In Thorns interview – going back to basics, heavier sound, and writing honest lyrics
In this interview, following the release of their new single “cobra effect,” the musicians detail how their experiences on stage have sharpened their identity and songwriting. From internal transitions to navigating modern industry trends, they explain why the music must always come first
In Thorns is an emerging Finnish heavy music collective that defines itself not by traditional band roles, but by a shared dedication to sonic intensity. Drawing influences from metalcore, hardcore, rap, and pop, the project crafts a raw, aggressive sound driven by heavy breakdowns, cinematic aesthetics, and lyrics that openly address complex human struggles. Since bringing their music to the stage, the collective has been actively sharpening their identity and shifting toward a tighter, more straightforward live sound. Currently navigating key lineup changes, In Thorns is preparing for their upcoming EP, paved by their latest singles “exit wounds,” “wormhusk,” and “cobra effect”. I caught up with vocalist Kristian Ruutala to talk about their evolving direction, creative independence, and what it takes to keep the music first.
Your recent singles “exit wounds,” “wormhusk,” and “cobra effect” sound different from your debut album, “the last bead on a cord of songs” – your style has become heavier, more aggressive, and tighter. What influenced this change? In your opinion, how has In Thorns changed since then?
We made our first album purely in the studio, but since we started playing live shows, I think it has become much clearer to us what we actually want to do with our music. Our first album was also very heavily produced, with strings, backing vocals and a lot of additional layers.Going forward, we want to “go back to basics” a little more. That doesn’t mean getting rid of backing tracks or additional elements completely, but we want our music to be more straightforward, heavier and more focused on what works as a live band.
In your track “wormhusk,” you address the incredibly difficult and crucial topic of domestic violence. What is it like to regularly perform a song with such a heavy emotional weight live on stage? How important is it for you to speak out about things that are still considered taboo?
I think “wormhusk” is our best song to perform live. Musically, it’s incredibly heavy, and I feel like the lyrics fit that heaviness really well. In Thorns has always dealt with topics in our lyrics that people don’t necessarily talk about openly, such as depression, suicide, and now domestic violence. I don’t want to glorify any of these things. Instead, through my lyrics, I want to create an opening for people to talk about them and hopefully encourage someone who might be struggling with these issues to seek support.
Your new single “cobra effect” explores the nature of addiction, and you emphasize that while addictions can take different forms, they all share a common root – emptiness or pain. What advice would you give to someone who has just recognized their addiction? In your opinion, are all dependencies inherently bad?
I’ve seen many different kinds of addiction up close, how people have struggled with them, and also how they’ve managed to overcome them. If your addiction reaches a point where it starts controlling your life, I think that’s when you need to stop and ask yourself whether this is really what you want. I know that’s much easier said than done, but I would encourage you to open up about it, even if it’s just to a good friend. That alone can be the beginning of the conversation. And if talking to someone you know feels too difficult, there are also people you can talk to anonymously. Once you actually start talking about the problem out loud, I think it can become easier to step outside of your own perspective and look at the situation more objectively.
We made our first album purely in the studio, but since we started playing live shows, I think it has become much clearer to us what we actually want to do with our music. Our first album was also very heavily produced, with strings, backing vocals and a lot of additional layers.Going forward, we want to “go back to basics” a little more. That doesn’t mean getting rid of backing tracks or additional elements completely, but we want our music to be more straightforward, heavier and more focused on what works as a live band.
In your track “wormhusk,” you address the incredibly difficult and crucial topic of domestic violence. What is it like to regularly perform a song with such a heavy emotional weight live on stage? How important is it for you to speak out about things that are still considered taboo?
I think “wormhusk” is our best song to perform live. Musically, it’s incredibly heavy, and I feel like the lyrics fit that heaviness really well. In Thorns has always dealt with topics in our lyrics that people don’t necessarily talk about openly, such as depression, suicide, and now domestic violence. I don’t want to glorify any of these things. Instead, through my lyrics, I want to create an opening for people to talk about them and hopefully encourage someone who might be struggling with these issues to seek support.
Your new single “cobra effect” explores the nature of addiction, and you emphasize that while addictions can take different forms, they all share a common root – emptiness or pain. What advice would you give to someone who has just recognized their addiction? In your opinion, are all dependencies inherently bad?
