Biography
In their native Finnish, the name Kivimetsän Druidi means “Druid of the Stone Forest,” a designation adopted when brothers Joni Koskinen (guitar and vocals) and Antti Koskinen (synthesizers) established the symphonic folk-metal band in 2002. Over the following years the siblings enlisted a rotating cast of supporting players to issue several independent demos and EPs, among them Taival in 2004, Mustan Valtikan Aika in 2006, The New Chapter in 2007, and Taottu in 2008. The accumulated recordings secured the group a contract with Century Media, prompting the Koskinen brothers and the lineup then in place—Leeni-Maria Hovila on vocals, Antti Rinkinen on guitar, Simo Lehtonen on bass, and Atte Marttinen on drums—to deliver their debut full-length album, Shadowheart, before the year concluded. Joni Koskinen’s own fantasy novel, centered on the “Land of the Crystal Mountain and Stone Forest,” supplied the thematic foundation for the record’s lyrics.
Albums
