Playlists

New Rock and Metal from Finland

Words by Music Finland

Published 4.1.2019

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 HIM, Nightwish and Children of Bodom, to cult favorites such as Beherit and Terveet Kädet, 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 Spotify or Apple Music and read more about the artists below! The playlist is updated regularly.

New Rock and Metal from Finland

Blind Channel

Blind Channel combines electronic pop influences with hard rock. Despite of the band’s young age, Blind Channel has already played hundreds of shows and toured in Europe with bands like Simple Plan, Amaranthe and Enter Shikari. Blind Channel’s second album will be released in 2018.

Grandmother Corn

Grandmother Corn is a funk / indie rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Established in 2015. The band has released two albums and four singles on Spotify. Grandmother Corn is currently on tour supporting their most recent LP “DAPHNE”.

Lost Society

Founded by frontman Samy Elbanna in 2010, while the band members were still teenagers, Lost Society are known for their fierce live energy. The band's first three albums “Fast Loud Death” (2013), “Terror Hungry” (2014) and "Braindead" (2016) represented quite traditional thrash metal style in the vein of Testament, Anthrax, Kreator and early Metallica – with the mosh parts and all. In 2019 Lost Society returned with the single "No Absolution" and a more modern metal approach.

Vesperith

Experimental black metal artist Vesperith’s (neé Sariina Tani) music is spawned from “atmospheric drones, screeching distortion, and mesmerizing ambience, suddenly blowing up into euphoric, phoenix-like waves of bewitching guitars and hypnotic siren song”. Her debut album, produced by Jun-His (Oranssi Pazuzu, Waste of Space Orchestra) is released November 2019 and has already been compared to the likes of Wolves in the Throne Room, Darkspace, Swans and Björk.

PH

Finnish meta-rocking freebirds Mr. Peter Hayden, now refer to themselves just by their PH insignia. The band's first album by the new monicker, Eternal Hayden (2017), continued to pave their path of cosmic doom and psychedelic rock. Its successor Osiris Hayden (2019), digs even deeper into synthetic sounds as well as industrial and shoegaze influenced textures.

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 have toured in Europe, US and Asia several times and released a steady string of albums. The band’s tenth full-length, an 'imaginary compilation album' named "Killection", will be released in early 2020.

Part Time Killer

Part Time Killer, a foursome risen from the ashes of noughties punk favorites Flippin' Beans, is a hard working band, that believes in the old fashioned ways to spread their music: kick ass live shows and touring. Their music relies on fast tempos, catchy melodies and vocal harmonies. Influenced by 90's melodic American punk and hardcore, Part Time Killer continues the skate punk legacy of bands such as Pennywise and Bad Religion.

Apocalyptica

Since they formed in 1993, Finnish orchestral rock band Apocalyptica has released eight studio albums featuring numerous cello-based instrumentals along with some vocal-based songs. Whatever styles they’ve explored - from atmospheric interludes to fast, battering rhythms - their music has been gripping, dynamic and full of melody.

Shiraz Lane

Melodic and 80s-leaning hard rock quintet Shiraz Lane's was founded in 2011. Their debut album "For Crying Out Loud" was released in 2016 by Italian label Frontiers Music Srl. Between 2016 and 2017 the group toured across Europe with likes of Lordi and Brother Firetribe, and 2018 saw the release of their sophomore album "Carnival Days". Now signed to Ranka Kustannus, Shiraz Lane came back with the single "Do You" in August 2019.

The Dark Element

The Dark Element is a musical project fronted by the former Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon together with Finnish guitarist and songwriter Jani Liimatainen (Insomnium, Cain's Offering). The melodic metal band's eponymous debut was released in 2017 on Frontiers Records. November 2019 will see the release of their second album, entitled "Songs The Night Sings".

Michael Monroe

The ever-energetic Hanoi Rocks frontman and songwriter has made a long and successful solo career since his legendary sleaze rock band finally called it quits in 2009. Monroe’s last releases have been critical and commercial successes, with 2011's "Sensory Overdrive" winning Classic Rock magazine’s ‘Album Of The Year’ award. His four-piece band includes ex-Hanoi Sam Yaffa and former New York Doll Steve Conte.

