Formed in 2021, Helsinki's Ashen Tomb delivers a potent blend of straight-up death metal with influences from bands like Incantation, Autopsy, and Dismember. The lineup includes vocalist Ilkka Johannes Laaksonen, guitarists Joonatan Mäkinen and Roni Oksanen, bassist Karhu Kuru, and drummer Valtteri Viro. Their self-titled EP, released in 2022, showcased a mid-paced death metal style with doom elements and melodic interludes. In October 2024, they released their debut full-length album, Ecstatic Death Reign, via Everlasting Spew Records.
First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I happened to come across your band through one of our writers here at Decibel Warfare. The goal of the site is really to give a platform to underrepresented metal bands, especially since so many big publications mainly cover well-established names. While there’s nothing against them, of course, it’s just that their news and updates are so readily available that it often overshadows the work of emerging bands. So thank you for being part of this and helping us bring more visibility to unique voices in the metal world.
To start, I’d love to know how challenging it is to get noticed and gain exposure in a universe as overcrowded as music or entertainment today. How do you feel about the journey of standing out in such a packed scene?
Ilkka: It is really hard these days as the pure amount of bands is overwhelming and there is no way a person could have time to get acquainted with all of them. I personally work in the music industry and I have noticed that the last few years have made just existing for an underground band a struggle. Getting on to tours or bigger labels becomes harder by the day and extremely financially unsustainable.
Jone: It almost requires discovering unique ways to promote yourself across the internet and one’s local scene to have any sort of edge amongst the sea of other bands out there. That could be difficult for new bands starting out without much knowledge and connections and discouraging to go through the slow grind before any sort of proper recognition.
In a metal scene that’s often dominated by genre crossovers and subgenre experimentation, Ashen Tomb stands out as a straight-up death metal band. Was that a conscious decision from the beginning?
Karhu: Yes. We all love classic death metal, but none of us had played it before, so it was clear that was to be the foundation from which Ashen Tomb should work.
Jone: We didn’t necessarily foresee what the outcome of this “purely death metal” goal was but we soon found out and when we did, its musical effects hit us like a ton of bricks.
What drives you to keep the focus so purely on classic death metal when so many others are blending styles?
Karhu: We each have a very different set of influences. Be it from death metal, metal in general, or completely outside the wheelhouse. It wouldn’t make for a cohesive sound to try and incorporate all the sounds separately, but when we blend them all into a death metal sound the result is dynamic but tight.
Jone: The common denominator for us in the band is at the very least our deep-rooted enjoyment of classic death metal so sticking to just “straight-up” death metal has been rather enjoyable to us. Thus presumably, “nothing but death remains” for us in the future.
Tell me about your musical roots. Which bands and albums had a lasting impact on your approach to death metal? Are there any specific influences that pushed you toward this 'straight-up' sound?
Karhu: We first came together under the stars of Incantation and Autopsy, and although we’ve added a lot of elements since, that foundation helps keep the backbone in a more classic style.
Jone: You could say “Incantation - Entrantment of Evil” was the initial spark that lit our fire but after that there’s been a whole lot more than that, which has fueled the machine. If we name-dropped every death metal act we enjoyed, you would have a very long list of death metal goodness, but just to name a few key ones, let’s throw in at least Suffocation, Obituary, Carcass, Bolt Thrower and Dead Congregation. One thing to note is that while we have of course appreciation for our neighbors over in the Swedish death metal scene, we consciously decided that we weren’t gonna go for the cliché HM-2 guitar tone ourselves, typical to the sound of Entombed and Dismember for example.
If each member had to choose just one classic death metal album as their all-time essential, what would it be? Why does that album stand out to you personally, and what impact has it had on your approach to music?
Karhu: Demilich’s Nespithe - Amazing, idiosyncratic music with zero interest in fitting in, while wearing their influences on their sleeve.
