Hey there, will you start off by telling everything there is to know about yourself?

Well I’m Leif Hedström; I play guitar/sing (mainly clean vocals) and write the songs and lyrics for the Finnish metal band Hevein. I’ve played guitar for about 13 years and sung for a few, never taken a lesson.

I am A Finnish/Australian citizen and lived my life in both countries. Currently residing in Helsinki with my girlfriend.

A small introduction of the rest of the band will be great too!

Alpo Oksaharju is the drummer; he’s also been my best friend since I moved to Finland. He’s been playing drums about the same time I have.

Tomi Koivunen is bass. He has been with the band a few years; he started out playing guitar but moved to bass. I think he’s a better guitar player than I am. Tomppa if one of the kindest persons you can ever meet.

Aino Piipari is our cute little violin player. She has studied music for a long time. She also sings in her own band KIOVA.

Max Lilja plays cello. He joined the band after leaving Apocalyptica. Max is a full time musician and has several other projects. He is also a guest musician on a lot of albums. Max is a very down to earth guy with a great ear for music.

Juha Immonen is our lead singer. Newest member of the band has played in a Rolling Stones cover band before us but now he wants to sing something a bit heavier.

How did Hevein get started and what do you want to accomplish with the band?

I believe Hevein started in Alpo’s basement in 92. Even though we weren’t called Hevein, I knew that Al and I had a band and it was going to be something more than just a hobby. Right from the start we wrote our own material and also played some covers. Over the years people have come and gone but the foundation of the band has always stayed. The biggest problem we had was the lack of a proper singer. I think Finland in general has that problem. Not enough talented singers!

What I want to accomplish… The most important thing right now I want to accomplish is getting this first album done. But in the long run it has always been a dream of mine to live off playing music. Quit my day job and just be involved with music. I can’t think of anything better than that.

How far do you think you are with the band today?

We are at a new beginning. We recorded our first demo in 99 without a singer and basically kind of jammed and recorded demos until we found a style that suited us. Some of the older demos are complete rubbish but it was a great learning curb. Today I know what I want Hevein to sound like, and recording an album is defiantly the beginning of a new level for us.

How has the band progressed since the start?

The progress has been huge. More than I could ever imagined when we started. I think the biggest progress was when Max joined the band. Max is a professional musician; he has studied music and knows the theory. So he brings a lot stability and knowledge to the band. He has taught me a lot on writing music and singing.

Your latest release is the EP “Break Out The Hammers”, how has that been received and what do you think about it today?

It has been received well, I mean we made B.O.T.H for promotional purposes only and all of the feedback has been positive. I think it is a good demo, we wanted it to sound as good as possible cause we would of tried to release it ourselves if we didn’t get signed, but thank god we didn’t have to go thru that shit.

The EP got you signed to Spinefarm Records, was that expected?

You have to have a head the size of a basketball or a lot of friends in the right places to expect your “demo” to get you signed. I always believed in the demo I knew it was the best material we had to offer at that time but I’ve learned over the years that, that means nothing in the music industry today. If there are a hundred demos on some Record company guys table and he listens to 10-20 seconds of the first songs and makes his decision. It doesn’t matter how good a musician you are or sometimes how good the music is. But if you believe in it, work hard, stick to your guns, enjoy yourself and come up with something that doesn’t sound regurgitated I think you have a chance. We were lucky to get signed really; Nino Laurenne who mixed the demo took it straight to Spinefarm before we even got it Mastered. We were in the right place at the right time. I’ve sent the same demo to about 50 record companies around the world and have not received 1 response.

What can we expect from your forthcoming EP and debut full-length album?

Well we have a single coming out on the 6th of April in Finland that will feature a new track and one off the B.O.T.H demo. Actually 3 of the 4 songs will appear on the debut album. I had about 20 songs written and I just thought that those songs were strong enough to re-record onto our debut album. We also have 1 song coming off our 3rd demo also. So half of the songs are new. The album will be a longer version of the demo. Same mixing of songs, some thrash some slow atmospheric and also a Pantera cover. Heavy, fast, dark and melodic.

Will you guide us through “Break Out The Hammers”, tells us what there is behind each track, a bit about the lyrics and what the title “Break Out The Hammers” refer to?

The title track ‘Break Out The Hammers’ is pretty much a thrash song and as corny as it sounds it is quite rebellious. It’s mainly a stand against what is supposed to be right. The system, government, your parents, pop music whatever the fuck you want to call it. But I mainly wrote it about people who think they know everything and never learn from or admit to their mistakes.

‘Worth Fighting For’ is about ignorance and laziness. The music on WFF was taken from parts of our 2nd demo and mixed into one song.

‘As Far As The Eye Can See’ is about love, yes... LOVE!!!! But I wouldn’t call it a love song. It’s more about living in the moment, Carpe Diem!!! You know, how the love you have for different things in life can change it. If you have truly been in love with someone or something you’ll understand what I mean.

