Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal and folk metal. They frequently use the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland, as a source for their lyrics.
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup consists of drummer Tommy Portimo, lead singer Tony Kakko, keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg, guitarist Elias Viljanen and bassist Pasi Kauppinen. All the musicians of the band's history except Portimo also acted as backing vocalists.
Moonsorrow is a Finnish pagan metal band formed in Helsinki in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" and try to distance themselves from the term "Viking metal". They have distanced themselves from other folk metal bands, emphasising that their music is pagan and spiritual and is challenging for its listeners, rather than happy or danceable. The band members have varying levels of pagan belief but they draw on pagan spirituality for lyrics and inspiration.
Kalmah is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Pudasjärvi that formed in 1998. In less than a year after its formation, Kalmah was signed by Spinefarm Records. The word "kalmah" is Karelian and could be translated as "to the grave" or "to the death".
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal".
Am I Blood, formerly named St. Mucus, is a thrash metal band from Kerava, Finland. The band was formed in 1992 with later to be Amorphis frontman Pasi Koskinen, who was originally the singer of the band. They parted ways with Koskinen in 1995, just one month before the recording of debut album Natural Mutation under the name St. Mucus. The band is well known for being mistaken for the popular heavy metal band Metallica, who are arguably a strong influence on the band's music.
Thunderstone is a power metal band from Helsinki, Finland. The band was formed in 2000 by Nino Laurenne, and the line-up became complete in the following year. After the release of the band's self-titled debut album, Thunderstone, the band toured Europe supporting Stratovarius and Symphony X. Thunderstone released its first four albums through Nuclear Blast; their album Dirt Metal was released in October 2009 under Sony Music label.
Swallow the Sun is a Finnish death-doom band founded in 2000 by Juha Raivio. Their death-doom style emphasizes melody and atmosphere, and occasionally steps into gothic and black metal territory. They have released nine studio albums, one triple album, one EP, one demo, and seven singles.
Tuonela is the fourth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis.
Elegy is the third studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis. It is their first to feature a majority of clean vocals, sung by new vocalist Pasi Koskinen. This also marks the first album with drummer Pekka Kasari who replaced Jan Rechberger and the only album with keyboardist Kim Rantala. The music and lyrics are inspired by the traditional Finnish ballads and poems compiled in the Kanteletar by Elias Lönnrot in 1840.
Till Death Unites Us is the fourth full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Norther. It was released on 25 January 2006 through Spinefarm Records. This release marks their first studio album to not include a cover song. The song "Scream" was released as a CD single.
To Separate the Flesh from the Bones were a Finnish deathgrind band. The band can be considered a side project of three members of Finland's metal and rock scenes: Pasi Koskinen, Mika Karppinen (ex-HIM) and Niclas Etelävuori.
Eclipse is the seventh studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis. The lyrics are from a play based on the Kullervo legend, written by Finnish poet and playwright Paavo Haavikko in 1982.
Far from the Sun is the sixth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis.
Am Universum is the fifth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis. This album was a departure from the doom/stoner metal influence on their previous album, Tuonela, featuring more of a vocal-driven hard rock sound. This is the first album to feature Niklas Etelävuori on bass who would remain in the band until 2017 and the last album with drummer Pekka Kasari who left in 2002.
My Kantele is the second EP by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis, released in 1997. It is not to be confused with the recording "My Kantele" from the album Elegy, which is not on this compilation, although the title is still used as it contains the acoustic version of "My Kantele" and four previously unreleased songs. The song "My Kantele" is a traditional Finnish song from the 1840 collection Kanteletar, sung by Loituma.
Agonizer is a heavy metal band from Pyhäjärvi, Finland.
Mannhai is a Finnish stoner rock band from Helsinki. The band was formed in late 1999 by bass player Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine and guitarist Ilkka "Ile" Laaksomaa. Soon they were accompanied by a young drummer, Mikko "Junior" Pietinen, and the following year by lead singer Jani "Joãnitor" Muurinen.
Unsung Heroes is the fifth studio album by Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. It was released on 27 August 2012 through Spinefarm Records.
Aleah Liane Stanbridge, better known mononymously as Aleah, or Aleah Stanbridge, was a South African singer-songwriter based in Örebro, Sweden where she lived until her death. In 2009, she and Finnish guitarist Juha Raivio founded death/doom inspired band Trees of Eternity. Aleah became well known in the rock and metal genre for her collaborations such as Swallow the Sun and Amorphis.
