Just hours before their debut Tuska Festival show, we caught up with Royal Sorrow, the Finnish progressive metal sensation making waves with their darkly mesmerizing sound. Singer Markus Hentunen, guitarist Eero Maijala, and drummer Janne Mieskonen opened up about the thrill of performing live, the creative energy that fuels their music, and what it feels like to bring their intensely emotional songs to the stage.
How did it feel stepping onto Tuska’s stage, knowing this is one of Finland’s most iconic metal festivals?
Markus Hentunen: It feels amazing. It’s a cool combination of—it’s finally happening—and a bit of anxiety about getting it out of the way.
Eero Maijala: Yeah, and it’s one of our favorite festivals. This is the best place to be, and since we all live close by, it feels kind of like a hometown show. It’s our debut ever, so there’s all sorts of exciting—and a little bit nerve-wracking—stuff, you know.
Do you approach a festival set like Tuska differently than any other show?
Janne Mieskonen: Yeah, obviously it’s a different environment. You have to plan everything around the set time and be really precise about how long your set is. But overall, it’s basically just another show, so it’s not that different… but…
Eero Maijala: Yeah, and maybe have those cool moments where a festival-goer—someone who’s just heard of the band or didn’t know anything—gets those really exciting, memorable experiences. So it’s kind of a bit flashier than if we were playing our own show somewhere, where we could include more mellow parts. Here, it’s more like… bam, bam, bam—you know, that sort of thing, usually.
How do you prepare mentally and physically before a show like this?
Janne Mieskonen: Well, we rehearse together a lot, and considering that this is our first show ever with Royal Sorrow, we practiced so much for it. It’s basically live debuts all around, so we have to practice every song.
Markus Hentunen: Yeah, it’s mostly about playing together, but also about getting into the zone a bit—not meditation exactly, but clearing your mind and focusing on the fact that today we play. Everything else can wait, and you just concentrate on the day.
Eero Maijala: Yeah, one thing we’ve noticed—and we always talk about this—is that our necks are absolutely killing us the next day. So we’ve been meticulous about it. Trivium’s guitarist does neck warm-ups before every show, and we drew inspiration from that. We’re definitely going to warm up our necks properly now.
What does a Royal Sorrow live show offer that the studio versions can’t, and how do you prepare mentally before going on stage?
Janne Mieskonen: Well, it’s similar to the studio version in the sense that it has a lot of dynamics, but we also added some arrangements that aren’t on the album. So… well, you’ll see. There are going to be different sections you won’t hear anywhere else, which is going to be really cool. We also like to improvise, so there’s going to be… Solos are going to be improvised, and there’ll be some interludes and other stuff. It’s going to be fun.
Markus Hentunen: I think, because our music is so dynamic, we really explore the contrast between the softest and the hardest parts. I’d say the live setting emphasizes that even more—you only get that full dynamic range when you hear it live. The loudest parts are actually really loud, so a lot of the songs finally get their deserved moment on stage.
What goes through your mind during a performance? Do you tap into a different mindset compared to the studio?
Eero Maijala: It’s kind of like… I would say performing is… you’re in a continuous flow.
It’s like a tunnel you’re moving through—just forward, forward, forward. You rarely stop to think about what’s going on. It’s more about intuition, just being present in the moment while everything happens.
In the studio, you get some of that, too, but it’s more about working with your brain rather than your heart and intuition. On stage, you’re feeding off the audience, and there’s this push-and-pull effect that happens.
Janne Mieskonen: You’ve got to feed off the audience’s energy, and personally, as the drummer, I usually just focus on… I don’t have to remember anything because I’ve practiced so much that I can just feel the songs and go with them. In the studio, I’m always trying to remember things and pinpoint every little detail. But here, I just go with the flow and perform. It’s completely different.
Markus Hentunen: That’s a cool point. The live experience flows so much better, especially compared to modern production techniques and styles. In the studio, you sing one sentence, then do it again, and again, and again. You’re stuck in the same moments, only progressing a little at a time. But live, you’re constantly moving to the next part and actually able to feel each moment.
Markus, as the vocalist, what’s the most important thing for you when showing vulnerability or rage through your vocals?
Markus Hentunen: I think there has to be a difference between technical purity and artistic interpretation. There are moments where you know what you want to convey, and you have to forget about the technically ‘right’ way to sing or scream, and focus on what feels right—what conveys the message best. Our music is full of moments like that, and it’s really interesting to go through those mental phases—taking yourself from the quiet, internal parts to the moments where you’re shouting to the world.
At that point, you have to think about the message more than the technique, I’d say.
Do you see yourself more as a musician, storyteller, or performer, or are those roles inseparable for you?
Markus Hentunen: It depends on the moment. I’d even say it changes during the gig itself. When I’m performing with Royal Sorrow, I see myself as… well, I don’t want to say a vessel, but someone who conveys the story while also embodying it. At the same time, I need to be the performer who acts it out, but I’m not just telling my own stories. I want to be the person who expresses everyone’s stories out loud. So it’s a combination of those things.
Who are your unexpected vocal influences outside of metal or rock?
Markus Hentunen: I do listen to a lot of pop music, which is really interesting. A lot of what I aspire to be as a metal singer comes from other metal bands, but I feel like I also take inspiration from the artists I listen to in pop. Who would I say is my influence? I’m not sure—I’d have to circle back to that.
The surprising part is that there’s a difference between what I try to sound like and what I actually end up sounding like. The latter is a combination of everything I’ve heard in my life, which is a lot more than just metal.
When people hear your music in 10 years, what do you hope they’ll feel?
Markus Hentunen: I hope that, first and foremost, people feel the message I’m singing, rather than just hearing some guy randomly perform. At the same time, I have ambitions to be a really technical singer—without straining my voice or losing it. It would be really cool to be someone that aspiring singers look up to, as in, ‘Okay, that’s the way to do it correctly.’ That’s a goal of mine.
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