Playlists

New Rock and Metal from Finland

Words by Music Finland

Published 3.2.2023

The first groundbreaking Finnish rock bands paved the way for future success already back in the 1970’s, with bands like Hanoi Rocks and Wigwam inspiring numerous Finnish artists with their success.

Ever since the late 1990’s Finnish rock and heavy metal bands have been household names all over the world. From stadium sized acts like The Rasmus, Nightwish and Amorphis, to cult favorites such as Beherit and Terveet Kädet, to fresh newcomers like Blind Channel and Cyan Kicks, the list could go on endlessly. Mind you, even Barack Obama knows that Finland has the most heavy metal bands in the world per capita!

On the New rock and Metal from Finland playlist we take a look at the most exciting new releases Finland has to offer. Listen to the playlist on Apple Music or Spotify and read more about the artists below! The playlist is updated regularly.

New Rock and Metal from Finland on Apple Music

New Rock and Metal from Finland on Spotify

Lordi

Finland’s number one monster rock band Lordi rose to global fame after the Eurovision victory in 2006, with their catchy hard rock hit ”Hard Rock Hallelujah”. Since then, the group has toured in Europe, US, and Asia several times and released a steady string of albums. In 2021 the band released a massive entity of seven (!) new albums called "Lordiversity". Never eager to lay low, the monsters returned in 2023 with a new collection of songs, "Screem Writers Guild". In 2025, Lordi will get ready to release their 19th album, "Limited Deadition".

Horizon Ignited

Bridging the gap between melodic death metal and metalcore, aggressive, melancholic and melodic are the important words when describing Horizon Ignited. Founded in 2017 by guitarists Johannes Mäkinen and Vili Vottonen in Kouvola, Horizon Ignited released their debut "After the Storm" in 2019. The self-published album was met with positive feedback and built up a good following on streaming platforms – which led them soon signing to Nuclear Blast.

Awake Again

Awake Again is a four piece alternative metal outfit from Turku. In 2018, they won the international Wacken Metal Battle band competition. Later that year they performed at Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany and signed an international record deal with Spinefarm Records. Their music is a mixture of metal, post-hardcore and pop. Awake Again has made a steady rise in the Finnish metal scene with their catchy songs and energetic live performances.

Luna Kills

Alternative rock foursome Luna Kills spices up their unique mix with metal and modern electronic sounds, as well as 00s aesthetics and game music vibes. Their frontwoman, Lotta Ruutiainen is known for her strong vocal performance, ranging from smoother pop singing to metalcore-type fry screams. With a great number of gigs under their belt from clubs to festivals, Luna Kills has also toured Russia and Sweden, sharing stages with acts like Thundermother (SWE). Luna Kills' 2nd album ”not to be bitter, but it helps” (2021) has been followed with a handful of singles throughout 2022–2023 and the band is currently preparing their 3rd album, to be released in 2024.

Rioghan

Progressive metal band Rioghan is built around the poems and lyrics of singer-poet Rioghan Darcy. The gothic-flavored progressive metal group came to the attention of international metal circles with the Blackened Sky EP (2021) and debut album "Different Kinds Of Losses" (2022). The debut album was made in collaboration with Einar Solberg from Leprous and Jonas Renksen from Katatonia. The members of the band include Red Eleven's Teemu Liekkala and Leverage's Valtteri Revonkorpi.

Balance Breach

Mikkeli based quintet Balance Breach combines the elements of metalcore, post-hardcore and modern rock – along with the Nordic melancholy inherited in their DNA. Since 2019 the band has been signed to a German label Out of Line Music. On their 2nd album "ABYZMAL" , released in May 2023, Balance Breach addresses themes such as mental health problems, loneliness and death as well as violence between family members and intimate partners.

Ollie T

Poets of the Fall guitarist Olli Tukiainen, aka Ollie T, began his solo career in 2024 when his main band decided to take a short break. Composing and releasing instrumental music has long been on the mind of the internationally successful guitarist, and the solo album "Lost Within the Fire" provided the opportunity to do so.

Havukruunu

Bridging the gap between black and folk metal, the pitch-dark and mournful foursome Havukruunu (fka Talvikuu) was formed in the small town of Hausjärvi in 2013. After three albums for the Naturmacht Productions label, Havukruunu signed with Svart Records in 2024, to release their 4th full-length "Tavastland" the following year.

Rock Band from Hell

Rock Band From Hell is a new punk, rock, trap, pop…(you name it) – flavored band from Oulu. Even though the group is new for the most, these guys have played together since their childhood. Even the band’s name was originally invented when the band members were mere seven-year old ”punks”. In 2022 RBFH signed a recording contract with Central Line Entertainment and began recording their debut album – and have so far released four pre-album singles. While waiting for the full-length, RBFH has been touring across Europe supporting Blind Channel.

