Rattus Interview
from Maximum Rock'n'roll #8, September 1983
Scorching firebolts in abrasive vigor of active aggression that is frantically fast, crazed and chaotic, exists the blazing bombardment which is RATTUS. An initiative, outward outfit from Finland whose wound blasts forth a brutal barrage of raw knucking mayem that stimulates the senses with volleys of quick persistent rhythms. Featuring 'Jake' on guitar, 'Tomppa' on bass, 'Wellu' on drums, and now 'Annikki' crooning out the vocals, the stirring quality of RAUUS is agile, continuing to grow, having an alarming vivacity with an oscillating momentum that is unprovoked. Latest release "Uskonto On Vaapa" is another brilliant dose of surprising fury and non-hesitant intensity, an international hit from RATTUS.Interview by Pushead
MRR: What does 'RATTUS' mean?
R: 'RATTUS' is Latin, and means 'rat'. The name was chosen because of the STRANGLERS' first LP "Rattus Norvegicus". They were the band that turned us finally to punk.
MRR: List your vinyl, tape appearances. Why were the first EPs so much different than what you play now? What made you change your musical direction. What are your future vinyl releases?
R: These are the releases:
1) Khomeini-Rock / Muotipunk-July '80
2) Fucking Disco-EP-6 tracks-Nov '80
3) ROR-EP-5 tracks
4) Rajoitettu ydinsota-EP-4 tracks-Dec '81
5) W.C. Rajahtaa-LP-14 tracks-Oct '82 (also released in Brasil)
6) Uskonto On Vaapa-EP-9 tracks-May '83
7) Propoganda Hardcore '83-3 tracks
Tapes:
1) Punk Ei Ole Kuollut-3 tracks
2) Tyalaisten Kontrolli-4 tracks
3) Trust And Obey, God Is Love-4 tracks
4) Raw War-4 tracks
The music has changed quite a lot in our records; the first record was old-fashioned, quite slow punk rock. The second a collection of punk, new wave, and ska-reggae. The third was our worst. The fourth, fifth, and sixth are hardcore. The reason for that is the music we have listened to while composing songs. DISCHARGE influenced us in '81, before we did the "R.Y." EP. Now Tomppa is influenced more by U.S. bands and some heavy groups, Jake by DISCHARGE, and some U.S. bands.
MRR: What are RATTUS' favorite bands?
R: Well, here are some of them:
U.K.-DISCHARGE, DISORDER, CHAOS U.K., MAYHEM, INSTANT AGONY, RUDIMENTARY PENI, VARUKERS...
U.S.-MINOR THREAT, NEGATIVE APPROACH, M.D.C., BLACK FLAG, MISFITS, NECROS, DEAD KENNEDYS, GANG GREEN, D.R.I., FARTZ, DOUBLE O, and many, many more.
OTHERS-TERVEET KÄDET, SHITLICKERS (RIP), AGENT ORANGE (Holland), BUTTOCKS, CHAOS Z, OLHO SECO, INDIGESTI, WRETCHED, 5° BRACCIO, RIISTETYT, KAAOS, SEKUNDA, DACHAU, TAMPERE SS (not nazis!)...
MRR: Do you agree with the beliefs that are associated with 'hardcore' or 'punk'? Describe your meaning of those terms. What is anarchy to you? Why a circle A in the RATTUS logo? What is 'freedom' to you? Does a free state exist in Finland?
R: Don't know about those beliefs. It's everyone's own business what to do and what to believe in. Punk is/was a protest which began in '76 and which almost died in '79-'80 when the CLASH, etc., became shit businessmen. Hardcore is a successor to punk. It's much better than punk, because there are not any super bands among HC groups (are there?). That's really a good thing -- there are not any rock stars, and the bands and fans are all the same. The A in Rattus' logo is circled because Anarchy means freedom to us. It means freedom to wear the clothes we like, to do what we like (not crimes!). And we don't like to look like all the punks here with mohicans. We are quite normal looking fellows. Or maybe not still... Finland is quite a good place to live. Everything is not OK, but where is it?
MRR: Describe the Finnish hardcore scene: bands, areas, growth. Do you like the scene? What are the clobs like? Are Finnish punks into an image, or individuality? How does all this affect RATTUS? What kind of response does RATTUS get? How far from the major centers of activity do you live?
R: Finnish hardcore: lots of bands, new ones coming. TERVEET KÄDET and RATTUS are from little villages. Urban punks are more aggressive. RATTUS is quite out of the scene cause we haven't done any gigs this year. The punks, we're afraid, are future alcoholics. They spend all their money drinking all the time. When DISCHARGE was here, which was a miracle, over half the punks there were drunk. Fucking stupid! Some of the punks are into individuality, but more of them are into an image - the clothes and the appearance are the main things. We are into individuality. We have lived in peace in this small village, so we haven't had to follow other punks' dressing styles. About the response: we don't get much. Some magazines write to us and ask for an article, but punks don't write to us. If they see some of us, they'll talk to us. From abroad we have gotten many letters, and that's great. One guy from the U.S. wrote to us and told us not to change singers. We were really glad to see that someone cared. We live quite far from Tampere (100 kilometers) and Helsinki (270 kilometers).
MRR: Is RATTUS a serious band or a fun band? Is there a message or general opinions in your songs? Explain your song titles and meanings of your lyrics.
R: We are both. Our lyrics are serious - we sing what we feel about different things. The song titles of our new EP are: "War Lunatics", "Religion Is A Danger", "Animal Bodies As Victims", "Idol", "Rock Editor", "No Hate, No Jealousy", "Voluntary Death" (an anti-drug song), "Wine In Vessels, Urine In Head", "W.C. Blows Up #2".
MRR: Do you disagree or agree with Straight Edge or Anti-poison? Do you drink, smoke, etc? Are you vegetarians? Explain your lifestyle/habits.
R: We don't agree or disagree. Every one of us drinks once a week. Jake and Annikki smoke. But we are against drugs. We ar not vegetarians. We eat meat and everything that tastes good. We are very friendly people. Our habits are OK.
MRR: Do you believe in God? Or religion? What does it represent to you? Do you believe in life after death?
R: Don't know about God. Maybe we believe in something. We don't believe in religion. It's brainwashing. Maybe there is some kind of life after death - don't know.
MRR: The RATTUS opinion of war? What is Finland's army like? Would you fight?
R: We have sung very many songs about war and the threat of war. It is a senseless action. It's cause by crazed presidents and kings who have had to prove their power that way. There is one big mistake in the laws of Finland. Every male has to join the army for 8 or 11 months. Fortunately you can work in a hospital or airport for one year if you have ethical or religious reasons that obstruct you from joining the army. Every one of us try to work somewhere to avoid the army, although it's quite hard to do so. For us, there is no native country for which we would kill and die. Death is the end of life. But everyone should die without any violence.
MRR: Final notes?
R: We wish to thank Vote (of P. Tuotanto) for selling our records abroad, and Pushead for drawing really cool covers for our records. We also want to thank anyone who has written to us. If you haven't gotten an answer yet, we're sorry... we're just so fucking lazy!
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