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Waltari is a Finnish band from Helsinki known for combining numerous styles, from different metal subgenres such as progressive metal, alternative metal and extreme metal to non-metal styles such as hip hop, pop, industrial, techno, punk and hard rock.<ref name="Musicmight">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Most of the band's music is written by Kärtsy Hatakka. Finnish metal musicians who started their international career in Waltari include Kreator's Sami Yli-Sirniö, Roope Latvala of Children of Bodom, and Janne Parviainen of Ensiferum.

HistoryEdit

File:Waltari4.jpg
Waltari performing at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki in 2006

Waltari was formed in 1986 in Helsinki by Kärtsy Hatakka (vocals and bass), Jariot Lehtinen (guitars) and Sale Suomalainen (drums). Sami Yli-Sirniö joined as second guitarist in 1989, a year after the release of their first EP, Mut Hei ("But hey!").

Their first 2 albums, Monk-Punk and Torcha!, released in 1991 and 1992 respectively, saw the band begin blending a variety of styles of rock and metal.

After releasing a compilation of early work under the title Pala Leipää ("A Piece of Bread") (1993), the band went on to release So Fine! (1994), a collaboration with Joik group Angelit. Their next album, Big Bang (1995), mixes techno with heavy metal.

In 1995, Roope Latvala joined the band, replacing Sami Yli-Sirniö. At this time, Hatakka was working with conductor Riku Niemi on a project combining heavy metal with classical music. This project eventually became known as Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C. The show was performed in 1995, and the album was released in 1996.

In 1997, the band released Space Avenue, a more progressive work containing more electronic drums, as well as a collaboration with Apocalyptica. In 1998, to celebrate their ten-year anniversary, the band released a compilation titled Decade.

In 1999, Kärtsy Hatakka and Waltari were working on yet another metal/classical collaboration, and this gave rise to the stage show Evangelicum (Evankeliumi). This production differed from Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! in that it contained music, ballet and a light show. It also featured a new opera singer. The guest vocalist was Tarja Turunen, who was the lead vocalist of the still young band Nightwish. The choreographer was Jorma Uotinen. This show was released in 1999 on DVD. A musical album version of Evankeliumi was not released.

Waltari's next album, Radium Round (1999), featured a strong pop influence. After Radium Round, the band passed out of the public eye, working on less mainstream releases such as the metal / yoik crossover Channel Nordica (2000) and the punk EP Back to Persepolis (2001). However, these releases were very hard to obtain, and for a while Waltari only survived through its live shows. In 2001, the band's old guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö returned, and Roope Latvala left the band.

In 2004, Waltari released an all-new studio album, Rare Species.

The Blood Sample album was released in 2005. In 2006, "Early Years" was released, a double album presenting remastered versions of the first album Monk-Punk and Pala Leipää, containing additional tracks from the 1980s, never released before and recorded in autumn 2005 by the original trio: Jariot, Kärtsy and Sale.

Waltari released the album Release Date in 2007. This album includes bonus track "Spokebone", a collaboration with Amorphis singer Tomi Joutsen and Finnish ethnic band Värttinä.

Below Zero was released in 2009.

Covers All, a cover album, was released in 2011.

Their album You are Waltari was released on 27 February 2015. A single, "Digging the Alien", was also released as a music video.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There was also a video from the second single, "Only the Truth".

Global Rock was released on 20 March 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Band membersEdit

Current membersEdit

  • Kärtsy Hatakka — lead vocals, bass, keyboards (1986–present)
  • Jariot Lehtinen — guitars, backing vocals (1986–present)
  • Sami Yli-Sirniö — guitars, backing vocals (1989–1995, 2000–present)
  • Ville Vehviläinen — drums (2004–present)
  • Kimmo Korhonen — guitars, backing vocals (2009–present)
  • Jani Hölli — keyboards (2014–present)
  • Antti Kolehmainen — guitars, backing vocals (2017–present)

Past membersEdit

  • Sale Suomalainen — drums (1986–1990, 2005)
  • Janne Parviainen — drums (1990–2002)
  • Roope Latvala — guitars (1995–2001)
  • Mika Järveläinen — drums (2002–2004)
  • Janne Immonen — keyboards, programming (2006–2014)
  • Nino Silvennoinen — guitars, backing vocals (2013–2017)

