CARDINALS FOLLY

My laboratory is located in the Midwest rust belt city of Rockford, Illinois, home of CHEAP TRICK, sock monkeys and millions of screws. Can you imagine how rare it is to see true doom metal here? Or true anything? Earlier this year, I had that anomalous experience at the town’s oldest bar, Mary’s Place, when CARDINAL’S FOLLY came all the way from Finland to play a gig there with local favorites THE HEAVILS and VANISHING KIDS.

Now that was pretty damn cool, seeing doom in the style of WITCHFINDER GENERAL and REVEREND BIZARRE at a Midwestern dive bar. During that gig, the guys played some new tracks from a forthcoming album called “Let The Posers Fall”. It wasn’t long before I had that album in my cold, dead hands and was frankly blown away by it.

So it came to pass that I spoke to Mikko, aka “Count Karnstein”, about the band’s stubborn determination on being as untrendy as possible as well as their anti-poser crusade. Read on…

WORMWOOD CHRONICLES:Greetings to CARDINAL’S FOLLY! It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you. Has the new album “Let The Posers Fall!” been something you’ve been working on for years or did it happen fairly quickly?

MIKKO: Hails! We had some of the songs ready for years. I wrote "I am the Zodiac" and "Hitch-Hike" around 2022-2023. But the rest we did as a collaboration once our new guitarist joined the band. Then we picked up the pace and wrote the rest during late 2024-2025. 

WC: You have a new guitarist, Tuomo Kosonen. Tell us a little about him and what background he comes from…

M: He's played before in local psych/stoner bands like SPIRALISM and POHJONEN. And he also used to drum for AT DAWN THEY SLEEP back in the 90s. He's a lifestyle musician and asyou could imagine he sleeps with his guitar by his side. Music is his life and he's a great player. 

WC: Did you ever consider making CARDINAL’S FOLLY a two guitar band or was a three piece always the plan?

M: We used to half-joke about it once a year. But no, not really. Playing in a trio is more fun. And honestly, if you look at how hard it is to run a band nowadays, it's not gonna get better by adding more members to it... schedules, chemistry, lots of risks in there. My guess is that if we did it, we would end up being a trio again anyway. So better not to make useless moves that only endanger the band and affect your motivation. You need to make the right moves. 

WC: You play doom metal but that doesn’t mean all of your songs are slow. “Hitch-Hike” and “Luchador” have some pace and aggression. What makes true doom in your opinion?

M: Spirit, sound, groove and soul. Not all doom metal is slow and not all slow metal is doom. Simple as that. Also SAINT VITUS, WITCHFINDER GENERAL and TROUBLE had faster songs and that's the doom I was raised with. Doom metal is the ultimate and original form of heavy metal, thanks to BLACK SABBATH. People are starting to forget what doom is really about, so some sort of Purification/Cleansing would be in order... 

WC: The new album is titled “Let The Posers Fall!”, which sounds like a challenge. These days we seem over-run by “cosplay bands” where everybody wears masks and make-up…we’ve got pirates, ninjas, Vikings, skeletons. Is it time for a new crusade against posers, like the one thrash metal had in the 80’s?

M: Haha, yes indeed! Although I also wear a Luchador mask on stage sometimes just for a while. In our new music video I rip it off though... which symbolizes the challenge. Be real and enough with the bullshit. The crusade against posers is neverending, but right now a new cleansing ritual is definitely needed. The world is going to hell and there's too much bullshit out there. 

Doom has always represented something different to me. It's heavy, it's sincere, it's uncompromising, and it doesn't need to apologize for being dark or ugly. So the title is our way of saying: let the bullshit fall away. We don't have to accept that the world has to be the shitshow it is today.

And of course there's some humor and provocation in the title. We're not claiming to be the ultimate judges of who is a poser and who isn't. We're just reminding people — including ourselves — that you don't have to follow the crowd. You can still have your own ideas, your own taste and your own fucking standards.

WC: You’ve got a song “Luchador” on the new album, which is an unusual subject for a Finnish band to sing about! Are you a fan of Lucha Libre or was this just an interesting concept for you to sing about?

M: Yeah I am, I've been to Lucha Libre many times in Mexico. Married to a Mexican for 7 years, you see all kinds of things. I respect their athleticism, entertainment value and those masks are a world of their own. I felt like doing a different song with a different theme as well. I like to expand the CF lore every now and then. “Luchador” is like our own football anthem. HAHAH!!!!

WC: “Your Stallions Are Burning” is a strange title for a song. What is this one about?

M: This is like a touring song, hehe. I was in the US with my local live line-up and I think guitar player Matt invented this saying while being stoned. To be honest, those were really hazy nights and I can't say how he/we came up with it anymore. I lost that memory. But anyway, I wanted to make a galloping heavy metal song out of that title. And we did. It's like an ode to our attitude on the road. We're the conquerors, pilgrims of doom and we're not gonna apologise for that. The road is burning beneath us. And we also printed ourselves "Your Stallions Are Burning!" DIY badges to our vests during that tour. Hahaha.....

