My Top Finnish Metal Bands
Well, folks, it is time for a look into the depths of depravity. The Finnish metal scene is one of my favorites. It has a bit of everything. There’s over-the-top folky stuff, blitzing melodeath, the murkiest death metal you’ll ever hear, and some of the darkest, ritualistic black metal ever put to tape. I will be covering my personal top 10 all-time (as of this moment) in the Finnish scene. Buckle up, boys, here we go!
Ahhhhh, yes, the quintessential Finnish metal band. While Children of Bodom might not be the the ‘trvest’ band out there, they are responsible for getting many (including yours truly) into Finnish metal and metal in general.
Starting off in 1993 as Inearthed by world-class guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho, the band offered a somewhat different approach than what was happening in the Finnish metal scene at the time. Bands like Demilich, Rippikoulu and Funebre, just to name a few, were dropping some of the most disgusting-sounding death metal known to mankind. The boys of Inearthed/Bodom opted for a way more melodic, neoclassical-influenced sound with shredding riffs, bombastic keyboards and throat-tearing, high-pitched vocals.
Their opening trio of Something Wild, Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper is one of the best three-album runs in metal history. Blending neoclassical elements with melodeath, black metal and power metal has been copied to death — but never emulated. Alexi’s lightning-fast riffage blended with the haunting synth work and the “YOW YOW”s have yet to be matched. Those first three records had that murderous magic to them while still sounding somewhat uplifting.
Nobody ever really talks about just how black metal-influenced those first three records were. They may have been a tad different than your pure Finnish black metal, but the atmosphere of each of them is undeniably kvlt.
The next two albums, Hate Crew Deathroll and (my personal favorite) Are You Dead Yet?, saw the band evolving into more of a straight-up melodeath/power metal combination that focuses on pounding riffs and industrial sounding keys while also adding a fun element.
Some of their very best tracks came from this era. Many consider this period a drop-off from the first three, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The neoclassical elements were replaced with pure death metal riffage. Alexi was never the best lyricist, but what he lacked in lyrical creativity, he made up for with intensity and catchiness.
The band did suffer a lack of originality with the following two albums, Blooddrunk and Relentless Reckless Forever. Both albums are stale and full of rehashed riffs. Even their trademark synth work suffered and was almost non-existent during this time. What do you expect? A band can’t put out purely bangers all the time!
Luckily though, their final three albums before Alexi’s death brought us back to the magic. Halo of Blood especially is up there with their best stuff. The atmosphere of the first three albums comes back in full force, giving off that cold-blooded-killer feeling with icy synths and off-the-wall riffage that had fans wondering where it went in the first place.
Children of Bodom are the most well-known Finnish extreme metal band, and for good reason. They pushed the boundaries of what death metal and black metal could be even in the early ’90s. Their influence on so many genres and bands is still felt today in 2025, and Alexi is still one of the greatest riff writers in metal history. Sadly, their careers were cut short when he passed away from alcoholism at the end of 2020, but their greatness will forever live on in the legacy that they left behind.
Now we move on to a band that is possibly the most consistent act in the Finnish metal scene’s long history. Amorphis started as a pure old-school death metal band. In fact, their debut album, The Karelian Isthmus, is one of the pioneering albums of Finnish death metal, influencing bands like Demilich, Adramelech, Rippikoulu and many more. The main thing that separated Amorphis from other death metal bands in the early/mid ’90s is that they used Finnish folk elements and lots of melody. Those exact sounds would become a part of the band’s identity for years to come.
While they were making a name for themselves in the death metal underground, it wasn’t until their second album, Tales of the Thousand Lakes, that the boys really started buzzing. Tales is a murky, yet beautiful anthem to all the creatures dwelling at the bottom of the sea — a haunting hymn of the water that is chill-inducing still to this day.
