TOMI JOUTSEN HAD already toiled for 15 years in Finland’s death metal underground before he joined Amorphis, helping the prog metallers reconnect to their extreme roots while expanding their sound. Sixteen years and eight albums later, Tomi is firmly entrenched as one of prog metal’s most understated yet reliable forces, quietly confident and quick to praise others for their talents that have helped his band get where they are. We cornered the singer to reflect on what 30-plus years of heavy metal graft has taught him…
IT PAYS TO LOOK STYLISH
“I really liked [rockabilly group] Stray Cats as a kid because I had a friend who was a little older and he would play them all the time, they just looked so cool. It became a big thing at our school where all the cool guys – the older guys, naturally – got back patches and bullet belts, smoking cigarettes and whatever.”
