🔥NEW UPCOMING ALBUM RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT!🔥
🤘New release from: WAKE THE NATIONS – Heartageddon (September 13, 2024)🤘
Finnish melodic hard rock/AOR band Wake The Nations is back! The previous album Heartrock was released in 2019 via German AOR Heaven. The upcoming third studio album Heartageddon will be released on September 13th, 2024, via Inverse Records.
The Finnish label also released the band’s sold-out debut album Sign of Heart back in 2015.
Bio from the WAKE THE NATIONS Website (with minor editing):
In 2009, Risto Tuominen got interested in a band that was being established by Janne ‘Gekko’ Granfors: a grunge-type of band with Krister Stenbom on the lead vocals, Tuomas Pelli on drums, and Gekko on guitar. They were after a bass player, but since Risto came along, Gekko took the bass guitar. A hard rock band Villa Sucka was formed. They wrote songs actively and recorded an EP during the spring of 2010. In the same year, Risto got recruited to a melodic rock/AOR band Human Temple. Gekko soon followed him. In those times, Jori ‘Jorge’ Tojander was the keyboard player of Human Temple.
As Human Temple was having a break, Risto decided to start recording his solo album in 2012. During the past years, he had written some songs that were never published. Risto asked Jorge, Gekko and Kalle Saarinen, all from Human Temple, to help him with the record. Also, Tuomas got an enquiry whether he could join. Initially, the idea was to record already written songs just for his own sake, with good quality. But things got more and more ambitious… Risto came up with a thought of Wake the Nations project band. Janne Hurme (Human Temple) and Petri Kitti (Violent Code) permitted him to record two of their songs as well, and so the album became to form an entity of its own.
Featuring many singers across the globe, Sign of Heart was born in January 2015. The album got its way to the top 50 of the official Finnish chart in the first week after release. The band did not have a fixed front man and they were not supposed to tour anyways. But as a one-time occasion, they played at an album release party, it became evident that WTN would continue playing for live audiences. Soon Krister joined the band and WTN hit bigger stages. Live performance at DBTL festival 2015 was a turning point: WTN opened for Sunrise Avenue and got some international interest after their show. Ever since the band has been playing numerous gigs: for instance, they have toured Germany numerous times and supported Swedish metal act Dynazty during their Titanic Mass tour in Finland.
In 2019, Wake the Nations released Heartrock through a German label AOR Heaven. It continued the AOR/melodic rock route set by the first album but was more refined and solid. Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse, W.E.T.) mixed and mastered Heartrock and his awesome work is present from track one to the very last beat of the release. The album was received very well by the audience, especially within the German fanbase.
After 2019, Jori quit the band. Obviously, it was a big loss for WTN, but there were no disagreements whatsoever and Jori always remains a good friend of the band. It was decided WTN continues as a 4-piece music machine and will not seek for another keyboard player for now.
Generally, the year 2020 was very difficult for the music business, namely the live shows. WTN used the time to plan and pre-produce the next album. The upcoming third album Heartageddon will be released on September 13th 2024 via Inverse Records.
01. Alive
02. Don’t Call Me Tonight
03. Never Say
04. Bulletproof
05. Wheel of Fortune
06. Lifesaver
07. Seven
08. Crossroads of Love
09. I Can Take It All
10. The Shadows
11. Cowboyz & Call Girlz
12. Hey
13. Street of Fire
Krister Stenbom – Vocals
Risto Tuominen – Guitar
Janne “Gekko” Granfors – Bass
Tuomas Pelli – Drums
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