Biography
Impaled Nazarene is a Finnish black metal band that incorporates elements from thrash metal, hardcore punk and grindcore. The band is signed to Osmose Productions of France.
When asked about the origin of their name, Mika Luttinen stated in an interview that he had read a pamphlet about Christ appearing to be a vampire. He got to thinking on how impaling a vampire is one of the only ways to kill them, and thus, thought of the name "Impaled Nazarene".
The band has been infamous for seeming to hate the Norwegian black metal scene back in the early 1990s but nowadays, the band seems to disassociate with such hatred. They also stopped wearing corpse paint in the mid 1990s due to it being "too trendy", but in recent shows, they began wearing it again.
In 2003, guitarist Teemu Raimoranta died falling - or jumping - off a bridge on the frozen water below. Although officially stated to be caused by intoxication, Mika Luttinen speculated it was suicide.
Impaled Nazarene have for most of their history displayed extreme Finnish nationalism (for instance in their song Total War - Winter War about the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939 and 1940). Besides being nationalistic, they can also be considered homophobic because of their song Zero Tolerance on Nihil and strongly anti-communistic as exemplified in their song Healers of the Red Plague on Rapture and the above mentioned Total War - Winter War, and even Nazi-inspired since there are some references to Nazi ideas in their lyrics: for instance a sentence from an infamous speech Goebbels delivered in 1943 is used at the beginning of Total War - Winter War (Do you want total war?, see Total War) and references to the infamous Arbeit macht frei are made in the song Zum Kotzen. However, in a 2006 interview singer Mika Luttinen stated that he does not consider himself a nationalist or even patriotic, and that he would never support an extreme right-wing party.
Other lyrical structures revolve around war and all things Satanic, though much of them can be considered rather comical or tongue-in-cheek. The band has also stated that at least one song on every album is to have the word "Goat" in it somewhere (examples: "Goat Sodomy", "Goat Vomit and Gas Masks", "Sadogoat", etc).
Impaled Nazarene's most recent album was banned for sale in several of the nations in the European union. Mika Luttinen stated as a reaction to this "it seems that basic freedoms such as freedom of publishing and freedom of speech, which are supposed to be supplied under the European union, are no longer available to us. Thanks for fucking deceiving everyone." The European Union merely did this due to the supposed Nazi association of the lyrics and Mika has refuted time and again, that the lyrics have any Nazi influences. Despite the ban, several of the countries who voted for it still allow active distribution of Impaled Nazarene albums. The only country that has enforced the ban so far is Germany.
February 1991: IMPALED NAZARENE records their first rehearsal demo tape Shemhamforash. Sound is downright horrible due to the fact it was recorded with a two-track deck. Antti Pihkala is replaced with Harri Halonen on bass.
April 1991: First show, opening for BEHERIT in Kempele, Finland.
Summer 1991: IMPALED NAZARENE plays their 2nd show w/ SENTENCED. The band enters TicoTico studio in Kemi in August to record their first official studio demo tape Taog Eht Fo Htao Eht and starts to gain name in the underground circles. IMPALED NAZARENE takes part in Day Of Darkness festival in Oulu together with AMORPHIS, Belial etc.
October 1991: The band records their infamous Goat Perversion 7" ep for the Italian company.
Winter '91-Spring '92: Both Holappa & Halonen leave the band due to lack of interest. IMPALED NAZARENE performs a couple of live shows in Finland as a three piece unit. Lots of controversy results because of their live show. The band signs with blood to french label Osmose Productions.
Summer '92: IMPALED NAZARENE asks Taneli Jarva to join the band as a session bassist. P leaves the band and Jarno Anttila is asked to join in as a session guitarist for the impending recording of their debut album.
October '92: Recording of Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz debut cd and Sadogoat 7" ep take place at Tico Tico studio. Anttila & Jarva are asked to join as full time members and both accept this. IMPALED NAZARENE performs in Kuopio, Finland, first time with the new line-up.
Winter '92-Spring '93: Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz comes out and goes straight to number 40 in national finnish charts. At the time this was just unheard of. IMPALED NAZARENE writes new material.
July '93: The band enters Tico Tico studio to record their 2nd album Ugra-Karma and Satanic Masowhore 7" ep.
December '93: Both the cd and ep come out and the response in just getting better.
January '94: The band do their first European tour together with Ancient Rites.
July '94: IMPALED NAZARENE records at Tico Tico their 3rd cd Suomi Finland Perkele. Originally titled Hail To Finland, the band decides to change the name in a last minute.