At this point, it seems like the band had somewhat of an identity crisis. Nobody knew the direction they’d take. Elegy took the melodeath elements of Tales and added psychedelic riffs to them, and the three albums after that were more of a stoner/prog metal combo.
It wasn’t until Eclipse that they really started to put it all together. Dropping the stoner influences, keeping the proggy goodness, and bringing back those gorgeous Finnish folk sounds and mixing them with their hard-hitting melodeath base. Then, in 2007, they released their magnum opus. Silent Waters is one of the most epic journeys you will ever have the pleasure of going on. Serene melodies will put you in a trance while death metal riffage pounds you in the skull at the same time. Acoustics hum as Tomi croons and growls and cries his heart out. It is the definition of a timeless classic.
And how do you follow a timeless classic? Stick to the formula that brought you success. Amorphis have done just that in the nearly two decades that have followed since Silent Waters was released. They got out of their early career identity crisis and continued to do what makes them great. No, they may not be pushing any boundaries, but 35 years into their careers, do they really need to? They are still making top-notch melodeath/prog/folk metal to this day. A new album, Borderland, is due in just a few months. So if it’s not broke, why fix it?
The black metal scene in Finland is in the conversation for the best ever. Personally, I still think the early Norwegian scene reigns supreme, but the Finnish scene is right at the top also. Lots of bands from this scene, such as Sargeist and Satanic Warmaster, opted for an extremely cold and raw style of black metal.
The Finns are known for making their black metal sound colder and more venomous than any other bands around. So how did Moonsorrow become the biggest? It’s simple. They make the most natural and epic black metal out of all the bands from Finland — maybe of all time. Horns blare, trumpets sound, and the riffs never stop flowing. Flutes rage anxiously in the background as the tremolo-picked guitars and tribal drumming take control. Vile vocals spew forth and vitriol is spit into the listener’s face. That is exactly what makes Moonsorrow so damn special.
They did have some of that nasty lo-fi attitude in them early on, leaning more towards freezing cold melodic black metal during their initial days as a band. The folk influences got heavier and heavier as the years went on. Eventually, the two-album run of Verisäkeet and V: Hävitetty garnered them attention from larger metal media outlets because of their cleaner folk leanings and massive production jobs.
Moonsorrow have been on a bloodthirsty tear for the entirety of their time as a band. They showed clearly why black metal doesn’t always have to be about worshipping Satan and recording in a forest. They are as trve as it comes when talking about the genre as a whole. I know I speak for all fans when I say that we are hungry for another Moonsorrow album. 2016’s Jumalten aika was their latest release and it was also up there with their best. Don’t leave us hanging, boys! The black metal scene is better when Moonsorrow is putting out new music consistently.
Speaking of Finnish black metal bands that don’t follow the norm, welcome to the depraved mind of Impaled Nazarene! Formed by vocalist Mika Luttinen in 1990, these guys had a perverted, drunk, punk attitude from the very beginning. Their brand of black metal has always been tongue-in-cheek with lyrical themes centering around, of course, Satan — but Impaled Nazarene also utilized humor in heavy topics like death, sodomy and war.
Mika is the brains behind the operation, and while he is a bit unhinged, he’s one of the best vocalists black metal has ever seen. His lyrical themes are straight-up ridiculous and funny, and you can tell he has a good time screaming like a newborn baby that just exited the womb. His extremely high-pitched shrieks are like nails on a chalkboard in the best way possible. While bands like Horna and Behexen were crawling around in the forest, Mika and Impaled Nazarene were getting hammered and writing riffs.
Hey, speaking of riffs, the guys were obviously influenced heavily by thrash bands like Kreator and Sodom while also having a lot of classic speed metal like Motörhead in their sound as well. Their opening trio of Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz…, Ugra-Karma and Suomi Finland Perkele in particular had heavy ’70s/’80s speed metal influences.
