A peek into the crystal ball: here comes the most anticipated Finnish rock and metal albums of 2022

Bye bye year 2021 and welcome year 2022.  Last year, the gig calendar of almost every band experienced an almost complete drain, as a result of which the bands spent time writing new music. As there are probably hopes at the moment that by the coming summer the gigs and festivals will start spinning as usual, new music is coming from many bands before the summer. In Finland, the new releases once again look very tasty in terms of rock and metal, so Kaaoszine‘s editorial team decided to list the albums that are expected to be delivered.

AMORPHIS

Album name: Halo
Release date: 11.2

Metal band Amorphis has got ready the 14th album of their career. The long playing, titled “Halo,” will be released worldwide on February 11th via Atomic Fire Records.

Amorphis, which has created an upward career for more than thirty years, is an absolute pillar of Finnish metal. The band’s 2015 album “Under The Red Cloud” was the start of an album trilogy, followed by the “Queen Of Time” released in 2018. The circle closes and the trilogy is completed by the to be released in February album, “Halo”. “Halo” represents the energetic, heavy and touching Amorphis at its best and takes the band up to a whole new level. The album is a progressive, melodic and melancholic masterpiece.

Until now, they have released two singles “The Moon” and “On The Dark Waters” from the album. You can watch the latest video for “On The Dark Waters” below:

…AND OCEANS

Album name: TBA
Release date: Spring 2022

The symphonic black metal players …And Oceans has recently completed the recordings of their sixth album. The album will be released later this year through Season Of Mist Records. The band seems to be very pleased with their upcoming release, glowing it into the best work of their career.

APULANTA

Album name:TBA
Release date: Summer 2022

Apulanta, one of the long-time success bands of national rock, spent the last year writing music for their upcoming album. Although singer-guitarist Toni Wirtanen has had some challenges with the lyrics on the album, we could assume that the band will be releasing new music during the spring of 2022. The band has still been a bit sluggish about the album’s release schedule, but since the band usually plays in national festivals during the summer, we could assume that the new songs will stumble upon the summer set list. It will be interesting to hear in which direction the rock chameleons will take themselves next.

The group recently released a new song “9 väärää kättä” and you can check it out below:

ATLAS

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

ATLAS, a Tampere-based band that released their album “Ukko” in December 2021, brought completely new and heavy winter winds to the metalcore segment. In Kaaoszine‘s review, the album “Ukko” received a 10/10 review, and the band has gained momentum with their new style early in their career. In interviews, the band has said they have reached a tight pace, so the new album is expected to be released in 2022.

BLIND CHANNEL

Album name: Lifestyles of the Sick & Dangerous
Release date: 11.7.2022

Last year, the Finnish violent pop band Blind Channel embarked on a rocket-like rise in their career, and the band won up to four nominations for this year’s Emma Gala without releasing an album. The band signed last year with Century Media Records. The first sample of this collaboration will be available in late spring / early summer in the form of a new album. The singles “Balboa” and “We Are No Saints” released after the giant hit “Dark Side” are very good and catchy songs, so we look forward to seeing what 2022 and the new album will bring.

DIABLO

Album name: When All the Rivers Are Silent
Release date: 25.2

Diablo‘s seventh studio album “When All the Rivers Are Silent” will be released on February 25th by Sakara Records. With their upcoming album, Diablo will head to the roots of the guitarist couple team Rainer Nygård and Marko Utriainen in Kalajoki.On the record, the band whips themselves sparingly – probably even harder than ever before. In the stories, the candle burns from both ends, but the skills aren’t enough to pull the handbrake. Three tracks from the album have been released so far, “Grace Under Pressure“, “The Extinctionist” and “The Stranger“. Based on the songs already released, the record will definitely rise to the top of the most anticipated domestic metal records of the year.

HUORA

Album name: (Älä) Luovuta
Release date: 4.2

Punk rock band Huora will release a new album on February 4th. Apart from the release of the album, it is also promised the much-needed live stuff. In February starts a quite complete album release tour. The band’s third album, “(Don’t) Give Up,” points the finger at the decision-makers, blows the fist in the doomsday mentions, balances destruction and madness, and delves deep into the darkest depths of the human mind. However, the main theme of the album is an optimistic message – don’t give up! No fuss has been spared in the tumultuous riffs, the jubilant language and catchy chants, and the upcoming album is guaranteed to be their best. The pre-released singles “Loppu“, “Pyörällä baariin (taksilla himaan)” and “(Älä) luovuta” from the album have been well received on both the radio as well as the lists of streaming services. The songs have been listened to and music videos watched a total of almost a million times.