Stratovarius

Power metal giants Stratovarius, originally formed in 1985, are one of the most successful Finnish metal bands. Since their formation, Stratovarius has released 19 studio albums. During its existence, the band has gone through many lineup changes, and after founding guitarist Timo Tolkki's departure in 2008, there are no founding members remaining in the line-up. Currently, the longest standing members are singer Timo Kotipelto and keyboardist Jens Johansson, who have joined in 1994 and 1995, respectively.

Marko Hietala

Marko 'Marco' Hietala is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter best known as a former member of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He is also the vocalist, bassist and founding member in the heavy metal band Tarot, formed in 1985. In early 2020 he released the english-sung version his "hard prog" solo album "Pyre of the Black Heart", originally recorded as "Mustan sydämen rovio" in Finnish the year before. In December 2020, Hietala told Nightwish he had decided to leave to focus on other projects.

Himmelkraft

Himmelkraft, the new band led by Sonata Arctica frontman Tony Kakko, came to light in late 2024 after signing a recording deal with Reaper Entertainment. The self-proclaimed "Finnish metal secret society" had been preparing their debut record for a while, and also mapping out their concept. The outcome will be "its own strange new world, where Kakko also gets to tell stories in a completely new, surprising and exciting way", the band says.

Tyrantti

Helsinki-based power trio Tyrantti released their self-titled debut album in 2019 and its epic successor, "Orjaplaneetta", in 2021. Both albums were received to great praise in the Finnish metal scene and made it to national album charts in their release weeks. The debut single from Tyrantti’s 3rd album, "Lihaa Mattoon!", overwhelms with a more aggressive approach, while maintaining Tyrantti’s signature combination of fast guitar licks, relentless drumbeats and ridiculously high-pitched vocal harmonies.

East Electric

Formed in 2022, East Electric features singer Jocke Levälampi, guitarist Toni Kajasti, bassist Matti Vähätalo and drummer Tuukka Ilmakari. They have varying backgrounds from different bands and genres, which they now bring together in their blend of 1970s blues rock and modern, alternative sound. East Electric released their self-titled debut EP in 2023.

Mary Ann Hawkins

Mary Ann Hawkins is a Helsinki based rock band defining their genre as surf rock. Their music combines cinematic soundscapes with menacing rock music. They’ve toured both Finland and Europe and have released several singles and EP during 2017 and 2021. In addition their live shows have been described as wild and fast.

Noora Louhimo

Known as the singer of internationally famed metal act Battle Beast, Noora Louhimo released her debut solo album in 2021. Instead of the catchy, 80s tinged pop metal of her main band, Noora Louhimo Experience's "Eternal Wheel of Time and Space” focused on soulful blues rock with even the occasional country influence. In 2024, Louhimo explored more music beyond her day job with the blues-based jam band The J.J. Explosion.

Steve 'n' Seagulls

Steve 'n' Seagulls made their name by carrying out simply impressive bluegrass covers of famous heavy metal songs, which has even taken them to the number one spot on the Billboard Bluegrass albums chart. To date, the group has covered tracks such as "Thunderstruck," "Aces High," and "Cemetery Gates," to name a few, but the band's fourth album, "Another Miracle" (2020), was their first one to boast a track listing with more original songs than covers.

Erja Lyytinen

Back in 2003, guitarist Erja Lyytinen was the first woman to graduate from the prestigious Sibelius Academy majoring in electric guitar. These days Lyytinen has a seven album strong catalogue. She has toured around the world with the likes of Walter Trout and gained several international accolades – such as the European Blues Award – for her music.

The Vantages

The Vantages is a six-piece from Helsinki, led by vocalist Tim Mikkola along with Henri Schröter (dr), Aleksi Larkovuo (bass), Mikko Janatuinen (guitar) and Anton Froloff (gtr/keys). Formed in 2020, the group is now working towards their debut album. Inspired by Tim’s infatuation with guitar bands of the 60’s and british indie rock, their shared love of 70’s rock acts and early 00’s goth nostalgia, their sound and lyrics combine contrasting elements of crude and delicate in what are best described as decadent love songs.

Ginger Evil

“From Foo Fighters to Fleetwood Mac” is how Ginger Evil describes their sound. Born from the ashes of Moonshine Inc., the band's founding members are Tomi Julkunen and Veli Palevaara (guitars & bass) with the addiction of Toni Mustonen on drums and the powerhouse vocalist Ella Tepponen. The quartet's debut album “The Way It Burns”, due out later in 2024, is produced and mixed by Teemu Aalto (Insomnium) and mastered by Grammy-nominated Svante Forsbäck of Chartmakers (Rammstein, Volbeat, Sunrise Avenue, Apocalyptica).

