Biography
Thunderstone originated in Helsinki, Finland, in 2000 when guitarist Nino Laurenne assembled the melodic power metal group purely as a casual pastime. The lineup solidified into a dedicated project the next year once vocalist Pasi Rantanen, keyboardist Kari Tornack, bassist Titus Hjelm, and drummer Mirka Rantanen joined. Equipped with a pair of strong demos, the band secured a deal with Nuclear Blast, which put out their self-titled debut album in June 2002. Stratovarius guitarist Timo Tolkki contributed a guest spot to the record and subsequently brought the group along as support for both his own band and America’s Symphony X across Europe; afterward Thunderstone returned to Helsinki to cut their second album, The Burning, issued in early 2004. Tools Of Destruction reached the number-three spot on the Finnish albums chart in 2005, while Evolution 4.0 found the members entering the preliminary round of that year’s Eurovision competition. Dirt Metal marked the first release featuring ex-At Vance vocalist Rick Altzi alongside new keyboardist Jukka Karinen of Status Minor, and in 2016 the band delivered Apocalypse Again, their sixth studio album.