We got to meet up with vocalist Lotta, who was visibly excited, joking between answers, reflecting on their growth, and radiating the kind of confidence that comes from doing things completely on your own terms. They had just dropped an album they hadn’t even planned to make, at least not at first.

“We didn’t know if we were going to do an album or just singles. We just made the songs we were having fun with.”

That carefree spirit, it turns out, became the secret ingredient of DEATHMATCH. The record is wild, unpredictable, and refreshingly unapologetic. One minute you’re caught in a swirl of electronic synths, the next you’re slammed with heavy guitars and guttural screams. It’s a musical rollercoaster that never stops long enough for you to get too comfortable and that’s exactly how Luna Kills likes it.

Lotta talked openly about the evolution of their sound, from earlier releases to this full-length beast. What started as sporadic singles eventually grew into a unified, ferocious body of work. And while the writing process was organic, even chaotic at times, the result is an album that feels tightly wound and surprisingly cohesive like it was meant to happen.

“2024 was wild. But 2025 is the year of Luna Kills.”

And they might just be right.

Take “Sugar Rush,” for example, one of the standout tracks from the album. It wasn’t born out of strategy or planning, but from a full-on creative block.

“That song is just about having fun. We literally wrote it to break the block — like a musical sugar rush.”

Despite its poppy, cheeky tone, it still fits perfectly within the heavier framework of DEATHMATCH. That ability to bounce between genres, from aggressive metalcore to upbeat electro-pop, is part of what makes Luna Kills so compelling. It’s not chaos for the sake of chaos; it’s exploration with intention.

Even the label, they said, leaned into that range when picking which singles to release. There was a clear effort to showcase the extremes of their sound… the heavy, the playful, the vulnerable… because that’s what this band is all about.

“Metal fans might hate it, but we love it.”

Vocally, the album also marks a major leap forward. Screams, grunts, half-rapped verses — it’s all in there. Lotta admitted she didn’t even know she’d be capable of such vocals until recently, but once she started exploring extreme techniques, it was game on.

“I really went balls to the wall with it, I wanted to keep discovering more range.”

Fans have been picking up on something else too, a subtle throwback vibe running through the album, especially to the early 2000s nu-metal era. Oddly enough, the band said those influences weren’t intentional.

“It’s funny… people say we remind them of bands from that era, but we never actually listened to those bands. Maybe we’re channeling them by accident.”

The gaming references, however, are no accident. From the album title (DEATHMATCH) to production nicknames like “Machine Gun Mario,” Luna Kills proudly wear their gamer hearts on their sleeves. Even one of the tracks (‘Get Mad‘) includes a vocal sample rooted in an old Finnish gaming meme, a tiny Easter egg for those listening closely.

“It’s really whimsical to put a little bit of Finnish in there. And people always think we’re American… so, surprise!”

Most impressively, the band handled almost everything on the album themselves, from writing and producing to crafting the overall sound, with mixing and mastering handled by Jeff Dunne (known for working with heavyweights like Make Them Suffer and Knocked Loose). That extra layer of polish elevated the music to an international level, without stripping away the band’s raw edge.

As our interview wrapped up that day in April, Lotta smiled and said,

“I hope you listen to the album and enjoy it. And if you don’t enjoy it… I hope you listen to it anyway.”

Classic Luna Kills — bold, cheeky, and fully aware that they’ve made something worth turning up loud.

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