Finnish rock refers to rock music made in Finland. The initial rock and roll boom of the 1950s was preceded by a long tradition of popular culture. Suomirock (or suomirokki) associates to Finnish rock sung in Finnish.

Timeline

Finnish rock followed the common trends during the 50s and 60s. Usually Finnish rock bands performed covers or hit songs translated into Finnish. Eero Raittinen and his brother Jussi Raittinen are one of the earliest rockers of the 1960s, alongside with groups such as Jormas, Topmost and Ernos. The British band Renegades found their biggest success in the 1960s Finland. Helsinki was the centre of Finnish rock and pop music during this period. Love Records was one of the first domestic record labels dedicated to Finnish rock, even though the label's roster also included jazz and political songs. Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940 represented Finnish underground, and their only album Underground-Rock (1970) is cited as a big influence among many current Finnish music-makers. Other Finnish underground/psychedelic bands of this era were The Sperm, Apollo and the ground-breaking Blues Section, which spawned Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti after its split. Jormas was a Finnish band who had appeared previously as the Beatmakers but was renamed after their manager Jorma Weneskoski. ... Topmost was a Finnish rock band founded in 1966, becoming the most popular band in Finland in the following year. ... Ernos was a Finnish band founded in 1966 by the vocalist-pianist-songwriter Erno Lindahl, after whom the band was also named. ... Love Records was a record label from Finland, which would release in its time 384 LPs, 253 C-cassettes, 347 singles and 24 EPs. ... Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940 was a provocative Finnish rock band in the years 1969 and 1970. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Apollo was a short-lived Finnish band who released their eponymous album in 1970. ... Blues Section is considered a seminal and ground-breaking band in Finnish rock music. ... Wigwam is a Finnish progressive rock band formed in the late 1960s, after the split of seminal Blues Section where the key members of Wigwam had played before. ... Tasavallan Presidentti was a Finnish progressive rock band. ...

At the beginning of 1970s new artists emerged. Singer-songwriters such as Hector and Juice Leskinen started writing songs in Finnish, combining shades of irony, poetry and introspection with rock sound. Later in the seventies the new wave and punk brought more artists such as Pelle Miljoona, Eppu Normaali and Hassisen kone. Finnish rock had by now become independent. Names such as Dave Lindholm, Tuomari Nurmio and Ismo Alanko continued with their own styles. Tampere became at the turn of 1970s and 80s the most vibrant town in rock culture, spawning "Manserock" as rock music by the town's artists was called. Hector brought back to Troy. ... Pauli Matti Juhani Leskinen (born February 19, 1950 in Juankoski, Finland), better known as Juice Leskinen, is one of the most prominent Finnish singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. ... Pelle Miljoona (b. ... Martti Syrjä Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular bands in Finland. ... Hassisen kone was a Finnish rock band, founded in 1979 in Joensuu. ... Tuomari Nurmio is the artist name of Hannu Nurmio (b. ... Ismo Kullervo Alanko (born November 12, 1960, Helsinki, Finland) is a popular Finnish rock singer/songwriter. ... Manserock means Finnish rock music (see also: Suomirock) out of the town of Tampere, Finland. ...

Hurriganes, fronted by Remu Aaltonen, was one of the most well-known groups in Finland. This 1970s group played hard-hitting, boogie-based simple rock, and their song "Get on" is almost anthemic in Finland. Other seminal groups were Dingo, a pop-rock group idolized by teenagers, and Yö, whose "Joutsenlaulu" remains to the day one of the most played songs in radio and karaoke. Kingston Wall was a cult band of the early 90s, combining psychedelic influences with hard rock, played by power trio and fronted by Petri Walli. J. Karjalainen has also remained popular since the early 1980s. Hurriganes is a Finnish rock n roll band, which is very popular in Finland. ... Dingo is a Finnish rock band formed around 1984 which fused Finnish melancholy with catchy pop melodies. ... Yö (Night) is a Finnish rock band, established in 1981. ... Kingston Wall was a psychedelic/progressive rock group from Helsinki, Finland. ...

