Interview:

The spiritual significance of music, or anything, in my opinion is always related to who is listening or writing, and in what way. “The beauty is in the ear of the listener”. There are many old Christmas songs that manage to move me, because they hold a special place in my memories of childhood. I couldn’t care less about the Christianity in their contents. Then again it doesn’t disgust me either, unless it’s obviously “militant” in it’s preaching. In the area of Metal, we always get accused of being Satanists. Some people may be, but most of us are just writing stories. We like our music loud and strong, and so we deal with strong things. Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-fi are fertile breeding grounds for the mind. There’s room for anything and everything. If somebody creams their pants because some of the stuff is too strong, then that’s just too bad. Writers and movie-directors aim to shock many times as well. Are they Satanists? If we enjoy their work, are we? For some people music can be spiritual in a either a good or a bad way. Whenever I hear something impressive, it uplifts me and I get stronger. In that moment I’m in touch with myself and the worlds of the songwriter. That’s as spiritual as it gets for me. It’s what I try to do with people when they’re listening to something that I’ve written, played, or sang on. If they are moved to tears, laughter, energy, whatever, then I’m pleased and so are they. This is the spiritual significance of music. All the better, if I’m responsible. I certainly didn’t get it from God or Satan. Those guys will never steal my credit. I did it!

“Whenever I hear something impressive, it uplifts me and I get stronger. In that moment, I’m in touch with myself and the worlds of the songwriter.”
– Marco Hietala, bassist and vocalist in Tarot