Mannhai
Encyclopedia
Mannhai is a Finnish
stoner rock
/ stoner metal band from Helsinki
. The band was formed in the end of 1999 by bass player Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine and guitarist Ilkka "Ile" Laaksomaa. Soon they were accompanied by a young drummer Mikko "Junior" Pietinen and the following year by lead singer Jani "Joãnitor" Muurinen.
In 2004 singer Jani Muurinen left the band after three albums. In 2005 Mannhai got Pasi Koskinen
persuated to replace Muurinen as a vocalist. Koskinen is best known for being the lead singer of Amorphis
during the years 1996–2004.
Band's name Mannhai comes from an India
n belief. In the countrysite of the state of Uttar Pradesh
in India, people in villages thought an evil disguised spirit
called "the Mannhai" snatched their kids when night falls.
which led into signing a recording contract. Without a single live gig Mannhai started to record their first album.
Their debut album The Sons of Yesterday's Black Grouse in 2001 got people interested in the new band. Mannhai started intense touring until the August 2002. Then it was time to get back in the studio for their second record. With this second album Evil under the Sun Mannhai topped its predecessor. The record includes the classic Mannhai song "Spiritraiser" as well as the video, directed by Tuukka Temonen (former bass player of the Finnish Punk/Hard Core group Apulanta
).
In 2004 the third album saw the daylight. The Exploder is a lot more experimental than the other albums by Mannhai. The third album has influences significantly from progressive metal
and from the seventies heavy metal
, but even from blues
with Maria Hänninen singing the backing vocals on some of the tracks, and Esa Kuloniemi from Honey B and the T-bones playing slide guitar
on some others. The record being something else than its predecessors it is also more complicated and scattered, including only few straightforward rock and roll songs. The progressive sound has a lot to do with keyboards, played by Kasper Mårtenson (ex-Amoprhis). When The Exploder came out Mannhai made a practical joke: The web address www.mattivanhanen.com directed websurfers not to the web pages of then Prime Minister of Finland
Matti Vanhanen
but to the website of Mannhai.
In November 2004 in Tavastia Club
, a popular rock venue in Helsinki, Muurinen did his last gig as a member of Mannhai. Muurinen quit the band as to pursue his artistic studies. All this time Muurinen had lived and studied in Turku
as the rest of the band had always kept their headquarters and rehearsals in Helsinki.
In the spring of 2005 Mannhai got a new lead singer, Trond Skog, who had been the vocalist for a Norwegian
stoner rock band Honcho. Mannhai hit the road for a three-week Central Europe
an tour. However, in the middle of the tour the other Mannhai-guys had no choice other than release Skog from the singing duties for good. That being for the reasons not related to the rest of the band. And there they were, in the middle of Europe
, playing couple of instrumental
gigs and trying to figure out what to do. Laine, in despair, called his old band mate Pasi Koskinen
from Amorphis
years up. As to his surprise Koskinen accepted the vocal challenge, and he flew over to Berlin
and stepped into the boots of the frontman. The tour went fine with Koskinen and after the tour he officially joined the band.
With this brand new line-up Mannhai started to work on a new album. They got the creative process nicely going with plenty of new material, with Koskinen taking care most of the lyrics writing. The fourth album Hellroad Caravan came out in the beginning of 2006 and the audience liked the new stuff: The third track of the album "Spaceball" went to the top of the Single list on the Official Finnish Charts. The new album was very compact and straightforward, groovy stoner rock. Most of the digressing that filled the Exploder was cut off. The role of the keyboards stayed much behind the rumbling bass heavy guitar sound, with only a hint of psychedelia
. There's a visiting star Henri Sorvali
in keyboards, best known for his work in folk
/pagan metal
band Moonsorrow
.
Mannhai's song "Spiritraiser" is often featured on the Finnish television show, The Dudesons as well as being heard on their feature length movie.
In the fall 2006 the drummer Junior Pietinen left Mannhai to work full time in his other groups Bleak
and Happiness
. For the forthcoming Mannhai tour in Europe Mannhai took Nalle Österman as a sideman
for drums. Nalle Österman has worked with Oppu Laine in death metal band Chaosbreed as well.
