This piece goes like a waltz, metal waltz! It starts with a shiny 12-string guitar, which I still have, but it has become furiously stiff to play. 

On a Wintry Day is an interesting piece. It is by far the most sophisticated song from Quietus. All the influences combine very nicely and many people simply named On a Wintry Day the best song from Quietus.

I really love the guitar solos when the long outro starts. They are played by V-P Riekki, as well as all solo guitar in general. Usually modulations in the end of a song go up, but I experimented going down a semitone, followed later by another modulation also with a downward movement.

I actually planned a music video for the piece, because the song gave me strong visualizations. In the end the man walks onto a frozen lake. All landscape is covered in snow. He lies down on his back and cuts himself with the knife and the blood stains the snow. He keeps calm and just stares up to the stars. Then the camera goes high up, as "soul flies away". It would have needed a helicopter to let the shot go enough up and wide. Back then it would have been impossible for us, but nowadays drone-shots are so last-season!

On A Wintry Day

This song is full of augmented and diminished chords with rhyming lyrics! To Your Intuition was part of "Promo '99", which didn't have as succesful mix as demo "On A Wintry day" from 1998. Anyhow it is a very playful song and has strong atmosphere that is easy to step in from the beginning to the end. And in the end "the pillar tumble while pillars fumble and rave, as this was the end of each humble slave" - dark humour meets personal crusade of atheism back then.

To Your Intuition

One Last Wish

Revelation stands out from the other Quietus tracks as its thoroughly composed by V-P Riekki, yet lyrical responsibility fell again on me. Revelation is in 'On a wintry day' -demo, which was distributed still in cassettes.

Revelation

I think this was the opening track for the very first Quietus live performace at Laanila highschool's gymnasium! Also Catamenia, yet a students' band, has started from the same stage. I was too tense to notice, but I was told later that some laestadian students decide to leave the room when Mikko shouted the first growls. We played also cover songs from Cradle of Filth and Arcturus, which I can easily name my main metal influences for Quietus' music.

Those Eyes

"Ode To Holocaust" - now how controversial is that! Its not what you are thinking of ;)

The song was included in the very first demo. Quietus was at the time without a drummer. The drum machine stands out especially with the too pronounced hi-hat. The recordings were for the band a virgin experience and a world of its own of which none of us had really any knowledge.

One day a friend of the recording engineer came to the studio with a real Moog and he let us play around with it. The epic outro starts with a 2-octave bend from the Moog.


Ode To Holocaust

Drowned in Blasphemy is not included in any recorded demos and this live recording is thus one of the kind. Quietus had only a handful of gigs, all held in Oulu besides one show in Barbaari in Oulainen. There we took part in a competition and became second best, wohou! I remember one local guy (potentially drunk) dancing alone in front of the stage throughout the whole gig.

This song has a playful piano, sort of Mozart. We played once Mozart's Alla turca with our metal style and it exploded the crowd!

Drowned In Blasphemy - Live

The band started to fell apart when our drummer had had enough in the beginning of 2000. Things are meant to happen.. He evolved as a professional drummer and we, the rest, became engineers, sound designers, pilots and so on...

Anyhow, the band had some fans who would gladly see the band stay alive. I had plans for two more compositions, but doubts for the future... 
I decided to produce the last two pieces by myself with the help of Sarkkinen and Riekki and Joni Kylätie as a substitution for the drums. I had applied into a media school so the lyrics were recorded later in the evening in facilities of the school radio! The production with 'Mortem' lacks professional touch, but I am still glad these songs won the fight for their existence.

Tempting Terror

I don't want to live in this kind of world
I never wanted to live in this kind of world
No, there's nothing for me to see at all
No, there's nothing at all for me to see

Still the years go by and I'm all alone
Here is my own secret place out of the world
No, there's nothing for me to see at all
No, there's nothing at all for me to see, but LIES

[20 years ago]

In a dawn of new millenium 
in the middle of pandemonium
A child is born, yet he is blind
Still his guardiands were kind

So they cherish the bastard with cherubic fondness
And the blinded ward is granted with bless

As he strengthens and grows
His essence of life unfolds
Despite the deficient sence
A boy into man grows 20 years hence

Though he doesn't gain the sight
There's something else for his light

He is told the most magnificient stories
Of the paradise of Earth and all its glories
Of irridescent dreams and flowers
All this in the reach of ours

Years passed and 2024 
Suddenly blinded was he no more
As a miracle occurred upon him
By an Angel ("I thought") with a golden rim

But all wasn't like it ought to be
Where was the paradise which he now could see
The millenium war had left such trace
That scarred and stripped was the Earth's last face

His dream being shuttered
The young man cried 
And burst into tears he couldn't hide
This one chant he started to sing again, and again...

I would not ever have thought of such dreadful sight
I would not ever have thought of such dreadful sight, in my life..

Blackened was the sky, were the fields as dry
Not a single bird flying by
No lucid dream, no joyful gleam
For the hope of the coming days

Blackened was the sky, were the fields as dry
Not a single bird flying by
No lucid dream, no joyful gleam
For the hope of the coming days

Future benighted

---

Future Benighted is my personal favourite from Quietus, but it is also THE quietus (meaning final stroke) as there have been no more songs ever since this creation. It is the composition and the story that gives shivers. Future Benighted has new melodies and riffs coming up all the time, but it all seems natural evolution throughout the song.


Future Benighted

This song was where it all started. The drumtrack was originally patched with Fast Tracker 2 and guitars recorded by headphones hunging loose in front of the Marshall amplifier that picked up sound while plugged into boombox's mic input. On cassette of course! And my sister is singing the clear vocals ;) But hey, you gotta start somewhere! 

Malicious Ways Through Heavenly Gates

QUIETUS (1996-2001) dwelled in Oulu, north of Finland. During the 5 years of existence Quietus came up with 4 demos of melodic dark metal, "kaamos metal", as they announced themselves.

Soundcloud offers now a platform for nearly full discography of Quietus for your listening pleasure. Each song is accompanied with a note or anecdote from the main member of the band, Kimmo Vänttinen, who was behind music of Quietus almost exclusively.

The band consisted of:

Mikko Sarkkinen - main vocals
VP Riekki - solo guitar
Kimmo Vänttinen - guitar, vocals
Markus Paasovaara - bass
Jaakko Jakku - drums, vocals
Pekka Timonen - synth

Session musicians: Joni Kylätie (drums), Elina Arola (additional vocals), Kim Haataja (additional vocals), Tuulevi Vänttinen (additional vocals), Ilkka Hyyppä (original idea of the name Quietus and a composition that is included in the demo 'Ambrosia'). I have sincere gratitude also for Timo Hanhirova who maintained Quietus website when the band was active and redesigned the Quietus logo.

Discography:
Ambrosia (1997)
On A Wintry Day (1998)
Promo '99 (1999)
Mortem (2001)

Quietus

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