Teräsbetoni

Teräsbetoni
Teräsbetoni in 2008
General information
Genre (s)	True metal
founding	2002
Website	www.terasbetoni.com
Current occupation
Vocals , bass	Jarkko Ahola
Guitar , vocals	Arto Jarvinen
Drums	Jari Kuokkanen
guitar	Viljo Rantanen

Teräsbetoni in the semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Jarkko Ahola

Teräsbetoni (Finnish for reinforced concrete ) is a Finnish true metal band from the Tampere area, founded in 2002 .

Band history

Jarkko Ahola , Arto Järvinen and Viljo Rantanen met for the first time in 2002. When they discovered a common taste in music in conversation, they decided to start their own band. The idea with the band name comes from Rantanen. A drummer was found shortly afterwards in Jari Kuokkanen. At the beginning of 2003 they began to write their first songs together, published them under the titles Teräsbetoni , Teräksen varjo and Maljanne nostakaa on the Internet and sent them to record companies. According to guitarist Arto Järvinen, the band's website immediately had several hundred visitors a day and after just two days the first call from a record company came.

In 2004 they signed a contract with the major label Warner Music . With the producer Anssi Kippo , who had already worked with Sentenced and Children of Bodom , they recorded their first album in January 2005, which was released on April 6, 2005. Metallitotuus entered the Finnish album charts at number two and lasted for a total of 37 weeks. In the first week Teräsbetoni received a gold record for the debut album and a short time later also platinum for 48,662 units sold. The first single Taivas lyö tulta stayed at number one in Finland for three weeks and also received a gold record. In addition, Taivas lyö tulta became the official song of the Finnish national ice hockey team.

An appearance at the Finnish Metal Expo in January 2005 brought them international attention. As a result, they were booked for several summer festivals, including the Wacken Open Air , where they made their first appearance in Germany on August 5, 2005. On June 14, 2006, the second album Vaadimme metallia was released , which also entered the album charts at number two and was awarded gold. The release of a third album entitled Myrskyntuoja took place on March 19, 2008. As the first album, this reached number 1 on the Finnish album charts. A little later it was also awarded gold. Teräsbetoni took part in the Finnish qualification for the Eurovision Song Contest on March 1, 2008 and won it. The band then reached 22nd place with 35 points at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade with the piece Missä miehet ratsastaa .

In June 2010 Teräsbetoni announced to have signed with Sakara Records , the label of Mokoma . In late summer of the same year, the recording work for the next album Maailma tarvitsee sankareita , which was released on November 24, 2010, began again under the direction of producer Hiili Hiilesmaa .

style

Teräsbetoni plays typical True Metal in the style of Manowar , and sees himself strongly inspired by Manowar. Other major influences are Iron Maiden and hard rock bands like Whitesnake . It is particularly important for the members to use simple song structures and parts, this should make the music more powerful. The band sees itself "back to the roots of heavy metal." ( Arto Järvinen )

All texts are in Finnish and are typically about struggle and masculinity. According to their own statement, the band refers to “the fights that you have to fight every day. Such fights where you get out of bed early in the morning and know that you will have a difficult day. "According to Arto Järvinen, her music is also about" [encouraging] people [...] in their decisions and actions. . ”As with Manowar, metal itself is a typical theme in Teräsbetoni's lyrics, especially a sense of community in the scene is sung about. The guitarist sums up this attitude in an interview:

"'Metal' is not just a word, it's also a lifestyle and an ideology."

- Arto Järvinen : in summer 2005

The sometimes extreme lyrics are seen by many critics and fans as a parody. In an interview, the singer made it clear: “ In the lyrics department and our stage show there's a dose of fun and self-parody. ”( Jarkko Ahola in March 2008 , German:“ The lyrics and our stage show contain a portion of fun and self-irony. ”) Arto Järvinen warns:“ Take it seriously - but not too seriously! ”()

Discography

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Metallitotuus   FI 2  platinum 15/2005 (37 weeks) Vaadimme metallia   FI 2  gold 25/2006 (12 weeks) Myrskyntuoja   FI 1  gold 13/2008 (15 weeks) Maailma tarvitsee sankareita   FI 14th 48/2010 (2 weeks)

Singles

Taivas lyö tulta   FI 1  gold 06/2005 (17 weeks) Orjatar   FI 10 23/2005 (3 weeks) Vahva kuin metalli   FI 19th 41/2005 (1 week) Ää mene metsään   FI 3 21/2006 (4 weeks) Missä miehet ratsastaa   FI 2 10/2008 (16 weeks)

Demos

• 2003: Teräsbetoni (German reinforced concrete )

Albums

• 2005: Metallitotuus (German Metal Truth ; Warner Music)
• 2006: Vaadimme metallia ( We want Metal ; Warner Music)
• 2008: Myrskyntuoja (German Sturmbringer ; Warner Music)
• 2010: Maailma Tarvitsee Sankareita ( Eng . The world needs heroes ; Sakara Records)

Singles

• 2005: Taivas lyö tulta ( Eng . The sky is on fire )
• 2005: Orjatar (German slave )
• 2005: Vahva kuin metalli (German hard as steel )
• 2005: Metallisydän (German metal heart )
• 2006: Älä mene metsään ( Eng . Do not go into the forest )
• 2006: Viimeinen tuoppi (German: the last tankard )
• 2008: Missä miehet ratsastaa ( Eng . Where men ride )

Web links

Commons : Teräsbetoni  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website (Finnish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Kathrin Markstein: Teräsbetoni - Interview with Arto Järvinen  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from metal-district.de, July 6, 2005 (German) accessed on March 7, 2008  
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Teräsbetoni in the Finnish hit parade
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Nathalie Martin: Teräsbetoni - reinforced concrete made in Suomi . July 15, 2005 (German) accessed on March 7, 2008
4. ↑ Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 - News - Finland decided: Teräsbetoni to Eurovision! ( Memento of May 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) esctoday.com (English) accessed on May 16, 2008
5. ↑ Teräsbetoni Sakara Recordsille  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. terasbetoni.com, June 10, 2010  
6. ↑ Johannes Schult: Teräsbetoni: Metallitotuus . Vampster (German) accessed on March 6, 2008
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Ingo: Teräsbetoni - Reinforced concrete is Finland's answer to Manowar . ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. whiskey-soda.de, 7/2005 (German) accessed on March 12, 2008 
8. ↑ Jussi Ahlroth: Heavy tied Teräsbetoni unfazed over stigma from Euro Vision entry victory . In: Helsingin Sanomat , March 3, 2008 (English) accessed on March 12, 2008
9. ↑ Music Sales Awards: FI