The Howl

Members

Hannu Lindholm (G&V), Ari “Arse” Ojanperä (B) and Timo Lindholm (D)

Where in Finland are you from?

The Howl comes from Tornio, a border town in northern Finland.

How would you describe your band for those who don’t know you?

Simple, fast and brutal (and by simple we don’t mean no brain damaged monkey simple).

When did you form as a group?

The Howl was formed in 1998, but we have been playing as a group all the way from 1997.

What was the inspiration for your recent album?

Timo:

For me it was the fact that we are actually making a full length album for the first time. All the previous releases were short ep’s and this time it was going to be different, and of course the fact that I had total confidence in the new songs.

Hannu:

For me the inspiration is always the same: To make songs I enjoy playing. More songs = more fun.

What other releases do you have?

Here’s what we have released so far, all of them are financed by us and released with no outside help or a label.

1. Untitled Demo 2001
2. Untitled Demo 2003
3. Untitled Demo 2004
4. Land Of The Lefthanded EP 2006
5. The Freak Was Born Again EP 2007
6. Skins Of Our Backs 2010

What is your favorite song on your most recent album?

Timo:

At the moment it’s U.F.O Witness, but that changes from time to time.

Hannu:

Pile It Up

Ari:

No Ghouls

Do you have any gigs coming up?

Only one at the moment, it’s pretty difficult to get gigs these days. We are playing at The Blues Station in Tornio, in 24th of April, hope to see lots of headbangers there.

What’s your favorite type of venue to play?

Timo:

Small clubs with a decent stage are always nice, the atmosphere is stunning in smaller clubs.

Hannu:

Yeah I’m sick and tired of playing big stadium gigs. I prefer smaller venues.

If you could play anywhere in the world this week, where would it be?

Timo:

I personally would like to play at Wacken Open Air again, but if it has to happen during this week I guess it could be a small club in London.

Do you have a Website, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc?

• MySpace
• Facebook
• YouTube

What are your influences as a band?

Pantera, early Metallica, S.O.D, Entombed, Misfits…all the greats.

People who enjoy your music tend to like what other bands?

Check the list above and add some more heavy shit like: Slayer, Motörhead, Strapping Young Lad, Pro-Pain, At The Gates, The Haunted…this list could go on forever if I don’t stop now.

Are you signed to a label?

No, and looks like we never will, one could think it would have happened already but no, we’ll continue to release our records by ourselves.

Where do you think you’ll be as a band in 5 years?

In five years I think we have released another 1-2 records and hopefully got to play shows on a regular basis, and perhaps a few shows outside Finland too.

Is there anything else people should know about The Howl?

Well, we are not trying to be anything else that we are. We just like to play fast and loud, check our music and I’ll believe that you agree. Crack open the beers and let’s do some damage!

The Howl, 8.6 out of 10 based on 13 ratings