After drummer Pietinen departed the band, Mannhai has been doing only a few gigs per year, most of them abroad in festivals like Ragnarock Open Air Festival. No new music has been composed or published as a band since 2007. While Mannhai not being active Olli-Pekka Laine aimed his musical focus to a new band, Barren Earth
, with an old Mannhai and Amorphis band mate Kasper Mårtenson being the keyboardist. The 5th of February 2009 Mannhai officially announced on their website that they are on undefined hiatus for the time being.
and Chaosbreed. Original vocalist Jani Muurinen (a.k.a "Joãnitor" or "Janitor") used to be a singer in Xysma
before Mannhai. Janitor's successor Pasi Koskinen
, a former Amorphis member as well, has vocal duties in his other bands Shape of Despair
and Ajattara
. Mikko Pietinen ("Junior") moved on to play with his other bands Bleak
(disbanded 2009) and Happiness
. Tour drummer Nalle Österman has been in bands like Chaosbreed, Gandalf
and Lullacry
and is a drummer of Sonic Roots.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
stoner rock
Stoner rock
Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...
/ stoner metal band from Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. The band was formed in the end of 1999 by bass player Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine and guitarist Ilkka "Ile" Laaksomaa. Soon they were accompanied by a young drummer Mikko "Junior" Pietinen and the following year by lead singer Jani "Joãnitor" Muurinen.
In 2004 singer Jani Muurinen left the band after three albums. In 2005 Mannhai got Pasi Koskinen
Pasi Koskinen
Pasi Koskinen is a Finnish metal vocalist best known for his work with the band Amorphis from 1996 to 2004. Koskinen also played in St.Mucus , which he founded. He is currently the vocalist for three active bands: Mannhai, Ajattara Pasi Koskinen (born 1972) is a Finnish metal vocalist best known...
persuated to replace Muurinen as a vocalist. Koskinen is best known for being the lead singer of Amorphis
Amorphis
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other types of genres, which include heavy metal, progressive metal, and folk metal...
during the years 1996–2004.
Band's name Mannhai comes from an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n belief. In the countrysite of the state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
in India, people in villages thought an evil disguised spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
called "the Mannhai" snatched their kids when night falls.
History
Olli-Pekka Laine, Ilkka Laaksomaa and Mikko Pietinen recorded three instrumental songs for a starters. With this demo tape they tried and lured their old friend Jani Muurinen as their singer. Till the end of the year 2000 another three song demo tape came out and was introduced to Spinefarm RecordsSpinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
which led into signing a recording contract. Without a single live gig Mannhai started to record their first album.
Their debut album The Sons of Yesterday's Black Grouse in 2001 got people interested in the new band. Mannhai started intense touring until the August 2002. Then it was time to get back in the studio for their second record. With this second album Evil under the Sun Mannhai topped its predecessor. The record includes the classic Mannhai song "Spiritraiser" as well as the video, directed by Tuukka Temonen (former bass player of the Finnish Punk/Hard Core group Apulanta
Apulanta
Apulanta is a Finnish rock band, founded in 1991 when its members were in their mid-teens. Initially playing various forms of rock such as punk, ska, and metal, they soon shifted to a catchier, more radio-friendly style, and have been fluctuating between these extremes and many others since...
).
In 2004 the third album saw the daylight. The Exploder is a lot more experimental than the other albums by Mannhai. The third album has influences significantly from progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
and from the seventies heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, but even from blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
with Maria Hänninen singing the backing vocals on some of the tracks, and Esa Kuloniemi from Honey B and the T-bones playing slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
on some others. The record being something else than its predecessors it is also more complicated and scattered, including only few straightforward rock and roll songs. The progressive sound has a lot to do with keyboards, played by Kasper Mårtenson (ex-Amoprhis). When The Exploder came out Mannhai made a practical joke: The web address www.mattivanhanen.com directed websurfers not to the web pages of then Prime Minister of Finland
Prime Minister of Finland
The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:...
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...
but to the website of Mannhai.
In November 2004 in Tavastia Club
Tavastia Club
The Tavastia Club is a popular rock music club in Helsinki, Finland. The house is owned by Hämäläis-Osakunta, one of the student nations at the University of Helsinki, but since 1991 the club has been operated by a private enterprise renting the house from the nation. It is located in central...
