CMX, originally Cloaca Maxima, is a Finnish rock band. They originally played

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

, but soon expanded to play a wide variety of rock formats, including

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, heavy metal, and mainstream rock 'n' roll. Throughout their career, they have been influenced by progressive rock bands such as Rush, Yes,

Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

and

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

. The progressive influence is most evident on their albums '' Dinosaurus Stereophonicus'' (2000) and '' Talvikuningas'' (2007). CMX have gradually gained large-scale mainstream following in Finland. They are especially known for the poetic lyrics of A. W. Yrjänä that often contain references to

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. Finnish rock magazines, particularly '' Rumba'', have named them Best Band of the Year multiple times, and even Best Band of All Time on one occasion.

History

Early years 1985–1990

CMX was founded on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

1985 in Tornio,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

by A. W. Yrjänä (18 at the time) and Pekka Kanniainen. The band's original name, Cloaca Maxima,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for the "Greatest Sewer", was taken from a footnote of H. P. Blavatsky's book Isis Unveiled. Over the next six months Kanniainen became the drummer, Yrjänä the bassist and singer, and Kimmo Suomalainen the guitarist. The band played mainly fast

with the vocals sung in English; the language, however, soon changed into Finnish. The band shortened its name to CMX in 1986. The first EP '' Johannes Kastaja'' was recorded 1987 in

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

and released in 1988. The same year CMX performed for the first time outside of Tornio and its neighbouring areas, at Lieto punk rock festival. In 1989 the EP '' Raivo'' was released on a small label Bad Vugum. The band's first appearance at the Tavastia Club in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

followed. The first full-length album '' Kolmikärki'' was released in January 1990. The album received practically no radio airplay and sold less than 2,000 copies during the first year. During the spring Pasi Isometsä was brought on as a second guitarist, however he would only stay in the band for less than a year. As the band moved south to

in late 1990, guitarists Isometsä and Suomalainen weren't willing to leave Tornio and eventually quit the band. They were replaced by Janne Halmkrona and, in early 1991, Timo Rasio. This lineup would remain the same for the following six years. In early 1991 they recorded another EP, '' Tanssitauti'', and later that year the band's second full-length album, '' Veljeskunta''. The aggressive hardcore approach of the album was generally well received by the press.

Mainstream success

1992's '' Aurinko'', released by the international EMI

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, won CMX both the Album of the Year and Band of the Year awards in a poll by Finnish '' Rumba'' music magazine. The album saw CMX largely abandon the hardcore style in favor of more accessible mainstream rock songs. In 1994, '' Aura'' was released. The album continued the trend towards mainstream audiences, which was criticized by the band's early hardcore fan base. Aura contained some of the band's best known songs to date, including the etheric ballad "Ruoste" and the radio-friendly (though lyrically hardly traditional) love song " Kultanaamio". The trend continued with '' Rautakantele'', released in 1995 and produced by Yrjänä. Essi Wuorela appeared as a guest artist. " Pelasta maailma", the only single from the album, received some radio airplay and would later be covered by both

Antti Tuisku Antti Tuisku (born 27 February 1984) is a retired Finnish pop singer. He finished third in the 2003 '' Idols'' talent show, the Finnish version of '' Pop Idol''. Tuisku has sold over 300,000 records during his career in Finland. In 2016, Tuisku ...

and Vesa-Matti Loiri.

Changes

For their next album, the band changed radically their approach to recording. '' Discopolis'' (1996) was engineered with Pro Tools in the studio and made heavy use of sampling to edit the songs together from a set of short

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s. The album received mixed reviews:

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that "friends of the modern music will find ''Discopolis'' very attractive", while Tero Valkonen, on his analysis of " Kultanaamio", expressed his dislike for the album, and called the song "Paha" a "rotten bad joke". ''Discopolis'' was the first CMX album to enter the Finnish album charts, peaking at No 3.CMX chart statistics
a
finnishcharts.com
/ref> In 1997, drummer Kanniainen left CMX saying that the band had become too professional for him. Tuomas Peippo was hired to replace him. The same year CMX released a three-CD

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, '' Cloaca Maxima''.

