Text by Tuula Pesonen
J. AHOLA – TERÄSBETONI
Formed in 2003, Teräsbetoni (trans. Reinforced Concrete) is a boldly ambitious Finnish heavy metal band with a distinctive style and impressive following. The members of the band: J. Ahola (vocals and bass), A. Järvinen (guitar and vocals), V. Rantanen (guitar) and J. Kuokkanen (drums), fight their battles (trans. carry out live performances) with impressive zeal, garbed in leather, chests bare. The visual imagery of strength, power and brotherhood portrayed by the guys while on stage, is carried through into the heroic content of their songs’ lyrics and the dynamic style of their music. Teräsbetoni’s dazzling, third full-length album, Myrskyntuoja (trans. Stormbringer) shot straight to number one upon it’s release in March 2008 and quickly broke the gold level of albums sold!
Please check out Teräsbetoni’s own site (link on the FRONTPAGE) for the latest info on what the band is up to! Thanks!
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EUROVISION ’09
It’s tradition for the previous year’s representative to the ESC to perform at this year’s National Qualification Final and so, Teräsbetoni formally took to the stage once more to perform their winning song, Missä Miehet Ratsastaa. J. had a surprise in store for audiences, as he had composed a fantastic new beginning for the song! This new version has since been enthusiastically received at the band’s live performances and evokes a certain feeling of excitement and anticipation in the crowd. As the music starts, J. stands alone on a dimly lit stage and his strong, clear voice begins to ring out, the momentum of the song picks up, the rest of the band quietly slips into place and an explosion of light and sound follows, as the song continues. Please check out the link on the Frontpage to catch the band’s performance at Finland’s ESC Final ’09!
MARCH 2009
TERÄSBETONI’S ADVENTURES IN SERBIA
Teräsbetoni represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. In order to get a behind the scenes look at what the band was up to, including footage from rehearsals, costume/make-up, interviews etc. watch “Belgrad Remix ‘08” on Yle 2 (TV Finland) on January 2nd 2009, time 21:00 – 21:50. The TV station will run a repeat of the program on January 5th 2009, time 12:10 – 13:00.
30 DECEMBER 2008
RADIO ROCK FINLANDIA GALA
Teräsbetoni had the pleasure of performing at the Radio Rock Finlandia gala on December 5th 2008. In addition to Paha Sanoo and Missä Miehet Ratsastaa which were televised, the band performed Vaadimme Metallia, Viimeinen Tuoppi and Taivas Lyö Tulta. Despite some technical difficulties during the last song, Taivas Lyö Tulta, the band put on an engaging show and the audience displayed their appreciation as they enthusiastically sang along!
15 DECEMBER 2008
RADIO ROCK FINLANDIA AWARD NOMINEE
Teräsbetoni has been nominated for the Radio Rock Finlandia Award! The event is being arranged for the second consecutive year in Helsinki on December 5th 2008 at which time the winner, “Best Finnish Metal Band 2008”, will be announced. Teräsbetoni is also one of the bands performing at the gala.
OCTOBER 2008
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2008
Teräsbetoni was asked to compete in the Finnish Eurovision Qualification and won the public’s vote with the Myrskyntuoja album’s first single, Missä Miehet Ratsastaa (trans. Where Men Ride). Missä Miehet Ratsastaa was Finland’s first song entry sung in Finnish since 1998, to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.
In May 2008, Teräsbetoni headed for Belgrade, Serbia to represent Finland in the ESC. The band promoted and rehearsed the show for about two weeks. At the same time, they had the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the city, people, culture, parties and of course, the beer (thanks go to Jelen Pivo and Lav!).
Teräsbetoni went through the semi-final into the final, in 8th position. The band sounded really great, the show was phenomenal with all the lights and pyros and the guys were totally hot, looking magnificent in their warrior ensembles! It goes without saying, the guys were obviously disappointed with their final placement, but it was certainly an experience they’ll never forget! The band had the rare opportunity of performing live for an audience of well over 100 million people! Thanks go to everyone who gave the guys their support!
“MYRSKYNTUOJA” SHOT STRAIGHT TO # 1!
For Teräsbetoni, the year 2007 was a quieter one. The band gigged normally, visiting clubs, bars and festivals, but that year, they didn’t want to go into the studio. Their objective was to write new songs without haste and J. composed songs like Missä Miehet Ratsastaa (trans. Where Men Ride), Huominen Tulla Jo Saa (trans. Tomorrow May Come), Teräksen Taakka (Steel’s Burden), Myrskyntuoja (trans. Stormbringer), Painajainen (trans. Nightmare) and Orjakaleeri (trans. Galley Of Slaves).
