“Music has been the savior when times have been really tough” – Interview with Kai Hahto about 35 Years of Music, family and future projects

There are many musicians who have played in many bands but didn’t leave behind a strong musical identity as their legacy. Kai Hahto is the exact opposite: considered for many as one of the best drummers in metal, the Finnish artist has undoubtedly left his mark on every group he has been a part of, a wide variety of styles within the metal scene, throughout the last 35 year of his professional career.

Over the course of three and a half decades, Hahto has been a member of classic bands in the Finnish scene, such as Rotten Sound and Swallow the Sun. However, it was through his work with Wintersun, and since 2014, with Nightwish, that the spotlight was intensified on his career, bringing more visibility to his playing as a high level metal drummer. Despite being constantly busy, whether performing, touring the world, or teaching drums, in the last couple of years Kai found some time and started to celebrate his own legacy. Initially it was a special show that evolved into the European tour “ALONE – An Evening with Kai Hahto”, in which he performed as a solo act on stage, songs from many of the bands he has been a part of.

While the first celebration was an individual live stage experience, this year Kai organized two special concerts titled “35 Years of Music” in Finland, once again performing songs from most of the bands he has recorded with, but this time with some of his former bandmates as guests, including even songs from lesser-known groups such as Misantropia and Wings, two of his bands from the early ’90s. Whatever the occasion, Hahto never sits behind the drum kit just to waste time, he always makes sure to bring joy and quality to the music he plays, and that kind of musician definitely deserves to be celebrated.

Promoting the special shows, Chaoszine spoke with Kai over a video call to talk about his legacy, family, the nostalgia of revisiting old material and future projects. Check it out!

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