I’ve seen many different kinds of addiction up close, how people have struggled with them, and also how they’ve managed to overcome them. If your addiction reaches a point where it starts controlling your life, I think that’s when you need to stop and ask yourself whether this is really what you want. I know that’s much easier said than done, but I would encourage you to open up about it, even if it’s just to a good friend. That alone can be the beginning of the conversation. And if talking to someone you know feels too difficult, there are also people you can talk to anonymously. Once you actually start talking about the problem out loud, I think it can become easier to step outside of your own perspective and look at the situation more objectively.
The backstory of “cobra effect” is fascinating because it’s inspired by MØ’s pop song “Blur.” How difficult was it to blend two such drastically different sounds – your own and MØ’s? What did you learn from this exciting experience?
Aavee would definitely be the best person to answer this, but I can describe how I felt when I first heard the demo of “cobra effect,” which was actually called “blur” at the demo stage. Aavee has a very distinctive way of writing songs, and I think you can hear that throughout In Thorns’ music.
Personally, I would never have guessed that there was a pop song behind “cobra effect” as an inspiration. Even in its very first demo form, it already sounded like In Thorns to me. For me as a lyricist, Aavee’s experiment really just reinforced the idea that no matter where the initial inspiration for a song comes from, we can always find a way to bring our own identity and the In Thorns feel into it.
You’ve mentioned that “cobra effect” has become the lightest song in your career so far. Do you plan to continue experimenting with this direction, or do you set specific sonic boundaries for yourselves?
We’ve talked about wanting to keep a good balance between heavier and lighter music. I don’t think we’re necessarily planning to continue in a lighter direction from here. Of course, you never know what the future might bring, but if we had to choose between heavy and light, I think the whole band would stand firmly on the heavier side.
“cobra effect” is already your third single this year. You’ve mentioned that this track paves the way for an upcoming EP. Why did you decide to release these tracks as an EP? Is there a specific concept behind it, or was it a strategic decision?
Actually, “exit wounds,” “wormhusk,” “cobra effect,” and the next song have all been part of the same EP for quite some time, with the working title “Abuse.” Each song deals in some way with abuse or harm, whether directed at yourself or someone else, and that theme will also carry over into the upcoming track. There have also been some changes within the band over the summer, as we parted ways with our guitarist and producer Aleksi Ruotsalainen to pursue different directions. The next song will be the last one to feature Aleksi’s production.
You define yourselves as a “heavy music collective” rather than just a band. Does this collective status influence your decision-making process, especially when it comes to vocals, since In Thorns is quite unique in that regard?
You pretty much hit the nail on the head there. The whole thing started when Statsevich and I simply wanted to make music together. Aavee joined us pretty quickly, and from the very beginning, the idea was just to make music that sounds good. We never really had that traditional conversation about who sings, who plays guitar, and so on. Instead, we’ve always tried to do whatever serves each individual song best. Some songs have more clean vocals, in some Statse screams more, and in others I do. No one in this band should feel the need to put themselves on a pedestal or be in the spotlight. The music always comes first, and we make our decisions based on what we think serves the song best.
The aesthetics of In Thorns are highly cinematic – your art is deeply influenced by horror and surrealism. If you were given complete creative freedom to make a short film based on your tracks, what would the storyline be?
That’s a fun question. I’m sure you’d get a different answer from each member of the band, but personally, I absolutely love the animated short film for Knocked Loose’s “A Tear in the Fabric of Life” EP. I’d love to do something like that with animators rather than immediately going for a traditional live-action film. Story-wise, we’d probably build it around the theme of one of our songs or perhaps an entire album. Knowing us, it would most likely be something pretty dark. Despair is a pretty good place to draw inspiration from when making art.
Everywhere you look, people are talking about how AI is dominating every possible field. What are your thoughts on using AI in creative work? I’ve seen and heard plenty of AI-generated ‘music’ projects recently. In your opinion, will we ever reach a point where AI completely takes over the music industry?