Success abroad

The earliest Finnish rock bands to gain any notoriety were progressive rock bands like Tasavallan Presidentti and Wigwam. Though for a time they seemed poised to break through in Europe, international fame eluded them. 1980s bands were similarly unable to find an international following, such as Gringos Locos and Havana Black; one exception to this was Hanoi Rocks, a popular glam rock band. They are still the most respected finnish group in abroad. Though the band collapsed on the verge of final international breakthrough, they were the source of inspiration for glam rock bands of 1980s including Guns n' Roses. Progressive rock (sometimes shortened to prog, prog rock, or progrock) is a subgenre of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, but continues as a musical form long afterward. ... Tasavallan Presidentti was a Finnish progressive rock band. ... Wigwam is a Finnish progressive rock band formed in the late 1960s, after the split of seminal Blues Section where the key members of Wigwam had played before. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Hanoi Rocks is a Finnish rock band. ... Glam rock (also known also as glitter rock), was a style of rock and roll music popularised in the early 1970s. ... Guns N Roses is an American hard rock band that gained fame during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

Some modern bands who have achieved some mainstream rock success abroad include Leningrad Cowboys, known for performing with the Red Army, Male Choir Shouters, who specialize in national anthems and surf band Laika & the Cosmonauts. Darude scored a hit with "Sandstorm", making his addition to a small number of Finnish electronica artist to hit it big abroad. Jimi Tenor and Pan sonic are also Finnish electronica artists with a loyal cult following. The band. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogizing the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nations government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture. ... Darude Darude (Ville Virtanen) (July 17, 1975) is an electronic dance music producer and DJ from Eura, Finland. ... Jimi Tenor, born as Lassi Lehto, is a Finnish Musician. ... Pan sonic (originally called Panasonic) is a Finnish experimental / electronica music duo, consisting of members Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen. ...

22-Pistepirkko has had a cult status in Europe, notably in Holland and Germany. The trio's indie-rock incorporates blues and melancholy melodies, with a touch of Tom Waits. 22-Pistepirkko is a Finnish popular music band formed in 1980. ... Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. ...

Like much of Scandinavia, Finland's main contribution to modern popular music may be heavy metal and related fields. This style of hard-hitting metal includes bands like Apocalyptica, Impaled Nazarene, Nightwish, The 69 Eyes, Stratovarius, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Children of Bodom, Amorphis and Waltari. Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock bands which, between 1969 and 1974,[1] mixed blues and rock to create a hybrid with a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterised by... Apocalyptica is a Finnish band consisting of three, formerly four, classically trained cellists and, since 2003, a drummer. ... Impaled Nazarene is a Finnish black metal band with thrash metal influences founded in 1990. ... Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band formed in 1996 in the town of Kitee. ... The 69 Eyes is a goth rock band from Finland. ... Stratovarius is a Finnish Neoclassical/power metal band, known for its melodic approach to the genre. ... Sentenced was a heavy metal band formed in 1989, in the town of Muhos, Finland. ... Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1996. ... Children of Bodom is a metal band from Espoo, Finland. ... Amorphis is a Finnish metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen in 1990. ... Waltari logo Waltari is a musical group from Finland. ...

The most popular finnish band abroad is probably HIM, fronted by Ville Valo. HIM's music has been labeled often as "love metal". HIM and The Rasmus topped album charts in several European countries with their most succesful albums. HIM got also a gold record in the USA in 2006. The international success of The Rasmus and HIM during the current decade is wider than any Finnish group has gotten before. This article refers to the Finnish band. ... Ville Valo Ville Valo at Provinssirock in 2006 Ville Hermanni Valo (born November 22, 1976) is the vocalist, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish Love Metal band HIM. Valo was born at 8:28 a. ...

Finland were also the winners of the 2006 Eurovision song contest, with the first heavy metal band to enter the competition, Lordi. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Eurovision Song Contest logo. ... Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... Lordi is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Finland, and winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, formed in 1996 by Tomi Putaansuu (known as Mr. ...

Further reading

Jee jee jee. Suomalaisen rokin historia Bruun, Seppo - Lindfors, Jukka - Luoto, Santtu - Salo, Markku

(Yeah Yeah Yeah. History of Finnish Rock) WSOY 2002

External links

• Finnish Rock

See also

• Music of Finland