Biography
Stam1na released its self-titled debut in the spring 2005, but before that Stam1na was one of the most anticipated unsigned acts in Finland. Their demos were praised, and the buzz around their energetic live shows was constantly growing. It just seemed that the Finnish labels weren’t able to grasp Stam1na’s wild concept of Finnish lyrics morphed together with Speed Metal riffs, progressive arrangements, and deranged approach to pop-smart melodies. Eventually Stam1na was picked up by Sakara Records. Stam1na’s uncompromising attitude and unquestionable talent impressed the newly founded label, and they became the second signing of Sakara.
Their self-titled debut album catapulted Stam1na straight to the top of the Finnish metal scene after its release, and the album got nothing but great reviews. The record buyers also appreciated the album and it spent eight weeks in the Finnish album chart, and the single “Paha Arkkitehti” entered the charts at 4. Stam1na toured around Finland from spring to autumn, and conquered more and more audience. In the yearly polls Finnish rock and metal audience were touchingly unanimous on Stam1na’s greatness; Stam1na was voted as The Newcomer Of The Year in all relevant medias.
Their second album, “Uudet Kymmenen Käskyä”, went straight to the 3rd place in the Official Finnish Chart, and stayed in the Top 40 for 17 consecutive weeks, and the sales of the album are now over 10,000 copies. "Uudet Kymmenen Käskyä" won the Emma Award, i.e. Finnish GRAMMY, in Metal Album of the Year category. The single “Likainen parketti” was 1 in Official Single Charts.
Modest and reserved are not the first words that come to mind when thinking of the second album from Stam1na. The Bible-related name of the album (Uudet Kymmenen Käskyä = The Ten New Commandments) is pompous and the lyrics of also deal with big topics. Pekka Olkkonen and Antti Hyyrynen, who write the songs, can easily be considered as the most creative duo in the Finnish metal scene at the moment, and the mad-man lyricist-vocalist Hyyrynen can be compared to such modern day geniuses as Devin Townsend and Daron Malakian. When listening to the album, you can’t but admire the phenomenal playing skills, both as individuals and playing as a four-piece rock band. Stam1na was founded in 1996 by its core trio, and they've played together ever since. The line-up was finalized when bass player Kaikka became a full-time member in 2005.
At the moment Stam1na is preparing their third studio album to be released in the beginning of 2008. Before this new piece of Finnish metal madness hits the stores the band takes a break from the studio to tour the European stages with yet another insane Finnish metal/rock sensation Apocalyptica.
Finland's biggest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, summarized Stam1na's profile perfectly in their 5-out-of-5 review of Uudet Kymmenen Käskyä: "Stam1na is the most interesting metal band in Finland today". Enough said.
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