INSOMNIUM

Album name: TBA
Release date: autumn/winter 2022

In September last year, the Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium released a new EP called “Argent Moon”. The band was due to release a new album as early as this year, but after the band canceled their European tour at the end of November, it remains to be seen whether the band will release a new album this year or whether they will wait until 2023.

KALMAH

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

In April, it will be four years since the release of “Palo”, the previous album of the Finnish metal band Kalmah, and the band has been slowly but surely preparing for their upcoming album with the intention of releasing it as early as this year. There is no more detailed information about the current situation of the upcoming album, but the band’s guitarist Antti Kokko confirmed to Kaaoszine that the album is under construction.

KUOLEMANLAAKSO

Album name: Kuusumu
Release date: 4.3

The number one fist of Finnish death doom, Kuolemanlaakso, will release their first album in eight years. The album “Kuusumu” is produced by V. Santura, who has also been responsible for the production of the band’s previous releases. In addition to his studio work, Santura is known as a guitarist for Triptych and Dark Fortress.The texts of “Kuusumu” are loosely based on the sudden cooling of the climate that began in the year 535, which led to a decade of winter, the loss of hundreds of lives, the mass death of livestock and other animals, and famine. The climate change was probably caused by massive volcanic eruptions, the fog of which darkened the Sun for a year and a half and brought with it an unbearable cold. In addition, a plague pandemic that began in the Byzantine Empire in the year 541 during the darkness and cold, swept across Europe and killed tens of millions of people. With “Kuusumu” Kuolemanlaakso stretches further  their artistic boundaries. The album contains the familiar heavy deceleration but also more epic, faster and much more polished material. The first single “Katkeruuden malja“, with Lotta Ruutiainen as a guest musician, represents the lightest and most catchy part of the album. .

LOST SOCIETY

Album name: TBA
Release date: Summer 2022

The metal band Lost Society from Jyväskylä, which signed a record deal with Nuclear Blast in August last year, went to the studio in October to record their fifth album together with producer Joonas Parkkonen (former Santa Cruz).

LÄHIÖBOTOX

Album name: Itä-Metal
Release date: Spring 2022

Lähiöbotox, founded in Roihupelto in Eastern Helsinki in 2018, raised the attention of the Finnish metal audience in September 2020 with their debut album “Rikkinäinen Suomi”. The first record of the Eastern rap metal project, also known as the Finnish Body Count, served a mixture of groove metal, hardcore, thrash and the the blend of the old covenant blast in a very energetic and lyrically weighty form, eventually catching to Kaaoszine‘s readers in the voting for the newcomer. A preview of the band’s upcoming album has not yet been released, but the album is tentatively scheduled for release in the spring of 2022.

MARKO HIETALA

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

Marko Hietala, the singer-bassist who became known for Nightwish and Tarot, announced in January 2021 that he would leave Nightwish and spend a quiet life in 2021. In December, Hietala made a one-gig return to the stage, performing on the Raskasta Joulua tour. Due to the musician’s illness, he didn’t take part in the rest of the gigs. Hietala has already booked numerous performances for various festivals this coming summer, so we could assume that a new solo album is in the offing before the summer festivals.

MICHAEL MONROE

Album name: TBA
Release date: Spring/Summer 2022

The national rock legend Michael Monroe completed the recording of his tenth solo album in December. The album is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2022, after which a major tour is expected.

NICOLE

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

The band ‘s guitarist Olli Ketola confirmed in an interview with Kaaoszine in SaariHelvetti that the album is being prepared. Would it finally be time for a new album this year? Since Tool album saw the light, we have to believe that Nicole will also have a new album one day. Slowly the good will come…

ONE MORNING LEFT

Album name:TBA
Release date: 2022

One Morning Left released their album “Hyperactive” in May 2021, and on it the band uniquely combines metalcore, barracks and hit music. According to background information, the band is currently composing a new album. The band is facing a really tight gig year with two European tours, but the strength is on the release side as well. The new album is expected to continue the band’s distinctive line between synthesizers, fun and tight metal riffs.

ROTTEN SOUND

Album name: TBA
Release date: autumn 2022

Founded in 1993 in Vaasa, the grindcore pioneers Rotten Sound spent time last autumn in two different studios working on their upcoming album, which will probably not be released until the fall of 2022. The band’s upcoming album has all the frustration of the Corona pandemic.