From that point on, the punk in them really came out. While a lot of people will say that this band fell off a cliff after the first three, I am here to tell you that information just isn’t correct. If you’re a fan of blazing riffs and batshit vocals, I don’t understand how you could hate the blackened grindy goodness of Absence of War Does Not Mean Peace or the juicy basslines and return of the speed metal on Pro Patria Finlandia.
It is possible to get stale indeed, but even if these albums have a lot of similarities, it’s the subtle influences of each one that drive them. I mentioned the grind sound on their mid-era albums. A lot of those riffs wouldn’t sound out of place on a Napalm Death album. Those are the tiny nuances that separates all of the music in their discography.
I would wager to say that tons of modern bands have been influenced by Impaled Nazarene. In fact, punk-infused black metal is more popular in the 2020s than it has ever been before. I believe that this band has a lot to do with that. They were one of the pioneering bands of that exact sound. So, you can tell me that all of their stuff sounds the same, but I’d tell you that you’re not listening hard enough. Black metal is their home base, but there’s much more to it than that. So relax, have a beer or 12 and get ready for Impaled Nazarene to take you on a drunken, morbid journey.
Now it’s time to get into the most raw and sinister band on my list: Sargeist! This started off as a solo project of creator and longest standing member Shatraug in 1999, coming towards the tail end of the second wave of black metal. Sargeist followed bands that opted for the lo-fi production values and extremely anti-Christian lyrics/imagery.
The first two albums, Satanic Black Devotion and Disciple of the Heinous Path, are two of the greatest examples of how raw black metal should be done. Non-stop, melodic tremolo picking behind a massive wall of static and reverb with tortured shrieking vocals was just not done any better. The band did take a turn on 2010’s Let the Devil In, though.
The guys turned away from the sinister rawness of the first two albums in favor of a more professionally produced sound, but the results were the same. At this point, the riffs were the main focus over atmosphere. Who isn’t in favor of more riffs in black metal? I love the atmospheric stuff as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just want to headbang to some ice-cold, catchy tunes.
What’s weird is that, even after the critical acclaim – and larger audience – that came with Let the Devil In, the guys turned back the clock and made yet another buzzsaw of lo-fi black metal on Feeding the Crawling Shadows that put the band in somewhat of a lull. They moved forward only to kind of take a step back, and a step back that was nowhere near as hard-hitting as their first two albums.
It was a time where fans were interested to see what the band would do next. Would they wallow in stagnation or would they keep progressing? Luckily, they took their time with Unbound because it’s one of their strongest albums. It’s the freshest they’ve ever sounded, combining early ’90s Swedish-esque meloblack riffs with nonstop blasts and vocals that sound as if they’re spewing from a freshly-risen zombie.
Many fans thought that Unbound may be the band’s final project. There was no update on new music for seven long years until the boys dropped Flame Within Flame with absolutely no warning. It isn’t a top-tier Sargeist album by any means, but it isn’t far off and is a welcome surprise. It’s just more of the same that makes Sargeist one of my all-time favorite black metal bands. If you guys want the more ‘krieg’ side of Finnish black metal, Sargeist should be one of your top choices.
With this entry, we will be going over the quintessential modern Finnish death metal band: none other than Hooded Menace. No other group represents the Finnish scene nowadays better than these guys. Instead of taking influence from the griminess of bands like Convulse or Funebre, the guys took the Shape of Despair route.
What I mean by that is these guys opt for more of a Halloweentown type of atmosphere with heavy gothic undertones in the keyboards. That’s what comes first and foremost. After that is established, that’s when cryptic yet melodic riffage hammers you over the noggin. A lot of what makes this band special is in the ghostly theatrics they throw around.
Yes, it’s death metal, so the riffs still play a key role. They mainly draw inspiration from Autopsy in that department, with ’90s style buzzsaw chords with just a tinge of melody. The riffs combined with the ghoulish atmosphere created by the keys create an experience that made Finnish death metal stand out to the masses.
