Finnish Music

The music scene in Finland is truely one of a kind. Modern music consists mostly of heavy rock and roll and death metal. Several Finnish bands have made it onto the International Music Scene and Finland is home to several large Metal Music Festivals. Probably the most noted Finnish band to gain recognition in America would be H.I.M., an abbreviation for "His Infernal Majesty". Labeling themselves as "Love Metal" the music is edgy and dark, but melodic. A sort of sad undertone with lots of references to religion, particularly a sort of darkened Christianity are found throughout the lyrics of their songs. Much of Finland's youth listens to this type of music, other popular musicians including The Rasmus, Nightwish, Children of Bodom, and Hanoi Rocks - all music that has migrated to The States, but recognized by a small fraction of our poplation.

A question arises in my head as to why this type of music is so popular in a country that strives for good and just? Not to imply that all Metal/Hard Rock listeners aren't good people, but rather that this music implies a connection to evil-doing in that it is a gothic way of musical expression. It doesn't seem to fit with what society at large practices uniformly, as a culture. Perhaps it is only an American idea that Death Metal is "wrong'" or "bad" to listen to, and this type of music to the Finnish youth is no different that what Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are to us. Either way it is a unique characteristic of the country and it hasn't gone unnoticed. The Finnish band H.I.M. has guest starred and appeared on American Television on the shows Jackass and Viva la Bam, both two successful programs broadcasted by MTV. Some of the episodes were actually shot in Helsinki and other parts of Finland which gained the country some notoriety among America's youth.