Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM.
The Wave-Gotik-Treffen is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds play at several venues throughout the city over four days on Whitsuntide. The festival also features multiple all-night dance club parties, several fairs with medieval, gothic, and related merchandise, a variety of cultural exhibitions and performances, large themed picnics, and a number of unofficial fringe events.
HIM was a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki. First formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up after only a few years, only to be reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström. After being rejoined by Mige, as well as keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, released its debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 in 1997. In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, the band released Razorblade Romance, which reached the number one spot in Finland, Austria and Germany. The first single "Join Me in Death" also charted at number one in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum and gold, respectively. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001) and Love Metal (2003). Both cracked the top ten in several countries and allowed the band to tour in the United Kingdom and the United States for the first time.
Love Metal is the fourth studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. Released on 11 April 2003, HIM began recording demos for the album in northern spring 2002, after an exhausting touring cycle for their previous album, which nearly broke the band up. Excited and invigorated by the new material, HIM entered Finnvox Studios in September 2002 with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, who had previously helmed the group's 1997 debut album. Musically Love Metal featured a more raw and organic sound, inspired by the band's early influences, which was also seen as a reaction to the difficulties they faced while recording their previous album. Vocalist Ville Valo has since described Love Metal as the album where HIM found their sound. Love Metal was also the band's first album to predominantly feature their logo, the Heartagram, on the cover, while the album's title was coined in the mid-nineties as a description for HIM's musical genre.
Harry Juhani "Hjallis" Harkimo is a Finnish businessman, sportsperson, and a member of the Finnish Parliament. Previously a National Coalition Party MP, he now chairs his own political party, Movement Now.
The Karelian question or Karelian issue is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.
Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. The group consists of Marko Saaresto, Olli Tukiainen, Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen, Jani Snellman (bass), Jaska Mäkinen, and Jari Salminen.
Dark Light is the fifth studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. Released on 26 September 2005, HIM began recording the album in March 2005 at the Paramour Estate is Los Angeles with producer Tim Palmer, who had also mixed the band's previous album Love Metal. Dark Light also served as HIM's first worldwide release with Sire Records, with whom the band had signed with in September 2004. In Finland, however, the album was released under the band's own label Heartagram. Musically, Dark Light featured a more "polished" and "accessible" sound than previous albums, and was written as a cross between Black Sabbath and U2, also influenced by the work of composer Angelo Badalamenti.
Melotron is a futurepop and synthpop band from Germany. In 1995 Andy Krueger, Edgar Slatnow and Kay Hildebrandt left their former band, The Vermin, to form Melotron. The band found success with their first single, "Dein Meister," in 1998. Their 2007 single "Das Herz" charted at no. 81 in the German mainstream charts.
Dandelion Wine are a musical trio based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The band combines medieval and Middle Eastern instruments with electronic beats, analogue synths, female vocals and swirling guitars. Their music incorporates elements of ethereal, medieval, world music, dream pop, electronica and darkwave.
Loituma Girl is a Flash animation set to a scat singing section of the Finnish song "Ievan polkka," sung by the Finnish quartet Loituma on their 1995 debut album Things of Beauty. It appeared on the Internet in late April 2006 and quickly became popular. The animation consists of four frames showing the Bleach anime character Orihime Inoue twirling a Welsh onion or leek, set to a 27-second loop from the song. The part of the song which is included in the meme is improvisation by Hanni-Mari Autere which are totally random.
Matti Kassila was a Finnish film director who achieved fame as one of the most prominent Finnish filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for the series of four Inspector Palmu movies, based on the character created by Mika Waltari. During his long career, he won seven Jussi Awards, including a concrete Jussi for lifetime achievement, and received numerous other commendations. His 1959 film Punainen viiva was entered into the 1st Moscow International Film Festival. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1968 film Here, Beneath the North Star, directed by Edvin Laine.
Theodor Bastard is a band, from St Petersburg, Russia. Theodor Bastard were pioneers of world and neofolk music genres in Russia. Also elements of dark wave, trip hop and ambient are present in the band's music. The themes of band's songs are very far from everyday problems, they are based on mythology and fantasy. The hallmark of the band is a female vocal by Yana Veva – the lead vocalist and author of many songs. She often sings in idiosyncratic language invented by her and in rare languages ranging from African and Asian to Native American and many more. Theodor Bastard albums were released in 5 countries: Russia, Germany, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina.
Sara Maria Forsberg, known professionally as SAARA, is a Finnish singer, songwriter, YouTube personality, and television presenter. As a singer, Forsberg was signed to Capitol Records in 2014 and released her debut single "Ur Cool" in April 2015, which went on to become a top ten hit in her home country of Finland. She left in early 2016 after disagreements with the label and her producer. Forsberg has continued to release music as an independent artist in affiliation with Universal Music Group. As of November 2017, her YouTube channel has more than a million subscribers and over 100 million views.
Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät were a Finnish punk rock band, formed in 2009 in a charity workshop for adults with developmental disabilities. They are the main focus of the 2012 Finnish documentary film The Punk Syndrome. In 2015, they qualified for the finals of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, which they later won; they represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 but got knocked out in the semi-final. The group disbanded in December 2016 when guitarist Pertti Kurikka turned 60 years old and retired from playing punk rock.
Beyond the Black is a German symphonic metal band formed in 2014 in Mannheim. Their debut album Songs of Love and Death became popular immediately after the release, and entered the German and Austrian national music charts.
Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 62.7% of the vote and was elected for a second term, avoiding a second round. The term is from 1 March 2018 to 1 February 2024 (if 2024 presidential election doesn't go to a second ballot) or 1 March 2024. Although the President is elected by direct election, Niinistö gained a plurality in all municipalities and a majority in all but 13 municipalities.
Ash Code is an Italian dark wave band formed in 2014 in Napoli by the singer Alessandro Belluccio, the keyboardist Claudia Nottebella and the bass player Adriano Belluccio. Ash Code music covers a wide range of genres including dark wave, post-punk, synth-pop and EBM.
Bang and Whimper 2017 – The Farewell Tour was a concert tour by the Finnish gothic rock band HIM. Originally formed in 1991, the band announced on 5 March 2017 their plans to disband following a farewell tour that same year. HIM had taken a break during 2016 but began work on new material at the end of the year. According to vocalist Ville Valo, the band felt their new material was lacking, and the band members eventually decided to disband while they were all still on good terms.
Nachtblut is a German gothic metal band formed in Osnabrück in 2005. They signed a deal with Napalm Records for their third album. In 2013 they performed during Wacken Open Air and Summer Breeze Open Air. In 2014, 2017, and 2022 Nachtblut lined up Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival in Leipzig. To date, Nachtblut has released six studio albums. In October 2020 Nachtblut released their sixth album called Vanitas. Vanitas had 500 special edition wooden boxes with playing Cards, leather wrist band, a Satanic certificate in addition to the album itself.
