BATTLE BEAST’s NOORA LOUHIMO Says Musical Direction Of Her Debut Solo Album Will Be ‘Soulful Blues Rock With Country Influences’

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BATTLE BEAST singer Noora Louhimo will enter the studio in September to begin recording her debut solo album for an early 2021 release. Some of the songrwriting sessions have taken place at JaBa Recording Studios in Hankasalmi, Finland with Samuli Erkkilä. Regarding the status of the material for the solo LP, Louhimo told Finland's Kaaos TV (see video below): "A couple of more songs [need to be] done, [and] then the material is there, and then we are doing the arrangements. For example, I'm going to have some horn sections and real instruments in this album. So this is going to be, music-wise, soulful blues rock with country influences, and I really want to involve here real instruments and really pro musicians. So I'm really excited that I can actually go not just to the roots music-wise but also with the instruments." Asked if it was important for her to pursue a different musical direction with her solo LP compared to that of BATTLE BEAST, Noora said: "Of course, it's important. And I really feel like, because I have different sides as a musician, and my roots, as a musician, is in blues music and in soul music, so I really want to show that side also to the audience — that I'm not just about heavy metal, but I want to show the people where I come from. And also I really don't want to compete with my own band [laughs], because I think it's really good that people can see different sides of me as a musician and as a person. And in the album, all the lyrics will be about my personal life, so I'm gonna show people myself in a whole new level." Louhimo also offered an update on BATTLE BEAST, which released its fifth full-length record, "No More Hollywood Endings", in March 2019 via Nuclear Blast. "The songwriting process has already started for the sixth BATTLE BEAST album," she said. "And Joona [Björkroth, guitar], Janne [Björkroth, keytar] and Eero [Sipilä, bass], who are primarily the songwriters, they have been doing some stuff. And I'm waiting to get to the demo sessions and see what they have been writing." In 2012, Louhimo entered BATTLE BEAST with no previous experience as a metal vocalist but quickly acclimated herself as the replacement for Nitte Valo.