, a popular rock venue in Helsinki, Muurinen did his last gig as a member of Mannhai. Muurinen quit the band as to pursue his artistic studies. All this time Muurinen had lived and studied in Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
as the rest of the band had always kept their headquarters and rehearsals in Helsinki.
In the spring of 2005 Mannhai got a new lead singer, Trond Skog, who had been the vocalist for a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
stoner rock band Honcho. Mannhai hit the road for a three-week Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
an tour. However, in the middle of the tour the other Mannhai-guys had no choice other than release Skog from the singing duties for good. That being for the reasons not related to the rest of the band. And there they were, in the middle of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, playing couple of instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
gigs and trying to figure out what to do. Laine, in despair, called his old band mate Pasi Koskinen
Pasi Koskinen
Pasi Koskinen is a Finnish metal vocalist best known for his work with the band Amorphis from 1996 to 2004. Koskinen also played in St.Mucus , which he founded. He is currently the vocalist for three active bands: Mannhai, Ajattara Pasi Koskinen (born 1972) is a Finnish metal vocalist best known...
from Amorphis
Amorphis
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other types of genres, which include heavy metal, progressive metal, and folk metal...
years up. As to his surprise Koskinen accepted the vocal challenge, and he flew over to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and stepped into the boots of the frontman. The tour went fine with Koskinen and after the tour he officially joined the band.
With this brand new line-up Mannhai started to work on a new album. They got the creative process nicely going with plenty of new material, with Koskinen taking care most of the lyrics writing. The fourth album Hellroad Caravan came out in the beginning of 2006 and the audience liked the new stuff: The third track of the album "Spaceball" went to the top of the Single list on the Official Finnish Charts. The new album was very compact and straightforward, groovy stoner rock. Most of the digressing that filled the Exploder was cut off. The role of the keyboards stayed much behind the rumbling bass heavy guitar sound, with only a hint of psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
. There's a visiting star Henri Sorvali
Henri Sorvali
Henri "Trollhorn" Sorvali, born October 19, 1978, in Finland, is the guitarist and keyboardist of the pagan metal band Moonsorrow, and keyboardist for Finntroll, and also plays for The Wicked....
in keyboards, best known for his work in folk
Folk metal
Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...
/pagan metal
Pagan metal
Pagan metal is an umbrella term for heavy metal music which fuses extreme metal with "the pre-Christian traditions of a specific culture or region through thematic concept, rustic melodies, unusual instruments or archaic languages", usually referring to folk metal or black metal. The Norwegian band...
band Moonsorrow
Moonsorrow
Moonsorrow is a pagan metal band formed in Helsinki, Finland, in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound...
.
Mannhai's song "Spiritraiser" is often featured on the Finnish television show, The Dudesons as well as being heard on their feature length movie.
In the fall 2006 the drummer Junior Pietinen left Mannhai to work full time in his other groups Bleak
Bleak (band)
Bleak is a Finnish rock band formed in 1997 and split in 2009. Bleak is now known as Fireal.Bleak stuck strictly to grunge during the first years of its career. The new millennium saw the band take a short breather, but Bleak regrouped in 2002, armed with a new, broader musical outlook...
and Happiness
Happiness (band)
Happiness is an alternative rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 2005, the band's current line-up consist of Alexandre Descargues , Jussi Korhonen , Mikko Pietinen and Hans Hansen ....
. For the forthcoming Mannhai tour in Europe Mannhai took Nalle Österman as a sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
for drums. Nalle Österman has worked with Oppu Laine in death metal band Chaosbreed as well.
After drummer Pietinen departed the band, Mannhai has been doing only a few gigs per year, most of them abroad in festivals like Ragnarock Open Air Festival. No new music has been composed or published as a band since 2007. While Mannhai not being active Olli-Pekka Laine aimed his musical focus to a new band, Barren Earth
Barren Earth
Barren Earth is a Finnish progressive death metal band from Helsinki, and was formed in 2007. The group's music is said to be a combination of death metal, progressive rock and even folk music, pulling influence from the different groups each member is associated with. Forming from the members of...