They’ve never tweaked their sound too much over the years. Fulfill the Curse, the best Finnish death metal album in the past 25 years in my opinion, established a firm base of how the band wanted to sound and what they wanted to accomplish. First off, they clearly want to have fun making music. All of the undead/Halloween imagery harkens back to a simpler time for a lot of people, myself included. Second off, they wanted to make death/doom metal sound adventurous like it never had before.
Plenty of bands that play a similar style are happy to skate by doing the bare minimum: two or three riffs on an entire album, thinking that going slow would create a sinister atmosphere. Hooded Menace have never taken that approach. They tackled every album as a new chapter in the haunted book of their discography. Like I said before, while their style hasn’t changed much, the effects still hit just as hard. You can’t ask for much more in modern death metal.
Everyone has a story about the one that got away. Whether it be a relationship or something else, everyone has that one regret that they wish they could do over. The one that got away in death metal as a whole is Demilich. Why did we let them put out one classic in Nespithe, and then disappear into the abyss? It may be something death metal fans regret forever.
Anyone that knows the tiniest bit about death metal knows that Nespithe is a pure classic. It did something that, to that point, had never been done in death metal. The absolutely inhuman, gurgling burps that are the vocals here were something that even seasoned death metal vets winced at the first time they heard them. The echoing effects made it sound like someone was calling to you from another dimension…
… which brings me to the riff/atmosphere combination: the production on the riffage made it sound like they were literally coming from another planet. They sounded lo-fi, but also so technically impressive that it made you wonder if it were actually aliens making the sounds. This created an atmosphere of a black hole coming through your speakers.
Nespithe came out over 30 years ago and it has yet to be replicated. Demilich put out one album and that album makes people wet themselves to this day. Death metal fans of all generations, especially the newer generation, point to these guys as a key inspiration of their sound and production. No other band in death metal that I can think of has made such an impact with only one full-length album to their credit. Well, Demilich have done that, and they will continue to do that for many years to come.
However, the big question is, why did the guys only release one album? They’ve been touring heavily in the 2020s, and when asked if he thought he’d still be touring to promote one album in a 2022 interview, vocalist Antti Boman said, “I figured we’d still be touring, but with many albums.” The reason he gives for the band not making any more music may surprise you.
Antti says that the heaviness of trying to write an album to follow up Nespithe, an album that obviously got universal praise, was too much for them. He keeps the same reasoning as to why there has still been no new Demilich music despite all of the touring they’ve done. They’ve written a few new songs, but it still hasn’t materialized into a new album. So, as fans, we may just have to accept that Nespithe will be their lone achievement, and honestly, that’s okay with me.
I can’t lie to you guys: melodic death metal is extremely hit or miss for me. The first wave of the Gothenburg scene was original and intriguing, but at a certain point in my metal journey, it just seemed like all melodeath bands were copying that sound. You had a few groups pushing the boundaries, like Japan’s Intestine Baalism and, of course, Finland’s Insomnium.
From their very first album, In the Halls of Awaiting, you could tell that this wasn’t your typical copycat. The melancholic atmosphere alone was enough to make listeners realize that. Finnish folk music was also incorporated into their sound along with a very prevalent doom metal influence. Hell yeah, you’ll find mesmerizing riffs aplenty, but it was more than that for Insomnium.
This band wanted you to feel sadness and loss. They wanted you to buckle under the sheer weight of the massive wall of sound that was being created. Among the Weeping World, my personal favorite, was especially heartbreaking. The equality and trade-off between riffs and subtle keyboards was enough to bring a grown man to tears and make you bang your head at the same time.
Melodic death metal is a genre that needs a little extra something, in my opinion. Outside of the early/mid 90s Swedish scene, it seemed like every melodeath band coming out was an In Flames or Dark Tranqullity clone. Yeah, it sounds good, but there was no originality or passion to it. These guys are the epitome of passionate, emotional melodic death metal. The atmospheres are almost black metal-esque in nature, giving off extremely harsh and catastrophic vibes while still retaining that uplifting melody.