December '94: Suomi Finland Perkele comes out and gets mixed results from the fans and the press. Due to the lyrics of the song Total War-Winter War, a youth communist movement in Paris, France complains to the FNAC chainstore and demands that the cd's are withdrawn from the shops. FNAC meets their demands but fuck-ups big time: They mix the codes and Ugra-Karma is withdrawn instead of Suomi Finland Perkele.
April '95: Second European tour with Absu & Sadistik Exekution.
August '95: The band enters Tico Tico once again, to record mini cd titled Hamnasnas. It never gets recorded as Jarva & K. Luttinen end up in fight during the first night. The band packs their stuff and fucks off back home. Reima Kellokoski replaces K. Luttinen as drummer and the band decides to go back to their brutal roots.
October '95: IMPALED NAZARENE tours Europe third time,with Krabathor & Ministry Of Terror. The band also headlines a Halloween fest in London's Astoria, UK.
February '96: The band enters Tico Tico studio to record Latex Cult cd and Mot�rpenis mini-cd. Taneli Jarva leaves the band immediately after the recordings and is replaced by Jani Lehtosaari
March '96: IMPALED NAZARENE do two videos in London, resulting to 1999:Karmegeddon Warriors sell-thru video.
April-May '96: Latex Cult & Mot�rpenis come out, the band goes on to their longest European tour to date. They take part first to No Mercy festival 1 package together with Grave, Krabathor, Rotting Christ, Immolation and Cannibal Corpse. Dark Tranquillity joins the band for a dozens shows and then both bands join the Cannibal Corpse, Immolation and Vader tour for the last shows.
October '96: The band enters Tico-Tico again to record I Am The Killer Of Trolls, exclusive track for the World Domination II album.
November '96: IMPALED NAZARENE play in Lille & Paris two festival shows. In Paris, while one of the support bands is playing, the local jack-ass commie brats destroy electricity, resulting 50 minutes of break. This doesn't affect the perfomance of I.N.
December '96: IMPALED NAZARENE tours Europe once again, this time with Angel Corpse and Gehennah.
1997: The band does two studio instrumental demo tapes to see how their new material is shaping up and plays in the summer two big finnish rock festifals. In September '97 both I.N. and their label Osmose Productions is sued by Hare-Krishnas because of the cover of Ugra-Karma. Long legal battle ensues.
January '98: RAPTURE is recorded at Tico Tico studio.
February '98: IMPALED NAZARENE goes to Mexico to play four shows with huge success.
April '98: RAPTURE comes out.
July '98: Promo video for Penis & Circes (from RAPTURE) is shot during Tuska Festival in Helsinki, Finland. The band plays also in Dublin, Ireland and goes on to play Milwaukee Metal Fest in USA. They also play in Philadelphia and New York and finally headline the Montreal Metal fest in Canada.
September '98: IMPALED NAZARENE travels to St. Petersburg, Russia together with CHILDREN OF BODOM to play one-off show. After party at the hotel results to Alexi "Wild Child" Laiho joining IMPALED NAZARENE as a lead guitar player.
November-December '98: IMPALED NAZARENE does another European tour with Ritual Carnage and Driller Killer. Laiho is unable to join the tour because of his other commitments with SINERGY.
January '99: The legal battle concerning Ugra-Karma cover is settled outside court. Osmose releases new version with a different artwork, lyrics and the deleted Satanic Masowhore 7" ep as a bonus.
February '99: IMPALED NAZARENE travels to Mexico second time to play four shows again. Laiho makes his live debut with the band. The band plays also in San Francisco & Los Angeles, USA as four piece as Laiho fucks off back to Finland from Mexico due to his other commitments.
March '99: As a four piece, the band goes to Japan first time to play four shows.
April '99: IMPALED NAZARENE takes part in No Mercy III festival package in mainland Europe. They play with Morbid Angel, Emperor, The Crown, Limbonic Art & Peccatum. Laiho is once again unable to join the band for the shows.
June '99: The band writes new material and plays Nummirock summer solstice rock festival for the first time. Again as a four piece as CHILDREN OF BODOM have a show at another festival.
July-August '99: The band heads for their first tour in Australia & New Zealand, without Laiho. A show in Wollongong, Australia gets cancelled because of the pressure from the local press & parents association (first time in the band's history). Sluti666 and Onraj 9mm survive car crash in New Zealand, on a way to Auckland. They are rescued by local sheep farmer. Car is beyond repair so two of them, together with their australian tour manager and n.z. driver, board a small 6 seater plane and fly to Auckland and manages to get there on time and play a show. Cops enter the show and throw out underaged kids, lots of them.
