Heijaste
(FIN)
Heijaste is a young rockband from Tampere, Finland and was founded in 2001 when A-J, Juho and Eero started playing covers. A-J sang and played bass, Juho played guitar and Eero drums. A-J and Juho sometimes changed the Instruments. It turned out that it was a good choice. Soon they tried making their own songs and in summer of 2002 they started practicing after several phases. At the end of spring of 2003 the band's old friend Donny joined in to play bass as Juho moved to play guitar with A-J. They practiced hard with this group and in the end of year 2003 Heijaste had their first "real" gig (on 13 December). In January 2004 they recorded their first demo tape in a studio, which includes 3 Songs. The next gigs however took place at the start of the next year and Heijaste performed among other places at Tampere's Klubi and Turku's Rokkibaari taking place also in Jee Jee's Cityrock competition in April. In the spring of 2005 the band's next three-tracked recording, "Nimetön" was finished. However summer brought changes to the cast as Donny left the band, so Juho went back to playing bass and Viljami joined in as the new guitarist. A little later the keyboardist Tommy also left and Jones, the band's old friend stepped into the scene, but Joona already left the band as well. But they kept on writing songs as four-member-combo. So, in easter 2007 the band signed a record deal with Hype Records (Negative, Flinch...) and went immediately into the studis. The single release "Kiinni" is first preview of what to come: debut album “Silta yli kaiken” was released in fall 2007.
A-J
role in band: singer and songwriter
name: Antti Juhani Keskinen (A-J)
born: 28.09.1986. (Oulu, Finland)
family: parents, older brother Tomi, he has a girl
music: SARA, H.I.M, CMX, Feiled
drink/food: coffee, milk/pizza
loves: music, big cities, smile, all the small things in the life, determination, converses
-he was 7 years in music class, as small boy he played piano for 1 year
-he played saxophone and electric bass
-he sang and played bass in band called “Donkey’s”
-in year 1999 he met Eero and Juho
-he has 1 tattoo on left metacarpus
-he has 1 piercing (lip)
-he is funny when he is drunk -he smokes
Viljami
role in band: guitar and backing vocals
name: Viljami Tiainen (Vilka, Vili)
born: 11.07.1984. (Ähtäri, Finland)
family: parents, one sister, he has a girl
music: Children of Bodom
drink/food: beer, pepsi Max/pasta
loves: stars
-he has 3 tattoos (2 on right solder and 1 on left metacarpus)
-he has 3 piercings (tounge, lip and nose)
-he smokes
Juho
role in band: bass
name: Juho Mustonen
born: 17.04.1986 (Tampere, Finland)
family: parents, 3 sisters, single (i guess)
music: Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Apulanta
drink/food: milk/pizza
loves: meditation, painting (water-colours)
-in year 1998 he started guitar lessons and get interested for music
-he quit guitar lessons 'cos band where he played bass took his time
-until middle of schoolday A-J called and asked if he is interested to play guitar in
-he has piercing on lip
-he wears glasses
Eero
role in band: drumer
name: Eero Honkanen (eWo)
born: 07.09.1986. (Tampere, Finland)
family: parents, big brother, single (i guess)
music: Bon Jovi, Feiled, HIM, Guns ‘n Roses, The Darkness
drink: /
loves: good music, beauty, calmness
-his interest of music started when he found an acoustic guitar in closet
-he got an electric guitar from his big brother
-he fall in love with drums as soon as he got chance to try to play them
-he is always drunk or is having a hangover
-he smokes
[left the band]
(Joona
role in band: keyboards
name: Joona Ukkonen (Jones)
born: 17.08.1986 (Tampere, Finland)
family: mom, 3 sister and 2 brothers, wife and a son
music: Nine Inch Nails, Machinae Supremacy and many more...
drink/food: coffee, water/pizza
loves: games, music and game music
-he took off his lip piercing
-he cut his beautiful hair
-he is the most calm member of band
-doesn’t drink or smoke
-he wears glasses)
Disco
Demo '04
1. Ikuisuus (melody & lyrics: A-J)
2. Kaunis Maa (melody: A-J, lyrics: Tomi)
3. Oikea: (melody: A-J & eWo, lyrics: A-J)
Taken up and mixed in the Omppu-studio in January 2004.
