After parting ways with Blind Channel, Joel Hokka emerges with a new band, a gothic visual universe, and a Top 3 Finnish chart debut to prove the rebirth was worth it.

Words by Cheryl Mann (@bubbarocksmedia) | May 11, 2026

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Parting ways from rock giants Blind Channel wasn’t a final curtain for Joel Hokka; it was a necessary rebirth. His answer to the chaos is the Hokka-Verse – a deeply insular, visual world forged to combat isolation and inspire creative resilience. By bleeding dark gothic weight into high-energy pop-rock hooks, Hokka has constructed a shelter for the outcasts, transforming his own quiet battles into a roaring beacon of hope for anyone lost in the dark. 

You’ve gone from massive success with Blind Channel to launching Hokka (with Pauli Rantasalmi – ex The Rasmus), and your debut album Via Miseria IV is already smashing expectations. But I’m a massive Star Wars nerd, so I have to ask: Is titling your debut album ‘IV’ a direct nod to A New Hope? Are we starting the Hokka story in the middle of the saga? 

“Of course.” 

So does that mean that there’s at least another two to five albums to come? Joel

“It depends if Nuclear Blast wants to do another one.” 

They’re bound to after the response to this one. 

The track Blackbird is a personal favourite – it speaks right to my dark gothic heart. I read that you and Pauli wrote the whole album in just three months. Is that true? That’s incredibly fast! 

“Yeah, I think we started to write at the end of April, 25. And then we wrote until August. So yeah, four, three months, something like that. Pretty quick, yeah.” 

I love how you handle trolls with humour and spice. For new artists starting out who are struggling with self-doubt or imposter syndrome, what’s your best advice for dealing with online hate? 

“I think you have to pay the price. Because of course, there’s still some moments, for example, in the past week when I’ve got a lot of hate on social media. There’ve been many, many different videos trying to just do some bad for my reputation. And they are super big. 

There’s thousands of likes and everything. So yeah, I guess that… What can you do? You just have to watch the video and you have to face the hate and be like, if it breaks you, this is not for you. Like I said, you have to pay the price. And if this hate and everything is too much for you, then you probably have to do something else. Because no one is forcing me to be a rock star. I know that I’m putting myself out there. I’m putting my goofy and cringey self out there as I am. And that pisses people off. And if it pisses people off, it means I’m getting attention and people are listening and hearing what I’m trying to say. So yeah, I guess I just want to remind myself that we’re all going to rot six feet in the ground. We’re going to just be bones and dust. So who cares? If no one is trying to kill me right now, then it’s fine.”

Your sound definitely nods to the early 2000s. If you could perform in any era, would you rather go back to a legendary past decade or see how Hokka fits in the future? Joel – “That’s a great question, I want to play around with the idea of early 2000s, but I know now if I were to be given a nokia cellphone, that you can’t scroll TikTok or anything, you can’t doom scroll, or use a laptop to do music, you have to do everything with your hands again. I don’t know, I think it’s a double edged sword. It’s hard to say, but I guess that at this moment the early 2000s sounds better because this world is getting worse all the time. This madness with everything is just getting worse day by day. I feel like there is no future for humankind. And I’m okay with that. I’m just trying to enjoy what is right now and make the most out of it.” 

You’ve already had your debut hometown show in Oulu and you have played the legendary Tavastis club in Helsinki. Looking ahead to the upcoming run of shows to come, including the Tuska Festival in Helsinki, what are you most excited to bring to the stage, and are there any ‘new band’ nerves creeping in?” 

“I hope I don’t pee my pants. I guess that’s a good start. And I don’t puke. Those are the main things. I guess nowadays I’m trying to just look at the very basic stuff. And I don’t lose my voice because I know there’s a lot of flu everywhere. So that would be a nightmare. But yeah, of course, I’m excited. I just came from the rehearsal place and we have surprises and nice tricks for the show. So people are going to be surprised. Many people think that I’m super serious. I’m like this Mr. Darkness or Misery or something. But I’m actually laughing at myself when I look at what I’m doing. I’m not taking myself super seriously. I’m like an entertainer and a walking joke, to be honest.” 

You covered the song Kiss From a Rose by Seal, do you have a favourite cover song of all time? 

“I guess it has to be, maybe Marilyn Manson but not the Sweet Dreams one, but the Personal Jesus one. That’s a good one, but also there’s so many, but that came to my mind first.” 

