Waltari (band)
| Waltari | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Finland |
| Genre (s) | Metal , rock , crossover |
| founding | 1986 |
| Website | www.waltariband.com |
| Founding members | |
| Kärtsy Hatakka | |
Guitar , vocals |
Jariot "Jari" Lehtinen |
| Sale Suomalainen (until 1990) | |
| Current occupation | |
Singing, bass, programming |
Kärtsy Hatakka |
Guitar, vocals |
Jariot "Jari" Lehtinen |
Guitar, vocals |
Sami Yli-Sirniö (1989–1995, since 2001) |
guitar |
Kimmo Korhonen (since 2013) |
guitar |
Antti Kolehmainen (since 2017) |
Keyboards |
Jani Hölli (since 2013) |
Drums |
Ville Vehviläinen (since 2005) |
| former members | |
Drums |
Janne Parviainen (1990-2002) |
guitar |
Roope Latvala (1995-2001) |
Drums |
Mika Järveläinen (2003-2005) |
Keyboards |
Janne Immonen (2006-2013) |
guitar |
Nino Silvennoinen (2013-2017) |
Waltari is a Finnish rock band that makes use of almost all styles of rock music . They mix elements from punk , pop , metal , funk , rock, techno , rap as well as classical or progressive music and have thus contributed significantly to a definition of the term crossover . The band has existed since 1986 with a largely unchanged line-up. They are named after the Finnish author Mika Waltari (for example Sinuhe the Egyptian , Tower of the Immortals , Incident in Borgo ), the favorite author of guitarist Jariot Lehtinen.
The variety of musical elements gives Waltari a unique sound, as does the unmistakable voice of co-founder, singer and bassist Kärtsy Hatakka . The lyrics of the songs, mostly written by him, often revolve around the brutality and speed of the modern world, often peppered with hearty irony .
The band is also known for numerous European tours and performances, including at the new edition of the Woodstock Festival , at Berlin's Huxley's Neue Welt and at the Roskilde Festival.
history
Waltari was founded in Helsinki, Finland in 1986 by Kärtsy Hatakka (vocals / bass), Jariot Lehtinen (guitar / vocals) and Sale Suomalainen (drums). Sami Yli-Sirniö (among others In Rags, Kreator ) joined as the second guitarist in 1989, one year after the release of the first EP Mut Hei ( but hello! ). Janne Parviainen replaced Sale Suomalainen on drums in 1990.
The first album Monk Punk was released in 1991, a wild mixture of punk , heavy metal and funk . In 1992 the second album Torcha! , dance floor rhythms were used here for the first time , which in the future should have a decisive influence on the typical Waltari sound.
They had their first big hit in Germany in 1992 with Lights On , an indie dance hit from the album Torcha! , after their celebrated appearance in the indie tent at the Bonn Rheinkultur . One or the other cover version , for example by Vogue ( Madonna ), Help! ( Beatles ) or live-played hardcore punk versions of From The Blue Mountains We Come , or a special mix of No Limit ( 2 Unlimited ) and Symphony of Destruction ( Megadeth ) cemented their reputation as unconventional, innovative and experimental musicians.
After they brought out a compilation of older, previously unreleased pieces in 1993 with Pala Leipää ( A Piece of Bread ), a full album called So Fine! . The single of the same name So Fine! , recorded with the support of the traditional Sami duo Angelit from Angeli in Lapland , was a number 1 hit in the Netherlands in 1994 and had good positions in various European charts.
Their next album, Big Bang (1995), was their greatest success to date, the band moved to Berlin for a few months and, under the impression of the Love Parade , blended techno with metal to form a powerful unit. In 1995 Roope Latvala ( Stone , Sinergy , Children of Bodom ) replaced Sami Yli-Sirniö, who stayed in Germany for the next few years. During this time, Kärtsy Hatakka worked with the Amorphis singer Tomi Koivusaari , the Finnish conductor and arranger Riku Niemi and the Avanti! Symphony Orchestra on a project that was to combine death metal with classical music. It was named Yeah! At the Helsinki Music Festival in 1995 . Yeah! The! The! Death Metal Symphony premiered in Deep C and released as an album in 1996. Metal fans around the world celebrated Waltari as the savior of death metal and the piece is still known and respected worldwide today. The album was also well received by people in the metal scene who otherwise disliked Waltari.
