Solothus

Death/Doom Metal from Turku/Helsinki, Finland.

Line up:
Kari Kankaanpää - Vocals
Veli-Matti Karjalainen - Guitar
Sami Iivonen - Guitar & Backing Vocals
Juha Karjalainen - Drums
Tami Luukkonen - Bass

The band took its earliest form in the year 2007 in Parainen, when Kari and Santeri decided to start a band. Veli-Matti was also a founding member, but since he lived hundreds of kilometers away, he rarely was at rehearsals. The band had many line-ups and names throughout 2007, but at the end of the year, the name Solothus was chosen.

In the year 2008, most members served their military duties and the band wasn’t active. A new line-up was made early in 2009 in Turku. Alex entered the picture, either playing the bass or the guitar. The band rehearsed with this line-up until 2010. Rami joined as a guitarist somewhere along the road. In the autumn of 2010, Veli-Matti moved to Turku and the band got serious.

Soon after that, Alex left the band due to him being busy with other stuff. Rami moved to the bass. In the early 2011, Rami left to concentrate on his other musical interests and because he lacked the time for the band. Soon the band asked Dario to come and try for the bassist’s spot. After one rehearsal, it was certain that Dario would give the band what they needed: a solid member.

The band started writing their own music and went to the studio in August 2011 to record their first demo, Ritual of the Horned Skull. The demo was released quickly on the Halloween of the same year.

After the release of the demo, Solothus concentrated on performing live. The first gig was in their home town, Turku. Several gigs followed, warming up for bands such as Torture Killer and Ereb Altor (SWE).
In spring 2012, Solothus toured Finland with Coffins (JP) and Hooded Menace. Their first performance at a festival was in summer 2012 at Selviytyjät Private Metal Fest.

After the gigs and tour, it became obvious that Santeri couldn't keep up with the band. In the autumn of 2012, Santeri and Solothus parted ways in good terms. Juha Karjalainen, the new drummer, joined the ranks of Solothus. While making changes to the line-up, another guitarist, Sami Iivonen, was added to make the sound even heavier.

Having gained visibility on the underground, Memento Mori, a Spanish label, offered Solothus a record deal to release their first full length album. Debut album titled ”Summoned from the Void” was released July 2nd, 2013. Album got immediately a positive feedback from the scene and gigs around Finland followed. ”Summoned from the Void” was recorded and mixed by Harri Hyytiäinen at Rehearsalucifer Studios, same studio where the demo was recorded.

As 2014 unfolded, Solothus was facing another line-up change. Due to changes in personal-life, Dario stepped down from the bass duties. Thus entered Tami Luukkonen to the picture. Already known from Gorephilia, Tami made the strong line up even stronger.

Now Solothus is preparing for more live assaults and writing material for the sophomere album! More doom to come!