Mokoma

Vocalist Marko Annala launched the Finnish metal band Mokoma in Lappeentanta in 1996 and remains its sole consistent member across the decades. Over more than ten years the group blended death metal, grindcore, and especially thrash with notable success. Their initial two EMI releases, which followed a conventional rock approach, met with poor response, prompting the musicians to leave the label, establish their own imprint Sakara, and refocus on heavier material. The resulting third album, Kurimus, inaugurated a run of recordings that emphasized the style they handled best and brought both critical praise and strong domestic sales. By 2007 the lineup included guitarists Tuomo Saikkonen and Kuisma Aalto, bassist Janne Hyrkäs, and drummer Santtu Hämäläinen alongside Annala; that year the sextet issued its sixth album, Luihin Ja Ytimiin, which reached the number-one position on the Finnish charts.