Santa Cruz

After the split of three former members, Santa Cruz frontman Archie Cruz introduced the band's new lineup in 2019. The hard rock band's music has been heard in ads for Mercedes-Benz and ESPN, and they've played over 200 shows from Japan to North America, where the band has toured with Sebastian Bach.

The Flaming Sideburns

When Sweden had The Hellacopters, Finland had the The Flaming Sideburns. The action-packed fivesome exploded in popularity at the height of the garage rock boom in the early 2000s and reached a sweeping fan base around the world. Shortly after the release of their debut "Hallelujah Rock'n'rollah", guitarist Arimatti Jutila moved to the USA, and the band continued with varying line-ups, releasing 3 more full-lengths. In 2018, the original quintet made a comeback.

Lapinpolthajat

Lapinpolthajat (translated: Lapland's burners) is a punk / hardcore band from Rovaniemi, Lapland. Being called "Solid mixup of ’77 studdy melodies and early 80’s hectic hc from the cold northern region", Lapinpolthajat released their latest album "Lauluja Suomesta" (Songs from Finland) in 2019. After the release, the band tours across Europe and Japan.

Insomnium

Insomnium is a melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. Ever since the first steps that were inspired by the influencing bands such as Amorphis, Sentenced, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates and Opeth, the only direction for Insomnium has been up album by album: newest one "Heart Like Grave" is released in October 2019.

Ember Falls

Ember Falls’ music is a mixture of aggressive electronics, pop and modern metal. Their new album Welcome to Ember Falls was released by Spinefarm Records.

Oranssi Pazuzu

With their two latest albums Valonielu and Värähtelijä, Oranssi Pazuzu's combination of quirky progressive psychedelia and Nordic black metal has been met with praise from both fans and critics alike, and earning them nominations for Nordic Music Prize and Teosto Music Prize.

Andy McCoy

Finnish rock’n’roll icon Andy McCoy is best known as the guitarist and songwriter – along Michael Monroe – in seminal 1980’s glam rock band Hanoi Rocks. After Hanoi Rocks’ second round (2001–2009) he has mainly stayed away from the limelight, producing more visual art than sleazy rock’n’roll, but in 2018 McCoy came out with the surprise ep “Soul Satisfaction”, which will be followed with an album in 2019.

The 69 Eyes

2019 marks the 30th anniversary of The 69 Eyes but these "Helsinki vampires" aren't slowing down yet. The goth'n'roll veterans' 12th album "West End" saw the light of day (or rather, dark of night) in September 2019, with "11 up-tempo rock anthems full of heaviness, black memento mori moments and dark humour". The 69 Eyes will tour extensively promoting the album.

Omnium Gatherum

Six-piece band Omnium Gatherum are known for their innovative combination of melodic death and progressive metal. The band has released eight albums – their latest, The Burning Cold, was released by Century Media in 2018.

Doom Unit

Tampere-based quartet Doom Unit's sound has been described as traditional heavy metal meeting modern hard rock. They released their debut "Cross the Line" in 2009, which hit the Finnish Album Chart at #2. The album has been followed with "The Burden of Bloom" (2011), "III" (2013) and "Underdog" (2015). In 2020 Doom Unit will tour in celebration of their 10th anniversary.

Waltari

Waltari is a rock band playing crossover music that combines the punk rock attitude with some craziness from the progressive rock and new wave scene. In a musical adventure that began already in 1986 and has taken the band across Europe, Waltari has found a place in the hearts of crossover metal lovers everywhere.

Playlists

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.

New Rock and Metal from Finland

Blind Channel

Grandmother Corn

Lost Society

Vesperith

PH

Lordi

Part Time Killer

Apocalyptica

Shiraz Lane

The Dark Element

Michael Monroe

Santa Cruz

The Flaming Sideburns

Lapinpolthajat

Insomnium

Ember Falls

Oranssi Pazuzu

Andy McCoy

The 69 Eyes

Omnium Gatherum

Doom Unit

Waltari

100 Finnish songs you should hear

New Experimental Music from Finland

New World and Folk Music from Finland