To me, AI-generated music is just shit, even if the end result happens to be a fun or catchy song – and realistically, it probably can be. Whether AI music will eventually take over the industry is probably up to the consumers. If people keep listening to and consuming AI-generated music, then naturally, more of it will be made. Around the time of In Thorns’ first album, we actually used AI to create some of the cover art and other visuals. We were talking about it just this week and agreed that, looking back, it’s something we’re a bit embarrassed about. At the same time, I think it captures the whole 2023–2024 period pretty well. The term “AI slop” wasn’t really part of the conversation yet, and generative AI still felt like something new and interesting to experiment with. With this year’s releases and everything we do going forward, we’ve decided to leave AI-generated images and videos behind completely. We’d rather hire other people to create things for us or learn to do them ourselves. Personally, I’m extremely happy with the visuals we’ve created for all three of this year’s singles.
Aavee would definitely be the best person to answer this, but I can describe how I felt when I first heard the demo of “cobra effect,” which was actually called “blur” at the demo stage. Aavee has a very distinctive way of writing songs, and I think you can hear that throughout In Thorns’ music.
Personally, I would never have guessed that there was a pop song behind “cobra effect” as an inspiration. Even in its very first demo form, it already sounded like In Thorns to me. For me as a lyricist, Aavee’s experiment really just reinforced the idea that no matter where the initial inspiration for a song comes from, we can always find a way to bring our own identity and the In Thorns feel into it.
You’ve mentioned that “cobra effect” has become the lightest song in your career so far. Do you plan to continue experimenting with this direction, or do you set specific sonic boundaries for yourselves?
We’ve talked about wanting to keep a good balance between heavier and lighter music. I don’t think we’re necessarily planning to continue in a lighter direction from here. Of course, you never know what the future might bring, but if we had to choose between heavy and light, I think the whole band would stand firmly on the heavier side.
“cobra effect” is already your third single this year. You’ve mentioned that this track paves the way for an upcoming EP. Why did you decide to release these tracks as an EP? Is there a specific concept behind it, or was it a strategic decision?
Actually, “exit wounds,” “wormhusk,” “cobra effect,” and the next song have all been part of the same EP for quite some time, with the working title “Abuse.” Each song deals in some way with abuse or harm, whether directed at yourself or someone else, and that theme will also carry over into the upcoming track. There have also been some changes within the band over the summer, as we parted ways with our guitarist and producer Aleksi Ruotsalainen to pursue different directions. The next song will be the last one to feature Aleksi’s production.
You define yourselves as a “heavy music collective” rather than just a band. Does this collective status influence your decision-making process, especially when it comes to vocals, since In Thorns is quite unique in that regard?
You pretty much hit the nail on the head there. The whole thing started when Statsevich and I simply wanted to make music together. Aavee joined us pretty quickly, and from the very beginning, the idea was just to make music that sounds good. We never really had that traditional conversation about who sings, who plays guitar, and so on. Instead, we’ve always tried to do whatever serves each individual song best. Some songs have more clean vocals, in some Statse screams more, and in others I do. No one in this band should feel the need to put themselves on a pedestal or be in the spotlight. The music always comes first, and we make our decisions based on what we think serves the song best.
The aesthetics of In Thorns are highly cinematic – your art is deeply influenced by horror and surrealism. If you were given complete creative freedom to make a short film based on your tracks, what would the storyline be?
That’s a fun question. I’m sure you’d get a different answer from each member of the band, but personally, I absolutely love the animated short film for Knocked Loose’s “A Tear in the Fabric of Life” EP. I’d love to do something like that with animators rather than immediately going for a traditional live-action film. Story-wise, we’d probably build it around the theme of one of our songs or perhaps an entire album. Knowing us, it would most likely be something pretty dark. Despair is a pretty good place to draw inspiration from when making art.
Everywhere you look, people are talking about how AI is dominating every possible field. What are your thoughts on using AI in creative work? I’ve seen and heard plenty of AI-generated ‘music’ projects recently. In your opinion, will we ever reach a point where AI completely takes over the music industry?
To me, AI-generated music is just shit, even if the end result happens to be a fun or catchy song – and realistically, it probably can be. Whether AI music will eventually take over the industry is probably up to the consumers. If people keep listening to and consuming AI-generated music, then naturally, more of it will be made. Around the time of In Thorns’ first album, we actually used AI to create some of the cover art and other visuals. We were talking about it just this week and agreed that, looking back, it’s something we’re a bit embarrassed about. At the same time, I think it captures the whole 2023–2024 period pretty well. The term “AI slop” wasn’t really part of the conversation yet, and generative AI still felt like something new and interesting to experiment with. With this year’s releases and everything we do going forward, we’ve decided to leave AI-generated images and videos behind completely. We’d rather hire other people to create things for us or learn to do them ourselves. Personally, I’m extremely happy with the visuals we’ve created for all three of this year’s singles.