1998–2003

The first album with new drummer Tuomas Peippo, '' Vainajala'' (1998), was recorded in a cabin in Lapland and produced by Faith No More bassist Billy Gould. According to the band the deliberately minimalistic sound of the album was largely thanks to Gould. ''Vainajala'' was the first CMX album to top the Finnish album charts. At the Provinssirock festival 1999, CMX announced that they intended to stop playing live in order to concentrate on their studio work. '' Dinosaurus Stereophonicus'' (2000) was CMX's nod toward 1970s

bands, such as

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

and Yes. A two-hour double album, it contains progressive elements not before associated with CMX: Three

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

pieces, an emphasis on keyboards, long solos, and song lengths exceeding 10 minutes. CMX's first number 1 single, the peaceful and melodic "Myrskyn ratsut" was released before the album and featured strings and steel guitar. By the time '' Isohaara'' (2002) was released, CMX had already abandoned the idea of becoming a full-time studio band and started touring again. The album was considered slightly heavier than its predecessor, and the guitar riffs of "Minne paha haudattiin" were compared to the music of Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus and Kotiteollisuus. The album's lyrics concentrated less on

and

and were closer to traditional rock lyrics, albeit keeping a dark, melancholy tone. Although less present than on '' Dinosaurus Stereophonicus'' (2000), progressive influences hadn't been totally abandoned: The band uses a child

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

on the title track and the uptempo rocker "Pohjoista leveyttä" contains a

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

solo. Bad Vugum re-released the first two CMX albums in 2002 as "Gold" versions that also included their early EPs. '' Kolmikärki Gold'' included EPs '' Johannes Kastaja'' (1987) and '' Raivo'' (1989), and '' Veljeskunta Gold'' contained EPs '' Tanssitauti'' (1990) and '' Musiikin ystävälliset kasvot'' (1998). A year after ''Isohaara'', '' Aion'' (2003) followed. The album was put together around a common theme of the essence and

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

ism of

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

. It was both a critical and commercial success and was described as a highly

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

album for such an established band. Guitarist Halmkrona plays

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

on the first track of the album, and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s are heard on several songs. Both "Melankolia" and, four months later, "Palvelemaan konetta" peaked the singles chart.

2004–present

The band's second three-CD compilation Cloaca Maxima II, released in 2004, followed the format of the 1997 '' Cloaca Maxima'' closely. Both consisted of 44 songs on three CDs, the first one concentrating on faster rock songs, the second on ballads and the third on B-sides. The compilation covered four albums from '' Vainajala'' (1998) to '' Aion'' (2003) and also featured three previously unreleased songs. The band had originally intended the compilation to only include the B-sides, and indeed the third disc was the one that received some praise from the press. ''

Pedot Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT or PEDT; ''IUPAC'' name poly(2,3-dihydrothieno ,4-''b''1,4]dioxane-5,7-diyl)) is a conducting polymer based on 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene, 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene or EDOT. It was first reported by Bay ...

'' (2005) showed some influences from contemporary rock bands such as

, A Perfect Circle and System of a Down, and combined straight rock songs with heavier and lighter elements, such as the minimalistic ballad "Eteläisen tähtitaivaan kartoitus" and the aggressive double bass drum sound of the title track. "Uusi ihmiskunta" was a number one hit, the sixth one for CMX in just over five years. On the Tuuliajolla 2006 tour on lake Saimaa, CMX recorded a song in collaboration with fellow rock bands Kotiteollisuus and 51Koodia. Ambiguosly named "Vapaus johtaa kansaa" (" Liberty Leading the People") was written by Yrjänä and released in 2006. It reached number one on the Finnish singles chart. CMX's following album, '' Talvikuningas'' (2007), was a space-themed rock opera and contains only one song, divided onto 12 tracks without pauses. Originally, the story about the power and fall of the Winter King (Talvikuningas in Finnish) was going to be the story of a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Yrjänä. The first edition of the album was soon sold out despite being much more expensive than a regular album. The press reviews were largely positive. ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'' newspaper called the album CMX's "third bullseye" after '' Aura'' and '' Aion'', while ''Soundi'' music magazine argued that the album will probably be a mere curiosity in the CMX saga. CMX's thirteenth studio album, '' Iäti'', was released by EMI on 29 September 2010. The singles released before the album were called "Sateenkaaren pää" and "Linnunrata". Drummer Tuomas Peippo left the band in 2012 due to his job as a dentist. The fourteenth studio album, '' Seitsentahokas'', was released in February 2013. The drummer for the album was Olli-Matti Wahlström, known for bands Kumikameli and 51koodia, who later in the spring became the official member of the band. The first single released from the album was "Kusimyrsky" in November 2012, followed by "Rikkisuudeltu" in February 2013. Fifteenth studio album Mesmeria was released in 2015. It was produced by Arto Tuunela and first without producer Rauli Eskolin since Isohaara released in 2002.