TimelineEdit

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:80 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1986 till:{{#time:m/d/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1986 ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1986 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4

Colors =

id:vocals  value:red       legend:Vocals,_bass
id:guitar    value:green     legend:Guitar
id:keys    value:purple    legend:Keyboards
id:drums   value:orange    legend:Drums
id:backing value:pink    legend:Backing_vocals
id:programming value:lavender legend:Programming
id:bars    value:gray(0.95)
id:studio   value:black     legend:Studio_album
id:other   value:gray(0.6) legend:EP

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

LineData =

at:01/01/1988 color:other layer:back
at:06/01/1990 color:other layer:back
at:06/01/1991 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1992 color:black layer:back
at:03/01/1992 color:other layer:back
at:06/01/1994 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1995 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1996 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1997 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1999 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/2000 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/2001 color:other layer:back
at:03/01/2004 color:black layer:back
at:09/21/2005 color:black layer:back
at:02/26/2007 color:black layer:back
at:10/02/2009 color:black layer:back
at:11/10/2011 color:black layer:back
at:02/27/2015 color:black layer:back
at:03/20/2020 color:black layer:back
at:05/16/2025 color:black layer:back

BarData =

bar:Kartsy    text:"Kärtsy Hatakka"
bar:Jariot     text:"Jariot Lehtinen"
bar:Sami      text:"Sami Yli-Sirniö"
bar:Roope   text:"Roope Latvala"
bar:Kimmo  text:"Kimmo Korhonen"
bar:Nino     text:"Nino Silvennoinen"
bar:Antti     text:"Antti Kolehmainen"
bar:Janne    text:"Janne Immonen"
bar:Jani       text:"Jani Hölli"
bar:Sale      text:"Sale Suomalainen"
bar:Janne2  text:"Janne Parviainen'
bar:Mika     text:"Mika Järveläinen"
bar:Ville      text:"Ville Vehviläinen"

PlotData =

width:11
bar:Kartsy    from:01/01/1986 till:end  color:vocals
bar:Kartsy    from:01/01/1986 till:end  color:keys width:3
bar:Jariot     from:01/01/1986 till:end  color:guitar
bar:Jariot     from:01/01/1986 till:end  color:backing width:3
bar:Sami      from:08/01/1989 till:08/01/1995  color:guitar
bar:Sami      from:08/01/1989 till:08/01/1995  color:backing width:3
bar:Roope    from:08/01/1995 till:09/01/2001  color:guitar
bar:Sami      from:09/01/2000 till:end  color:guitar
bar:Sami      from:09/01/2000 till:end  color:backing width:3
bar:Kimmo  from:12/01/2009 till:end  color:guitar
bar:Kimmo  from:12/01/2009 till:end  color:backing width:3
bar:Nino      from:06/01/2013 till:10/17/2017  color:guitar
bar:Nino      from:06/01/2013 till:10/17/2017  color:backing width:3
bar:Antti     from:10/18/2017 till:end  color:guitar
bar:Antti     from:10/18/2017 till:end  color:backing width:3
bar:Janne     from:06/01/2006 till:06/01/2014  color:keys
bar:Janne     from:06/01/2006 till:06/01/2014  color:programming width:3
bar:Jani        from:06/01/2014 till:end  color:keys
bar:Sale       from:01/01/1986 till:09/01/1990  color:drums
bar:Janne2   from:09/01/1990 till:06/01/2002  color:drums
bar:Mika      from:06/01/2002 till:08/01/2004  color:drums
bar:Ville       from:08/01/2004 till:end  color:drums

</timeline>

DiscographyEdit

AlbumsEdit

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EPsEdit

  • Waltari (demo) (1988)
  • Roskia/Avfall EP (1989)
  • Mut Hei EP (1990)
  • Aika tuulee EP (1992)
  • Misty Man EP (1994)
  • The Stage EP (1995)
  • Blind Zone EP (1997)
  • Back to Persepolis EP (2001)
  • Not Enough EP (2005)

BibliographyEdit

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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