August-September '99: The band enters Astia studio in Lappeenranta, Finland to record follow up to RAPTURE. Nihil features 10 songs. The band records also two tracks for Driller Killer/IMPALED NAZARENE split picture 7" ep, not to be found anywhere else. Nihil is mastered in late September at Finnvox studio.
October '99: Fournier, the man behind the killer cover of the Ugra-Karma re-issue, starts painting the Nihil cover.
December '99: Driller Killer/IMPALED NAZARENE picture 7" split ep comes out via Solardisk label, run by I.N. bassist Lehtosaari.
February 14, 2000: Nihil is released worldwide
March 2000: IMPALED NAZARENE plays a couple of shows in Finland with FINNTROLL and Throne Of Chaos. Surprisingly, Laiho plays with the band. After the Finnish shows, the band goes to play in March Metal Meltdown (aka fiasco) in New Jersey.
April 2000: The band heads for their Assault The Weak -french tour without Laiho. His replacement is Tomi Ullgren, guitar player in THY SERPENT & SHAPE OF DESPAIR. The tour does not go without problems. French secret police follows the band thru the whole tour and in Montauban, the band is forced to perform their set without announcing any song title with the word Satan on them. Police also forbids the selling of merchandise because of its "satanic" nature.
May 2000: IMPALED NAZARENE & CHILDREN OF BODOM hit the Greece for the first time. Laiho performs bravely enough two sets per night. Both Thessaloniki and Athens shows are great success.
June 2000: IMPALED NAZARENE performs at Valhalla Metal Fest and at Provinssi Rock Festival in Finland. Laiho�s replacement is once again Tomi Ullgren.
July 2000: The band does a show with Ullgren at Tuska Festival in Helsinki. Jani Lehtosaari (bass) informs that he has decided to leave the band because he wants to concentrate on his record label Solardisk. Jani�s last show is in Sweden, at Dist 2000 festival. It is the first time IMPALED NAZARENE plays in Sweden. Luttinen relocates from Belgium back to Finland.
August 2000: Luttinen heads for Astia studio to compile Decade Of Decadence, the ten year anniversary album. The cd is later mastered at Finnvox studio.
Fall 2000: IMPALED NAZARENE are looking for a bass player. Teemu Raimoranta (aka Somnium) from FINNTROLL is chosen for the job. At one point it becomes clear that Laiho will be unable to do any live shows with the band in the future. After serious discussions, the band opts to choose another lead guitarist so that they can concentrate fully on writing the next cd with a steady line-up. The band decides to remove Teemu from bass to lead guitar and starts to look for another bassist. Mikael Arnkil (x-ANTIDOTE drummer) gets the job.
November 2000: Celebration time? IMPALED NAZARENE reaches ten years on its existence. Decade Of Decadence comes out.
December 2000: I.N. plays their first sold out show in Finland , at Nosturi, in Helsinki. Over 900 maniacs witness the massacre. Raimoranta is on bass guitar and Ullgren on lead guitar for the show as the band did not have enough time to start teaching the set for Arnkil.
Jan-Feb01: IMPALED NAZARENE starts rehearsing their new songs with a new line-up.
March 2001: The band signs again with Osmose Productions for two more albums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 2001: IMPALED NAZARENE heads for Czech Republic to play two shows. For the first time since 1992, Jarno cannot make it and is replaced by Tomi Ullgren for the shows. Debut I.N. shows for Arnkil.
May 2001: The band continues to write new material and plays in Oulu, Finland. By the end of the month, the band looses they rehearsal place, just two months before impending studio session.
June 2001: A show in Down By The Laituri at Turku, Finland. The band wears corpse paint for the show, something they haven�t done in six years!!! IMPALED NAZARENE also debuts one new song, Nyrkill� Tapettava Huora, at the festival. New rehearsal place is found.
July 2001: IMPALED NAZARENE play at Tuska Open Air and at Koria Open Air Festivals to a huge acclaim. The band rehearses like hell for the impending recordings of Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace album. At the end of July IMPALED NAZARENE enters Astia Studio.
August 2001: The recordings of AOWDNMP are finished at Astia Studio. After a short break the band enters Finnvox Studio to mix and master the album. Release dates are set: Finland 1st of October, rest of the world 5th of November.
September 2001: Listening party is held at Helsinki for journalists from around europe and everybody is amazed how much the band has grown musically over the past two years.
