ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION: 'Cross The Line' Video Released

"Cross The Line (Of No Return)", the new video from Finnish thrashers ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Jani "Viski" Viskari, the drummer of the Finnish thrash act ANGUISH, and it contains footage from the making of the band's latest album, "Gallery Of Pain", as well as material that was shot in the group's rehearsal room.

Anja Fireangel from the Night Elves Metal Media Group recently conducted an interview with Viskari about the making of the "Cross The Line (Of No Return)" video. It follows below.

Anja Fireangel: Your videos [such as those for ROTTEN SOUND] look often very direct, "immediate" and close. Does your background as fellow musician have something to do with this; that you can capture the atmosphere so well or are there other reasons for this approach?

Viskari: Well, yes... that might be one reason for my "style." I'm not doing it on purpose, it kinda happens naturally. I've seen and experienced a lot of amazing things as a musician and later as a videographer at gigs and festivals. I like to show how things look when you're present or when you shoot it with your video cam, giving the "live" feeling. Filming things in close-ups gives kind of a feeling you're there yourself. And seeing someone who's good at something, in this case playing, is always entertaining to see closer. And one note, I shot only 1/3 of this music video. So I can't say all the scenes are my visions in this video. I got the tapes that have been shot while recordings and rehearsals and picked up the best parts, added my own shots and edited a video. For me, as an ex-drummer, especially playing drums is something I want to see close and from good angles. I love to watch technical drummers playing. I've shot many tapes of Kai Hahto [WINTERSUN, SWALLOW THE SUN, ex-ROTTEN SOUND] playing drums. He's one hell of a drummer and I'll never get tired to film or watch him playing. Same thing with ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION, their music is aggressive, has great and heavy riffs and strength. These are things that push me to do my best to capture on video the greatness of their music.

Anja Fireangel: Which equipment did you use?

Viskari: Equipment for this video wasn't that special. The whole video was shot with Pasi Osmo's video camera and I edited it with my editing software (Premiere pro). So you don't always need to have and use expensive equipments to have a music video. Just a little of creativity and desire...and lots of time of course. My idea for this ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION video was like doing an "introducing of ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION," to show who these great musicians are. I have to say I'm very pleased with the end result of the video.

Anja Fireangel: How did you get to know ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION?

Viskari: I've known Pasi, Kimmo and Mika for over 20 years, since my teenage years. They're all still good friends of mine. I was a big fan in the early days of ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION and I used to go often to their rehearsals and gigs. They were one of the first thrash bands in Finland, that's one reason why I respect these guys so much. ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION was also a very big influence for me and my band [ANGUISH] in the early '90s. So I'm quite honored that I got to make the very first video of my old favorite band, ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION.

Anja Fireangel: Who is the fire-breathing artist at the end of the video?

Viskari: Who's on fire? Bad breath? Oh, I got you. He's our baby dragon! Seriously speaking, on that scene Pasi and a friend of ours, Jani Niemelä, are blowing fire after having a sauna. In this scene it was Jani. No need to say they've had a couple of beers too....just to extinguish the fire. ;-)

"Gallery Of Pain" was released on April 28 via Violent Journey Records. The CD artwork (see below) was created by Juha Vuorma, who also designed covers for the first three KALMAH albums and for USURPER and METUJA, among others.

"Gallery Of Pain" track listing:

01. Altars Of Destruction
02. Aggression
03. Children Of Misfortune
04. Guilty Or Not
05. Cross The Line (Of No Return)
06. Heroes Of The New World
07. Suicide…Are You Fucking Insane?
08. Gallery Of Pain
09. Day Of Judgement

Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.

ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION is:

Mika Luoma: Vocals
Kimmo Osmo: Guitars
Pasi Osmo: Bass
Jussi Samppala (TYRANT DISCIPLE): Drums

Formed in 1986 by the brothers Kimmo and Pasi Osmo, along with Jukka Sandberg, ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION went through several lineup changes before releasing an EP, "Painful Awakening", in 1989. Due to personal issues, the band split up a short time later. In 2005, ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION regrouped and started writing new songs and reworking old material. Their intention was to "make a couple of new songs and pick out our favourites from the past and make a record that cuts through two decades of metal the way we lived and loved it." Jussi Samppala from TYRANT DISCIPLE also stepped in as the band's new drummer.

(Thanks: fireangel / Night Elves)