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Finnish metal music has been well-known amongst metalheads in plenty of countries for a long time, but over the past couple of years it has finally crawled to the charts also in the major market areas of Great Britain and United States. They are extremely hard markets to conquer, so the achievement is huge. How many bands do you know that are from Finland? Or you just might not know they are Finnish?

In the 80s Hanoi Rocks were the biggest and almost only name known abroad. They were the pioneers of Finnish glam rock, and inspired bands like Gunsn Roses. The 90s were kind of quiet time for metal all over, the techno-pop-dance dominated the charts.
In the end of the decade in 1997 a band called His Infernal Majesty shortened their name to HIM, released their first album and caused a stir. By 2000 and their second album they were already a household name, and the single Join Me In Death topped charts in several countries. Today HIM are doing sold-out tours in all over, and were the first ever Finnish band to get a gold record in the U.S. Their vocalist Ville Valo is an international sex god, they have sold millions of albums, and the sixth studio album will be out this Autumn.
Another huge Finnish name to mention would be Nightwish, who mixed metal with opera-like vocals of their female vocalist. They faced a big media scandal in 2005, when in the middle of the brilliant success, their vocalist Tarja Turunen was kicked out of the band. However, the rest of the band kept going, and arranged auditions for a new singer. Last month she was introduced to the media, a Swedish lady called Anette Olzon. Lets hope the fans will welcome her.
Apocalyptica are three guys with classical music training.They were the first ever band to start playing metal with cellos. They started by playing Metallicas hits, and later making their own music. The music itself is extraordinary, and has made them favorites of fans all over the world. You seldom see the guys in their homecountry anymore, they are far too busy touring all year round. For the past months they have time off as well as also putting together a new album.
You might have heard of the bands mentioned above. Well, have you heard the brilliant melodic metal of Charon, Entwine or Poisonblack? What about the gothic sounds of The 69 Eyes? The savage trash metal of Deathchain? The deep dark melodeath of Children of Bodom or Notrher?
There are metal festivals with dozens and dozens of excellent bands every Summer. Fantastic metal gigs all around the country basically every week. Metal bars and nightclubs in all the major cities. Even our new Idols winner is a metalhead. Finland is a true metal country. Maybe, like they say, its due to our melancholic northern mentality and long Winters. Who knows. Nevertheless, it seems to be a fact.

Learn more about this author, Susanne Sjlund.
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