RUOSKA

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

The Finnish industrial metal band Ruoska released in March last year a new song called “Runno” after a break of more than 13 years. The release of the band’s upcoming album has very likely been postponed to this day due to the corona pandemic. The band is unlikely to pledge their new album for another year, so it’s likely that the album will be released no later than the summer gigs.

RYTMIHÄIRIÖ

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

Surmacore’s ambassador Rytmihäiriö released his latest album, “Gambinapsykoosi” in 2018, so it’s been almost four years since the previous album was released. The previous album of the band, which lyrics sweared in the name of Gambina, took five years to be released, so would it be faster now and a new album would be available already this year?

SANTA CRUZ

Album name: TBA
Release date: summer 2022

The well-known rocker Archie Cruz from the rock band Santa Cruz, has excelled in recent years more for things outside music, but this year the guitarist-singer is also becoming active on the new album. The musician has recently released an update on Facebook that says he has completed the next album. Cruz is responsible for all the songs on the album but has also played all the instruments on it.

SHAPE OF DESPAIR

Album name: Return to the Void
Release date: 25.2

The Finnish Funeral Doom icon Shape Of Despair is releasing their next album, “Return to the Void,” on February 25th through Season Of Mist Records. With their upcoming album, the band will once again swim into the deep waters as they are used to. They have so far released “Reflection In Slow Time“, which lasts just over eight minutes, and the nearly nine-minute “Dissolution“.

SHEREIGN

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

Combined from the ranks of Fear of Domination and Black Light Discipline, Shereign will release their debut album in February. The band, made up of a long line of professionals, is a long-cut diamond with years of work behind it. The charismatic and hungry band already have a couple of songs in the drawers of their desks, and fans could already listen to the song “Dark Waters” as the first tasting of their debut album in November. The melancholic vibe and the ethereal melodies of the song, combined with meaningful lyrics, give us an idea of what to expect from the band on their debut.

SHIRAZ LANE

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

Shiraz Lane, the band who played in November at Helsinki’s On the Rocks “an evening with” a double gig charm, will release their third studio album in April. “Fake Perfection” was released in November together with producer Juho Salaterä and it was made at Lammaskallio Audio Studios. With the upcoming album, Shiraz Lane will somehow return to the mood of the 2016 “Be The Slave Or Be The Change” EP – not only in terms of songwriting but also with strong lyrics focused on the importance of change in the society level and in an strangely changing world.

STRATOVARIUS

Album name: TBA
Release date: Summer 2022

Finnish power metal legend Stratovarius will releaase their next album in 2022. The band has been working on their album slowly for a few years now. In August last year, Kotipelto said that the writing process of the album was at the final stage regarding the lyrics, and that the band would soon jump into the studio. The singer glowed at the upcoming material “very hard” and seemed very excited about it.

THE RASMUS

Album name: TBA
Release date: Late 2022

The Rasmus, one of the most successful rock bands of all time in Finland, will release their new studio album this spring, it will be the tenth of their career. “Bones” was the first single from the album released in May last year, their second single “Venomous Moon” was released together with Apocalyptica and now third single “Jezebel” was released for the UMK song contest. The band’s singer Lauri Ylönen and drummer Aki Hakala revealed some secrets about the upcoming album in a video interview for Chaoszine. The band has not yet agreed to reveal the exact release date

VIIKATE

Album name: TBA
Release date: Autumn 2022

Viikate released their latest album, “Rillumarei!” In October 2020 through Universal Music. Unfortunately, the band wasn’t able to tour the way they wanted with the album, so the band focused on writing new music. New music is expected to be released in the autumn of 2022.

VILLE LAIHIALA

Album name: TBA
Release date: 2022

Ville Laihiala, known as a former singer of Sentenced, Poisonblack and S-Tool, is heading for a solo career in 2022 and he is releasing the first solo album of his career sung in Finnish. From this record we could expect his typical heaviness, but also a very nude-sounding interpretation.

WOLFHEART

Album name: TBA
Release date: Spring/Summer 2022

Wolfheart, the wolf metal patrol led by singer-guitarist Tuomas Saukkonen, has taken his output in an increasingly heavy direction with his latest albums. The same line is likely to continue in the upcoming album. The band’s previous EP “Skull Soldiers” was a very promising advance of the future, representing exactly what to expect from Wolfheart: beautiful melodies combined with skull-crushing cannon.