WC: Another unusual title is “Cultist’s Highway”. Who rides the Cultist’s Highway…is it you and your fans?

M: Haha, you could say so! A very different song musically, yet thematically it continues the path of "Stallions". With slight references to "Psychomania" from our third album back in 2016. I really like this one, with slight touches of black metal in both riffs and vocals. And the organ and the choir in the end. It's pretty epic. I love rough-kind of epicness and CF very much is about that. 

WC: Some of the band’s influences are obvious, like BLACK SABBATH, WITCHFINDER GENERAL and REVEREND BIZARRE. But do you have other, more obscure influences that might be harder to detect?

M: Well, sure. I think the following bands can be tracked to the details of our work, if one knows them well enough: IN SOLITUDE, ANCIENT RITES, MINOTAURI, CATHEDRAL, MANOWAR, MANILLA ROAD, CIRITH UNGOL, KRAFTWERK, BAUHAUS, JOY DIVISION, GG ALLIN...

WC:  Like all good metal bands, you’re into horror movies, like “New York Ripper”. What are some of the movies and authors that inspire you the most?

M: Films: Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Ruggero Deodato, Jess Franco, John Carpenter, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, David Fincher, David Lynch, Roger Corman, Mario Mercier, George Lucas, Terence Fisher...

Authors: Dennis Wheatley, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, Charles Bukowski, Michelle Houellebecq, Bram Stoker, Robert E. Howard, Stephen King....

WC: I actually caught you guys at a dive bar Mary’s Place in my hometown, playing with THE HEAVILS and VANISHING KIDS. I really enjoyed the show! How did your U.S. shows go in general this year?

M: Hails! Wow! So you're from Rockford. Loved that place. Lots of history in that venue. And great street food outside. I remember this guy there, who actually came to the show with wall prints of our live shows that he wanted signed. What a filthy rockstar moment, hahah! In this latest US adventure, we had a great but short 4-show run with VANISHING KIDS across the midwest, that we will repeat again in the future. Only with more shows this time. USA has always been a good place for the FOLLY. All our 5 tours there have been outstanding. Playing with our U.S live line-up, Matt and Holden from the Wisconsin psychedelic speed freak band ZIPPER has been a very fruitful combination. Great times on the road with great guys. 

WC: You’re now on Cruz del Sur, which should make you easier to find here in the States. Did they approach you or did you seek them out?

M: We go way back. They already did the split we put out with LUCIFER’S FALL back in 2019. We had a shortlist of labels we approached with the new master and Cruz grabbed it first. The collaboration has been very smooth, we also had a similar idea of how the album should be visually portrayed, when it comes to cover arts, music videos etc...

WC: If you could have dinner with any 3 people from history, who would they be?

M:Vincent Price. My favorite actor and also a fantastic gourmet chef. He would be responsible for the menu. 

Dennis Wheatley. My favorite author who knows the wines and history. He would bring the beverages. 

Then maybe Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin, just to have a proper real-life villain involved. I'm sure Wheatley as a pro-anglican patriot could have interesting fights with them. Vincent would just stare at them amusingly, while I'd refill his cup. Pretty sure Hitler's stomach couldn't handle the foods nor the wine of a menu made by Vincent and approved by me. We'd have a bit of fun at his expense

Or actually, fuck those dictators. Let's break the rules and bring in BOTH Lemmy Kilmister and H.P Lovecraft! Then we can have some rock 'n' roll history and the macabre. And a drama-free evening, perhaps. 

WC: In the long history of CARDINAL’S FOLLY, are there any Spinal Tap moments where things went wrong that you could share with us?

M: Ahhhh man. Honestly, I should write a book about them. Airlines losing instruments, flights being cancelled, flights landing at substitute airports because some kid messed up whole Frankfurt traffic with his drone camera... getting stranded in Iceland on the way to the U.S, being ripped off by the promoter in France, vans breaking down in the UK, worst hangover ever in Italy, overdose of chili pepper concentrate in Lithuania.... you name it, we play it!

WC: Any last words for the fans?

M: If you like a quirky drunken metal party in the middle of the woods, check out our new album "Let the Posers Fall!". Out October 9 on Cruz Del Sur Music. And remember to tell your local promoter about us, we want to slay EVERYWHERE! HAILS! Heavy metal hails, N.W.O.F.D.M 'til the grave! Blues For Satan! Doom On!

WC:Thanks for talking to us!

M: Thanks to you for an inspiring interview. I hope we meet again in Rockford, IL... or any place else! Meanwhile, keep it real!

CARDINALS FOLLY