employed: Lamppari & Vaeiski
suit: Janne Hokkanen
Nimetön '05
01. Hetkille (melody & lyrics: A-J)
02. Lähemmäs (melody & lyrics: A-J)
03. Nimetön (melody: A-J & Tommy, lyrcs: Tomi & A-J)
Taken up and mixed in the Omppu-studio in February 2005.
employed: Lamppari & Vaeiski
bass: Donny; keyboard: Tommy
Sydämeni EP
01. Sydämeni
02. Anna hukkua
03. Suljetut
04. Hetkille
05. Lähemmäs
06. Nimetön
07. Oikea (akustinen)
Taken up and mixed in the Dreamhouse-studio in February 2006.
employed: Jykä Aholan
Silta Yli Kaiken
01. Intro
02. Ei Kai Kukaan
03. Alle Jään
04. Kiinni
05. Kaunis Maa
06. Hetkille
07. Nimetön
08. Sydämeni
09. Anna Hukkua
10. Nämä Lauseet
11. Suljetut
Offizielle Website: http://www.heijaste.com
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Heijaste is a young rockband from Tampere, Finland and was founded in 2001 when A-J, Juho and Eero started playing covers. A-J sang and played bass, Juho played guitar and Eero drums. A-J and Juho sometimes changed the Instruments. It turned out that it was a good choice. Soon they tried making their own songs and in summer of 2002 they started practicing after several phases. At the end of spring of 2003 the band's old friend Donny joined in to play bass as Juho moved to play guitar with A-J. They practiced hard with this group and in the end of year 2003 Heijaste had their first "real" gig (on 13 December). In January 2004 they recorded their first demo tape in a studio, which includes 3 Songs. The next gigs however took place at the start of the next year and Heijaste performed among other places at Tampere's Klubi and Turku's Rokkibaari taking place also in Jee Jee's Cityrock competition in April. In the spring of 2005 the band's next three-tracked recording, "Nimetön" was finished. However summer brought changes to the cast as Donny left the band, so Juho went back to playing bass and Viljami joined in as the new guitarist. A little later the keyboardist Tommy also left and Jones, the band's old friend stepped into the scene, but Joona already left the band as well. But they kept on writing songs as four-member-combo. So, in easter 2007 the band signed a record deal with Hype Records (Negative, Flinch...) and went immediately into the studis. The single release "Kiinni" is first preview of what to come: debut album “Silta yli kaiken” was released in fall 2007.
A-J
role in band: singer and songwriter
name: Antti Juhani Keskinen (A-J)
born: 28.09.1986. (Oulu, Finland)
family: parents, older brother Tomi, he has a girl
music: SARA, H.I.M, CMX, Feiled
drink/food: coffee, milk/pizza
loves: music, big cities, smile, all the small things in the life, determination, converses
-he was 7 years in music class, as small boy he played piano for 1 year
-he played saxophone and electric bass
-he sang and played bass in band called “Donkey’s”
-in year 1999 he met Eero and Juho
-he has 1 tattoo on left metacarpus
-he has 1 piercing (lip)
-he is funny when he is drunk -he smokes
Viljami
role in band: guitar and backing vocals
name: Viljami Tiainen (Vilka, Vili)
born: 11.07.1984. (Ähtäri, Finland)
family: parents, one sister, he has a girl
music: Children of Bodom
drink/food: beer, pepsi Max/pasta
loves: stars
-he has 3 tattoos (2 on right solder and 1 on left metacarpus)
-he has 3 piercings (tounge, lip and nose)
-he smokes
Juho
role in band: bass
name: Juho Mustonen
born: 17.04.1986 (Tampere, Finland)
family: parents, 3 sisters, single (i guess)
music: Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Apulanta
drink/food: milk/pizza
loves: meditation, painting (water-colours)
-in year 1998 he started guitar lessons and get interested for music
-he quit guitar lessons 'cos band where he played bass took his time
-until middle of schoolday A-J called and asked if he is interested to play guitar in
-he has piercing on lip
-he wears glasses
Eero
role in band: drumer
name: Eero Honkanen (eWo)
born: 07.09.1986. (Tampere, Finland)
family: parents, big brother, single (i guess)
music: Bon Jovi, Feiled, HIM, Guns ‘n Roses, The Darkness
drink: /
loves: good music, beauty, calmness
-his interest of music started when he found an acoustic guitar in closet
-he got an electric guitar from his big brother
-he fall in love with drums as soon as he got chance to try to play them
-he is always drunk or is having a hangover
-he smokes
[left the band]
(Joona
role in band: keyboards
name: Joona Ukkonen (Jones)
born: 17.08.1986 (Tampere, Finland)
family: mom, 3 sister and 2 brothers, wife and a son
music: Nine Inch Nails, Machinae Supremacy and many more...
