Vorna recently released their incredible new single Aalloista. Eager to find out more, we quizzed them about the song – and also reviewed the song. Get involved below!
So you’ve just released your new single Aalloista – what’s the story behind the song?
It’s basically a song about the circle of life. How life essentially creates death or, to put it in another way, keeps moving forward and changing its form. Every life also leaves different kinds of traces of itself behind but even those are bound to fade or change in time. Be it something concrete or memories of someone who is no longer here.
Can you describe the writing and recording process for it?
Aalloista almost became our first “three-minute radio hit”. The first version that Arttu (the main composer of this song) brought us was relatively brief and catchy as hell. Then we thought there is this one part that should be changed… yes… Before we even realised it, there were like five new parts and over 8 minutes of length. Of course, accidents happen and this was a fortunate one. And it’s still catchy as hell.
Recording process was a bit different this time as we recorded all of the other instruments and vocals in our home studios BEFORE the drum recordings at Electric Fox Studios. This was mainly due to our strict schedule but everything turned out fine and the good thing was Mikael could have the best possible backing tracks while beating his drums. Otherwise, it was pretty much the same old story: everyone is late, deadline is near, despair is real but the results are surprisingly ideal!
Like you did with your second album, Aalloista takes a slightly different musical direction to your past material again – was this a natural progression or was it a conscious decision to do something different?
You could say it’s a little bit of both. We don’t want to repeat ourselves too much so from that perspective it’s a conscious decision. But for the most part it’s natural progression. We aren’t such professional songwriters yet so that we could just produce whatever uninspired shit happens to come to mind without it being shitty. It’d have to be something we want to do and find interesting. And what one wants or finds interesting is generally an ever-changing thing.
Still, we think it’s important to have a feel of continuity in Vorna’s sound so we most likely won’t be doing something completely out of hand, completely out of nowhere. Anyhow, luckily – especially for the fans who are afraid of all change – we all still very much like the basic elements that have been present in our music since from the very beginning; melancholic atmospheres and wistful melodies. Atmospheres and melodies have always been the number one things for us. Tools of expression are secondary. There certainly is a lot to be done and many places to be explored inside of those frames.
What made you choose to release this song as a single?
There are at least a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s a bloody good song. It has a nice, fresh sound and we wanted see how people will react to it. Aalloista was also the first new song that was – partly intentionally – completely finished. It was practical to choose it to be a single because we wanted to release a new song before we start touring and we we’re in a hurry already.
Is it a standalone piece, or can fans expect more new material over the coming months?
It’s a standalone. We don’t have any concrete plans or concept for our next album yet. Thus, Aalloista is not a part of something bigger at this point at least. That doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t be releasing more songs if we feel like it, though.
Who designed the single cover, and is there a story behind it?
The artwork is made by Jarno Lahti; the same gentleman who is responsible for the Ei valo minua seuraa artwork. The working method was also the same: we sent Jarno the lyrics and some raw visions we had and he had free reign to make his own interpretation. He did – once again – a magnificent job capturing the essence of the song in the visual form.
And what’s in store for Vorna for the rest of the year?
Our main focus is on touring at the moment. But if everything goes as planned, there will be other things as well to look forward to before the end of the year. Until then!
Aalloista Review
Wow. That’s a word that can certainly sum up this incredible new song from the Finnish six-piece – Aalloista is by far one of their strongest pieces of their career thus far and if you haven’t heard it yet, then what on earth are you waiting for?!
Having discovered Vorna as they were getting ready to release their debut album Ajastaika, I’ve watched them grow and evolve from that point and it’s always good when a band doesn’t stick to the same rigid format for every single release – if a band keeps on releasing identical material to their previous releases, it gets stagnant very quickly. Aalloista is no exception to this, and sees the band take a more melodic approach this time round. With their past releases, the songs have been oriented more around harsh vocals, this one is led by clean vocals and they slot in perfectly to the gentle atmosphere created by the lush instrumentation in the introduction. As the track progresses, there’s also plenty of harsh vocals to contend with during the heavier sections and the two different approaches fit perfectly for their respective appearances in the song.
Like with their previous album Ei valo minua seuraa, the synths in this song are one of its strongest elements and they add a great deal of atmosphere and ambience to Aalloista, giving it an extra lift and the way they move with the guitars in the introduction works really well and helps the song leave an impression on you. Additionally, the way the song comes full circle at the end, finishing with the same synth sounds as the ones in the intro, is a very nice touch.
As a whole, Aalloista is indeed a mighty song. It’s an addictive piece you’ll keep wanting to return to, and the sheer emotiveness in every element of the track is something to behold. Make sure you don’t let this piece of art pass you by.
Aalloista is out now – pick it up from their bandcamp for the extremely reasonable price of just 1€!
You can also catch Vorna at the following dates in Finland:
October 07: Rock Bar Monttu, Pori
October 15: Bar Bäkkäri, Helsinki
November 25: Blackpool, Jarvenpaa
December 03: Suistoklubi, Hameenlinna
January 20-21: JKL Metalfest, Jyväskylä