, with an old Mannhai and Amorphis band mate Kasper Mårtenson being the keyboardist. The 5th of February 2009 Mannhai officially announced on their website that they are on undefined hiatus for the time being.
Members
Mannhai was formed by Oppu Laine and Ile Laaksomaa. Oppu Laine has played bass guitar in bands like AmorphisAmorphis
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other types of genres, which include heavy metal, progressive metal, and folk metal...
and Chaosbreed. Original vocalist Jani Muurinen (a.k.a "Joãnitor" or "Janitor") used to be a singer in Xysma
Xysma
Xysma was a Finnish band that was founded in 1988 in Naantali, a small town near Turku. The band split up in 1998.-Early stage:In the beginning Xysma played grindcore and death metal. The bands played at the legendary Turku underground center Panimo, and created a short-lived but intense scene...
before Mannhai. Janitor's successor Pasi Koskinen
Pasi Koskinen
Pasi Koskinen is a Finnish metal vocalist best known for his work with the band Amorphis from 1996 to 2004. Koskinen also played in St.Mucus , which he founded. He is currently the vocalist for three active bands: Mannhai, Ajattara Pasi Koskinen (born 1972) is a Finnish metal vocalist best known...
, a former Amorphis member as well, has vocal duties in his other bands Shape of Despair
Shape of Despair
Shape of Despair is an Atmospheric/Funeral Doom metal band from Finland that was formed in 1995 as Raven until 1998, when the band decided to change their name to the current one.-History:...
and Ajattara
Ajattara (band)
Ajattara is a five-piece atmospheric black metal band from Helsinki, Finland. They formed in 1996 and are still active. They are signed to Spinefarm Records and have released six albums, their most recent being Murhat, which was released in early 2011....
. Mikko Pietinen ("Junior") moved on to play with his other bands Bleak
Bleak (band)
Bleak is a Finnish rock band formed in 1997 and split in 2009. Bleak is now known as Fireal.Bleak stuck strictly to grunge during the first years of its career. The new millennium saw the band take a short breather, but Bleak regrouped in 2002, armed with a new, broader musical outlook...
(disbanded 2009) and Happiness
Happiness (band)
Happiness is an alternative rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 2005, the band's current line-up consist of Alexandre Descargues , Jussi Korhonen , Mikko Pietinen and Hans Hansen ....
. Tour drummer Nalle Österman has been in bands like Chaosbreed, Gandalf
Gandalf (band)
Gandalf was a Finnish melodic death metal band who incorporated elements of traditional hard rock into their sound. Formed in 1993 by drummer Nalle Österman , guitarist Timo Nyberg and vocalist Jari Hurskainen, with session drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen, who later achieved fame playing...
and Lullacry
Lullacry
Lullacry is a melodic band with gothic metal influences that hails from Helsinki, Finland. The band recorded their first demo in 1998 and in a short time they had enough of a following to safely attempt a full-length album – Sweet Desire – recorded in 1999. This got the attention of Spinefarm...
and is a drummer of Sonic Roots.
Current line-up
- Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine – bass guitar 1999-
- Ilkka "Ile" Laaksomaa – guitar 1999-
- Pasi Koskinen – vocals 2005-
- Nalle Österman – tour drummer 2006–
Former members
- Mikko "Junior" Pietinen – drums 1999–2006
- Jani "Joãnitor" Muurinen – vocals 2000–2004
- Kasper Mårtenson – keyboards 2003–2004
Albums
- The Sons of Yesterday's Black Grouse (2001)
- Evil Under the Sun (2002)
- The Exploder (2004)
- Hellroad Caravan (2006)
Singles
- Spiritraiser / A new day yesterday (Jethro Tull -cover) (2003)
- Rock to the top / Slave to the Flame / Live Wire (Mötley Crüe -cover) (2004)
- Spaceball / Rocketeer (2005)
- Under the sign of the wolf (split single with Reverend Bizarre) "Forever My Queen" (PentagramPentagram (band)Pentagram is a American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of doom metal. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost...
-cover) (2006)
Videography
- Spiritraiser – from the album "Evil Under the Sun"
- Rock to the top – from the album "The Exploder"
- Spaceball – from the album "Hellroad Caravan"