Shocking news about Somnium's [Fintroll] death...

**asphyXy** · 02-23-2004, 05:10 PM

IMPALED NAZARENE singer Mika Luttinen has finally come clean about the death of guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta (also of FINNTROLL) last March in what was being described at the time as the result of an accidental fall he took while intoxicated. A report in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's biggest daily newspaper, shortly after Teemu's death indicated that Raimoranta died when he "fell from the bridge into the ice." In the months following Teemu's death, his passing continued to be described as the result of an accident, a story that Luttinen now claims was a complete fabrication.

"I am sick of lying about this," Luttinen tells Metal Maniacs in the magazine's current issue. "[Teemu]'s family said they didn't want to tell the truth, and they wanted us to lie! They told us to tell people that it was an 'alcohol-related falling incident,' a totally bullshit story. Fact is, he jumped from the bridge to his death of his own free will. Now this might sound shitty, but I do not miss him in my band. To tell you the truth, he was ****ing up a lot. He was a slacker, missing practices and stuff. He wouldn't say he wasn't coming, he just wouldn't show up. We had to treat him like a child sometimes, like when we had to catch flights for a tour or something, we'd have to call him up like 10 times asking him if he was coming to the airport. He was late all the time. And frankly, he wasn't such a great guitar player or songwriter either, he wasn't even a main songwriter. I think my band is better off for it, as we have a killer new guitar player now. But I do miss him as a friend. When we toured, I would share hotel rooms with him. He was a loyal friend. We had many of the same views on life. That's the part I miss about him. He was a good friend. As a band member, I don't miss him at all. This is harsh, I know. I am sure some people will ask, how can I say this? But life goes on. Sometimes life sucks and sometimes it doesn't.

Metal Maniacs: What would you say to others who may be thinking of taking their own lives?

"This is not the first time my friends have killed themselves. For me, I respect what they do. I think it is their choice. If you do not want to live anymore, then fine, kill yourself. Because in the end, it is still your life and you have to decide what you have to do. Of course, it is going to hurt the people around you, but people will get over it. You have to continue living. If someone is going to kill themselves, it's not for me to say, 'No, don't do that.'

Metal Maniacs: Weren't you all out partying together that night? Didn't he do it in front of his friends?

"Actually, He was out with FINNTROLL members, not anybody from IMPALED NAZARENE. One of my friends was there and saw it happen, saw Teemu jump from the bridge by his own will. My friend was sober, as was Teemu. When they did the autopsy on him [required by law when someone commits suicide], they checked for drugs, alcohol and found he only had the equivalent of three beers that night. He knew what he was doing, no question about it."

Metal Maniacs: Were there any signs he might do something like this?

"It wasn't the first time. He had tried to kill himself before. We were trying to help him. We asked him many times to tell us if he was having problems. We told him, 'Please don't hold it in.' He was living his rock 'n' roll dream. He was a guy who partied 24 hours a day doing all kinds of substances. We didn't even know how badly he was caught on drugs. We learned many things about him after the fact. He was really living a double life. He was taking the rock star thing too seriously, living this extreme rock 'n' roll lifestyle."

----

This comes as a huge shock. It took me a while to get over it when it happened, and now to find out that it was suicide... I lost my respect for him. It's just odd that this news came out this late. Impaled Nazarene's new album is on par with all of their other material [excluding Nihil when Alexi Laiho was in the band </biased opinion]. He wasn't the best guitarist in the world, but I loved his work in Finntroll...

**Disturbed316** · 02-23-2004, 06:19 PM

wow...pretty shocking

**Joeleosis** · 02-23-2004, 06:24 PM

Damn that is really shitty. I love Finntroll, big fan of the guitarwork.. it was bad enough that he died, worse that it comes out that he committed suicide.

Not to mention he abused drugs and alcohol. Nothing wrong with a bunch of Finnish guys getting drunk and making some music, but it seems Teemu's situation was too dire to go on with life, music, and having fun..

In related news, Finntroll's new album comes out in April/May. I'm assuming they found a new guitarist... I've got high hopes of them making a trip over to the U.S as well.

But once again, RIP Teemu.

**Joeleosis** · 02-23-2004, 07:06 PM

FINNTROLL's new full-length album, "Nattf�dd", will be released in Europe (excluding Finland) on April 26 — one week later than originally announced. A Finnish release is expected on April 13. The band will still be issuing a five-song EP, "Trollhammaren", on March 15 through Century Media Records. Both records were recorded and mixed at Sundicoop Studio in Savonlinna, Finland in November 2003 by Tuomo Valtonen and were produced by keyboardist Trollhorn. Mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. As on their previous records, the band successfully combines black metal with very melodic folk elements and humppa, a kind of polka, in such a powerful and highly entertaining way that even the hardest of metalheads are pleased to join the dance.

"Nattf�dd" track listing:

01. Vindf�rd / M�nniskopesten
02. Eliytres
03. Fiskarens Fiende
04. Trollhammaren
05. Nattf�dd
06. Ursvamp
07. Marknadsvisan
08. Det Iskalla Trollblod
09. Grottans Barn
10. Routas Vaggvisa

"Trollhammaren" track listing:

01. Trollhammaren
02. Hemkomst
03. Skog
04. F�rsvinn Du Som Lyser
05. Helvete

Trollhammaran sounds like a mad heavy track. I'm guessing it means Troll Hammer.