In the late ’90s and the 2000s, Finland was globally synonymous with rock and metal. What influenced you to choose this musical direction? Do you agree with the view that heavy music is more emotionally intense and serious than any other genre?
All of us grew up more or less surrounded by rock and metal, so I think ending up playing heavy music probably comes from somewhere deep in our subconscious. We’ve all played in rock and metal bands when we were younger, and maybe it’s exactly that emotional intensity of heavy music that keeps pulling us back to it again and again. That being said, In Thorns also draws influence from genres like rap, hardcore and pop. I’ve personally always loved rap music as well, and I think you can hear some of that influence in the lyrics and vocal flows I write.
Is there a sense of camaraderie and mutual support among Finnish metal bands, or is there inevitably some healthy competition for the audience’s attention in the scene?
We’ve played eight shows so far, and at least with the bands we’ve shared the stage with, there has always been a lot of mutual respect and no unnecessary rockstar egos. Of course, a little bit of competition is always healthy, and our goal is definitely to do things better than the other bands around us. I think that kind of competition is good for the whole scene, because when bands keep pushing themselves and each other to improve, everyone benefits.
Metalcore is very physically demanding. How do you recharge after performances and rehearsals? Do a traditional Finnish sauna and beer do the trick, or do you have other methods?
We were actually just talking about this at our last show – these days it’s electrolyte drinks before going on stage, whereas when we were younger, it was booze. We’ve also developed a bit of a tradition after shows: we’ll have one or two beers together and go through the whole gig. What went well, what didn’t, and what we could improve next time. We’re very aware that when we step on stage, we’re there to do a job, and we always want to deliver the best possible experience for the audience. That’s why going through the show afterwards is important to us. Of course, doing that in a sauna with a beer in hand is probably the best way to do it.
If you had to pick one In Thorns track right now that best explains to a new listener who you are and what you’re all about – which song would it be and why?
I’d probably go with either “xiii (the death)” or “wormhusk.” I think “xiii” represents our overall sound really well – it has clean vocals, breakdowns, and themes surrounding death. At the same time, the song is starting to feel quite old to us, and I’d also want a new listener to hear what In Thorns sounds like today. So I could just as easily pick “wormhusk,” even though it doesn’t have any clean vocals. I think that song really captures what In Thorns is at our heaviest, and we managed to nail that side of the band really well with it. But since you asked me to pick just one, I’ll go with “xiii (the death).”
What is the wildest, strangest, or funniest story from your time on stage or backstage?
We once had a show in Vaasa where Jimi and I drove there from Pori, Aavee and Aleksi came from Jyväskylä, and Statse came from Helsinki with our sound engineer. On the way there, the exhaust pipe on Jimi’s car broke off. With the help of some random local guy, we somehow managed to get it into the car with us, and luckily we found someone in Vaasa who could fix it pretty much while we were playing our show. Meanwhile, the suspension on Aavee and Aleksi’s car broke as well, which meant they couldn’t drive faster than about 50 km/h. We couldn’t get that car fixed in Vaasa that weekend, so things got a little complicated. Statse ended up driving some of us back to Jyväskylä first, and then had to drive back to Vaasa the next day to pick up Aleksi and our backline, which we had to leave behind because their car was still broken. At that point, it honestly felt like the entire universe was against us.
What can we, as listeners, expect from In Thorns in the future? Share your wildest dreams – maybe sharing the stage with your idols, or even throwing your own festival. Who knows?
Of course, we’ve talked a lot about our future and what we want from it. First and foremost, we want to start working on new music. The songs we’ve released this year have actually been sitting in the drawer for quite a while, so we’re really looking forward to creating something completely new again. Personally, I’d love to see us playing festival slots and bigger venues in the future. We’ve also talked as a band about how we absolutely have to play at least one show in the US someday. Even if we’re in our retirement years by then and have to pay someone to let us play, we’re going to make it happen.
In Thorns is:
Kristian Ruutala - vocals (screaming)
Aleksi Statsevich - vocals (screaming)
Aavee Tikkanen - guitar/vocals (clean)
Jimi Kinnunen - drums
All of us grew up more or less surrounded by rock and metal, so I think ending up playing heavy music probably comes from somewhere deep in our subconscious. We’ve all played in rock and metal bands when we were younger, and maybe it’s exactly that emotional intensity of heavy music that keeps pulling us back to it again and again. That being said, In Thorns also draws influence from genres like rap, hardcore and pop. I’ve personally always loved rap music as well, and I think you can hear some of that influence in the lyrics and vocal flows I write.
Is there a sense of camaraderie and mutual support among Finnish metal bands, or is there inevitably some healthy competition for the audience’s attention in the scene?
We’ve played eight shows so far, and at least with the bands we’ve shared the stage with, there has always been a lot of mutual respect and no unnecessary rockstar egos. Of course, a little bit of competition is always healthy, and our goal is definitely to do things better than the other bands around us. I think that kind of competition is good for the whole scene, because when bands keep pushing themselves and each other to improve, everyone benefits.
Metalcore is very physically demanding. How do you recharge after performances and rehearsals? Do a traditional Finnish sauna and beer do the trick, or do you have other methods?
We were actually just talking about this at our last show – these days it’s electrolyte drinks before going on stage, whereas when we were younger, it was booze. We’ve also developed a bit of a tradition after shows: we’ll have one or two beers together and go through the whole gig. What went well, what didn’t, and what we could improve next time. We’re very aware that when we step on stage, we’re there to do a job, and we always want to deliver the best possible experience for the audience. That’s why going through the show afterwards is important to us. Of course, doing that in a sauna with a beer in hand is probably the best way to do it.
If you had to pick one In Thorns track right now that best explains to a new listener who you are and what you’re all about – which song would it be and why?
I’d probably go with either “xiii (the death)” or “wormhusk.” I think “xiii” represents our overall sound really well – it has clean vocals, breakdowns, and themes surrounding death. At the same time, the song is starting to feel quite old to us, and I’d also want a new listener to hear what In Thorns sounds like today. So I could just as easily pick “wormhusk,” even though it doesn’t have any clean vocals. I think that song really captures what In Thorns is at our heaviest, and we managed to nail that side of the band really well with it. But since you asked me to pick just one, I’ll go with “xiii (the death).”
What is the wildest, strangest, or funniest story from your time on stage or backstage?
We once had a show in Vaasa where Jimi and I drove there from Pori, Aavee and Aleksi came from Jyväskylä, and Statse came from Helsinki with our sound engineer. On the way there, the exhaust pipe on Jimi’s car broke off. With the help of some random local guy, we somehow managed to get it into the car with us, and luckily we found someone in Vaasa who could fix it pretty much while we were playing our show. Meanwhile, the suspension on Aavee and Aleksi’s car broke as well, which meant they couldn’t drive faster than about 50 km/h. We couldn’t get that car fixed in Vaasa that weekend, so things got a little complicated. Statse ended up driving some of us back to Jyväskylä first, and then had to drive back to Vaasa the next day to pick up Aleksi and our backline, which we had to leave behind because their car was still broken. At that point, it honestly felt like the entire universe was against us.
What can we, as listeners, expect from In Thorns in the future? Share your wildest dreams – maybe sharing the stage with your idols, or even throwing your own festival. Who knows?
Of course, we’ve talked a lot about our future and what we want from it. First and foremost, we want to start working on new music. The songs we’ve released this year have actually been sitting in the drawer for quite a while, so we’re really looking forward to creating something completely new again. Personally, I’d love to see us playing festival slots and bigger venues in the future. We’ve also talked as a band about how we absolutely have to play at least one show in the US someday. Even if we’re in our retirement years by then and have to pay someone to let us play, we’re going to make it happen.
In Thorns is:
Kristian Ruutala - vocals (screaming)
Aleksi Statsevich - vocals (screaming)
Aavee Tikkanen - guitar/vocals (clean)
Jimi Kinnunen - drums
September 26, 2026
- Tuuli TalvinenFounder & Editor-in-ChiefInterviewer