VERSO

BIOGRAPHY



2004



Verso was formed in late 2004. Home town of the band is Pori in south-west coast of Finland. Line-up of the band has remained same since the beginning: Petteri Salonen/Voc, Ville-Veikko Laaksonen/gtr, Mikko Porvari/gtr/key, Marko Mäki-Panula/bass, Mikko Kulju/drums.



2005



In the beginning the basic idea was to make hard and melancholic rock music with metal influences. The first promotional cd-s “No Harm Done” contained two songs and influences from bands like Anathema and Katatonia was easy to hear. Songs were quite melodic but there was also metal and progressive elements.



“No Harm Done” cd-s was the first official release of Verso and gave band a chance to do gigs and spread the word of the band.



2006



After doing shows and writing new songs it was time to hit the studio again. This time the result was a three song mini-cd called “This Cold Place”. Main elements of music had remained quite the same. Melancholic rock/metal with dreary lyrics. How ever the sound and arrangements made “This Cold Place” more metal than rock. And metal was the path that would be chosen in the near future of Verso.



After studio sessions it was time do gigs again and of course write songs. The burden of composing was mostly on V-V Laaksonens shoulders. As Laaksonen is a genuine metal head it was not a surprise that Verso was heading more to metal genre. In late 2006 there was a handful of songs that would be easy to categorise as thrash metal.



2007



New year, new songs and yet another studio session. This time the goal was to make a two song cd-s that would earn a record deal for the band. “Gone Into My Blood” the title song of this cd was a melodic and quite catchy metal/rock track and “Seasons End Grey” was more aggressive and faster thrash metal song. At the time those songs were extremities of bands music style. A perfect combination for promotion.



After a short period of promotion and gigs, Verso signed a record deal with Finnish label Kampas Records. It was of course a dream come true for the band and the atmosphere was more than excited. But sometimes when things just couldn’t be better the worst can happen. There was serious health problem among the band that kept them away from live shows for few months. Despite the sad moments it was a good year and gave Verso a chance to move to the next level.



2008



Freshly signed, excited, healthy and alive Verso was once again heading to the studio. This time to record the debut full length album. Eleven songs including two songs from last single. It was a great session and the result was more than satisfying. Influenced by the mighty Bay Area thrashers and modern death metal genre the band had made a great debut and it was highly acclaimed by media and critics. Official release date was Sept 17th 2008.



Again, a good year for the band and lots of development in many ways. More gigs, more audience and another step further in many ways.



2009



We’re not getting any younger but it doesn’t mean that we’re slowing down. Doing gigs, rehearsing and writing songs. That’s the way it goes. Hopefully we will enter the studio later this year to record the follow-up for the debut.



There are many thrash/death bands recording and touring nowadays but Versos goal is to to make something distinctive and personal. Unlike in many other modern metal bands, the music of Verso relies heavily –in addition to the strong guitar riffs- on the interpretation of the vocalist, Petteri Salonen. Sometimes Verso may sound like a soft swinging lullaby and sometimes the style changes into mammoth-sized and dramatic chorus based metal and then back to brutal metal riffs.



So, here we are now. It’s fall 2009 and the story continues. We are already making demos and picking up the tracks for the next album. There are few gigs ahead to play and then we are ready to start recording.



Stay tuned!



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