At first, I wanted to elaborate a ‘philosophy of heavy metal’, an endeavor no less than ambitious. Just like with most of the mentally healthy researches, the original plan has changed several times, and nowadays I focus on something more practical, realistic in its fulfilment and academically relevant: vocals in the traditional heavy era. It’s amazing how little this topic is addressed in the studies on heavy music, mostly because none or very few scholars have the necessary background to be capable of dealing with it. I’m deeply grateful to my pop/jazz singing studies at Metropolia, thanks to which I can approach vocals from a technical point of view in addition to the social and historical perspectives.

The idea of starting my PhD studies took form at the end of 2011, after a chat with a friend who had just received his acceptance to Oxford. Since the very beginning I wanted to combine my philosophic and musical backgrounds, and right at that time my interests began to rapidly encompass wider views than just classical music. Then I decided: heavy metal it had to be.

Unlike the majority of the musicians I personally know, I approached music studies rather late since I began practicing violin at the age of 11. I honestly confess that for about five or six years playing the violin was not exactly the cornerstone of my life. Of course I’ve always loved music, but I wasn’t ready for the deep commitment its study requires. Only later, when I was about 18, I realized how important playing was for me and since then I really tackled the thing with a different attitude. I never became as good as someone like David Oistrakh, of course, but when I graduated from the conservatory I was humbly happy with the results I had achieved.

My best memory at the University of Helsinki is probably related to the Helsinki Summer School course about heavy metal I lectured and coordinated in August 2015. To put in practice what I had planned was a tough but rewarding experience and seeing it becoming truth was priceless. I had a wonderful class of students more or less as old as me, and being ‘the teacher’ didn’t spoil either the fun of it or the amicable vibe with the group. Furthermore, I had the possibility of structuring the course at freedom and I was pleased I got many and various guest-lecturers to speak during the lectures.

I wish for a parallel career in music-making as well as in music studies. Performance and everything revolving around it are what I primarily strive for, but academia is almost as important and I believe I could bring a useful contribution to human sciences. Unfortunately, it is under everybody’s eyes that both these areas of employment are heavily struggling.