Northern Kings
Encyclopedia
Northern Kings is a Finnish
symphonic metal
cover
supergroup, made up of four musicians who have already become well known in their existing bands: Jarkko Ahola from Teräsbetoni
, ex-Dreamtale
, Marco Hietala
from Nightwish
and Tarot
, Tony Kakko
from Sonata Arctica
and Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto
from Charon
and Harmaja
.
Their first single, "We Don't Need Another Hero
", (originally performed by Tina Turner
) was released in 2007, followed by their debut album Reborn
. In late 2008, their second album Rethroned
was released, headlined by the single "Kiss from a Rose
" (originally performed by Seal
). They recently released a new single "Lapponia
", and are also planning their third album which will include original material.
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...
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
cover
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...
supergroup, made up of four musicians who have already become well known in their existing bands: Jarkko Ahola from Teräsbetoni
Teräsbetoni
Teräsbetoni is a Finnish heavy metal band. Their first album, Metallitotuus was released in 2005 and has so far sold more than 32,000 copies. Teräsbetoni has been strongly influenced by bands such as Manowar...
, ex-Dreamtale
Dreamtale
-Biography:Dreamtale was founded by guitarist Rami Keränen in the early months of 1999. Keränen also served as the band's vocalist until 2002. The band first gathered fame by playing as Sinergy's supporting act in Finland, and their second demo, Refuge from Reality, sold out on the day of its...
, Marco Hietala
Marco Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
from Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
and Tarot
Tarot (band)
Tarot is a heavy metal band from Finland. They are most famous for the song “Wings of Darkness” from the 1986 album Spell of Iron. While having enjoyed a broad underground popularity in Finland, the band has never been very famous elsewhere until gaining new success in the recent years when their...
, Tony Kakko
Tony Kakko
Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is mainly known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative force in the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.-Biography:...
from Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
and Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto
Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto
Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto is a Finnish musician. He was in the band Charon until the summer of 2011 as a vocalist and songwriter and currently he is in the band Harmaja as a vocalist, guitar player and songwriter and also in the band Northern Kings as a vocalist...
from Charon
Charon (band)
Charon was a Finnish gothic metal band from Raahe, Finland.-Biography:Charon was founded in 1992 by Mario Tepšić, Teemu Hautamäki, Pasi Sipilä, and Jasse Hast and was originally a brutal death metal act. After releasing three promo albums and two demos, all self-released, the band signed a record...
and Harmaja
Harmaja (band)
Harmaja are a Finnish acoustic rock group founded by vocalist Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto in 2007. Their first album, Harmaja, was released on February 18, 2009, and entered the Finnish national chart at position 14.-Albums:*Harmaja...
.
Their first single, "We Don't Need Another Hero
We Don't Need Another Hero
"We Don't Need Another Hero " is the hit theme song to the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. The single was recorded by Turner, who played Aunty Entity in the movie...
", (originally performed by Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
) was released in 2007, followed by their debut album Reborn
Reborn (Northern Kings album)
-Northern Kings:*Marco Hietala - vocals*Tony Kakko - vocals*Jarkko Ahola - vocals*Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto - vocals-Musicians:*Two Finger Choir: Backing Vocals*Vili Ollila: Piano, Keyboards, Programming*Erkka Korhonen: Lead & Rhythm Guitars...
. In late 2008, their second album Rethroned
Rethroned
Rethroned is the second album by Finnish symphonic metal band Northern Kings. It was released on November 19, 2008, as a CD in Finland and to download via the European iTunes Store. Upon release, the album entered the Finnish charts at number 16. The album was released in Japan on February 25,...
was released, headlined by the single "Kiss from a Rose
Kiss from a Rose
"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album Seal . The song was first released as a single in July 1994. Re-released in 1995, it was included on the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the U.S. and Australia. It took the 1996 Grammy Awards for both...
" (originally performed by Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
). They recently released a new single "Lapponia
Lapponia (song)
"Lapponia" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in Finnish by Monica Aspelund.The song was performed sixteenth on the night, following Italy's Mia Martini with "Libera" and preceding Belgium's Dream Express with "A Million in One, Two, Three"...
", and are also planning their third album which will include original material.
Singles
- "We Don't Need Another HeroWe Don't Need Another Hero"We Don't Need Another Hero " is the hit theme song to the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. The single was recorded by Turner, who played Aunty Entity in the movie...
" (2007) - "HelloHello (Lionel Richie song)"Hello" is a song by Lionel Richie. Taken as the third single from Richie's multi-platinum album Can't Slow Down, the song was released in 1984 and reached number one on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart , the R&B chart , and the adult contemporary chart . The song also went to number one...
" (2007) - "Kiss from a RoseKiss from a Rose"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album Seal . The song was first released as a single in July 1994. Re-released in 1995, it was included on the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the U.S. and Australia. It took the 1996 Grammy Awards for both...
" (2008) - "LapponiaLapponia (song)"Lapponia" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in Finnish by Monica Aspelund.The song was performed sixteenth on the night, following Italy's Mia Martini with "Libera" and preceding Belgium's Dream Express with "A Million in One, Two, Three"...
" (2010)
Members
- Jarkko Ahola - Vocals
- Marco HietalaMarco HietalaMarko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
- Vocals - Tony KakkoTony KakkoToni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is mainly known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative force in the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.-Biography:...
- Vocals - Juha-Pekka LeppäluotoJuha-Pekka LeppäluotoJuha-Pekka Leppäluoto is a Finnish musician. He was in the band Charon until the summer of 2011 as a vocalist and songwriter and currently he is in the band Harmaja as a vocalist, guitar player and songwriter and also in the band Northern Kings as a vocalist...
- Vocals
External links
- Northern Kings at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Ragnarok Radio Interview