The layers of the Hokka-Verse are incredible. As an artist, what made you go the extra mile to create this visual world rather than taking the ‘easy route’ of just being in a band? 

“I think the main reason was I saw Ghost playing live and that was like, not the biggest, but one of the biggest reasons why I’m doing music again and why I created a new band. They had all the visual stuff and the show was basically an 80s rock show in today’s world. So all the phones were taken away from the audience and they had this super massive stage setup and production and everything. I felt like I wanted to do my own version of that world and that lore and I knew that the brain behind Ghost is Tobias Forge, it’s basically his solo project, It’s all about my vision. When I brought this to Pauli and he was like, I love this idea. It was like the inspiration came from Ghost but I knew that I don’t want to use the same things that they use but I want to do the same kind of visual universe out of my own. I’m a big fan of these things that I use like the movies and music that I’ve been inspired by.” 

My DMs blew up when I announced this interview, just like they did for Samy Elbanna from Lost Society! To wrap things up, I have a few fan questions – starting with Vicky from Devon, who wants to know: Who is your favourite superhero?

“That’s a really hard one. Top three is, I will have to say Christian Bale’s Batman. I’m a big fan of Robert Pattinson as well, I think this is the case. I feel like Christian Bale is a perfect Bruce Wayne but Robert Pattinson is a better Batman in some cases. Of course Christian Bale is THE Batman for many people. Second spot I will have to say the comic book Venom that I fell in love with when I was a kid because I got these 90s comic books with Venom and I used to try to draw Venom the same way that it was drawn in the comic books, It was hard and I will probably say in third place Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. But those three are my favourites and I know they are super popular ones but for a reason. They all have a really great story and people can relate to the stories of how they became who they are. Venom is like a villain / hero so I love that and also Batman as well, he has this kind of misunderstood vibe and people hate him. The same with Spider-Man, people hate him for being him because people hate me for being me. But I’m not like please try to love me, I’m like, at some point they will see that I’m just honest and I’m trying to get better.” 

Niki from Nottingham is saying aside from music and art what else do you love to do? Joel

“I like being a radio DJ and host. What I do in Finland, of course it’s a job. I love it. But it’s still so close to music. So I guess that’s not counted. I love to go to the gym with my friends and I love driving these electronic scooters. That’s my hobby. I drive them all the time. I use a lot of money on them because that’s my hobby. I just love riding them. I listen to music and drive. Yeah I go to the sauna a lot. I eat candy. I doom scroll alone. I usually lay on the floor. This is weird but I lay on the floor when I’m home. I try to paint but I’m too lazy nowadays because I feel like last year, I put all my creative energy out into music for the album.” 

Terry in Belfast has asked what is your favourite movie of all time? Joel

“Favourite movie of all time has to be either Fight Club or The Shining. The Shining is because when I was five years old or six years old, me and my brother found the VHS which had The Shining so we put it on. I think our mom was somewhere doing something and we were like sneaking watching it for the first 45 minutes and then Mom came and she was like no, no, no you’re not gonna watch this. We were terrified but then again we continued watching it every time we could. So I have a sweet memory of Jack Nicholson. He’s one of the best actors ever.” 

Mike from Newcastle is asking if Hokka will be coming to the UK anytime soon? Joel

“Yeah, there’s a plan for that. I think we’re gonna bring some Finnish invasion soon, I don’t wanna drop any bands or names but I guess everyone can put 2 and 2 together. So let’s leave it there.” 

Tina in Glasgow wants to know what is your most treasured possession? Joel

“Ah yes (goes off to grab his Emma award (Finnish Grammy)) If I have to say one it’s this one, it’s my Emma award, it’s the memory from my past outcomes so it’s heavy by the way.” 

Alright I’ve got a random one that’s literally just popped into my head. If you had a lightsaber and you turned it on, what colour would it turn? And would you get it designed old school style like Luke Skywalker design or would you Hokkify it? Joel

“Oh that’s brilliant, Hokkify! It would definitely be a red one, I’ve always been a fan of the villains, I would definitely do a double sided. I love Darth Maul. He’s one of my favourite

characters. And I love Anakin and Darth Vader as well. They are so iconic and the storyline is so tragic but it has this reborn vibe.” 

Finally, what are you most proud of so far on your Hokka journey? Joel

“The album and we just got the top 3 Album chart position in Finland And number 1 on physical sales and I was blown away because I thought we’re gonna make it probably To top 30 But it was top 3!” 

Via Miseria IV by Hokka is out now via Nuclear Blast