Solitaire – I’m really fuckin’ proud of Predatress

Their website is under construction, so there ain’t that much information to be found on the world wide web. What we do know is that there has been a change in the line-up. Singer Mika left and guitarist Riku took over, doing the vocals and guitarplaying now. A fourth album out, Predatress. Well, time to have a chat with Riku.of the Finnish Solitaire. And of course we started with asking him about the change in line-up.

Why is Mika no longer member of Solitaire?
Riku: ‘Back in late 2006 he told us he wanted to leave the band. I guess he was tired and frustrated after so many years with Solitaire and not achieving any major success. There also was some personal stuff going on between him and the rest of the band. We weren't fighting or anything, but we were more or less pissed off with each other. We're not in contact with him anymore, but as far as I know he's doing fine. This was for the best for both parties, for him and for the band.’

Have you tried to find another singer, or did you decide to do this job by yourself immediately?
‘No, we didn't search for a new vocalist, I never even considered it, because back in the early years when we were looking for a vocalist, I remember it was really hard to find one. I didn’t want any of that bullshit anymore, so I decided to do the vocals by my own. It was actually very easy and a natural choice, because I write most of our songs: both the vocal lines and lyrics, so it definitely was the best solution for Solitaire. It also made it possible that the band could carry on almost right away. If we would have started looking for another vocalist, it would have taken ages and we never would have got the new Predatress album out by now.’

When did you start writing the new material, was it before or after you took over the microphone?
‘It was mostly after Mika’s departure. I had maybe a song or two, a couple of separate ideas before the line-up change, but the song writing procedure really took off after I decided to take care of the vocals. It really was a big relief for me, ‘cause I knew I didn’t have to try to teach my vision to anybody else anymore, which is always very difficult. It was great because I could really concentrate on creating really cool vocal lines, since it was all up to me now.’

In which way, the result is no different to the first three CDs?
‘There are differences and there are similarities. Musically the new Predatress album is still very high tempo, high energy, high aggression speed metal as we’ve done it before, but there's more variety now and I think it’s a step towards the more traditional heavy metal stuff with the riffs and arrangements. The vocals, of course, are the biggest difference compared to our previous albums. My style of singing is very different from my predecessor, my voice is a bit darker and deeper, my style is more melodic, a bit more technical and more in the vein of traditional heavy metal vocals than Mika's rather punk styled shouting. Soundwise Predatress is also much better, the sound is fuller and heavier this time with raw guitars screeching at the front with the vocals, which also made it sound much more aggressive and vital. This time the overall studio process took longer than ever before, we spent four months on recordings alone, which is really crazy for a band like us and I burned myself out pretty bad during that time. But it came out really cool in the end, we made no compromises, it’s pure Solitaire and I’m really fuckin’ proud of Predatress.’

Do you think you will sing the old stuff live like it has to be done?
‘Well, I don't know how people think it should be “done” and I don't even care. I sing the old stuff the way I always intended it to be with the original vocal lines I composed. We’ve done over a dozen gigs with me singing at the front and it’s been going really well, the crowds are really into it, so there never were problems with it. Of course it’s different to what it has been before and that’s how it’s supposed to be. I remember back in early 2007 we recorded a rehearsal tape with me singing some of our old songs, like Countdown and Rising To The Challenge and when we listened to it, Waaqqu came up to me and asked what the fuck this song was. He was really surprised there actually were such great vocal lines in the songs and he liked it very much and that’s also the feedback we get from our gigs, which is really cool.’

For me, the music is still the same high class raw speed metal, but I needed a few times to accept your different voice as the new Solitaire singer, how was it for you?
‘Well, many people had trouble accepting Mika as the Solitaire vocalist and they all have welcomed this line-up change with great enthusiasm. I never doubted myself, but I doubted what the people’s reactions would be. But then I heard a lot of criticism and not-so-tactful comments about Mika’s singing and actually some people asking "why doesn’t Riku sing himself in Solitaire...?" so from that point on I knew this was gonna work out great on all levels.’

Sometimes at some instrumental parts and/or breaks I think, that Solitaire are sounding right now, a bit more British…. What do you think about that?
‘We've always had a lot of NWOBHM influences in our music and attitude, so it's only great we could get that point across better this time. The guitar work on Predatress is definitely better, I think Waaqqu and me, we've developed a hell of a lot as guitarists in both ways, as individual musicians as well as team players as a unified two guitar section in the band. But we've been working like hell for it too, you know, in addition to band rehearsals we've always had a lot of guitar training together and I think some of Waaqqu's lead guitar work on the new album is absolutely brilliant.’

