The Bad Penny (beta)

“I am semi-proud I have been lasting on this earth as long as I have, in contrast to all the times I have faced the potential demise of my mortal shell, or faced the option to snuff out the candle of life.” -Havukruunu frontman Stefa

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It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to guarantee that an album released in the first half of a year will likely land on many a top 10 list come December. But this writer is prepared to make such a declaration: Tavastland, the fourth full-length from Finland’s pagan black-metal troupe Havukruunu, is one of the very best metal records of the year thus far.

Tavastland dropped in late February after Havukruunu made a big move by switching to Svart Records from Naturmacht Productions, the Finnish black-metal label that issued the band’s first three LPs. To the extent that Havukruunu perhaps moved to Svart to start a new chapter in its career, Tavastland showcases the band members exploring new versions of their quintessential black-metal sound—and enhancing their musical abilities. Further proving the eight-song affair is Havukruunu’s ballsiest record to date, Tavastland is not only an invigorating listen but also a concept album.

The history lesson at issue revolves around how the Tavastians (a Finnish tribe) rose up in the mid-13th century to brutally rebel against the Kingdom of Sweden and the Catholic Church. Tracing that uprising to the modern day, Tavastland is, in essence, a record about fighting for freedom and transcending solitude in our increasingly alienating world.

Havukruunu consists of guitarists Stefa (who also provides vocals) and Henkka, drummer Kostajainen and bassist Humö. The Bad Penny recently had the privilege of picking Stefa’s brain about the massively ambitious record, which appears like a mountain in contrast to previous releases that now resemble hills. Stefa, who writes Havukruunu’s songs, eloquently and transparently (in the truest sense of the term) provided us with many an insight into Tavastland.

Congrats on your 20-year anniversary as a band. When did it occur to you that Havukruunu might last as long as it has? What was the closest you came to disbanding, if there ever was such a looming threat?

Thanks. I feel Havukruunu is about to disband and cease to exist every day. It is tied solely [to] my existence. You are undoubtedly aware that life is fragile, existence is futile, and doubt looms over every waking hour I spend here. I am semi-proud I have been lasting on this earth as long as I have, in contrast to all the times I have faced the potential demise of my mortal shell, or faced the option to snuff out the candle of life.

Congrats also on Tavastland, my favorite of the four LPs you’ve crafted thus far. As it’s been out for more than two months, have you found it to be the best-received Havukruunu full-length to date?

Thanks. I have not paid attention to feedback or anything. I noticed our concerts have been very well attended, so one might think the new album has something to do with that. I have let myself down with every album and every recording project I have (ever made). So I don’t know.

When you went into the writing of the recording of the album, what did you consciously want to do differently this time around? How did you go about implementing those changes?

I think I was very careful not to make the same kind of album twice, but more like a continuation of the stylistic choices in [2020’s] Uinuos Syömein Sota. I’m not very aware of what I am doing [when I make music], as I enter into a trance and converse with “night folk” [a group of people who congregate at swamps and other places in the wilderness at night] and spirits of the dead when creating. So I don’t have many memories of the whole ordeal. [There was] Much cigarette smoking [though].

Conversely, what core aspects of Havukruunu did you want to retain on the full-length? How did you go about ensuring those quintessential elements of Havukruunu’s identity and sound would stay intact?

Even if I wanted [to], I could not change the way Kostajainen plays drums or how my voice sounds. The way we play comes from distant DNA-memory. [We tap into] an ancient and primordial source of aggression, fury and at the same time deep reflection and trance. So I [actually] couldn’t change the band, even if I wanted to.

What surprised you most about how the record evolved during the writing and recording stages?

I wasn’t really surprised by anything, I don’t think. The amount of compromises I had to do, even when working mainly alone, led me to think about how much artists with bigger labels [and bigger teams] have to compromise, and how much it hinders artistic vision. I am lucky, in a sense, that I am not much disturbed in my work.. No one tries to interfere, and it is known I am most difficult to work with, so I can be left in solitude to do my own thing, and to follow my own train of thought and intuition.

During the process of making the new record, how conscious were you about whether you were creating music that would be practical to replicate at Havukruunu concerts?

I was aware of it, and with the taste of blood in my mouth, I ultimately decided to act against such thoughts. When recording and compiling a music album, it is an altogether different affair than that of a live concert. The initial demos are either one or two guitar tracks and a bass guitar track coupled with my drumming, so it starts very modestly. Then I elaborate on those harmonies and soundscapes. I keep the original demo versions for myself, [in case] I [ever] feel the need to revisit these tracks. 

Is that the sound of a human or animal at the start of “Tavastland”? Why did you decide to incorporate it?

It is the Ural Owl, or Tawny Owl. I recorded him from some distance, so maybe some nature expert can identify him better. It is symbolic and magical that the owl starts the song, for owls usually signify wisdom and the ability to see beyond illusion. The allegory here would of course be lies of Christendom and such organized brainwash[ing] religions.

I suppose the message is to think for yourself. Do not be fooled by people. 

If you could re-record one song from Havukruunu’s back catalog, which would it be, why would you do it and what changes would you make to the track?

I’d rather not—or so I’d like to think. Of course, I would like to revisit the demo songs, and I actually do this. There is tons of stuff that I have written, but I pick the best parts for albums. That being said, I do think it is futile [to rework old material], and I have no actual interest to do so. Slight remastering is all right, some remixes are very good and actually needed, but beyond that I don’t see me revisiting old stuff.

But, as you asked, I will answer if I had to pick one: I’d do [July 2015’s] Verta, Tulta ja Kuolemaa.

What bands do you think rip off the Havukruunu sound most egregiously?

I never expected to be ripped off, as I am the one that has been doing the ripping off all these years. I won’t name any names, as I do not care that much, but I have noticed a certain kind of … writing style and visual language with some bands. I don’t think much of it. If anything, it makes me disappointed that people would want to follow in something I have made for myself and try to follow a path (I am being metaphorical here). I have trodden for myself, for no one walks quite the same way … 

Anyway, I should be glad anyway, if people feel inspired to pick up books and read as a result of my writing.

In looking back over your career, do you generally feel like you got your due, were unfairly overlooked, or received about the level of respect and popularity you felt like you deserved throughout?

I have not deserved anything in my mind. I find the attention disturbing, and it makes me uneasy. If anything, I am glad I am able to paint, write and play guitar—for, unfortunately, it is the best I can make of myself. “We,” and by that I mean me and my kind, are not adept to this kind of world. We were seers of old, poets perhaps, to ease the burden of life and sorrows of death.

Now we are outcasts, fringe-folk and a bunch of weirdos. Maybe I would be right to spin all the attention as a positive. But then again, it is not what I actually had in mind.

Go to Havukruunu’s Bandcamp page to buy their latest album, Tavastland, and other releases in the black-metal band’s catalog.

Photo courtesy of Heidi Kosenius

This entry was posted on 06/07/2025 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.