Drummer Jaska Raatikainen, best known for his time behind the kit with Children Of Bodom, has updated fans on his current activities:

"Hello everybody, hope you are all good. Busy times here, but now it’s time for an update and I am happy to say that something’s cooking with the new band scene. As some you might know, I recently joined a new band called Mercury Circle. The band’s musical style is quite different from Bodom, and I’m really excited about the upcoming album. I wanted to share with you a little bit about the process of making it, so here it goes.

Preparing an album with Bodom was always quite disciplined: we arranged, practiced and fine-tuned the songs months before the studio, and the actual recording was quite straightforward from my point of view. Recording the drums took about a week. With Mercury Circle the whole thing was from another planet. I came familiar with the songs only about a month before, and the style was new to me too. I first listened the raw material very intensively and then started to practice, 2-3 hours per day for 2-3 weeks. It was a very naked feeling to go to studio because the way of working was so different from what I was used to, but at the same time it was very creative. Some of the best ideas came to me only a few days before we started and tons of creative work was done in the studio. Also, this time the studio time was only two days, including setting up the kit and sound check, etc.

Our vocalist and songwriter Jaani had a somewhat clear vision of the album, but he was open to all ideas and you could say that the outcome is a result of dialogue, throwing ideas, repeating and experimenting. A very 'go for it' attitude all the way. I spent around two hours recording one song, which was a breathtaking speed considering most of the arrangements were made on the go. Stressful, but extremely rewarding experience. I had to put all my skills and experience to the game, and actually learn very fast in the process. Some of the songs require powerful, slow and quite silent drum sounds, and that’s not exactly the case with the previous material I have recorded. We wanted to get everything out of the drums, and had a very percussionistic approach to the sounds (more on that later). I also got to record some linear drumming, something I have been waiting for a long time.

The work continues for some time with recording the other instruments, vocals and mixing it all together. Release date will be early next year. Meanwhile, mixed activities with some construction efforts, other band hobbies, and whatnot.

Take care,
Jaska"

(Photo courtesy of Raisa Krogerus and Jaska Raatikainen's Facebook page)