March 15 = me gonna get an import

02-23-2004, 05:10 PM	#1
asphyXy Chill out, dickwad. Posts: 17,219	Shocking news about Somnium's [Fintroll] death... IMPALED NAZARENE singer Mika Luttinen has finally come clean about the death of guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta (also of FINNTROLL) last March in what was being described at the time as the result of an accidental fall he took while intoxicated. A report in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's biggest daily newspaper, shortly after Teemu's death indicated that Raimoranta died when he "fell from the bridge into the ice." In the months following Teemu's death, his passing continued to be described as the result of an accident, a story that Luttinen now claims was a complete fabrication. "I am sick of lying about this," Luttinen tells Metal Maniacs in the magazine's current issue. "[Teemu]'s family said they didn't want to tell the truth, and they wanted us to lie! They told us to tell people that it was an 'alcohol-related falling incident,' a totally bullshit story. Fact is, he jumped from the bridge to his death of his own free will. Now this might sound shitty, but I do not miss him in my band. To tell you the truth, he was ****ing up a lot. He was a slacker, missing practices and stuff. He wouldn't say he wasn't coming, he just wouldn't show up. We had to treat him like a child sometimes, like when we had to catch flights for a tour or something, we'd have to call him up like 10 times asking him if he was coming to the airport. He was late all the time. And frankly, he wasn't such a great guitar player or songwriter either, he wasn't even a main songwriter. I think my band is better off for it, as we have a killer new guitar player now. But I do miss him as a friend. When we toured, I would share hotel rooms with him. He was a loyal friend. We had many of the same views on life. That's the part I miss about him. He was a good friend. As a band member, I don't miss him at all. This is harsh, I know. I am sure some people will ask, how can I say this? But life goes on. Sometimes life sucks and sometimes it doesn't. Metal Maniacs: What would you say to others who may be thinking of taking their own lives? "This is not the first time my friends have killed themselves. For me, I respect what they do. I think it is their choice. If you do not want to live anymore, then fine, kill yourself. Because in the end, it is still your life and you have to decide what you have to do. Of course, it is going to hurt the people around you, but people will get over it. You have to continue living. If someone is going to kill themselves, it's not for me to say, 'No, don't do that.' Metal Maniacs: Weren't you all out partying together that night? Didn't he do it in front of his friends? "Actually, He was out with FINNTROLL members, not anybody from IMPALED NAZARENE. One of my friends was there and saw it happen, saw Teemu jump from the bridge by his own will. My friend was sober, as was Teemu. When they did the autopsy on him [required by law when someone commits suicide], they checked for drugs, alcohol and found he only had the equivalent of three beers that night. He knew what he was doing, no question about it." Metal Maniacs: Were there any signs he might do something like this? "It wasn't the first time. He had tried to kill himself before. We were trying to help him. We asked him many times to tell us if he was having problems. We told him, 'Please don't hold it in.' He was living his rock 'n' roll dream. He was a guy who partied 24 hours a day doing all kinds of substances. We didn't even know how badly he was caught on drugs. We learned many things about him after the fact. He was really living a double life. He was taking the rock star thing too seriously, living this extreme rock 'n' roll lifestyle." ---- This comes as a huge shock. It took me a while to get over it when it happened, and now to find out that it was suicide... I lost my respect for him. It's just odd that this news came out this late. Impaled Nazarene's new album is on par with all of their other material [excluding Nihil when Alexi Laiho was in the band </biased opinion]. He wasn't the best guitarist in the world, but I loved his work in Finntroll...

02-23-2004, 06:19 PM	#2
Disturbed316 Posts: 22,695	wow...pretty shocking

02-23-2004, 06:24 PM	#3
Joeleosis Velvet Kevorkian Posts: 18,714	Damn that is really shitty. I love Finntroll, big fan of the guitarwork.. it was bad enough that he died, worse that it comes out that he committed suicide. Not to mention he abused drugs and alcohol. Nothing wrong with a bunch of Finnish guys getting drunk and making some music, but it seems Teemu's situation was too dire to go on with life, music, and having fun.. In related news, Finntroll's new album comes out in April/May. I'm assuming they found a new guitarist... I've got high hopes of them making a trip over to the U.S as well. But once again, RIP Teemu.

02-23-2004, 07:06 PM	#4
Joeleosis Velvet Kevorkian Posts: 18,714	FINNTROLL's new full-length album, "Nattf�dd", will be released in Europe (excluding Finland) on April 26 — one week later than originally announced. A Finnish release is expected on April 13. The band will still be issuing a five-song EP, "Trollhammaren", on March 15 through Century Media Records. Both records were recorded and mixed at Sundicoop Studio in Savonlinna, Finland in November 2003 by Tuomo Valtonen and were produced by keyboardist Trollhorn. Mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. As on their previous records, the band successfully combines black metal with very melodic folk elements and humppa, a kind of polka, in such a powerful and highly entertaining way that even the hardest of metalheads are pleased to join the dance. "Nattf�dd" track listing: 01. Vindf�rd / M�nniskopesten 02. Eliytres 03. Fiskarens Fiende 04. Trollhammaren 05. Nattf�dd 06. Ursvamp 07. Marknadsvisan 08. Det Iskalla Trollblod 09. Grottans Barn 10. Routas Vaggvisa "Trollhammaren" track listing: 01. Trollhammaren 02. Hemkomst 03. Skog 04. F�rsvinn Du Som Lyser 05. Helvete Trollhammaran sounds like a mad heavy track. I'm guessing it means Troll Hammer. March 15 = me gonna get an import