Rotten Sound

Founded by guitarist Mika Aalto in Vaasa in 1993, Rotten Sound has earned a reputation for being one of the most intense bands on the Scandinavian death metal/grindcore scene. In the '90s and 2000s, Rotten Sound has favored a brutally harsh, violent, angry, and ferocious approach to death metal/black metal and grindcore. There is nothing merciful about Rotten Sound's blistering albums, which have a very claustrophobic quality and give the listener no room to breath; when a Rotten Sound album is finished playing, one feels drained and exhausted. All this has garnered them a small but extremely devoted cult following.

Korpiklaani

Since they were formed in 2003, Korpiklaani has become one of the most acclaimed groups in the genre of folk metal, with instruments like fiddles, accordions and hurdy-gurdy in the mix. Between their 2018 album "Kulkija" and 2021's "Jylhä", the beverage-loving sextet released nearly a dozen versions of their malty anthem "Beer Beer" in different languages, along other drinking songs such as "Jägermeister" and "Land of a Thousand Drinks".

Zangoma

Hailing from Tampere, Zangoma comprises of the Zambian vocalist Waina Kolomwe, singer/guitarist Ville Salonen, singer/bassist Riku Pirttiniemi (Death Hawks, Dust Mountain), and drummer Miikka Heikkinen (Death Hawks). They play Zamrock, a genre that gained popularity in Zambia during the 70s: a fusion of traditional African music and psychedelic, garage, and hard rock with some funk and blues in the mix. Bands like Black Sabbath, Funkadelic, The Rolling Stones, Blue Cheer, Cream and Deep Purple had a major part in shaping their music.

Brother Apollo

Founded in Helsinki in 2022, Brother Apollo is a four-piece modern alternative rock group with a sound steeped in noughties nostalgia. Despite the mantle of a "new band on the block", its members boast a diverse range of performing experience from the finals of Finnish Idol to touring with the country's top acts. Brother Apollo was selected for the 2024 Estonian Eurovision National Final, which will feature their first single "Bad Boy", released under Warner Music.

Arion

Metal quintet Arion was formed in 2011, while the members were still in high school. Two years later the band was already signed to Ranka Recordings and performing on Finnish television’s UMK song competition, to be a Eurovision finalist. That Arion did not become, but instead their symphonic, modern power metal quickly found fans in Japan and Finland, where the band has toured relentlessly. Arion’s came back with the sophomore album “Life Is Not Beautiful” in 2018 and their 3rd full-length "Vultures Die Alone" saw daylight in 2021.

Arctis

Arctis draws their inspiration from the "mythical winters and mystical summers of the North". Describing their music as "metal clashing against reefs of rock and pop", Arctic prepares to release their self-titled debut album in the fall of 2024 through Napalm Records. The record was produced by Jimmy Westerlund (Sturm und Drang), mixed by Stefan Glaumann (Rammstein), and mastered by Svante Forsbäck (i.e. Rammstein). To celebrate the debut full-length, Arctis embarks on a European tour supporting Apocalyptica.

Dharma Guns

Self-proclaimed "dandy Punks from Helsinki", Dharma Guns play rock’n’roll infused with proto-punk and Scandinavian action rock influences: sing-along choruses, fiery guitar licks, and a dirty grooves. Their singles created buzz within the scene, gaining attention from local media outlets and Vive Le Rock alike. Their debut album "Ex-Generation Superstars" (2024) introduces a band filled with glamour and energy. Dharma Guns' members are formerly known from bands like Karoshi Lovers, Plastic Tears, Vanity Ink and Jo Below.

Von Hertzen Brothers

The awarded Von Hertzen Brothers plays progressive and guitar-driven rock with rich vocal harmonies. The band was formed in 2000 by three brothers Mikko, Jonne, and Kie Von Hertzen. With eight studio albums under their belt, Von Hertzen Brothers have been prominent in UK media such as Prog Magazine and Loudersound. October 2024 sees the brothers uniting their forces again with a new studio offering, "In Murmuration".

Turmion Kätilöt

Turmion Kätilöt is an industrial metal band from Finland, formed in 2003 by MC Raaka Pee and Dj Vastapallo. They are known for their live show full of energy and dedication – as they do not hesitate to throw in scenes of self-mutilation or whatever comes into their minds.

Cyan Kicks

Alternative rock foursome Cyan Kicks, formed in 2017 in Helsinki and fronted by singer Susanna Aleksandra, combines electronic sounds and massive pop hooks with a modern hard rock sound. Cyan Kicks' debut album "I Don't Love You" was released in 2019 and was followed by the ep "Not Your Kind" in 2021, the same year that they took part in take part in music contest UMK, competing to represent Finland at Eurovision Song Contest with "Hurricane". Cyan Kicks' 2nd full-length came out in 2023, and in Jan 2024 the band announced that they will again take part in UMK – this time with "Dancing With Demons".

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