Titus Hjelm (born 15 October 1974) is an academic and musician from

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 ...

, Finland.

Academics

Hjelm is a Doctor of Theology and an Associate Professor in the Study of Religion at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

, Finland. Previously he was a Reader in Sociology and a lecturer of Finnish Society and Culture at the

School of Slavonic and East European Studies The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a University College London#Faculties and departments, school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and South-Easte ...

, a part of

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL), where he teaches culture,

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

, and literature courses. He studied Comparative Religion, History and Sociology at The University of Helsinki and has written several books concerning perspectives of popular culture and social attitudes towards religion.

Selected publications

* ''Religion and Social Problems'' (2010) * ''Perspectives on Social Constructionism'' (2010) * ''Uusien Uskonnollisten Liikkeiden Tutkimus Ajankohtaista'' (2001)

Music

Hjelm currently plays bass guitar in the Finnish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band Thunderstone, which formed in 2000. Previously, he played with the Incredible Brainshells and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...

. He states his influences as

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

and

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 ...

. Hjelm participated with Thunderstone in ''Euroviisut 2007'', the Finnish national final for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, with the songs "Face in the Mirror" and "Forevermore". "Face in the Mirror" qualified for the superfinal, and got second place out of three.

Discography

*'' Thunderstone'', Thunderstone (2002) *'' The Burning'', Thunderstone (2004) *'' Tools of Destruction'', Thunderstone (2005) *'' Evolution 4.0'', Thunderstone (2007) *''

Dirt Metal ''Dirt Metal'' is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's fifth album. It features their new vocalist Rick Altzi (At Vance, Frequency (Band), Sandalinas Sandalinas is a Spanish/Swedish progressive metal band founded in 2001 by guitarist Jordi ...

'', Thunderstone (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjelm, Titus 1974 births Living people Academics of University College London Academics of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies 21st-century Finnish bass guitarists Thunderstone (band) members