‘Heartland’ is dedicated to the Men and Women that defended Finland in WW II from the Russian invasion. My grandpa was killed in the Winter War and it is just an unbelievable story of guts, courage and sacrifice that the Finns held off an Army of that size.

I would like to know the thoughts behind the rather abstract, but great cover artwork?

Originally we weren’t even going to make a cover but Al thought it a good idea when sending it to the Record Companies and Magazines. So he quickly made it with just the name Break out the Hammers in mind. The shadow in the background is holding a sledgehammer (or a vacuum cleaner) and the crack in the wall refers to a break in routine, something new coming from the old.

Let’s talk a bit about the music, how do you get inspired to write music?

Personal experience and watching the news. I used to write a lot of music in my head while I walked my dog but he died last year. I also get a lot of inspiration from movies and other bands.

What do influence you when you make music, and do you have the same influences today as when you started to write music?

Negativity, ignorance, passion, hate, love, anger, routine... it’s a long fucking list. Life in general is a pretty good influence, there is so much shit in the world (war, hunger, reality TV shows) and writing music is my way of somehow dealing with the futility of it. On the other hand there is so much good as well, the small things that make life good are too easily forgotten so I try to remind myself as much as possible.

Will you mention 5 bands and 5 albums that has meant a lot to you, your playing style and your song writing?

Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Anathema, Soilwork, Devin Townsend Band

At the Gates: “Slaughter Of The Soul”, Pink Floyd: “Dark Side Of The Moon”, Slayer: “Reign In Blood”, Porcupine Tree: “Stupid Dream” and Pantera: “Vulgar Display Of Power”.

How does the band arrange the music, do you write the tracks together or do you bring bits and pieces to the rehearsal or…?

I write the music at home and then play it to Al. We build the song from there, sometimes we are just jamming and I’ll come up with a riff and we go from there. On the upcoming album Max will write some of the violin and cello parts. I’ll give him a base to build on. I love it when the song comes together quickly, the longer it takes to write lyrics to them the harder it gets.

You are using violin and cello in your music… how did that come about and how are the reactions towards it?

The reactions have ok I guess. At gigs some people are a bit sceptical… you know “AAA what’s this fucking classical shit” but when we start up they usually shut up.

I used to play the synthesizer and the guitar at the same time. We had some slow songs and it was easy playing both instruments. Alpo knew Aino thru a school friend and heard she was interested in joining our band. Al came up to me and asked if I wanted a violinist in the band and I said yes.

Max also joined the band through a friend of a friend. He heard about our band and was interested, he came around and I gave him our old demos to listen to. I’m still amazed to this day that he joined the band… those demo were horrid. Haha. I think he saw some kind of potential.

Why did you choose to use violin and cello in your music?

These are classical instruments, they sound beautiful and together they shit all over a synthesizer.

Will you enlighten us in the lyrical universe of Hevein, common lyrical themes, where the inspiration is found and so on…?

I use the same stuff that influences my music. Music I love is a small escape from reality for me, and heavy is very therapeutic. You can release a lot of anger and frustration by listening and certainly playing it. The only negative side to music is the business side. I try to write lyrics that aren’t boring and that have multiple messages mainly that life is short so deal with it and make the most of it.

The band is called Hevein, what does it mean and what are your thoughts behind the name?

If you search Google for Hevein you will find a lot of stuff about LATEX, yes rubber!

Hevein is some sort of protein that is found in latex. But that's not the reason we chose the name... seriously!

We have had so many names during these years. Some terrible bloody names I can tell you (but I won't) and at one time it felt almost impossible to come up with something original.

Then one day I bought a Peaceville cover album "can't remember the name" that had Anathema, Dominion, Blackstar (ex carcass) etc. Blackstar did a cover of ’The Girl That Lived On Heaven Hill’. I liked the song and thought about the name... Heaven Hill? So I called Alpo and he didn't like it, I offered the name spelt "Heven Hill" but he didn't go for it. So about a week later I started thinking about it again and Hevein just popped in there. I didn't know if the word meant anything or not, I just thought it sounded cool. Hevein also has a Finnish meaning; HEAVIEST

How do you think the future will treat Hevein?

I hope it is long and treats us nicely. But it could all end tomorrow so I’m enjoying it now and not really worrying about the future.

Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!!!

Your very welcome mate. Like I said before we have a single coming out April 6th called “iOta”. The 2 songs on it will appear on our “Sound Over Matter” debut album coming out in September/October 2005. It will be available in Scandinavia but you’ll probably be able to download it off the net for free anyway! But if you want to support small bands like us, (who are still paying off bank loans for equipment and recording) you can also order it from Spinefarm and Hevein

[This interview was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]