Episode 21: Esa Holopainen (Amorphis)

Amorphis' fifteenth studio album, Borderland, was released on Friday, September 26th. To celebrate this milestone release in the band's 35th year of existence, founding member and guitarist Esa Holopainen and keyboardist Santeri Kallio made an appearance across the pond at Lucky 13 Saloon in Brooklyn, a metal institution since 2003, on Friday evening. Labeled as a record release party, the two key songwriters from Amorphis mingled with fans from New York City and its surrounding areas, talked about their fantastic new record that was played in full at the event, posed for pictures, and shared drinks with Finnish metal enthusiasts who were in attendance like myself.Prior to the record release party, I had a chance to speak with Esa about Borderland and a number of other topics, including:the band's recent festival date in Turkey, the crowd's reaction to their new material, and traveling across the globe within a week's time.New York airport traffic, Esa and Santeri's adventure into New York City to Times Square and the Empire State Building, and the best time and places to visit in Helsinki.the band's history of playing in Brooklyn including a show at the famous L'Amour, the cancelled dates from the Tales from the Thousand Lakes 30th anniversary tour, and a Borderland North American tour in 2026.his personal approach to songwriting for the new record, a question about the beer vending machine they had to install in the group's old rehearsal studio in Nosturi, and the lost art of sneaking into rock shows.Special thanks to Esa for being so patient while I dealt with technical issues and gracious with his time both on and off camera, and eternal gratitude to C-Squared Music and Reigning Phoenix Music for allowing me to attend such a special event. Borderland is a beautiful record and a fantastic addition to Amorphis' already sparkling discography that further cements to group's legendary status as titans of Finnish extreme metal. It's proof of the band's commitment to evolving with each and every record, as they have for the past thirty-five years, and shows they have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon.