Into The Epic Metal Realm of Atavistia

Into The Epic Metal Realm of Atavistia

Atavistia is an epic metal band from Vancouver, Canada whose grand artistry mesmerizes the senses and sets the imagination in flight.  A sweeping independent release that will surely enrapture fans of bands such as Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, The Winter Way by Atavistia presents a collective at the very height of their vast creative energies.  Highwire Daze recently interviewed mastermind Mattias Sippola to find out more about the adventurous reveries found within the realm of Atavistia.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Atavistia, and how long the band has been together.
Hi! My name is Mattias Sippola and I’m the founder and guitarist/vocalist of Atavistia. I write, record, and mix the music.

The band has been around since September of 2017. At that time, Atavistia was just a one-manned project. In 2018, the full lineup was formed to bring Atavistia to the stage.

Where are you based out of and what is the local metal scene like there?
We are based out of Vancouver, BC Canada. The local metal scene here is a hit and miss as our transit system and overall night life has ridiculous restrictions and closing times. However, the people in the scene are always kind and respectful.

Is there any overall story or concept behind The Winter Way title?
There is no true concept to The Winter Way but I structured the songs in a way where one can interpret a concept as the tracks flow together as one.

Select two songs from The Winter Way and what inspired the lyrics.
The Forbidden One and The Winter Way are both heavily driven by the lyrics. I don’t want to go into too much detail but the lyrics are heavily based upon personal matters. I’d like for listeners to interpret our music however they feel.

Who did the cover art for The Winter Way and how much input did you have on it?
Xen from Ne Obliviscaris was kind enough to be our cover art artist. I gave him a few references and ideas but I wanted to see what his vision was. We are very satisfied with what he came up with!

What has it been like to release a new album right in the middle of a pandemic?
Obviously we didn’t have this pandemic in mind when we set our release date but it honestly hasn’t affected the progress too much. We did however have a music video which we were going to shoot but we had to cancel the production due to the pandemic. Our supports online have been great so there hasn’t been a negative affect in that regard.

When looking back on your first album One Within The Sun, what do you think of it in retrospect?
A demo quality one-manned basement project haha but in all seriousness, I honestly never expected to end up where we are today!

What could one expect from a live Atavistia show?
A wall of sound production, tight guitar tones, punishing blast beats, and we have many things in mind to improve our shows to the best of our ability!

If Atavistia could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
That is a very difficult question as there are way too many to choose from. Although, if we had the chance to open for bands such as Wintersun or Dimmu Borgir, we would open for them no questions asked!

Are you currently involved with any other bands or projects outside of Atavistia?
Not currently. I have done some session work for some other projects but they are exclusively session gigs. I do not have the time to join any other projects as a writing/performing member at the moment but we shall see what the future holds!

What’s up next for Atavistia?
Other than our upcoming sophomore album, “The Winter Way” we have a few things in the works but we don’t want to disclose on anything yet. This pandemic has really held us back from some pretty cool plans we had for this summer.. We hope to make them up soon!

Any final words of wisdom?
Stay safe, recharge those batteries, and enjoy time with loved ones!

Band Members
Guitars/Vox – Mattias Sippola
Guitars – Dalton Meaden
Bass – D’wayne Murray
Drums – Izzy Langlais

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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