November 2001: A.O.W.D.N.M.P. comes out and gets excellent response from both press and fans. The band films a video of Hardboiled And Still Hellbound track. The video features finnish porn actress Rakel Liekki and gets heavy airplay around Europe.
December 2001: IMPALED NAZARENE plays at Tavastia club in Helsinki on finnish national day December 6th. Just a few days before x-mass, band flies to London to headline Terrorizer magazines annual X-Mass fest.
January 2002: IMPALED NAZARENE plays 1st time in Tampere, Finland, together with FINNTROLL and AJATTARA.
March 2002: The band flies to south Italy to play at Massafra. The whole trip is a superb success. On March 22nd, both IMPALED NAZARENE and FINNTROLL board a train to go and play in Moscow for the first time. Thanks to some bullshit rumours about performing a black mass on stage, both bands end up playing their set in front of over 1000 screaming fans and heavily armed police and army officers. The gig is a mega success.
May 2002: IMPALED NAZARENE play in Jyv�skyl� and in Nivala.
July 2002: With Full Force open air (Leipzig, Germany) turns out to be superb experience for the band even if they play at ungodly hour of 04:35 am!! IMPALED NAZARENE also performs at Tuska Open Air and right after the show they drive to Ilosaari Rock to perform their second show that day. The band decides that it was the 1st and last time they try something like this. IMPALED NAZARENE also performs on Headbanger�s Fest 2002 in Lisbon, Portugal. It is the band�s first Portugal show since 1996.
August 2002: The band plays at A Hole In The Sky, Bergen Metal festival as a headliner. First show in Norway ever.
October 2002: IMPALED NAZARENE plays in a publishing party of the book âRauta-aikaâ together with Warmath and Xysma. The band wears a corpsepaint as the âRauta-aikaâ book is about history of finnish heavy metal scene. Impaled Nazare also plays for the first time in Tallinn, Estonia.
November 2002: IMPALED NAZARENE plays a show in Milan, Italy.
December 2002: The band takes part in X-Mass Festival European tour together with Marduk, Immolation, Exodus, 6 Feet Under, Kataklysm, Macabre, Ragnarok, Hate Eternal and Antaeus. The tour is the first European tour for IMPALED NAZARENE since 1999 No Mercy fest and turns out to be killer experience. While on tour, the band gets the message that they have lost their rehearsal place once again. All plans regarding Fuck Off And Die 7â ep are finally destroyed.
February 2003: New rehearsal place found and the band is ready to start writing new songs. Some new songs had been already demoed during fall 2002 and things are looking good once again.
March 2003: Teemu âSomniumâ Raimoranta dies on March 16th in an alcohol fuelled falling accident in Helsinki. The band is devastated to say the least.On 25th of March, a memorial and fundraising concert is held at Nosturi, Helsinki for Teemu. Tomi Ullgren joins the band on stage. Fiintroll, CHILDREN OF BODOM, BARATHRUM and ENSIFERUM also play on the same concert.
April 2003: IMPALED NAZARENE announces that Tuomo Louhio (x-ANTIDOTE) is their new lead guitarist. The band also informs that ALL THAT YOU FEAR will be the name of their 8th studio album and that it will be coming out on late October on Osmose Productions. The band is heading for studio on July 1st!
July 2003: IMPALED NAZARENE enters Astia Studio to record A.T.Y.F. with Anssi Kippo. Total of 13 tracks are recorded in a two week period. After a short break, back in Helsinki, Mikko Karmila starts mixing the new album at Finnvox studio.
August 2003: Mixing is done and the album is mastered at Finnvox by Mika Jussila. The band starts to work with cover concept and lay-out of the album with Janne Peltonen. Toni H�rk�nen shoots the new promotional pictures of the band.
September 2003: Master tapes leave to France. Meanwhile, IMPALED NAZARENE is busy booking shows. Release dates are set for A.T.Y.F. Finland 27th of October, rest of the world 3rd of November. IMPALED NAZARENE plays at Inferno magazines 2nd birthday party in Helsinki.
October 2003: IMPALED NAZARENE have their record release party at Highlight club in Helsinki together with Manatark and KIUAS.
November 2003: IMPALED NAZARENE returns to Italy, plays in Rome for the first time in 8 years. They also play Codevilla, Thunder Road club again. IMPALED NAZARENE plays their first ever Baltic States tour together with Manatark. Shows are fantastic.
December 2003: Headlining shows in Tampere (Chuck Schuldiner tribute II), Turku and Helsinki (free show at On The Rocks club).
January 2004: The band headlines first Tuska junior club of the year at Nosturi club in Helsinki.