Jone: Bolt Thrower's "Those Once Loyal" - the British tank boys really found perfection with this one, which is most likely why it remained as their final official output to the world. Despite being 40 mins of similar sounding mid-tempo death metal riffs, the album has a clear musical story arc, which resolves perfectly during the album and displays the power of constructing an album as a whole.
Valle: Morbid Angel's “Altars of Madness” is the one that catched my ear during my teenage years. I used to be a huge fan of thrash metal and Altars of Madness felt like a step up to a darker and more grim direction from that. Album is filled with great riffs, awesome songwriting and A LOT OF memorable moments that will live rent free in my head forever.
Roni: Suffocation's "Effigy of the Forgotten" - Perfect blend of osdm and brutal dm. Caveman riffs, blast beats, killer solos and one of the best vocals in the game. And the sear amount of groove on this album is something to die for. What more could you need?
Finland has a reputation as a hub for melodic death metal, but your sound offers a refreshing return to raw, unembellished death metal. How do you see yourselves fitting within the Finnish metal scene? Do you feel like you're reviving an element that’s been somewhat overlooked?
Jone: There’s been a slight uprising of newer death metal bands in the Finnish scene in recent times that have gained some recognition and whose efforts we enjoy as well. It feels reassuring to be part of this “new wave” but we’d obviously be just as happy with what we’re doing if we were the only ones around doing it. The point is, Finnish death metal is definitely “not dead” at the moment and we’re glad to contribute to it.
I attended Tuska 2024 and noticed the lineup had little representation of pure death metal, with only Devourment from Texas offering something close. I was hoping for more raw death metal acts and felt disappointed. Do you think there’s a growing demand in Finland and globally for more authentic death metal bands like yourselves?
Ilkka: We did play there in 2023, so there is demand, yes, but it may not show much on the mainstream festivals. We have Helsinki Deathfest for death metal freaks and some smaller two day events have been sprouting from the mulch these days. When it comes to fresh talent, I think right now it is in extreme forms of metal. It may change in time as it always does, but recently there has not been a new break out band coming from Finland which underlines the fact that mainstream is looking in the wrong direction in their search for new talent.
Your debut album, Ecstatic Death Reign, has made an impression for its relentless energy and lack of compromise. Can you share what inspired the themes and writing process behind this record?
Karhu: Lyrically and thematically Ecstatic Death Reign is something of a tribute to death metal. While there is no strict concept running through the album, much of the imagery was envisioned as a celebration of the kind of themes and imagery that ran through many of the classic albums - with the notable and political exception of Anamorphosis. In a way, the music also reflects this. Not drawing from one well only, but from a connected network, representing the many faces of death metal in its classic stage. Our previous material leans a little towards slower and more brooding, so we decided to contrast that with a more relentless effort for our first album.
Are there any new or classic death metal bands you find inspiring today, either within Finland or internationally? Do you feel a connection with others keeping the tradition alive in their own ways?
Jone: Certainly. There is still a strong global underground scene of newer bands paying their respects to the old ways who are slowly but surely making a lasting stance in the history books of death metal. This includes bands like Undergang, Blood Incantation, Fulci etc. who inspire us as much as the more historic bands of our genre. As for our compadres in the Finnish scene, we currently have the likes of Sepulchral Curse, Morbific, Devenial Verdict and Concrete Winds (and many more) whose presence is very well appreciated.
Ancient Tombs Sealed With Dead Tongues To Preserve The Hidden One Slumbering In The Bowels Of The Earth (Mummified In Cavernous Darkness); that's got more words than probably the whole song's lyrics! What's the story here? Are you aiming for the longest song title in metal history?
Karhu: Longer, tongue-in-cheek titles are close to our hearts. We have five Demilich fans, and two Bal-Sagoth fans in the band, which probably explains it.
Looking to the future, where do you see the band heading? Are there any new directions or goals you’re excited about?
Karhu: The writing of the second album has begun, even if it is still far away. We’re looking to find new ways to express ourselves with the same backbone. We’ve been playing quite a few gigs this year, and hopefully will be keeping that up for the foreseeable future as well while expanding abroad.
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