
Off the Record Interviews was born from a specific type of boredom that stemmed from album-release interviews and an interview with Marko Hietala that fell through the cracks on its way to publishing at Tuonela Magazine. I missed the old days of talking to the artists about themselves! I wanted to get off of the album-release line of questioning, which is heavily oversaturated by music medias, and into the lessons and personal growth they’ve experienced throughout their musical journeys. This inspired the name for the series, Off the Record!
Thanks for checking it out, and please do the usual subs and shares if you want to see more of these in the future!

Off the Record with Elias Viljanen & Tommi Portimo of Sonata Arctica
This Off the Record podcast interview with Elias Viljanen and Tommi Portimo of Sonata Arctica by Bear Wiseman discusses the band’s early days and evolution over the years, the kickoff of Finnish metal’s popularity, Elias’ time joining after Jani Liimatainen left, and lessons they’ve learned along the way.

On the Record with Tony Kakko & Henrik Klingenberg of Sonata Arctica, pt.2
Interview with Tony Kakko and Henrik Klingenberg of Sonata Arctica by Bear Wiseman, done originally for Musicalypse.net in 2019

On the Record with Tony Kakko & Henrik Klingenberg of Sonata Arctica
Interview with Tony Kakko and Henrik Klingenberg of Sonata Arctica by Bear Wiseman, done originally for Musicalypse.net in 2016