drink/food: coffee, water/pizza
loves: games, music and game music
-he took off his lip piercing
-he cut his beautiful hair
-he is the most calm member of band
-doesn’t drink or smoke
-he wears glasses)
Disco
Demo '04
1. Ikuisuus (melody & lyrics: A-J)
2. Kaunis Maa (melody: A-J, lyrics: Tomi)
3. Oikea: (melody: A-J & eWo, lyrics: A-J)
Taken up and mixed in the Omppu-studio in January 2004.
employed: Lamppari & Vaeiski
suit: Janne Hokkanen
Nimetön '05
01. Hetkille (melody & lyrics: A-J)
02. Lähemmäs (melody & lyrics: A-J)
03. Nimetön (melody: A-J & Tommy, lyrcs: Tomi & A-J)
Taken up and mixed in the Omppu-studio in February 2005.
employed: Lamppari & Vaeiski
bass: Donny; keyboard: Tommy
Sydämeni EP
01. Sydämeni
02. Anna hukkua
03. Suljetut
04. Hetkille
05. Lähemmäs
06. Nimetön
07. Oikea (akustinen)
Taken up and mixed in the Dreamhouse-studio in February 2006.
employed: Jykä Aholan
Silta Yli Kaiken
01. Intro
02. Ei Kai Kukaan
03. Alle Jään
04. Kiinni
05. Kaunis Maa
06. Hetkille
07. Nimetön
08. Sydämeni
09. Anna Hukkua
10. Nämä Lauseet
11. Suljetut
Offizielle Website: http://www.heijaste.com
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HIM (FIN)
HIM is a rock band from Finland formed in 1995 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko Lindström aka Linde "Lilly" Lazer, and bassist Mikko Paananen aka "Migé Amour. They have released six full length albums, one Best-Of Album and two Remix-Albums to date. The band was originally called His Infernal Majesty, but they soon changed this to simply HIM one of the reasons being satanic confusion, which Valo has repeatedly denied any satanic relevance. (see below). As of 2006, they are the first and only Finnish rock band to sell Gold in the United States.
Early career
HIM started out as a cover band, covering songs of artists such as KISS, Type O Negative, Danzig, Black Sabbath and Depeche Mode. After many lineup changes and a hiatus from 1991 to 1995 caused by the members' military services, the band now consists of the three founding members plus keyboardist Janne Johannes "Burton Emerson" Puurtinen and drummer Mika Kristian "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen.
In 1992, HIM made a demo tape called Witches and Other Night Fears, but it is rumored that Ville Valo is the only person to have a copy.
In late fall of 1995, HIM released This is Only the Beginning. This too was a demo tape, with only 100 copies made and sold in specially chosen stores on Helsinki. It featured the first version HIM had done of "Wicked Game" and "The Heartless". The tape also includes rare songs "Serpent Ride", "Borellus", "Stigmata Diaboli" and "The Phantom Gate". This album was done only with Ville singing and playing drums, while Linde was playing guitar and bass.
666 Ways to Love: Prologue was released in 1996 solely in Finland, and only 1,000 copies of this album were sold. The lady on the cover is said to be Valo's mother. It was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, and was recorded at Finnvox Studios, MD and Peacemakers, Helsinki.
Heartagram
The heartagram is the trademarked symbol of HIM, best described as a combination of a heart and a pentagram, created by Valo the day after his twentieth birthday, but there are a lot more stories how the sign was created, all told by Ville himself. Valo has said that "the heartagram stands for HIM as a band, as an entity, and for 'Love Metal' in general." Many fans of the band have heartagram tattoos, or tattoos of other HIM emblems — such as the single heart on Valo's right wrist, and a number of fan-submitted photos of same decorated the lyric booklet for the limited edition of Dark Light.
Ville Valo has allowed his close friend, Jackass star and professional skateboarder, Bam Margera to share the license on the heartagram image and Margera has accordingly used it for his promotional purposes, including using it on his Adio shoes and Element skateboards. Because of the shared license, the symbol it often thought to belong solely to Margera, especiall in the states. According to Valo, the band has become better known for their logo than their music.