March 2004: Return to Greece. Headlining 1st day of the two day Black Metal Festival, with Horna, Behemoth, Carpathian Forest.
April 2004: Plans to record a live album at Nosturi club are cancelled due to things beyond the bands control. Everything is postponed till autumn.
May 2004: IMPALED NAZARENE heads for a French/Swiss tour, playing two shows in Switzerland and seven in France. One of the highlights of the tour is the Paris show together with Melechesh, Arkhon Infaustus and Act Of Gods. Total insanity that night.
July 2004: Headlining festivals in Germany (Under The Black Sun), Austria (Kaltenbach) and Finland (Q-Stock). IMPALED NAZARENE also plays at Tuska festival in Helsinki. Plans to record the live album at Nosturi club are deleted for good, instead of the band decides to record the live album in Italy on September as they have three shows in row there.
August 2004: IMPALED NAZARENE returns to Czech Republic to headline Brutal Assault festival.
September 2004: All is ready for the live album recordings. Digital recording gear is rented from Finland and the band goes to Italy with two finnish soundmen. First show was in Milan. The band arrives there via Paris, their luggage does not. The band is forced to play with support band equipment and recordings just don�t work out. For the last two shows (Sicily and Ascoli), IMPALED NAZARENE does get their own instruments but the mixing consoles on both clubs are so dated that recording is impossible (no digital outputs on these mixing desks). The band cannot believe their shit luck.One week later I.N. plays in Stockholm, Sweden for the first time and decides to record the album there. All is fine until some asshole breaks the fuse box and yes, you got it, power break destroyes the files on the recording gear.
October 2004: IMPALED NAZARENE heads for Russia (and hoped that they could record the live album there but once again shit luck enters the big picture and for reasons beyond the bands control, they do not get the recording gear for the trip). St. Petersburg show is fantastic, insane crowd. In Moscow, somebody not-so-kindly puts something to Sluti666Ã�s drink (before the show) and he goes unconscious for good. Club security manages to wake him up with russian smelling-salts and by some miracle, the band performs 27 songs even if Sluti666 is half dead on stage.The band decides to record the live album on December in Helsinki at the Tavastia clubâ�
December 2004: IMPALED NAZARENE returns to Holland to play at Arnhem Metal Meeting festival with Samael, God Dethroned, Entombed, Primordial and others.On 19th of December, IMPALED NAZARENE finally manages to record their live album at Tavastia club in Helsinki, Finland.
January â February 2005: IMPALED NAZARENE headline european tour, support from Phazm and Yyrkoon. Tour goes thru Holland, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
March 2005: Tapio Pennanen, IMPALED NAZARENE soundman, mixes the live album at Sonic Pump studio. Mika Jussila masters it at Finnvox studio. âDeath Comes In 26 Carefully Selected Piecesâ is selected as title. Street date is set for 9th of May.
April 2005: IMPALED NAZARENE heads for Belgium to headline Mons Metal Meeting. IMPALED NAZARENE also plays in Lahti, Finland, at Judgement Night X festival. The gig is booked only one day before, IMPALED NAZARENE replaced ROTTEN SOUND who could not perform because of sickness of their guitarist.
May 2005: The band performs at Fuck The Commerce VIII open air festival in Germany.
August 2005: IMPALED NAZARENE plays at Pellava Rock open air festival in Finland.
October 2005: IMPALED NAZARENE plays at Kuopio and Kajaani (Rocktober Fest, headliner) in Finland. In Kuopio, the band airs one brand new track I Wage War from the forth coming album.
November 2005: IMPALED NAZARENE enters SONIC PUMP studio to record their 9th studio album entitled PRO PATRIA FINLANDIA. Tapio Pennanen (IMPALED NAZARENE soundman) was chosen to record and the mix the album. 14 new tracks are recorded.
January 2006: IMPALED NAZARENE finishes mixing Pro Patria Finlandia. Mika Jussila masters the album at Finnvox studio. The band returns to Mexico after 7 years and performs 5 shows in Tampico, San Luis Potosi, Mexico City, Toluca and Puebla. Puebla show turns out to be something else. I.N. drummer Repe Misanthrope gets so sick that he cannot perform at all. Arc v 666 plays drums in Puebla, saving the show. Job magnificently done considering he has not touched drums for six years!!!!!
February 2006: Release dates for Pro Patria Finlandia are set as follows: 22nd of March Finland (licensed by DYNAMIC ARTS Records), 28th of March World (Osmose Productions) and 18th of April North-America (licensed by THE END Records).
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