Popularity

CMX are practically unknown outside Finland. However, Billy Gould of Faith No More produced their 1998 album '' Vainajala''. In Finland, CMX has won the '' Rumba'' magazine "Band of the Year" reader poll ten times. In 2005, the band was even voted the "Best Band of All Time" by the magazine's readers, in favour of such bands as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

. In a ''City'' magazine poll, they were voted the best Finnish band of all time. In a ''

'' newspaper reader poll in 2007, the readers voted both "Ruoste" and " Kultanaamio" into the top 10 of Finnish rock songs. CMX were the only band to have two songs in the top 10. Ten CMX albums, including their both compilations, have been certified gold, each having sold approximately 20,000 copies. '' CMX DVD'' has also reached the gold record threshold for DVDs, which is 5,000 copies. The platinum record threshold for albums in Finland, which none of the band's albums have achieved, is 30,000 copies sold.

Musical style

Early CMX was influenced by heavy metal,

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

. During their career, they have explored several different genres of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

. Their early EPs and albums up until '' Veljeskunta'' (1991) have been mainly hardcore, although combining a variety of styles. From '' Aurinko'' (1992) onwards, hardcore has been merely an ephemeral element in their varied expression. Progressive rock elements are always present in the band's music, most evidently on '' Dinosaurus Stereophonicus'' (2000) and '' Talvikuningas'' (2008). Many of the band's best known songs are

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s, such as "Ruoste" and " Pelasta maailma".

Lyrics

All the band's lyrics are written by vocalist Yrjänä. His texts are often poetic,

ic and intertextual, and contain themes of

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. Many CMX fans are attracted to the band particularly for Yrjänä's texts, although there are also people who can't stand the band because of them.

Band members

During the early years of the band, the lineup changed several times. A. W. Yrjänä is the only remaining original member.

Current lineup

* A. W. Yrjänä –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, bass (1985–) * Janne Halmkrona –

(1990–) * Timo Rasio – guitar (1991–) * Olli-Matti Wahlström –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2012–)

Past members

* Kimmo Suomalainen – guitar (1985–1990) * Pasi Isometsä – guitar (1990) * Pekka Kanniainen – drums (1985–1997) * Tuomas Peippo –

(1997–2012)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:105 bottom:75 top:0 right:10 DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1985 till:07/31/2021 #it is best not to use auto-updating timelines as it can cause problems when the graphic updates on a daily basis TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1986 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1985 Legend = position:bottom orientation:vertical columns:4 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:album value:black legend:Studio_album id:other value:gray(0.7) legend:Other_release id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = layer:back color:other at:02/01/1985 at:01/01/1986 at:01/01/1987 at:02/01/1989 at:08/01/1990 at:01/01/1991 at:09/01/1997 at:11/15/2004 at:11/05/2008 at:01/01/2016 color:album at:01/01/1990 at:06/08/1991 at:09/01/1992 at:02/01/1994 at:03/01/1995 at:11/01/1996 at:10/01/1998 at:10/01/2000 at:08/02/2002 at:11/10/2003 at:11/02/2005 at:09/05/2007 at:09/29/2010 at:02/22/2013 at:01/30/2015 at:02/09/2018 BarData = bar:AW text:"A. W. Yrjänä" bar:Kimmo text:"Kimmo Suomalainen" bar:Janne text:"Janne Halmkrona" bar:Pasi text:"Pasi Isometsä" bar:Timo text:"Timo Rasio" bar:Pekka text:"Pekka Kanniainen" bar:Tuomas text:"Tuomas Peippo" bar:Olli text:"Olli-Matti Wahlström" PlotData= width:13 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:AW from:01/01/1985 till:end color:vocals width:3 bar:AW from:01/01/1985 till:end color:bass bar:Kimmo from:01/01/1985 till:01/20/1990 color:guitar bar:Janne from:02/01/1990 till:end color:guitar bar:Pasi from:02/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 color:guitar bar:Timo from:01/01/1991 till:end color:guitar bar:Pekka from:01/01/1985 till:12/31/1996 color:drums bar:Tuomas from:01/01/1997 till:11/30/2012 color:drums bar:Olli from:11/30/2012 till:end color:drums

Discography

* '' Kolmikärki'' (1990) * '' Veljeskunta'' (1991) * '' Aurinko'' (1992) * '' Aura'' (1994) * '' Rautakantele'' (1995) * '' Discopolis'' (1996) * '' Vainajala'' (1998) * '' Dinosaurus Stereophonicus'' (2000) * '' Isohaara'' (2002) * '' Aion'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Talvikuningas'' (2007) * '' Iäti'' (2010) * '' Seitsentahokas'' (2013) * ''Mesmeria'' (2015) * ''Alkuteos'' (2018)

References

External links

Official site
* http://www.myspace.com/cloacamaxima * http://375humanistia.helsinki.fi/en/humanists/janne-halmkrona {{DEFAULTSORT:CMX band Finnish progressive rock groups