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.
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band. Formed in 1992 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume maker Mr Lordi, Lordi are known for wearing monster masks and using horror elements with pyrotechnics during concerts and music videos. The band rose to fame in 2002 with their hit single "Would You Love a Monsterman?", and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah".
Battlelore are a Finnish heavy metal band from Lappeenranta, founded in 1999 by guitarist Jyri Vahvanen and bassist Miika Kokkola. The name derives from the union of the words 'battle' and 'folklore'. Many of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth sagas and their stage costumes and live shows are largely inspired by the themes and characters of fantasy literature. The band had many changes of personnel during their twelve years of activity and had a long hiatus after the completion of the tour supporting their latest release Doombound in 2011. In January 2016 they announced that they would be performing at Metal Female Voices Fest XIII in October 2016.
Sirenia is a Norwegian gothic metal band from Stavanger, founded in 2001 by Morten Veland.
Genexus is the ninth studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on August 7, 2015. It is the third Fear Factory album since guitarist Dino Cazares rejoined the band in 2009, their first album to feature drummer Mike Heller, and the final album they released with vocalist Burton C. Bell before his departure from the band in 2020, although his vocals appear on the band's next album, Aggression Continuum, which was initially recorded in 2017 but not released until four years later. Genexus is also Fear Factory's first release through Nuclear Blast. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics.
Recreation Day is the fourth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey. It was released on 11 March 2003 through Inside Out Music and re-released in 2018 via AFM Records. Recording sessions took place at Los Angered Recordings in Gothenburg. Production was handled by members Tom S. Englund and Henrik Danhage. The album's lyrics deal mainly with personal reformation. It is the first album with longtime keyboardist Rikard Zander, and the last to feature original drummer Patrick Carlsson.
Sister Sin is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg. The band released four full-length albums, with the most recent, Black Lotus, released in 2014. Sister Sin toured in Europe and North America with bands such as Slayer, King Diamond, Lordi and In This Moment before splitting in November 2015. The band reunited in December 2019.
Halo of Blood is the eighth studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom. It was released on 7 June 2013 in Europe and 11 June in North America on Nuclear Blast Records. In Japan, the album was released by Marquee Inc. on 29 May 2013. This would be the last album with guitarist Roope Latvala before he was kicked out of the band in May 2015.
Steelhammer is the 14th studio album by German heavy metal band U.D.O., released on 24 May 2013 via AFM Records. It is the first album with guitarist Andrey Smirnov. Second guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen joined the band after all recordings were completed. It is also the first album without Stefan Kaufmann as guitarist since the 1997 album Solid, as well as the first without guitarist Igor Gianola since the 1999 album Holy. Steelhammer charted at #21 in Germany, #23 in Sweden, #38 in Finland and #67 in Norway during its first week. Music videos were made for "Metal Machine" and "Heavy Rain".
Scare Force One is the seventh studio album by Finnish rock band Lordi. It was released on 31 October 2014 via AFM Records.
Legendary Years is the second compilation album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. It consists of re-recorded songs from The Emerald Sword Saga, a five concept albums-long story started in their first album Legendary Tales in 1997 and concluded in Power of the Dragonflame in 2002.
Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay is the twelfth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 22 September 2017 through Nuclear Blast Records. It is the second and final album to feature Lindsay Schoolcraft on narration before her departure in February 2020.
Sexorcism is the ninth studio album by the Finnish rock band Lordi. It was released on 25 May 2018 via AFM Records. The album was described in a press release as possibly their most controversial record to date, and a "full-on and uncensored shot of Lordi brand hard rock and roll".
Steelfactory is the sixteenth studio album by U.D.O., released on 31 August 2018 by AFM Records. It is the first album to feature Udo Dirkschneider's son Sven as the new drummer. The first single "Rising High" was made available for streaming on 15 June 2018. A music video was made for "One Heart One Soul". A lyric video was made for "Make the Move". Steelfactory is the final album to feature bassist Fitty Wienhold when he announced his departure in September 2018.
The Eighth Mountain is the twelfth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. It was released on 22 February 2019 via AFM Records.
I, the Mask is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released on 1 March 2019. It is the band's first release since Whoracle (1997) without longtime bassist Peter Iwers, and the last to feature Joe Rickard on drums. It is the debut album for bassist Bryce Paul and drummer Tanner Wayne. It is also the last album to feature guitarist Niclas Engelin.
Human. :II: Nature. is the ninth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 10 April 2020 by Nuclear Blast. It is the band's first double album, with the second CD complete with orchestral music rather than metal.
Thalassic is the eighth studio album by Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. It was released on 10 July 2020 through Metal Blade Records. It is the first Ensiferum album to feature new keyboardist and clean vocalist Pekka Montin, who joined the band in February 2020.
Lordiversity is a box set by the Finnish rock band Lordi that contains their eleventh to seventeenth studio albums: Skelectric Dinosaur, Superflytrap, The Masterbeast from the Moon, Abusement Park, Humanimals, Abracadaver and Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular. It is a follow-up to the band's previous release Killection. It is the final release to feature founding member and guitarist Amen.
Screem Writers Guild is the eighteenth studio album by the Finnish rock band Lordi. It was released on 31 March 2023, and is their only album under the label Atomic Fire Records. The album has been described as not a concept album, but contains a "cinematic horror movie" theme throughout.
