just tell us a bit about the band and the band history. How does everything get started?
Simo:
Moi! Thanks for inviting us to this interview. Everything started, when Teemu, Joel and me, were in military service in 2009. Teemu and I played in a military band together and near to the end of service, Teemu and I thought, that maybe we should try to do music together in the future. After the service we started to do songs together. We lived all in a place called Kotka, which is a town in Southern Finland.
It was our hometown and we didn’t have any job or studies at that time, so it was a favourable time for this kind of thing. When we had a couple of songs ready, we asked Teemu`s old highschool friends Antti Rantavuo to play the drums and Stavros Lehtomäki to play the bass in our new group. They were interested and said yes. But we needed a lead singer too, so we asked Joel to join the group, because we knew, that he can sing and he also sang in our military band. Joel was interested too and that’s how the first line up started.
Teemu:
Yep, that’s how it went. When we were in the military marching band, I played the bass drum and Simo the cymbals. Luckily, we can stick to playing guitar these days. We all had previous experience in former bands. I had played in two bands before Bailout. My first band named Symptomn, which was an old-school death metal band. Our first bass player Stavros was the vocalist in that band! I also played in Rip Off, which played some sort of melodic thrash metal. Our first drummer Antti played in that band also.
Finntastic:
And what does your band name „Bailout“ stand for? How do you get the idea for it?
Simo:
We were in a bar together and we thought of different kinds of name ideas, which could sound good for this band. At that time it didn`t have any special meaning for us. We just thought, that the name “Bailout” sounds and looks great for us.
Teemu:
Yeah we thought, that Bailout looks and sounds good. For me “Bailout” means the way out from normal boring life to a realm, where rhythms, melodies, riffs and noises rules bear the essential meanings for life.
Finntastic:
Finland is known worldwide as the „land of the most metal and rock bands per capita“. How easy is it for a young rock or metal bands like you, to stand out from the mass and reach a bigger audience these days?
Simo:
Well, it’s not easy for sure. Of course nowadays, when we have internet and social media. It’s more simple to release music and reach the audience, than for example in the 1970s or 1980s or whatever. But I’m not saying, it would be easier, because there are so much bands out there and music is on offer more than ever.
Teemu:
Yeah, it can be tricky. As an independent band, we would have to be super active in promoting and marketing the music in various clever ways constantly. Having a record label and manager, doing promotion, would definitely help. We like to focus on making better songs and playing music instead of spending our time coming up with crazy marketing schemes.
Finntastic:
Which Finnish or international musicians or bands have influenced your music and which genre would you say, will characterize your music style?
Simo:
I listen to a lot of rock and pop bands from the 1080s, a lot of progressive stuff from all eras and sometimes classical music too. There are too many bands and examples to mention. We all have our own personal influences and everyone’s music taste is quite wide. And I think it is reflected in our music as well. So maybe that’s, why we call our music often alternative hard rock too.
Teemu:
I started out listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and old synthesizer albums, when I was a kid. Later, I moved to heavier stuff as a teenager. I was really into thrash and death metal in highschool. Nowadays, my music preferences change between few week or few month long periods.
Finntastic:
In the music video of your Song „A Call to Leave“ from your debut album “As the Winds Blow On…” from 2016, I saw and hear that you combine groovy e-guitar riffs and brilliant trumpet solos.
How did you come up with the idea to combine rock and metal music with classical elements?
Simo:
Well, Joel plays the trumpet, so maybe we just thought, that it would be a cool experiment to mix that instrument in that kind of music. And we want to use that instrument as elegantly as possible, not just cram it stupidly in every place.
(VIDEO: Bailout) The sound of a trumpet mixed with metal and hard rock vibes characterizes the sound of Bailout, like in the song “A Call to Leave” from the first album “As the Winds Blow on.”
Finntastic:
And who is writing all your songs?
Simo:
Mostly, Teemu and I compose the music – sometimes by ourselves and sometimes together. Joel writes a lot of lyrics and Teemu writes lyrics as well. But of course, if someone else in the band has ideas or songs, they can bring them to the table. We are a pretty democratic band.*smiles*
Finntastic:
On February 21st, 2020, you released your second album with the title “Road to Redemption“. What does the title mean and what kind of music we will find on the album?
Teemu:
First of all, we think, that this album is the best Bailout sampler so far and we are really happy with it. Still I personally feel, that this album is only a prelude to something bigger yet to come. We recorded the album from spring to summer 2018 and since the publishing process took this long, there was time for some changes to happen in both creative visions and the line up of the band.
This album was published in a time when the “winds of change” had been blowing for a while within the band. So for me the name “Road to Redemption” refers firstly to this particular time in the band’s story. Thematically the name refers more to the journey, which mankind would need to travel to make up for the problems they have left for the next generations. On the individual level the name refers to personal growth.
