From the frozen marrow of myth and memory rises Iku-Turso—a name torn from the depths of Finnish legend and reforged in the furnace of Black Metal. Equal parts ritual, ruin, and reverence for the old ways, the band channels something ancient and hostile, where folklore bleeds into distortion and the past refuses to stay buried. Their music is not content with atmosphere alone; it claws, curses, and confronts, carrying the weight of history and the violence of belief. In this interview, we descend with Iku-Turso into the currents that shape their sound, their symbolism, and the uncompromising vision that drives them ever further from the light.
1. Can you tell us something about the origins of Iku-Turso and what inspired you to start the band?
S.K: One dark winter night I grabbed my 90s Jackson guitar from storage plugged it into a vintage Fender guitar amp all the knobs pointed at 10 and immediately The smell of black metal 90-95 was in the air, there was no stopping this force of nature, within the following few days a demo’s worth of material was recorded and I decided to do a full lenght instead and a week later the songs for “The Great Tower” were arranged and recorded with guitar and bass, then it was just cathing some likeminded individuals for perform on that album for other instruments and vocals and the rest is history.
2. How has life in Northern Finland influenced your music and themes?
S.K: The Winter here is very Dark and Cold which is the total opposite of the summer so usually the best material emerges at the heart of winter time and the summer you can spend performing live or other extracurricular activities. The nature here is inevitable, it is all around us regardless of where you go, the woods, the lakes, the rivers, it’s a big part of us and one of the most inspiring aspects that fuel our songs.
3. Which mythological or cultural elements from Finland play the most important role in your lyrics and concepts?
S.K: The band name comes from old Finnish mythology / spells / poems, Iku-Turso – Äijön Poika, the mythical demigod, sea monster, archaic being, we wanted to take an integral part of our roots to match the epic nature of our music. Pakana, our second album had a strong Ancient Kainuu concept of a protagonist experiencing life to the harshest and eventually finding solace at the end of his days. Our original vocalist Lafawijn who is a Dutchman has been responsible for most of the lyrics although on that album I was giving him much more guidance of the overal arch of the storyline. Also on our Storm Over Isengard EP we embraced the stories of the old.
4. Which artists or bands have most strongly shaped your style?
S.K: I was a teenager on the 90s so experienced the 2nd wave of Nordic Black Metal as it was happening so that period of ageless classics has definitely shaped the way I experience the world of Black Metal. All the good names could be listed here but we all know them, mostly Norwegian stuff back in the day, these days more open-minded to other styles as well. I think even more important though is the feeling the music invokes in me, I let it take me to places and then try to put those things I feel into additional riffs and usually come up with a concept for the lyrics of the song as well.
5. How do you combine the raw black metal tradition with atmospheric elements?
S.K: What can I say, it comes from mothers milk, it’s deeply rooted in our past, present and future, it is more about intuition than technic, it’s about the feeling and visions you experience when you take a deep dive, the rest is just producing and doing what feels right.
6. Are there other art forms (literature, painting, film) that influence your creative process?
S.K: I do enjoy reading when I have time, sometimes I write down some concepts or sentences, mainly in Finnish, which sounds inspiring to me and I feel like I could work a song out of it but usually the music comes first. Sometimes visual art can also do the same thing, if it has the perfect black metal atmosphere I can easily get inspired by
7. How does a song lyric come into being within Iku-Turso? Is it written entirely by one member, or is it a collaborative process?
S.K: If I have a strong vision of the music and what the lyrics should be about I’ll tell that to our vocalist and in the past it was all Lafawijn then who took care of the writing and performing them. That being said our new vocalist enjoys a more collaborative approach to writing so we’re discussing more and also I’m taking a bit more active role in the concepts while working with him.
8. Is there a common thread or concept that connects all of your albums?
S.K: Cold Northern Pagan Spirit! Each one of them stands proud as a monument of their time.
9. What do you want listeners to feel or experience when listening to your music?
S.K: It’s all about the immersion, to a take a journey with us, be it Into unknown Dawnless Realms where the light of day is the darkness of the night or into the barren wastelands of Ancient Kainuu, each one of the works has their own special place and feeling where to indulge in.
10. How does collaboration work within an international line-up operating at a distance?
S.K: It gives us a wider perspective and also presence, some international gates are opened while others more local might bring some hardships to take care of. If the people are available and committed then the magic will flow through vast distances.
11. Do compositions mainly take shape in the studio, or are they developed live first?
S.K: Mainly at the darkness of night, me and my journey, things take form and place and others join me on this path and forge their own nuances into the art and take the concepts into new heights and places.
12. Are there specific rituals or habits you follow while composing or recording?
S.K: It needs to feel right, it needs to serve a purpose, when those things are in place the music will flow like a torrent.
13. What direction do you want Iku-Turso to take in the coming years? Are there new styles or concepts you want to explore?
S.K: We will carry the torch of Nordic Black Metal tradition proudly and look for new ways to contribute to the legacy of our beloved genre, keeping the sound cold and epic in nature.
14. How do you see the role of black metal today: purely musical, a cultural statement, or both?
S.K: Art before entertainment, Black Metal is a vessel of conviction, pure rebellious hearts forging their own distinct path through the mundane which is a very personal journey but still a statement in itself.
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