THE HISTORY OF NORTHER
The history of Norther dates back to the year 1996, when Toni Hallio and Petri Lindroos started playing together under the monicker Requiem with two other guys. After a short split-up and loosing their rehearsal lair, the boys persevered and played as a trio wherever possible: at home, in Hallio's grandmother's attic (no joke!), in cellars, youth centers.
Finally, in late 1997, the band got a rehearsal place in the legendary Lepakko through Alexander Kuoppala (Children of Bodom), a friend of the band. Obviously, the boys were thrilled and began an extensive search for new members, without much success. At this point, Requiem was informed that Lepakko was to be demolished and the line-up was again reduced to the duo of Hallio and Lindroos. After the instant shock, the boys managed to book a new rehearsal place in Nosturi and began searching new members to complete the line-up that was to become Norther.
Many an aspiring player came and auditioned for the band, but none were deemed suitable for the band. Early 2000, however, a new guitar player was found in Kristian Ranta. The trio began rehearsing like there was no tomorrow and things finally started to flow for them. Kristian knew two brothers, Sebastian and Joakim Ekroos, who joined the band and a demo was recorded. At this point, the band also changed their name to Norther.
The demo was good enough to land them a deal with Spinefarm Records so now things wereon the roll. Nevertheless, certain things led to the discharging of the Ekroos brothers, so the line-up was once again reduced to a trio. It did not take long for the guys to find Jukka Koskinen and Tuomas Planman to finally create a stable line-up for Norther. And thus, "Dreams of Endless War" was recorded and the Norther warmachine kicked into gear.
After the initial release of the album, the scene went ballistic over Norther. Although the band was plagued with constant comparisons to Children of Bodom, the overall response from the media and fans was overwhelming. Norther began playing shows in and around Helsinki and the buzz kept growing like wildfire. Being the prolific songwriters that the guys are, they almost had an album's worth of material ready before the debut was released in every corner of the world. Norther soon barricaded themselves inside the famed Astia Studio with producer extraordinaire, Anssi Kippo. The result is nothing short of breathtaking.
"Mirror of Madness" is a step forward for the band, a logic continuation of the onslaught that began with "Dreams of Endless War". It is a step towards more of an old school-type of sound combined perfectly with their intense approach to modern death/black, a mix made in metal heaven. The fury and sheer frantic energy of Norther's delivery is simply stunning. "Mirror of Madness" forces the listener into uncontrollable bouts of headbanging with it's outrageous catchiness and -to put it simply- all-out brutality.
In 2004 Northers third full length album "Death Unlimited" was released. It received very good feedback from the media all around the world. It also hit the Finnish charts for weeks. "Death Unlimited" is maybe the heaviest Norther heard so far, give it a spin and decide for yourself. In early 2005 Norther decided to record an EP, "Solution7", because they had some good songs lying around. This CD was recorded again at Astia Studios (as were MoM and DU) with producer Anssi Kippo. It hit the official Finnish charts just like all the previous Norther releases. This time Norther wanted to bring in something new, some clean vocals to mix peoples head a bit. Kristian sang these parts and they appeared to work fine. Norther decided to continue on this path.
In summer 2005 Norther headed to Studio Fredman in Gothenburg Sweden (In Flames, Soilwork, Hammerfall, Arch Enemy, Opeth, etc.) to record their fourth full length album. Norther worked with producer Fredrik Nordström and the sessions kicked some serious ass. The album recorded there was named "Till Death Unites Us" and it will hit the stores in early 2006. This album will totally rip your head off, it's a good combination of something old and something new. Excellent songs, great riffs and crazy ass solos. Norther at its best!
