My HeadBangers, this week “Wake Up Frankie”, is back on the blog for the 5th time. Yes I’m sure you can see that I’m such a fan but I can’t help it, and I don’t want to. My first experience with WuF was in 2019 at the Tuska Festival, the largest Metal Festival in Finland. 100 bands are chosen from metal bands all over Finland and after 3 live show at the Tuska-Torstai 2019 competition they took first place and that meant they would perform at Tuska 2019, and for a band that just started in 2017 well the rest is history my HeadBangers. Their new album will be released September 8th, “ThrashRockin’ Beats”, so until then listen to 2 of my favs…
“The Outlaw”
“RATATATA”
Before we start with the interview I want to thank Kassu for being here again. WuF is part of my metal familia and they are welcome here anytime, as are the other bands that have been on the blog and the new ones to come. Ok I’m rambling, let’s get to Kassu, as always I’m in blue and he’s in Green, I believe that is a fav color of his…
First thank you Kassu for being on the blog again. The last time WuF was on was May 2021, and before that August 2020. So, it’s been a while, but I do keep my eyes on you guys.
Thank you very much for having me again. Always a great pleasure.
What has the band been up to since May 2021?
After hard covid times, we signed a recording deal with Ranka, Spring 2022. So we’ve been doing our debut album, rehearsing normally, playing some kickass shows and lots of promotion for the band. The album is now ready and will be released on 8th of September 2023! Get ready for “Thrashrockin’ Beats”!
You know I’m ready, I can’t wait till next Friday, I’ll be playing it all day at work lol. What can you tell us about putting it together, the process WuF has?
Hell yeah! The process was actually very smooth, of course there are always ups and downs when you’re doing something with passion like this, it’s part of the job. We wrote all of the songs as a band and everybody can stand behind this album and it’s definitely the best stuff we’ve done… so far ;)!
How long from start to finish did it take you guys to complete it?
This is kinda hard to say, because some of those songs are written during the covid times. But when we got to the studio to record the material, it was a little bit less than a year I believe how long it took to have the final product!
Are you in the studio daily working on new material?
We are always working on some new material at the side! At the moment we are focused on rehearsing for our upcoming album release gigs. But we definitely have some new songs already recorded as a demo. That’s what we love to do, write music.
Thrash at its finest, and one of my favorite genres. What drew WuF to the Thrash scene?
Well thank you! Thrash is very honest music and we are all metalheads in the band! It just happened. That’s how I see this whole thing. Thrash and Metal music chose us and we chose them. Perfect combo to me.
The music chose you and the band chose the music, I just love that, it’s that feeling you get when something is just meant to be, it’s in your blood. I just love it.
With the release of the new album, I know you will be doing gigs, are there any plans for touring outside of Finland?
Definitely yes and we are working on it to arrange gigs outside of Finland as soon as possible! It might take a while to organize everything but that’s something we will do for sure and we are really looking forward to that!
So am I! I haven’t seen you guys at a gig in years. At least we have the web, I can see you guys anytime, but it’s different than being at a gig. I love those gigs in Helsinki, they are the best.
Lastly, I have to ask do you do anything special to keep your voice in condition? Those vocals are brutal.
Well thank you very much again! And kinda yes and kinda no. Like basic common sense gets you far. I drink lots of tea, exercise and rest enough. Everything’s been working very smoothly with my voice by using that kinda guideline. The main thing still is of course practice! As it’s natural to get better at something that you practice often. But not too much, that will only stress your voice, rest is also very important.
I’ve seen WuF has gigs lined up, your new album, and you are now signed with Ranka Records. You have all come a long way. I’m so happy for you guys, you work hard, and you deserve it.
We have indeed come a long way and survived through the dark pandemic times. It feels absolutely great to be here at this point and I really appreciate your words, means a lot to me. Our debut album is about to see it’s daylight and we are not going anywhere. Wake up Frankie is here to stay and this is just the first chapter! I would also like to thank all of our fans and people who listen to our music. You people mean the world to us! The best is yet to come!
– Kaz
Here they are my WuF familia:
Kassu Meriläinen – Voc
Otto – Gtr
Vesku Pääkkönen – Gtr
Dimitris Kavvadas – Bass
Veikka Laru – Drums
My Thoughts:
Well my HeadBangers this band, what can I say, I’m sure you all know how I feel about them. These are the nicest bunch of guys and Kassu has always given me time for an interview. Let’s not forget that music. I get chills listening to them, I just can’t get enough Thrash especially when it is done so well. I am so happy for them. It does the heart good in these fked up times to see that they have put in the work, never stopped, kept their focus and now they are moving down that road to where they want to be and where we want them to be, on the big stage in front of thousands….
That’s it for this week my HeadBangers. Join me next Wednesday for Hump Day and next Saturday for the weekly band and another interview. Check the listing and see what band will be here. Until then, don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..
Please feel free to leave me a comment or question, I appreciate it HeadBangers: