'Dancefloor Killers'

It's called Take Another Life. The band is Kill The Romance. Locomotive Records, this past April, released the debut recording of a band that comes to the fore with high anticipation.

Born in Finland, Kill The Romance — Mika Tanttu, Ville Hovi, Tomi Luoma, Antti Kakkonen and Raimo Posti — gathered up its various influences from a host of previous projects that traversed such ground as Death Metal, Thrash, Traditional and Power to coalesce in what has become Take Another Life, a lesson in Pure Modern Metal.

Far from their self-titled 2004 debut EP; far from their 2005 Logical Killing Project EP; far from their 2006 Cyanide EP; Take Another Life shows a band maturing into modernity.

There’s a reason Kill The Romance was chosen from a 150-band lot to perform at the prestigious Finnish Metal Expo, where they slayed so profoundly that gigs at Tuska Open Air, Nummirock and Wacken Open Air fests opened up to them. The reason can be found within the 11 tracks of Take Another Life. Take a listen!

Taking it from the top and what were your musical influences growing up and how many still factor into your music today? "There are as many influences as there are members in our band. We have mr. Hollywood, a little punk, a rock addict, a Marty Friedman- wannabe and a non-stop metalhead in our band. But I guess I can say that there is one band everyone can relate to somehow and that’s Metallica. And it’s still part of us but not necessarily in Kill The Romance’s music."

For the Average Joe who may not have heard of you and was thinking of buying your new CD, how would you yourself describe your sound? "If you’ve missed Megadeth, Soilwork, Strapping Young Lad, Unearth and Helloween you don’t have to buy all those cds because we sound a mix of those.:) It’s hard to say after one release if we’re going to stick with where we were in Take Another Life because it is a cross section of our three year history. But I guess our trademarks are recognisable riffs and choruses."

Your album title 'Take Another Life' is an interesting choice, but perhaps it has more of a personal meaning to you?! "We wanted it to mean something more for us than to just be a cool name. It’s linked into our lyrics. It kinda says what most of the lyrics are about, though it’s not a concept-album."

And just where does the bands name originate? "Originally it was a name of a song that we used to sing to someone who had done something not so romantic, usually something that had something to do with alcohol and stupidity. But now I guess it just tells you what kind of persons there are behind the band."

Being that you were formed in Finland, is there a huge want for aggressive death/thrash metal over there that I was not aware of? "I don’t know is there any specific need for any trash/death bands anymore, though Finland is a complete metal county. I think metal is just very trendy nowadays. Teenagers are wearing Iron Maiden-shirts believing it’s a new clothe-sing and that kinda sh*t. But sure there is always room for a good metal band."

How easy (or hard) is it to constantly create a new, vibrant, wanted-by-the-public sound that both builds on and surpasses the musical wonderment's/accomplishments that preceded it within the industry? "Well, if not impossible then veeeery hard. It’s very difficult to do what Black Sabbath did it the seventies or Beatles in the sixties, or even what Devin Townsend is doing now. What new can you come up with these days! We first tried to figure out things from perspective where it wasn’t ok to sound familiar or to be easily categorized. It didn’t work for us. It was too discouraging and we wanted it to be fun. But I think good songs never lost their attraction and that’s where we’re aiming at."

Please tell us more about a couple of the new songs on this major label debut that are the most personal to you ... and why? "I can only speak on my behalf now. I’m Alive is one because it is so ambitious both musically and lyrically. It has a little story about anger and rage and it suits perfectly on the musical structure. It has everything what Kill The Romance is about in Take Another Life. Little instrumental tricks there and there and still it goes on nicely all the time. Antti does a remarkable solo there. I think it’s a perfect opener for the record. The other choice for me is Friend. I love its atmosphere and attitude. It has one of the best lyrics I’ve written and it’s fucking fast!"

In a romantic moment with your lady, what thing above all things could happen that would quite literally 'kill the romance'?! "Just us being there!"

If asked to record one for charity, what well-known '80s (and possibly cheesy!) pop/rock song would you love to cover today ... and why?! "Oh dear… I’d say Runaway from Bon Jovi if that’s cheesy enough. It’s a good song and simple enough."

Lastly, Exclusive Magazine love Penguins ... do you?! "We love walruses!"

Interviewed by Russell A. Trunk

www.KillTheRomance.com

www.LocomotiveRecords.com

To win a signed CD of Kill The Romance, just answer this easy question: Kill The Romance recorded their self-entitled mini-CD in july 2004. It got some great reviews from all over the world. At the same time band signed a one year promotion contract with which record label?!