Hello Excalion, how are you doing?

Hi. We´re doing great thanks. We´re rehearsing alot and the releasing of the album isn´t far away which feels pretty great!

Seeing you guys are uknown to probably most readers of Scandinavianmetal I think it would be wise if you started by telling us about Excalion. How did you start and what is the purpose with the band?

We started playing in the year 2000 while the most of us we´re still in high-school. This was the first band to almost every single one of us so we didn´t actually have any goals. Just to jam together and hopefully play some gigs.

Nowadays things are pretty much the same as it used to be when we started. We´ve grown alot musically and we´re a tighter group as we used to but still we don´t plan that much what we´ll become. Let´s just see where this road leads.

Excalion is being described as a blend of Stratovarius and Nightwish. Do you agree with that description? Which bands have inspired Excalion the most?

I´m not sure is that the best way to describe our music. Sure we´ve grown listening to bands like Stratovarius, but I think it´s hard to draw the line on what we sound like. You´ll have to judge for yourself. heh

When we started, Nightwish was of course one of our main influences but I don´t see much of them in our music. Symphony X has been a really big thing to me and also to Jappe who writes our songs.

The power metal scene in Finland is quite big. Do Excalion bring anything new to the table?

Hopefully we´ll bring some fresh elements to the scene. I think there´s plenty of space to bands that use catchy melodies with some nice rhytms and riffs. And I think Jarmo´s voice is one BIG bonus.

Speaking of which, how do you look upon the metal scene in Finland and/or Scandinavian metal in general today? Any new bands which have impressed you guys a lot lately?

The metal scene is great here in Finland and I think it´s been that way for years now. Any new bands? hmmm...I myself have listened a band called Diablo. It reminds me of Pantera but it´s more melodic.

Your debut, Primal Exhale, is scheduled for a May 17th release. Can you tell us more about the recording process and are you happy with the outcome?

Sure, we used three weeks for the recordings in Studio Watercastle here in middle-Finland. There was a little bit of pressure, how to make it before the deadline. If I remember correctly, we used about 10 days for the recordings and 10 for mixing. The process went in a great, relaxed mood and we´re pretty happy with the outcome. Of course we would have done somethings otherwise if we would have had more time.

How's the Excalion's way of writing a tune? And also, Vesa Nupponen recently replaced Kimmo Hänninen on guitar. How will this affect the band in the future when it comes to songwriting?

Normally Jappe does the basics for the song and brings it to the rehearsals and then we add some rhytms and maybe change something here and there. Then we decide who makes the lyrics for it and that´s pretty much it. It´s a pretty smooth way to make songs for us. Vesa will of course bring his own spice into our music and he will definately boost our level a bit higher as he is an icredibly good guitarist. I´m sure the songwriting itself remains the same.

Do you find the lyrics to be important and what topics do you manly touch?

Of course lyrics are a big part of the song. The topics normally relate to fiction but they vary. Some topics are greed and dishonesty. Also some storylike lyrics like on "Megalomania".

Any hot Excalion news you want to share with us?

Nothing really mindblowing comes to my mind but I´ll tell U when we´ll come up with something.

I'm curious about the bandname. How did you end up choosing 'Excalion' and what does it have any special meaning?

Actually Timo just came up with it and we just took it. Many times we´ve thought maybe we should change it but as you see, we still have it. It doesn´t have any proper meaning.

If you were to compose a dream band, which members would you choose?

Heh. This is just my opinion but it would be as follows: Russell Allen on vocals, Mike Romeo on guitar, Jari Kainulainen on bass, Jens Johansson on keys, Uli Kusch on drums and Timo Tolkki would be the producer of the band.

Do Excalion feel game to give me their top 5 albums released by Scandinavian metal bands only?

Damn. This was harder than I thought

Stratovarius - Visions
Stratovarius - Episode
Children Of Bodom - Hatecrew Deathroll
Children Of Bodom - Hatebreeder
Nightwish - Once

What's status in the Excalion camp right now? Will you tour in support of Primal Exhale?

We´re just started to look for a gig promoter so I hope we´ll have as many gigs as possible by the end of the year.

Thank you very much for the answers. The last words are yours!

"Primal Exhale" will be released very soon so don´t forget to buy it. The soundclips are already on our webpage. Cheers and have a blast!

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