The album has rock and metal sounds, vocal harmonies, melodic hooks and progressive elements. For example “Ozymandias” and “Road to Redemption” are more straightforward heavy rock songs, whereas “Into the Light” and “Raison d’être” have more progressive rock vibes. By the way, you can buy our new album digitally from our bandcamp and hopefully in physical form later this year on gigs. Let’s see how the situation evolves.
Finntastic:
I read on your Facebook page, that you rented in 2018 an old building in Kotka, where you installed your own home recording studio.
How did you come up with the idea to record your second album on your own? And what about mixing and mastering? Did you do that on your own too?
Teemu:
We wanted to get a peaceful environment to focus on music without any distractions and record the album in peace. We found this perfect place, but we were kicked out from there after a week due to “animal-like” parties! We did behave well, but apparently there was some neighbour, who didn’t like our music or something. We were pretty upset about that for a while, since the album was not finished yet! Luckily, we got to set up the studio to my parents place and finished the album there. Our buddy Saku Moilanen mixed and mastered the album.
(VIDEO: Manu Mäkinen) “A new Day” was the first EP of Bailout with five rocking songs, like the song “Free Spirit Flame”.
Finntastic:
Your EP „A new Day“ was published in 2012. Your first album “As the Winds Blow On.“ in 2016. Would you say, your music style has changed over the years?
Simo:
Well, maybe some things have changed a little bit over the years, but not so radically. I think that all our records are a little bit different to each other and of course you should not make a same record over and over again. You should always try to develop your sound and bring something different on the table than the last time.
Teemu:
Yeah, the style is maybe a bit heavier nowadays, but the core is still the same.
(VIDEO: Bailout) This rocking song is called “Road to Redemption” and is one of the songs of the album with the same name, published in February 2020.
Finntastic:
Where in Finland or abroad have you already been on stage so far? How would you describe your live gigs and what can the audience expect from your live shows?
Simo:
So far, we have only played in Finland and cities like Jyväskylä, Tampere, Helsinki, Kuopio and Kotka. But I hope, that in the future we will play in other countries too, because we know that there might be listeners out there.
Finntastic:
Is there some concert, which has been so special for you, that you will keep in mind forever? Or could you remember one really strange situation on or offside the stage together with the band, you will never forget?
Teemu:
I really liked one of our gigs at our friends garage at a house party. There were maybe ten people in the place, but it was so packed and hot as hell. Couldn’t almost play, since the guitar was so sweaty *laughing* I also remember the drinking competition between our first bass player Stavros and drummer Antti after a gig in Kotka in November many years back. There was free beer on tap for us for the whole night and the boys got quite wasted. I think Stavros won. The next day, when we were carrying our gear from the bar, the crows were feasting at the yard on the spoils of war, left from the competition. *laughing*
Finntastic:
How is the situation at the moment for you as a band in reference to the corona crisis. Do you already have plans for new concerts and festivals when it‘s over?
Simo:
We played two gigs, when we released that new album and we were supposed to have another gig in April 2020, but it was cancelled, because this corona crisis came in. Now we just try to promote our new album as much as we can and we also started to write some new material. We don’t have any gigs planned or confirmed in the future right now, but let’s see if we can come up with something.
Finntastic:
Finally, do you have some insider Finland travel tips for my blog readers? What should we visit, when travelling especially to Kotka and the region?
Simo:
If you visit Kotka, you should go to “Sapokka” water garden which is a really beautiful place. Also the sea and all the islands around it are great. And visit also Kotkan Meripäivät Festival, which is normally held every summer in July!
Teemu:
Yeah the sea is awesome! Jump on a boat for a few euros and go to Varissaari, which is a small nice island near the coast. Also at summertime, there are a lot of nice parks around Kotka, which are worth visiting.
Finntastic:
Thank you for the inspiring interview. I am looking forward to listen to your new album!
Simo:
Thank you again for interviewing us! Hope to see you at some of our future gigs in Finland!
Teemu:
Thanks!
About the Finnish alternative metal and hard rock band Bailout
Bailout is a Finnish alternative metal and hard rock band from Jyväskylä, founded in Kotka, Southern Finland, in 2010 by the two lead guitarists Simo Andersén and Teemu Uimonen during their military service. Other recent members are Joel Vuohelainen (vocals, trumpet), Ilmari Ahlgrén (bass guitar) and Markus Haapaniemi, who replaced Aleksi Rantanen as a drummer. Now the band has their head quarter in Jyväskylä.
Their music can be described as catchy heavy rock music with a dash of progressive hard rock and trumpet solos. First gigs and a demo tape called “Full Throttle” (2011) followed already six months after the band started to make music together in 2010.
The first EP is called „A New Day“ (2012). In 2016 the band released their debut album „As the Winds Blow On…“. The second album „Road to Redemption“, was published in February 21st, 2020. All songs of the second album where mixed and mastered by the famous Finnish producer Saku Moilanen, who already mixed and mastered music for the Finnish doom metal band Red Moon Architect. Moilanen has also already produced songs for the famous Finnish death metal band Wolfheart.
