BEST OF FINLAND METAL BAND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from wikipedia

 

Finland has turned out the occasional popular artist who captured the imagination of the world, but over the last dozen years or so, more and more bands have managed to break through internationally in their genres.

 

With so many Finnish bands out there, playing to packed rooms of ravers, metal-heads, indie kids, and fans in countless other scenes. Here we list the top 10 Finish bands.

 

 

THE RASMUS

These guys started as teenage funk rockers bursting with energy, then evolved into a stylish rock band with just the right amount of darkness to give their pop-perfect songs an alluring edge. Back in 2004, there weren’t many places in the world you could go without hearing “In the Shadows” on the radio at some point in the day. Dead Letters, the album that single was taken from, formed a worldwide smash. The band is especially popular in Asia and Europe – one of its members now lives in Singapore and another in Italy – not bad for a bunch of teenagers who just got together to play some funky jams all those years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from nme.com

 

 

HIM 

This is another of the best-known Finnish bands in the world. Like The Rasmus, they feature a lead singer that has captured the human blood pumps – a.k.a. hearts – of girls worldwide. His name, of course, is Ville Valo. Founded in 1991, HIM is a Finnish rock band that performs “gothic rock”, and has sold millions of records throughout the world too. Another Finnish bestseller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from imdbc.com

 

 

STRATOVARIUS

They are perhaps the oldest band been talked about in Finland. They’ve been around since 1984 (as I’ve been too). Their style combines elements of classical music with a kind of melodic power metal. In their long career – quite successful as proven by the number of votes they got from the friends of Big in Finland – they have released 17 studio albums, four live albums, and four “best of” albums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from deemi.com

 

APOCALYPTICA

Heavy metal is a highly popular genre in Finland, but Apocalyptica has made itself stand out from the thousands of other acts by including cellos in its songs, with some tracks being purely instrumental. This unique approach has led to the band releasing six albums since their formation in 1993 and they are still touring internationally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from pininterest

 

CHILDREN OF BODOM

With singer, songwriter, and guitar hero Alexi Laiho at the helm, Children of Bodom defies easy categorization. Drawing from several metal genres as well as punk, the band has been labeled as everything from melodic death metal to power metal. It’s all that and more. Laiho is considered one of the world’s foremost guitar heroes at the moment and even has a signature model with ESP Guitars. Children of Bodom has ranked as an international phenomenon from the very beginning, and has produced several stone-cold metal classics, including “Hatebreeder,” “Hate Crew Deathroll” and “Are You Dead Yet?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from deezer.com

 

PKN

PKN, which stands for ‘Pertti Kurikan’s name day’, is a punk band formed out of a charity for adults with developmental disabilities. While the band recently retired, in their time they won several prominent contests, performed both nationally and internationally, were the subject of a documentary, and even made it to the semi-finals of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest (the first band made up of intellectually disabled band members to do so). They also performed alongside Lordi in a charity concert raising money for the mentally disabled community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from eurovisionworld.com

 

FRENCH FILMS

These indie rock road warriors play a sunny sort of rock influenced by British indie and post-punk, as well as American surf music. French Films loves the road and spends a lot of time touring Europe, where their sweaty, exuberant shows have won them a steady following. Their records have been setting the blogosphere alight since the release of their first single, “The Golden Sea,” in 2010. They released their acclaimed debut album Imaginary Future in 2011; another is in the works. Thanks to their relentless touring, they won the European Border Breakers Award for 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from wikipedia

 

NIGHTWISH

Hailing from the bucolic small town of Kitee close to the Russian border, Nightwish has become the North Star of symphonic metal, one that many others in the genre can’t help but steer by. Their international career started with Wishmaster back in 1999. The band has several world tours under its belt, with sold-out arenas dotting the globe. Mastermind Tuomas Holopainen has always been a fan of movie soundtracks and their newest album, Imaginaerum, inspired a movie of the same name, made by the band in cooperation with director Stobe Harju.