Using a wide array of influences and sounds is relative newcomers Luna Kills, who are about to mark their international debut with full-length Deathmatch. Incorporating electronics, heavy grooves, big pop-influenced choruses, and designing a sound that recalls the early ’00s nu scene while updating it to 2025 sensibilities and sonic power, its a unique feeling that allows them to set themselves up for a wide audience while retaining a sound that is both powerful and melodic. We spoke with vocalist Lotta Ruutiainen to get a first hand perspective on the band’s sound and approach, love of video games, and the band’s goals down the road, among other things.
Dead Rhetoric: The band formed in 2019, how do you view the growth of Luna Kills over the last 6 years?
Lotta Ruutiainen: It’s a pretty steep curve of learning new things and becoming better songwriters. I think we have taken our time to search for who we are as musicians and what kind of music we want to write. Now is the best time to share it with the world on a bigger scale than before.
Dead Rhetoric: In taking that time, I know there’s a lot of pressure nowadays to push everything out, do you feel that you do have some sort of coherent vision of what you want the band to sound like?
Ruutiainen: I don’t think we ever will have one thing that we are sure of, but we know of who we are as musicians and people, and what the visuals should be, as well what the music should sound like. We have a certain type of music we really like and want to make, but I think we are so experimental as songwriters that we will always be doing something just for the fun of it. We do have some outline, but we also want to have fun with our music as well. You never know what we are going to put out [laughs].
Dead Rhetoric: That’s the sort of thing, if you wait it out a bit, you can sort of define. Some bands start out in one way then switch and then people get upset about the sound change.
Ruutiainen: Yeah, we have that covered! We are constantly doing weird stuff [laughs], so no one knows what to expect from us.
Dead Rhetoric: What makes Deathmatch stand out as your new album?
Ruutiainen: It’s sort of has this nostalgic sound to it, but it’s also super modern with it’s production. I think it’s an interesting mash up. Also, the songs are all sort of mash-ups between genres, which I find interesting. We made it work, so that’s great. I would say that it sounds like it could have come out in the ‘00s, but it also sounds like it came out in 2025.
Dead Rhetoric: When you say genre mash-ups, is there anything done with them that is deliberate, or is it more on the fly and figuring out a good idea?
Ruutiainen: It’s probably because of our experimental nature. We really like different sounds and genres and we rarely think about mashing up something. It comes together almost by accident. If we like something, we write it.
Dead Rhetoric: So do you feel there is a defining characteristic of Luna Kill’s music?
Ruutiainen: I would say the electronic stuff we do is something we really enjoy doing. It carries all throughout our music. We love huge riffs and big choruses. That’s something we always tend to do as well. We rarely write anything that doesn’t have a good chorus, in our opinion. A good, big, and poppy chorus. That’s something that always carries into the songs.
Dead Rhetoric: Was there anything in particular you learned while making the album that you’d like to explore more in the future?
Ruutiainen: You always learn something new. I can’t pinpoint if we learned something super new that we are excited to get back on, like a skill or something. But you always learn something. Every time we make music, we figure out some sort of vibe. You want to carry though, so that’s probably something that we did while writing and recording this album. There are tones we haven’t explored before and we want to take them further.
Dead Rhetoric: This kind of goes into what we have been talking about, but what do you feel helps Luna Kills stand out as a band?
Ruutiainen: That’s tough, because I think the world is filled with so much great music, as well as great bands and artists. I’m so grateful that we are in a situation where we can be on a label and have our music heard by so many people. I am instantly thinking of other great bands/artists [laughs]. But I do think we have an interesting take on heavy music, I think that is one thing we are not fearful of – like the experimentation and the electronic aspects, as well as my melodies and vocal lines. We love to do some easy going stuff too. We love to do things that are not typically incorporated with heavier music. We are also a really good live band. We started the band because we wanted to play live. So I think that’s something that sets us apart as well. We hold the live shows in a great value and want to be the best.
Dead Rhetoric: Could you discuss some of the lyrical topics of the album and where you get your biggest inspirations?
Ruutiainen: I tend to write about super heavy things. I write about mental health things such as depression and anxiety. My main inspiration is my own life. I tend to write about experiences I have had, and I think it’s super important. Almost all of the tracks on the album are related to those sort of topics. We don’t write any happy things [laughs] I’m afraid. But I think writing from your own experience is really therapeutic in a way. I always tend to write about horrible things or feelings I have experienced but it has made me feel better. It’s also a bit difficult to talk about, not because of the topics, but I feel like it’s a little cringe for me to reminisce about things.
Dead Rhetoric: You mentioned the emphasis on playing live. When you take a song with really personal lyrics, do you ever feel like you are reliving it when you are on stage?
