AITTALA are a three-piece metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The band first formed in 1991 in the Netherlands, while Eric Eric Aittala (vocals / guitar) was stationed there with the US military. That first version lasted two years. After a long break, Eric brought AITTALA back in 2008, and the band has stayed active since then. Across that time, they have released six full-length albums and three EPs.
Their music pulls from several heavy traditions, from doom and classic metal to thrash, progressive metal and hard rock. The band simply call it metal, although “Eclectic Doom” has become a useful way to describe the range of their sound.
AITTALA spoke with AFRICA.ROCKS about Ill-Gotten Gains, “Isolation”, writing across different metal traditions, and joining the first AFRICA.ROCKS sampler CD, which is being distributed in South Africa.
“We wanted to set a dark tone right out of the gate and prepare listeners for the dark and melancholy journey ahead.”
“Isolation” opens the EP, and it drops the listener straight into a tense headspace. What made that the right song to lead with?
You hit the nail on the head. We opened the EP with that song for that exact reason. We wanted to set a dark tone right out of the gate and prepare listeners for the dark and melancholy journey ahead.
Ill-Gotten Gains feels tightly written, though there is still a lot going on inside it. When you were putting this EP together, what held these five songs together for you?
Writing is organic for me, meaning I do not think about songs necessarily fitting together in any particular way. Since I am the main songwriter, there is unconsciously an underlying glue that binds all AITTALA songs together in a cohesive way. The songs may be different, but you will always hear the “AITTALA” in them.
AITTALA pull from a lot of different metal traditions. On “Isolation” in particular, where do you feel the doom side speaks the loudest, and where do the other parts of the band start pushing in?
That is a great question, and I do not have a great answer for it. When I write, I do not think in terms of what genre a song will fall into. I leave classifications to the listener and let them decide which genre shelf to put the song on.
The lyrics around Ill-Gotten Gains deal with chaos, consequences and the damage people leave behind. What drew you to start the EP with “Isolation” as the first expression of that?
As I mentioned earlier, it was more about setting the dark and melancholy mood for the EP than the lyrics themselves. I would say the lyrics of “Isolation” start the EP with a song inspired by personal events. The chorus says it all:
“You’ve burned your bridges so you can’t return
Now you’re stranded and it’s none of my concern
Your desperation will lead to your isolation”
You are part of the first AFRICA.ROCKS sampler CD, which will be distributed in South Africa. What made that worth joining for AITTALA, and what do you hope someone there picks up first when they hear “Isolation”?
We thought it would be a great opportunity to be part of a unique project and hopefully open up a new market for AITTALA and the other bands on the CD. We hope that anyone who listens to “Isolation” hears something unique that calls them to join the cult of AITTALA!
Listen to Atlas Vol. I on Spotify, and grab your physical copy in South Africa through Emalyth Events.