More Information about the band Bailout on Facebook and Instagram. Moreover, you can listen to the music of the guys on Spotify or Youtube.
“As the Winds Blow On” – Prize Draw
If you like to win one of two Bailout CDs of “As the Winds Blow On”, just answer the following two questions, post your answer in a comment under this blog post and you will automatically enter the prize draw!
Questions:
- What characterizes the music style of the Finnish band Bailout from Jyväskylä?
- What do you like about the music of Bailout? Or which song of the band do you like the most?
*This blog post is a cooperation with the Finnish alternative metal and hard rock band Bailout, who provided two CDs of their first album “As the Winds Blow On” for this prize competition.
Terms of participation, competition guidelines and data protection and privacy policy
By participating at this prize competition, the participants accept the following terms of participation, competition guidelines and privacy policy.
Applicable Law for this prize competition is the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. If individual conditions of participation and/or competition guidelines be or will have become invalid, the validity of the remaining guidelines will remain unaffected.
Terms of participation
The competition is open to any person aged 18 years or older, who is primarily resident of the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy and Canada. The participation in the competition is only possible online via this blog post at www.finntastic.de. The participation is free of charge. The participants will not incur any expenses (not either for packaging and postage)! All lottery prizes due to the fact that they are not high-priced, will be send in general uninsured.
Each person may only enter the competition once. Multiple participations e.g. with different name profiles or e-mail addresses are not permitted and will automatically lead to an exclusion from the competition, in case it becomes obvious.
To participate in this raffle, the participants must answer the two following questions and have to post their answer in a comment under the blogpost:
- What characterizes the music style of the Finnish band Bailout from Jyväskylä?
- What do you like about the music of Bailout? Or which song of the band do you like the most?
Among all participants of the “As the Winds Blow On” prize draw we raffle two Bailout albums “As the Winds Blow On”. Material prizes are not paid out in cash and are excluded from exchange. Winnings cannot be transferred to third parties. There is no warranty or guarantee claim on the prize. Legal recourse is excluded.
Competition procedure
The competition runs from May 2nd, 2020 until June 2nd, 2020 exclusively on www.finntastic.de. The closing date for a participation is June 2nd, 2020 at 11:59 p.m..Subsequent solutions and comments, which will be send after this date, cannot be considered for this prize competition.
The determining of the eligibility of the participation as well as the prize draw will take place on June 3rd, 2020. The prices (see section: prize/profit), provided by the Finnish alternative metal and hard rock band Bailout from Finland will be raffled among all participants, who fulfill the terms of participation. The winner will be selected at random. The winner will be notified by email.
In case of winning, Finntastic needs the correct first and last name as well as the postal address of the winners. These informations will only be passed on to the band Bailout, who will be shipping the prize later on. If one of the winners will not reply within seven days after being notified by e-mail, the claim to the prize will lapse and a new winner will be selected.
Exclusion of participants
Finntastic reserves the right to exclude or delete participants from the participation, if they fail to complete the task or violate the conditions of participation or the competition guidelines. Participants, who manipulate the raffle (e.g. by entering several e-mail addresses or name profiles) can be excluded from the prize draw, when noticed. If a manipulation is figured out later, prizes can even be subsequently withdrawn and prizes already delivered can be reclaimed. Moreover, the misuse of somebody else’s name will also lead to an exclusion from the raffle!
Cancellation/ Suspension of the competition
Finntastic reserves the right to cancel or interrupt the competition if she becomes aware of any manipulations or if it is no longer certain that the competition will be carried out properly. This applies for instance in case of hardware or software failures, program errors or unauthorized intervention by third parties (e.g. computer viruses, cyber-attacks) or if there will exist legal problems.
Data protection and privacy policy
As far as personal data of participants are collected for the prize competition (e.g. first name, surname or nickname, postal adress, e-mail address), these personal data will only be collected, processed and used by Finntastic for carrying out the prize competition. No data will be passed on to third parties, with the exception of the band Bailout, who need this data for shipping the prize to the winner later on.
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This is a private prize competition, organized by Inken Paletta, Josef-Brix-Straße 42, 65187 Wiesbaden, Germany, the site operator of www.finntastic.de (For more information: see imprint). The prizes (see also section prize/profit) was provided to the site operator by the Finnish alternative metal band and hard rock Bailout. The raffle is not connected to any other companies or persons and even not to social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
The recipient of the personal data and information provided by the participants, thus the contact person and person responsible for this prize draw, is only the website operator of www.finntastic.de. All questions, comments and complaints concerning this competition should therefore be directed to info@finntastic.de.
Disclaimer/Exclusion of liability
The organizer (which means the website operator of www.finntastic.de) as well as the companies Finnish Plant and Little Finland are not liable for the shipping risk. Moreover, the organizer of this prize competition (which means the website operator of www.finntastic.de) is not liable for direct or indirect damages resulting from the participation or the inaccessibility of the internet server. Unless they are due to gross negligence or wilful misconduct, for which the organizer is responsible. Legal recourse therefore is excluded.