Battle Beast (band)

Battle Beast is a Finnish heavy metal band formed in Helsinki in 2008 by Anton Kabanen, Juuso Soinio and Pyry Vikki. The initial line-up consisted of guitarists Soinio and Kabanen, and drummer Vikki, who were high school friends. The rest of the original lineup, bassist Eero Sipilä, keyboardist Janne Björkroth and lead singer Nitte Valo, joined the band after auditions. The band has released six studio albums.

History

Before gaining a record contract, Battle Beast was best known for having won two major band competitions in 2010. They won the international Wacken Metal Battle 2010, with contributions from thousands of bands from all around the world, whose final stage was held at the famed German metal festival Wacken Open Air. Soon after, the band was announced the winner of Radio Rock Starba, a band competition held by the major Finnish radio station Radio Rock. With its victory in the Finnish competition, the band received intense media exposure, and before the end of 2010 they had signed a record deal with the Finnish label Hype Records.

Battle Beast's first album, ''Steel'', was released in Finland in Spring 2011. With the support of the two singles, "Show Me How to Die" and "Enter the Metal World", and their heavy airplay on Radio Rock, the album peaked at No. 7 upon its release. Although released only in Finland, the album soon caught the attention of the international metal label Nuclear Blast, with whom the band signed a licensing deal in late 2011. A reissue of ''Steel'', which included one bonus track, was released to the European market in January 2012. The band was voted third place on the Newcomer Of The Year 2011 list at the Finnish Metal Awards in February 2012. To support the European release of ''Steel'', Battle Beast toured as opening act for their countrymen Nightwish in many European dates of the Imaginaerum World Tour. On the final show of the tour Nightwish paid their respects to the support band by performing a cover of "Show Me How to Die" as a part of their acoustic set.

In autumn of 2012, after touring Finnish rock festivals during the summer, Nitte Valo was announced to be leaving the band because of family issues. New singer candidates appeared both in Finland and abroad. Noora Louhimo from Tampere, Finland, was chosen as the new lead singer, with Kabanen having originally found her "by accident while browsing YouTube". With Louhimo in the band, Battle Beast started another European tour in November, this time supporting the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica.

After the tour, the band immediately went into studio to record their second album. The label Hype Productions had gone out of business and the band moved on to Warner Music Finland, with Nuclear Blast still handling international releases. The first single with Noora Louhimo on vocals, "Into the Heart of Danger" was released on 26 April 2013, followed by the album '' Battle Beast'' on 17 May 2013. Another single and a music video for the song "Black Ninja" was released to coincide with the release of the album. The album topped the sales of its predecessor easily, peaking at No. 5 and staying on the charts for 17 weeks. The album also charted on various European countries including Germany. The following autumn Battle Beast headed on another European tour, this time supporting the German bands Powerwolf and U.D.O.

In January 2015, ''Battle Beast'' released its third album, ''Unholy Savior'', topping the Finnish album chart on its release week. Soon after a European tour supporting Sabaton, in February 2015 the band parted ways with Anton Kabanen with both parties citing musical disagreements and other unsolvable issues within the band. He was replaced by Ossi Maristo and keyboardist Janne Björkroth's brother, Joona Björkroth, on a sessional basis. Joona Björkroth became a permanent member in 2016. Kabanen went on to form Beast in Black.

The first single with the renewed line-up "King For a Day" was released in January 2016, immediately picking up heavy airplay in Finland's Radio Rock, followed by another single "Familiar Hell" in early 2017. Battle Beast released their fourth album '' Bringer of Pain'' on 17 February 2017 again topping the charts in their homeland and eventually going platinum there. The album was also the band’s first to reach the top 20 in Germany, debuting at #14 on its release week.

Following the release of Bringer of Pain, Battle Beast went on a 5+ week European tour with support from Majesty and GYZE. It toured for the first time in North America that spring, supporting Sabaton's "The Last Tour" with Leaves' Eyes.

On 22 March 2019, Battle Beast released their fifth studio album, ''No More Hollywood Endings''. The album was awarded as Metal album of the year in Finnish Grammy’s (Emma-gaala) and has been awarded with a gold album in the bands native Finland.

On 4 October 2021, the band announced their sixth studio album, ''Circus of Doom''. It was released on 21 January 2022, again topping the Finnish album chart and reaching top 10 in Germany. Following the album's release, the band toured North America as the headliner for the first time, with support from Blackbriar.

On 5 June 2025, the band announced their seventh studio album, ''Steelbound''. It is set to be released in October 2025.

Band members

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File:Battle Beast Rockharz 2018 30.jpg, Vocalist Noora Louhimo
File:Battle Beast Rockharz 2018 21.jpg, Guitarist Joona Björkroth
File:Battle Beast Rockharz 2018 22.jpg, Keytarist Janne Björkroth
File:Battle Beast Rockharz 2018 40.jpg, Bassist Eero Sipilä
File:Battle Beast Rockharz 2018 02.jpg, Drummer Pyry Vikki

Current

* Juuso Soinio – rhythm guitar (2008–present)
* Pyry Vikki – drums (2008–present)
* Eero Sipilä – bass, backing vocals (2008–present)
* Janne Björkroth – keytar, backing vocals (2008–present)
* Noora Louhimo – lead vocals (2012–present)
* Joona Björkroth – lead guitar, backing vocals (2015–present)

Former

* Nitte Valo – lead vocals (2008–2012)
* Anton Kabanen – lead guitar, backing vocals (2008–2015)

Touring

* Ossi Maristo – lead guitar (2015)
* Atte Aho – lead guitar (2022, 2024)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Singles

* "Show Me How to Die" (2011)
* "Enter the Metal World" (2011)
* "Into the Heart of Danger" (2013)
* "Black Ninja" (2013)
* "Touch in the Night" (2014)
* "Madness" (2014)
* "King for a Day" (2016)
* "Familiar Hell" (2017)
* "Bringer of Pain (2017)
* "No More Hollywood Endings" (2019)
* "Eden" (2019)
* "Endless Summer" (2019)
* "The Golden Horde" (2019)
* "Master of Illusion" (2021)
* "Eye of the Storm" (2021)
* "Where Angels Fear to Fly" (2022)
* "Wings of Light" (2022)
* "Last Goodbye" (2025)

References

External links

Official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle beast
2008 establishments in Finland
Female-fronted musical groups
Finnish heavy metal musical groups
Finnish musical sextets
Finnish power metal musical groups
Mixed-gender bands
Musical groups established in 2008
Musical groups from Helsinki
Nuclear Blast artists