The year 2008 began pleasantly for Teräsbetoni when the band entered the studio with already familiar producer, Hiili Hiilesmaa, for their third album, Myrskyntuoja (trans. Stormbringer). This time, the band wanted to do an album with more rock and more attitude. Since many songs from the earlier albums had been pompous and heroic, the guys felt a slightly different approach would be good for the audience and also, for the band. So, Myrskyntuoja was born, a faster and more furious album than ever before! Lots of songs were left off the album, for example, the title song Myrskyntuoja, due to the fact there was just so much good material to choose from! Järvinen, Rantanen and Kuokkanen recorded their tracks quickly without any complications. J. had about ten days for the vocal tracks and even though he was suffering from a bit of a soar throat, in the end, everything went smoothly.
The Myrskyntuoja album was released in March 2008, shooting straight to number one on the Finnish album chart, crossing the gold level of sales! The guys had aspired for an impressive gold album and gloriously achieved their objective!
THE SEQUEL: “VAADIMME METALLIA”
The success of Teräsbetoni’s first album demanded new music from the band and they hit the studio, early in 2006, with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Apocalyptica, Lordi, The 69 Eyes, etc.) to record their second album, Vaadimme Metallia (trans. We Demand Metal). The new album’s songs were a bit more ambitious compared to the first album’s and the melody lines and song structures, more complex. This album consisted of rockier material with songs like: Varmaan Kuolemaan (trans. Impending Death), Sotureille (trans. Warriors’ Song) and Saalistaja (trans. Predator); epic material like the second and third singles, Kuninkaat (trans. The Kings) and Kirotut (trans. Under The Curse); and anthemic stuff like Aika On (trans. The Time Is At Hand).
The first single, Älä Mene Metsään (trans. Stay Out Of The Forest) caused a bit of disgruntle among some fans because it differed from the assimilated style. In time, fans became fond of the song, but first, they wanted to hear more of the same type of music they were familiar with. The second and third singles, Vaadimme Metallia and Viimeinen Tuoppi (trans. Last Pint Of Beer), were consistent with the public’s expectations.
Vaadimme Metallia was released in the spring of 2006, hit the Finnish album chart at the number two spot and though on it’s release date, came just shy of breaking the gold album line in sales, went on to quickly sell gold. Teräsbetoni gigged in Finland throughout almost the entire year, setting visiting cities and events new to them, as their goal.
DEBUT ALBUM “METALLITOTUUS” SELLS PLATINUM
J. met A. Järvinen and V. Rantanen during his studies at the University. While the guys were out having a few beers, they started talking about music and came up with the idea of forming a band that sang, genuine heavy metal music, boldly in Finnish. J. Kuokkanen joined the ranks as their drummer. Rantanen came up with the name Teräsbetoni which loosely translated, means Reinforced Concrete.
In the summer of 2003, the guys quickly assembled an internet site for the band including their demo songs: Teräsbetoni, Teräksen Varjo (trans. The Shadow Of Steel) and Maljanne Nostakaa (trans. Raise Your Chalice). It didn’t take long for the band to raise public interest and in no time at all, the visits to Teräsbetoni’s site were in the thousands and soon, the hundreds of thousands. Teräsbetoni attracted the attention of various record labels and in 2004 Osku Ketola from Warner Music Finland signed the band to a recording contract.
Teräsbetoni went into the studio at the end of 2004 to record their first single, Taivas Lyö Tulta (trans. Fire Stricken Skies), which was released in February 2005 and immediately rose to the top of the Finnish singles list. The recording of the Metallitotuus (trans. Metallic Truth) album began early 2005, in Lappeenranta, at Astia Studio with owner/producer Anssi Kippo and the album was released during the spring. The album hit the number two spot on the Finnish album list upon it’s release and stayed on the list for 29 weeks!
The second single, Orjatar (trans. Slave Mistress) is, to this day, particularly popular with Teräsbetoni’s female audience! The third and fourth singles off the album were Metallisydän (trans. Heart Of Metal) and Vahva Kuin Metalli (trans. Strong As Metal).
Metallitotuus sold platinum and was awarded as “Metal Album of the Year” at the 2006 Emma Awards (Finnish equivalent to Grammy). Great shows during the summer festival season and a large scale live performance tour followed the success of the album. The band also visited the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany that same year.
JANUARY 2009
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