Ruutiainen: Sometimes, yes. But I’m glad that most of the time it feels more empowering. Like I was mentioning, sometimes it feels a little cringe, but thankfully never on stage. It’s so much easier to put your emotions into the songs when you feel them so deeply. It’s a good thing when it happens.
Dead Rhetoric: I saw you didn’t do screams for a while. What were some of the challenges in learning that particular vocal style?
Ruutiainen: It’s always difficult to take on a completely new technique as a singer. The first struggles for me were to find the technique and the placement. Also, because I do belt when I sing cleanly, I was struggling to understand that the screams, and fry screams in particular, aren’t as loud as belting. It’s really hard to understand, since it’s called ‘screaming’ [laughs]. It’s quieter than belting, so I struggled with it so that I wasn’t pushing too much.
Dead Rhetoric: Was there a drive to learn how to scream? Was it to diversify the music?
Ruutiainen: Yes, and I think because the topics in our music are a little heavier, I do feel the emotions in the lyrics are pretty intense. I felt that screaming would elevate the music and the feelings, and that emphasis on feelings. I think the music benefits from the aggressive and extreme techniques that involve those as well. There’s the drive to learn more too, and diversify my vocals in the extreme realm too, so I’m really interested in that.
Dead Rhetoric: With the mix of electronics and musical styles, Luna Kills feels a bit hard to pigeonhole with a sound. Do you feel like it’s a positive in terms of getting your name out there, or do you feel it adds challenges as well?
Ruutiainen: It goes both ways. Its positive that our music is so different, but there is a struggle in that there are people that like their music to be a certain way. They aren’t probably fans of everything we are going to put out. If you are a fan of the nu metal screaming kind of music, there will probably be some songs that are not your cup of tea, but we are making music more for people who listen to music the same way that we do. We tend to listen to a lot of genres and bands, and that is one thing: we are making music as diverse as that in our own way. There are ups and downs with that.
Dead Rhetoric: Could you talk about how you were able to get a song, “Deep Cuts” on Beatstar last year.
Ruutiainen: That was actually pretty easy on our part. They reached out to us and it was amazing. That never happens! They reached out and wanted a song from our catalog in the game, so we all agreed that it would be “Deep Cuts.” It’s like guitar hero, but on the phone. I still play the game and think it’s amazing.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you have a love of video games and things like that?
Ruutiainen: Yeah, I’m a huge gamer and half of the band is. Anything to do with games, we are all in. It’s actually one of our dreams to be in a video game or something like that.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you have any prospects or games that you would like to get your foot in the door with?
Ruutiainen: Anything goes [laughs]. It would be awesome to do a live show for E-sports events. We do watch CS2 and the tournaments on a regular basis, so if they ever have musical guests…they don’t usually, but if they did we would be up for it. League of Legends had Linkin Park last spring, so I think CS2 should do the same.
Dead Rhetoric: Is there anything lately that you have been playing that you have really enjoyed?
Ruutiainen: I have been playing Fallout 4 again. I have probably played it 10 times already, but it’s my comfort game so I am playing that. I am also playing Last of Us 2, because the next season of Last of Us is coming to HBO, so I have to recap the game again.
Dead Rhetoric: As an up and coming band, what are your hopes for the music scene as it continues to grow and change?
Ruutiainen: It’s a great time to be a musician now, but it’s not. Because of streaming, it has changed the world so much, and touring is so expensive. We would love to tour as much as possible and it’s really costly and with streaming, it’s more difficult to be a musician. I don’t know how to change the scene or how I would hope it to change. I’m hoping that music and supporting musicians is still a thing, so that people can enjoy the music. I hope for more inclusivity as well. I see more women in the metal scene and I would like that trend to continue.
Dead Rhetoric: What are some of your goals, what would you like to see Luna Kills achieve in, say, the next five years?
Ruutiainen: I would probably want to see more touring and have us put out more music, definitely another album. It’s probably the most boring answer but I just want to see our band grow and play bigger festivals and that sort of thing. I’m really ambitious about wanting us to grow as a band.
Dead Rhetoric: Given the sound of the band, who do you feel would be the best possible options to grow the band? What types of groups would you like to tour with?
Ruutiainen: One is definitely Don Broco. They are from the UK, they are super fun and I’m a huge fan of them. I think we would do great with them. That’s one of my personal dreams. I would say that bands like Linkin Park or Spiritbox or Bring Me the Horizon would be fun, or even Make Them Suffer.
Dead Rhetoric: What are your plans for the rest of 2025?
Ruutiainen: We are going to be touring a little bit when the album comes out. We have a tour in Finland and a tour in Europe. So we will be doing that this spring. This summer we have festivals abroad and in Finland too. We want to make more music. We have had a bit of a break since we finished the album so we are probably going to start when we are not playing music live. That’s pretty much the plan for the whole rest of the year.