Meanwhile I think, that your more variable voice can open new doors for you. A great track like Rat Studded Maniac wouldn’t have been possible with Mika, or what do you think?
‘I think you're right. Rat Studded Maniac is a very versatile song and a bit different to what we wrote before. The vocal line's actually very melodic with a specific rhythm in the lyrics, so I think it would have been very difficult for Mika to sing. Like I said, his style was in fact quite punkish, you know, he was a bit out of tune and a bit out of time all the time. It worked great on some of the songs, but he had trouble with this kind of stuff with the melodies and timing.’

The cover artwork is absolutely great entertainment. Who is the girl at the cover?
‘It's Sonya Solitaire, of course! She has come to life on the cover of Predatress, the fuckin' bitch is real and not just the cartoon type of character she was on our previous albums. We wanted to do something different this time with the cover and we decided to have a cover photography instead of an illustrated cover artwork. We did everything ourselves, the band and the record company, and we had a hell of a great time doing the photo shoot. Of course, it also was a tough job to put up all the sawblade arms and other props to stage up the venue. But it also came out really fuckin' cool and I think it's definitely the best album cover we've ever had.’

Didn’t the other Solitaire members also want to get on the front cover and got tortured by the Predatress?
‘They're on the back cover chained on to this post waiting for their turn. I was the first one who got tied up on the X-rack to get my dick and balls sliced off. That's what the cover is all about, Sonya The Predatress Solitaire hunts down men, ties 'n' slices them up and makes trophies of their genitals. If you look closely at the cover , you can actually see these best parts of male anatomy hanging on her belt...’

What is the song 1988 – Revenge Lives On, all about?
‘Well, it's based on a true story, but there's not much more to tell you about it that I already haven't told in the lyrics. I've given the exact date and the exact events, so everybody can figure out the story on their own.’

What about a vinyl release of all four Solitaire slashers?
‘We get asked a lot about possible Solitaire vinyl releases, and yeah, there's been some negotiations with the record label, but so far the expenses for a vinyl release have been too high. But there definitely is a good chance we could have the Predatress album released on vinyl too. About the previous three albums: we're not gonna re-release them, not on CD and not on vinyl. We like to keep them as collector's items and rarities like they are right now.’

What is planned for 2009?
‘Right now we're going through another line-up change. You see, during the past year, or a year and a half it became more and more evident that Kalu and Mikko didn't have enough time for Solitaire anymore. They has their dayjobs and family lives, which took most of their time. Me and Waaqqu got really worried about it during the recordings of Predatress and actually I really thought at some point they would never make it! So it was kind of a miracle we even got the album done after the whole procedure, which in my opinion took way too long. Also I think their interest and attitude towards rehearsing and playing together as a band got really low, so in the end we had no other choice but to start looking for a new drummer and a new bass player for the band. Otherwise Solitaire would have ceased to exist sooner or later. But fortunately, I think we have already found the new guys, we still have a lot to do until we get the new line-up working properly, so I'm not gonna tell you more about it yet. But hopefully we'll get our act together again soon, so we could play some gigs again. At this point we don't have any gigs scheduled, we just have to be patient right now and see how things develop.’

What was the best and the worst thing that has happened to Solitaire?
’Well I hope the best things are yet to come! It's impossible to pick any specific event as the best moment or the worst moment, there's been good and bad times. A line-up change is always a challenge, but I'm not sure if it's necessary a bad thing, 'cause, like right now, there's new hope for a new future. We have four albums released now and every time we had a new album out, they were definitely some of the very best moments. Our first gig outside Finland, which was the Headbangers Open Air festival in 2003, was a big moment as well as signing our first record deal. On the downside I remember starting this band in 1995, it was really frustrating putting the line-up together and every time we havea line-up change, those early years come to mind. But we've been speeding and thrashing for over 13 years now, so there must be a hell of a lot more good times than bad times and we must have made much more good decisions than bad ones. I hope we can carry on this band as long as I fuckin' live, 'cause as long as Solitaire is alive, I'm alive.’

Read more: interviews