Insomnium is probably my favorite melodeath band of all time. The melody didn’t focus on being melodic just for the sake it, it made you feel the weight of every emotion they were feeling – all the ups and downs of life being a bit too much. No other band in this scene can do that as well as these guys. So, if you’re a melodeath fan, and you need a break from the monotony, Insomnium can provide you with plenty of riffs and emotions.
Alright, boys, now we’re going to really take it to the depressing side. Funeral doom isn’t for everyone. In fact, it takes a special – or super sad, depending how you look at it – individual to appreciate this genre. It’s plodding, monotonous… usually super long and tedious. On the opposite end, it’s some of the most uniquely atmospheric metal ever made. Skepticism are the first band from Finland that made the genre go to new heights.
Formed in 1991, these guys are the masters at making something out of nothing. No melody, no symphonies and no theatrics. They make music that is almost as minimal as some ambient music. Riffage is relegated to maybe one or two massive notes. The same riff plays over and over again giving a desperate, desolate feeling. In fact, I’ve never heard a band of this ilk give the listener a truly downtrodden, hopeless feeling the way that this band does.
Their debut album, Stormcrowfleet, is one of the best funeral doom albums ever made despite the fact that there’s maybe 5 different riffs on the whole album. Drumming is simple, yet tribal sounding. Honestly, it has to be the exact feeling that a mental patient has while stuck in a straitjacket for days on end. This is exactly why this style of music is an acquired taste.
Ask yourself: do you really want to be subjected to five (six if you count their live album Ordeal) albums of pure loneliness and despair? Because that is all you get with these guys. Everything is insanely slow and heart-wrenching, even for funeral doom. The vocals from founding member Matti Tilaeus sound like a demon calling to you straight from Hell while the monotony of the riffs caves your skull in.
You really have to be in a certain mood for music like this. Listening to it during a normal day could sour your mood and ruin your whole week. That is, unless you embrace the sadness and desolation. Each and every chord sounds like a slap to the face. Like I said, it’s not for the faint of heart. So make sure you’re ready to let the darkness of Skepticism take over, and embrace the evil within.
Since we’re talking funeral doom, how about we end this journey with the second-best Finnish band in the genre? Shape of Despair are a bit of a changeup from the minimal mutiny of a band like Skepticism. Do you enjoy gothic metal? Because we get a heavy dose of it with these guys.
Let’s be honest: a lot of us enjoy synths in our metal. They tend to give a lot of bands that little extra something to make them interesting. Shape of Despair prefer a bit more bombastic take on this genre. You still have the riffs and drums moving at a snail’s pace, but we also get an 1800s, vampyric, almost black metal-esque vibe that sounds like Count Dracula himself is manning the keys.
Their first two albums, Shades Of… and Angels of Distress are clinics on how to mix barren riffs with medieval-sounding keys to give off a uniquely grim atmosphere. A mixture of deep guttural growls and uplifting, operatic female vocals behind the enormously epic riffs will give the listener goosebumps. I mentioned 1800s vampyric vibes because you really feel like you’re stuck in Nosferatu’s castle as he stalks your every move.
A lot of bands tried to pull off this style, but none of them ever did it with the consistency of Shape of Despair. Some acts either didn’t get the ratio correct or they simply didn’t have the arsenal to make it sound good. Monotony Fields was a comeback for the ages. Almost being folky in a way, with ethereal soundscapes and soaring guitar leads with even better production than before.
These guys can pull off either sound exquisitely. Whether it be the rough yet enchanting sounds of the first three albums or the cleaner romanticism of the newest two, Shape of Despair know how to capture the listener’s attention. I, for one, am looking forward to the band’s next endeavor and I hope you all will join me in whatever type of misery they decide to come up with next.
Sauna, eat, jam metal, sleep, and repeat in the forest and on…