A heartagram appears at the end of the music video for the song DARE by the band Gorillaz. It was also parodied, as the "horseagram" — a combination of a horse shoe and a pentagram — in the episode "Ode To Sue" of the video game comedy troupe Mega64.
Name confusion
Their first bandname was His Infernal Majesty (chosen spontaneously, as a complete joke). But as their popularity rose, they needed to change their name because:
- Finnish people were having difficulties pronouncing the name
- The band name was never actually serious
- The band started getting unwanted occult associations and people started to think of the band as satanic when it is not.
Consequently, the band changed the name to HIM from the "Wicked Game" single onwards, though the single for "Your Sweet Six Six Six" included a 'His Infernal Majesty' sticker.
In the official HIM biography, Synnin Viemää ("Gone With The Sin"), Ville Valo admitted to making things up and joking about the name during interviews, leading to conflicting accounts of the origin of the name and the confusion that exists today. During an interview, Valo has said:
"In almost every interview someone asks what does HIM stand for. I can't even remember our latest lie about that. When Hanson was hot, we said it means Hanson Is Murder. The name doesn't have a particular history. His Infernal Majesty was a totally different band. I think HIM derives from some death metal joke. And it was our protest to Haile Selassie's rastafarian religion, he used to be called His Imperial Majesty. But nowadays because of Linde's hair, we actually might be supporting him."
Their second major US release, Razorblade Romance, was released under the name HER because a Chicago based post-rock band named HiM held the trademark on the name. While they toured Europe, primarily Germany, at this time, they used the name HIM and HER. HIM eventually bought the rights to the name "HIM" in the United States and used it worldwide from there on.
- They are not to be confused with Infernäl Mäjesty, a Canadian thrash metal band, formed in Toronto in 1986
Genre
HIM's genre is debated in some circles; their musical style is often referred to as "Love Metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Musically the band mix influences from hard rock and early heavy metal. Ville Valo has stated that the band started as a "Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts". Valo stated in an interview on the 'Love Metal Archives' DVD, that he was fed up of journalists and interviewers asking him (Valo), and the rest of the band what the genre of HIM was. He said in answer to that question, they created the album entitled Love Metal.
Critics commonly refer to them as alternative rock, gothic rock or gothic metal. However, their musical style varies between albums, and even between songs. Some of the more common genres applied (correctly or not) to their music include:
- Alternative rock
- Gothic metal
- Goth rock
- Heavy metal
Current members
- Ville Valo — Lead vocals (1991–Present)- Mikko "Linde/Lilly Lazer" Lindström — Guitar (1991-Present)
- Mikko "Migé Amour;" Paananen — Bass Guitar, backing vocals (1991-Present)
- Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen — Drums (1999-Present)
- Janne "Burton Emerson" Puurtinen — Keyboards, backing vocals (2001-Present)
Former members
- Juippi — Drums (1991-1992)- Tarvonen — Drums (1991-1992)
- Oki — Rhythm Guitar (1992-1996)
- Antto "Zoltan" Melasniemi — Keyboards (1995-1998)
- Sergei Ovalov — Keyboards (1999 touring only)
- Juhana Tuomas "Pätkä" Rantala — Drums (1995-1999)
- Jussi-Mikko "Juska" Salminen — Keyboards (1998-2000)
Discography
Albums
1996 666 Ways To Love : Prologue (Finland only)1997 Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666
1999 Razorblade Romance
2001 Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights
2003 Love Metal
2004 And LOve Said No: Greatest Hits 1997-2004
2005 Dark Light 2006 UneasyListening Vol. 1
2007 Uneasy Listening Vol. 2
2007 Venus Doom
2008 Digital Versatile Doom - Live At The Orpheum Theater
Singles
1998 Wicked Game1998 When Love And Death Embrace
1998 You Sweet Six Six Six
1999 It's All Tears (Dron In This Love)
1999 Join Me (In Death)
2000 Right Here In My Arms
2000 Poison Girl
2000 Gone With The Sin
2001 Pretending
2002 Heartache Every Moment & Close To The Flame
2003 The Funeral Of Hearts
2003 The Sacrament
2003 Buried Alive By Love
2004 Solitary Man
2004 And Love Said No
2005 Wings Of A Butterfly (Finland only release)
2005 Vampire Heart
2006 Kiling Loneliness (UK only release)
2006 In Joy And Sorrow & Pretending (Finland only release)
2007 The Kiss Of Dawn
2007 Bleed Well (UK only release)
Official website: http://www.heartagram.com/
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