Thunderstone (band)
Encyclopedia
Thunderstone is a Power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...

 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...

, Finland
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...

. The band was formed in 2000 by guitarist Nino Laurenne, and the line-up became full the following year. After the release of the band's self-titled debut album, Thunderstone, the band toured 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...

 supporting Stratovarius
Stratovarius
Stratovarius are a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1984. Since their formation they have released 13 studio albums and one live album. Along with Helloween, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire and Gamma Ray, Stratovarius are considered one of the leading groups of the power metal and symphonic...

 and Symphony X
Symphony X
Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey.Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community...

. Thunderstone released the first four of their albums through Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...

; however, their album Dirt Metal
Dirt Metal
Dirt Metal is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's fifth album. It features their new vocalist Rick Altzi and their new keyboardist Jukka Karinen .-Track listing:#"Rebirth" - 0:38...

was released in October 2009 under Sony Music.

History

Thunderstone was formed in early 2000 by ex-speed/thrash Antidote
Antidote
An antidote is a substance which can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek αντιδιδοναι antididonai, "given against"....

 guitarist Nino Laurenne as a project; his first demo was recorded at his personally owned Sonic Pump Studios. With a growing awareness of the project's potential, a commitment was made to create a full-fledged band. Laurenne then recruited former Antidote bandmate Titus Hjelm
Titus Hjelm
Titus Hjelm is an academic and musician from Helsinki, Finland.-Academics:Hjelm is a Doctor of Theology and a lecturer of Finnish Society and Culture at University College London , a part of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, where he teaches culture, social science, and literature...

 on bass and backing vocals, Pasi Rantanen
Pasi Rantanen
Pasi Rantanen is a Finnish singer. Best known for his power metal band Thunderstone, which he was a member of from the band's creation in 2000 until 2007....

 on vocals, and Mirka Rantanen on drums. By the summer of 2001, Kari Tornack joined the ranks as keyboardist, and Thunderstone evolved into a quintet. With a demo in circulation garnishing positive praise and the new line-up concentrating on writing new music, things came to the inevitable head in the Fall of 2001: Nuclear Blast's
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...

 attention was captured, a record deal was secured, and Thunderstone went into the studio within two weeks of the ink drying.

Thunderstone released their self-titled debut in 2002. Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki (with Laurenne as guitarist, producer, and engineer) and mixed by Mikko Karmila (Children Of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

, 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...

) at Finnvox Studios (Sentenced
Sentenced
Sentenced was a Finnish heavy metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989, in the town of Muhos, Finland, and broke up in 2005.-Early years :...

, Moonspell
Moonspell
Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band from Brandoa, Lisbon. Formed in 1992, the group released their first EP Under the Moonspell in 1994, a year before the release of their first album Wolfheart...

, Stratovarius
Stratovarius
Stratovarius are a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1984. Since their formation they have released 13 studio albums and one live album. Along with Helloween, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire and Gamma Ray, Stratovarius are considered one of the leading groups of the power metal and symphonic...

), Thunderstone ended the year with a strong presence on numerous year-end "Top Metal Albums Of 2002" lists. In 2003, after being named "Newcomer of the Year" by the readers of Rock Hard Magazine, Thunderstone celebrated their accomplishments with an extensive European tour supporting Stratovarius
Stratovarius
Stratovarius are a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1984. Since their formation they have released 13 studio albums and one live album. Along with Helloween, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire and Gamma Ray, Stratovarius are considered one of the leading groups of the power metal and symphonic...

 & Symphony X
Symphony X
Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey.Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community...

.

Thunderstone returned to Sonic Pump to record their second album, The Burning
The Burning (Thunderstone album)
The Burning is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's second album.-Track listing:#"Until We Touch the Burning Sun" – 5:55 #"Break the Emotion" – 4:42 #"Mirror Never Lies" – 3:44 #"Tin Star Man" – 5:10 #"Spire" – 4:37...

. The album not only coalesced the band's collective personality through faultless production, but captured a grittier and more uninhibited performance by vocalist Pasi Rantanen. Among many other accolades (such as the appearance of their promotional video for "Until We Touch The Burning Sun" on Finnish television), the album celebrated a meteoric rise to #13 on the official Finnish album chart.

The band entered the studio again in late 2004 and started work on their third album Tools Of Destruction
Tools Of Destruction
For the video game, see Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.Tools Of Destruction is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's third album.-Track listing:#"Tool of the Devil" – 4:02 #"Without Wings" – 4:43...

. The album once again recorded at Sonic Pump Studios. One listen to the album's opening track, the breathtaking curtain-raiser "Tool Of The Devil," and the chorus' gargantuan hook will capture you as it did Thunderstone's fellow Finns, who sent the song straight to #3 on the Finnish Singles Chart. Gigs in Finland and the first headlining European tour with label mates Crystal Ball followed.

