Finnish folk metal legends Korpiklaani and filmmaker Kimmo Kuusniemi teamed up for a trip to Japan in 2017. Here, three generations of Finnish Metal; Kimmo, one of the first Finnish metalheads, and Korpiklaani, a furious act of modern folk metal met with another Finnish legend, Kärtsy Hatakka and his band Waltari. The trip proved to be a series of intensive gigs and a journey into the open minds of Japanese metal fans, while on the side Korpiklaani’s shaman violinist Tuomas Rounakari and Kimmo wanted to make acquaintances with the ancient history of the land of the rising sun.

Tuomas: "The Finns and Japanese have a strange connection. We both appreciate silence more than most other cultures. Maybe it is due to the still lasting connection to the nature that is in the center of ancient beliefs of both cultures."

Kimmo: "In the past I have made some commercial films for Japanese markets but I had never visited before. Japan is a very interesting contradiction of industrial high tech in perfect harmony with the ancient traditions. In between the gigs me and Tuomas tried to see as much as we could of the old traditional side of Japan."

Tuomas: "We had a hilarious interview in Japan. We found out that most of our songs were very obscurely translated to Japanese, mostly in innuendo way. Apparently these curious titles were one aspect of our fame in the country."

The resulting documentaries are a rare peek into the on-the-road life of grown up men behaving as rockers on stage. But they are also a tribute to the international heavy metal fan family: wherever the bands go, they receive a warm and hearty welcome. The live footage shot by state-of-the-art technology, is enigmatic, and the behind-the-scenes material shows the band exploring local cultures, from the Siberian tundra to cherry orchards in Japan.

Kimmo: "One great thing of making these documentaries was that I met Tuomas. We are very like minded and we already are working on a new project called Sampo that combines music and myths. More about that soon."

The documentary is available as a Video On Demand stream here. Check out the Made In Japan homepage here.

Check out the details of Korpiklaani's Made In Russia documentary here.