Flat Earth

FLAT EARTH got started after Niclas Etelavuori (bass) fell out with the manager of Amorphis and had his exit of the band. Suddenly, Niclas was left stranded. He decided to show the world that he still had a lot to give, so he started looking for possible band mates. Niclas explains: "After over 2 decades playing with bands I was at a point thinking that maybe I start doing something else. But then I knew I had these songs on my hard drive still, and nothing was done with them. And I just wanted to get rid of them and see what happens. But then it kind of took over and I started to focus more on that."

Linde (Mikko Lindstrom, ex-HIM, guitar) first sprang to mind, even though he still had his hands full with HIM at that time. Nevertheless, the two of them kept meeting regularly, and started working on ideas for new songs. Getting Anthony on board provided additional inspiration. And when their old band mate Mika Karppinen (aka Gas Lipstick, ex-HIM) finally joined on drums, the band's line-up was completed.

While Linde was busy playing the States and Europe on HIM's farewell tour, the remaining trio spent their time to lay the groundwork for the debutalbum NONE FOR ONE in Niclas' basement studio, in Helsinki. Although most of the music comes from Niclas, everyone has been able to contribute compositions as well as ideas and feedback for all the songs on NONE FOR ONE. Except for the lyrics and vocal harmonies, which were solely contributed by Anthony. After the basic structure for the album was ready, the band reached out to Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Amorphis, Apocalyptica, Sentenced), for whom it was a no-brainer to take over production duties!

Linde remembers: "Our common friend, who's been helping us get this band off the ground, recommended a guy named Anttoni "Anthony" Pikkarainen, who had been singing in a band named Polanski. The band had made a record, and after we'd listened to it, we had to set up a meeting immediately.“ I have a great feeling about our new band. Anthony had recorded with Hiili Hiilesmaa before, and the rest of us have known each other for years. It feels as if all the stars have finally aligned." Already at the beginning of February 2018, the band entered the well-known Finnvox Studios in Helsinki to record the basics for NONE FOR ONE and and afterwards work on details in Hiili's own studio in Hämeenlinna.

All songs on NONE FOR ONE point to the heydays of alternative rock, take a nonchalant bow to the forefathers of all things heavy with a pinch of wistful psychedelia. Gas and Niclas robust, yet subtle rhythmic dynamic work, pave the perfect runway for Linde's guitar solos to freewheel and Anthony's maudlin yet contemplative singing, that gives the band's sound a tint of mawkish desperation that sets them apart from any other band you've heard.

Magnetically melodic, playful, exhilaratingly unconstrained and thoroughly permeated by vocalist Anthony's passionately melancholic overtones, FLAT EARTH delivers in the same parcel both – the beauty and the beast.