The band returned yet again to the studio to record their fourth album in the fall of 2006. The same year also witnessed Thunderstone’s first appearance in the USA. In October the band was invited to take part in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

. Never shy to take on a new challenge they agreed. Again, what started almost as a joke ended up in success: The band was voted second, losing only narrowly to Finnish Idol Hanna Pakarinen
Hanna Pakarinen
Hanna Helena Pakarinen is a Finnish pop and pop-rock singer who rose to fame as the winner of the first series of the Finnish singing competition Idols in 2004...

. The Eurovision fame resulted in the release of two singles, 10.000 Ways and Forevermore/Face in the Mirror, which both went straight to the top 3 in the Finnish single charts. Finally, the efforts of the previous studio sessions came to fruition when Thunderstone’s fourth studio album Evolution 4.0 was released in March 2007. Showing a darker side of the band and definitely moving them away from the “power metal” of their first release, the album was liked by the fans and entered the Finnish charts at #10. Again, a Finnish tour and summer festivals followed.

Late in 2007 the band posted this statement on their official website:

"We are sad to announce that Pasi Rantanen and Kari Tornack are no
longer part of Thunderstone. Due to personal reasons and a visible
lack of motivation on their part we saw it best to part with the
guys, although the decision was not easy and the timing perhaps the
worst possible. Everything was done in good spirits and we thank the
guys for an unbelievably great and fun seven years and wish them all
the best in their private endeavors.

However, the first priority for us was not to let our fans down even
in a situation like this. Therefore, we will go on with the upcoming
co-headlining tour with Nocturnal Rites as planned. And we are most
proud to announce two incredible musicians who agreed to fill in for
the tour on such a short notice. On keyboards we will have none other
than legendary JENS JOHANSSON, the crazy Swede and a long-time friend
from Stratovarius. The vocal duties will be handled by the incredible-
sounding TOMMI 'TUPLE' SALMELA who in recent years has shared the
vocals with Marco Hietala in the classic Finnish metal outfit Tarot.
As you can probably imagine, we are more than thrilled to have these
guys on board. Book your tickets NOW!!!"

In 2009, Thunderstone released their fifth album, Dirt Metal
Dirt Metal
Dirt Metal is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's fifth album. It features their new vocalist Rick Altzi and their new keyboardist Jukka Karinen .-Track listing:#"Rebirth" - 0:38...

. Around this time, Mirka Rantanen founded the side project band Hevisaurus
Hevisaurus
Hevisaurus is a Finnish Power Metal Children's music band, who dress in dinosaur costumes. The band was started by Thunderstone drummer Mirka Rantanen...

, which has seen heavy media coverage as a children's music
Children's music
Children's music is used here to refer to music composed and performed for children by adults. In European influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has historically held both entertainment...

 band that plays heavy metal.

Eurovision

Thunderstone were in the Finnish Preselection final for Eurovision 2007, with the song "Forevermore". They came second with 33% of the given votes.

Members

  • Rick Altzi- lead vocals
  • Nino Laurenne- guitar, backing vocal
  • Titus Hjelm
    Titus Hjelm
    Titus Hjelm is an academic and musician from Helsinki, Finland.-Academics:Hjelm is a Doctor of Theology and a lecturer of Finnish Society and Culture at University College London , a part of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, where he teaches culture, social science, and literature...

     - bass, backing vocal
  • Mirka "Leka" Rantanen - drums
  • Jukka Karinen- keyboards

Former members

  • Pasi Rantanen
    Pasi Rantanen
    Pasi Rantanen is a Finnish singer. Best known for his power metal band Thunderstone, which he was a member of from the band's creation in 2000 until 2007....

     - lead vocals (2000–2007)
  • Kari Tornack - keyboards (2001–2007)

Discography

  • Thunderstone (2002)
  • The Burning
    The Burning (Thunderstone album)
    The Burning is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's second album.-Track listing:#"Until We Touch the Burning Sun" – 5:55 #"Break the Emotion" – 4:42 #"Mirror Never Lies" – 3:44 #"Tin Star Man" – 5:10 #"Spire" – 4:37...

    (2004)
  • Tools of Destruction
    Tools Of Destruction
    For the video game, see Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.Tools Of Destruction is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's third album.-Track listing:#"Tool of the Devil" – 4:02 #"Without Wings" – 4:43...

    (2005)
  • Evolution 4.0
    Evolution 4.0
    Evolution 4.0 is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's fourth album. It features the song "Forevermore" with which they participated in the pre-selections of the Eurovision contest.-Track listing:#"Evolution 4.0" – 0:13 #"Forevermore" – 4:20...

    (2007)
  • Dirt Metal
    Dirt Metal
    Dirt Metal is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's fifth album. It features their new vocalist Rick Altzi and their new keyboardist Jukka Karinen .-Track listing:#"Rebirth" - 0:38...

    (2009)
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