In 1997 there was Space Avenue , a more progressive work with more electronic drums than before. It was created in collaboration with the Canadian producer and post-industrial / electronic musician Rhys Fulber ( Front Line Assembly ); The Finnish cello quartet Apocalyptica (made famous by … plays Metallica by four cellos 1996) also contributed a part.
In 1998 a compilation called Decade was released, actually a little late, for the band's 10th birthday , again with some previously unreleased material.
In 1999, Kärtsy Hatakka worked again on a metal-meets-classical work, this time it became the stage play Evankeliumi ( Evangelicum ); in contrast to Yeah! Yeah! The! The! it consists of music (played by a death metal band and symphony orchestra ), ballet / modern dance (Finnish national ballet , choreographed by Jorma Uotinen ), drama and a light show created by the Israeli lighting designer Bambi. After the world premiere at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki there were 10 more sold out performances. Evankeliumi has not yet been officially released as an album or video.
The album Radium Round , released in 1999, turns back to pop music without losing sight of heavy metal. This mixture did not meet the taste of the time and was not a great success. In 2000, Channel Nordica came out, an album previously recorded with Angelit, which merged the joik , the traditional Sami overtone singing , with the music of Waltari and thus linked to the 1994 hit So Fine! connected.
Both CNN ( Channel Nordica ) and the EP Back to Persepolis , which followed in 2001 , were only released in Finland and could only be obtained indirectly, so Waltari disappeared somewhat from the public eye, but continued to exist without a break. 2001 Roope Latvala left the band and Sami Yli-Sirniö came back to guitar.
It wasn't until 2004 that the next regular Waltari album called Rare Species was released . It was well received by fans and critics and an extended tour brought Waltari back to the European stage. 2005 came the next album Blood Sample ( blood test ), which is mainly the impressions from different countries of Europe reflects and its integration or the European idea.
For their 20th birthday in 2006, the band released a double album called Early Years : remastered versions of the first album Monk Punk and the 1993 compilation Pala Leipää , with additional previously unreleased tracks from the 80s, re-recorded in 2005 by the original line-up: Jariot, Kärtsy and sale.
The following album Release Date (2007) is a more straightforward work after the very changeable Blood Sample, similar to albums like Torcha! ties in. However, there is also a 37-minute progressive rock piece, which is divided into 5 parts and represents a completely independent work and stylistically oscillates between Grindcore and old Pink Floyd pieces.
Kärtsy Hatakka has also made a name for himself as a composer: in 2001 he composed the music for the world-famous computer game Max Payne , which won the Interactive Entertainment Awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA; 2003 the soundtrack for the successor Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne and received the GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) Award for Best Original Instrumental Song for Max Payne Theme - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Kärtsy Hatakka, Kimmo Kajasto - composition, arrangement, performance; Pauli Sasstamoinen, Markus Kaarlonen - music mastering; Perttu Kivilaakso - cello); In 2004 the music for the Finnish play Akseli & Eelo , which deals with the story of two of his ancestors in the turmoil of war.
Discography
|
Chart positions Explanation of the data |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albums | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albums
- Monk Punk (1991)
- torcha! (1992)
- So fine! (1994)
- Big Bang (1995)
- Yeah! Yeah! The! The! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C (1996)
- Space Avenue (1997)
- Radium Round (1999)
- Channel Nordica (2000, with Angelit )
- Rare Species (2004)
- Blood Sample (2005)
- Early Years (2006, double album with remastered versions of Monk Punk and Pala Leipää as well as previously unpublished bonus tracks , newly recorded by the original line-up with Sale Suomalainen on drums)
- Release Date (2007)
- Below Zero (2009)
- Covers All - 25th anniversary album (2011)
- You are Waltari (2015)
- Global Rock (2020)
Compilations
- Pala Leipää (1993)
- Decade (1998)
- The 2nd Decade - In the Cradle (2008)
EPs and singles
- Courage Hei (1989, EP)
- Back to Persepolis (2001, vinyl EP )
- Not Enough (2005, single)
(List incomplete)
Video albums
- Rare Species Alive (2005, Live DVD )
literature
- Holger Stratmann (Ed.): RockHard Encyclopedia. 700 of the most interesting rock bands from the last 30 years . Rock-Hard-GmbH, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , p. 455 f .
Web links
- Official website (English, partly Czech)
- Official German website
- Waltari at Allmusic (English)
- Waltari at Discogs (English)