In a dingy, tiny office above the Gorilla venue in Manchester ahead of Paradise Lost’s excellent show there, we sat down (*sort of. There was only one chair so I was given a suitcase to sit on) for a quick chat with their drummer Waltteri and quizzed him about touring.
So tonight is the final night of Paradise Lost’s UK tour. How has it all gone as a whole?
Really good! I have nothing to complain about really, it’s been really good. We’ve had great crowds every night and it has been a very easy-going tour. It’s only been a short run, eight days or so, but it’s been a great one.
Which show has been the most enjoyable for you?
Well, Dublin was amazing. The crowd was great and I think that has been the best one – so far, anyway!
I was at the Glasgow show last night and the crowd was awesome there so I can only imagine how good the crowd must have been in Dublin, then!
Yeah, that was a really cool crowd as well!
I loved the atmosphere during the last song of the night, Say Just Words, when everyone was jumping up and down – the floor was shaking beneath my feet!
The venue was freezing though!
Yeah, it was awful. Did it warm up onstage for you at all?
It did…but only a little.
It was so cold in the crowd all night, even with everyone moving about! I kept my jacket on.
When we were soundchecking we were all there with our jackets on going “fucking hell”!
What did make me laugh though was as soon as Nick addressed the crowd for the first time, he just went “it’s so cold!” …but then reached down and put the onstage fan on!
Yeah! (laughs)
Moving onto a more broader scale, you’ve not been in the band as long as all the others – so is there anywhere in the world you’d like to play with Paradise Lost that you haven’t yet made it to?
Hmm, Japan I think! I haven’t done many Asian shows with Paradise Lost so far – just Dubai and Israel – but I’d love to play in Japan or China. I think we’ll probably go there with the new album though. I’d really love to tour North America as well. We’ve done one-off shows but since I joined three years ago, we haven’t done a full tour over there. But it’s probably going to happen at some point!
So what would you say has been the best show you’ve played with the band so far?
That’s a tough one. I think one of my favourite ones was when we first played in Helsinki in 2015. A lot of my friends and family came to the show, which was really nice, so I think that’s been one of the highlights for me. However, there’s so many good shows that it’s so difficult to choose just one!
Did they make you speak to the crowd in Finnish?
No, no! (laughs) I’m too shy for that!
What about the strangest or weirdest show you’ve played?
That’s a tough one as well. (there is a long pause whilst he hums and haws over his decision) I guess Dubai, because of how surreal it was. There was a lot of people from Europe living in Dubai so it was a very mixed crowd as well. They were all so into it as well!
In just over a month, I’ll also be seeing you guys at the Dark Easter Metal Meeting in Germany. How will a show like that compare to one of the shows on this tour, considering you’ll be headlining a festival rather than just a show?
Oh wow, cool! I think it’s an indoor festival so it probably won’t be too different. Obviously there will be more bands and the crowd will be bigger though! I can’t wait for it. Plus, Bloodbath are playing as well!
I fucking love Bloodbath! So, moving onto my last question – if Paradise Lost could put their name to a product, what would it be and why?
I think red wine. It would fit in well with the whole gothic thing, wouldn’t it?
