Niilo Sevänen is a melodic death metal

Melodic death metal

Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...

 musician from Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. He is best known as the current vocalist/bassist for the melodic death metal

Melodic death metal

Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...

 band, Insomnium

Insomnium

Insomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. Their new album "One for Sorrow" was released October 2011. On September 9th, 2011 Insomnium released the music video Through The Shadows from their 2011 album One For Sorrow....

, in addition to various other bands including Paise, Stonecrow and Watch Me Fall.

Background

Sevänen grew up on the coast of Finland, in the town of Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

 before moving to Joensuu

Joensuu

Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia in eastern Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of North Karelia region. It was founded in 1848...

, where he was raised. In 1994, he began learning the bass and joined a cover band

Cover band

A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...

 called Paise. The following year, the band changed its name to Stonecrow and began to shift its musical style. Sevänen left the band two years later due to musical differences. However, following his departure, he quickly collaborated with musicians whose interests aligned themselves with Sevänen and formed the melodic death metal

Melodic death metal

Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...

 band, Insomnium

Insomnium

Insomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. Their new album "One for Sorrow" was released October 2011. On September 9th, 2011 Insomnium released the music video Through The Shadows from their 2011 album One For Sorrow....

.

Musical influences

Sevänen grew up listening to a variety of hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

, glam metal

Glam metal

Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...

, grunge

Grunge

Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

 and heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 bands, among them Queen

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, Aerosmith

Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...

, Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

, Sepultura

Sepultura

Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...

, Kiss

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

 and his largest musical influence, Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

.

Discography

• Demo '99 (demo) (1999)
• Underneath the Moonlit Waves (demo) (2002)
• In the Halls of Awaiting
  In the Halls of Awaiting
  In the Halls of Awaiting is the debut album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released on April 30, 2002 through Candlelight Records.-Track listing:- Band members :* Niilo Sevänen − vocals, bass guitar* Ville Friman − guitar...
  
   (2002)
• Since the Day it All Came Down
  Since the Day It All Came Down
  Since the Day It All Came Down is the second full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band, Insomnium.-Track listing:- Band members :* Niilo Sevänen − vocals, bass guitar* Ville Friman − guitar* Ville Vänni − guitar...
  
   (2004)
• Above the Weeping World
  Above the Weeping World
  These tracks are taken from Demo '99:- Insomnium :* Niilo Sevänen − vocals, bass guitar* Ville Friman − guitar* Ville Vänni − guitar* Markus Hirvonen − drums- Additional Musicians :...
  
   (2006)
• Across the Dark
  Across the Dark
  Across the Dark is the fourth studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released on September 7, 2009, on Candlelight Records...
  
   (2009)
• One for sorrow
  One for Sorrow
  "One for Sorrow" is a song by Steps, which became the group's first single to make it to the Top 5 on the UK charts. Debuting at #2 and spending 11 weeks on the British charts, this song firmly established Steps's intention to revive the ABBA sound; in fact its chord progression in the chorus is...
  
  (2011)