Wolfheart

Wolfheart emerged in 2013 as a melodic death metal project conceived and led by the prolific Finnish metal figure Tuomas Saukkonen, who established the group immediately after shuttering his earlier endeavors Before the Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn of Solace, and RoutaSielu. The band crafts a melancholic fusion of wintry acoustic Scandinavian metal with intricate and melodic extreme metal, and has issued a series of well-received recordings such as Shadow World in 2015 and Wolves of Karelia in 2020.

For the debut album Winterborn, released that same year on Spinefarm Records, Saukkonen operated strictly as a solo endeavor, yet the lineup expanded into a full band the following year through the addition of guitarist Mika Lammassaari, previously associated with Eternal Tears of Sorrow and Mors Subita, bassist Lauri Silvonen from Bloodred Hourglass, and drummer Joonas Kauppinen of Disease of the Nation. This configuration recorded the 2015 release Shadow World, which earned widespread critical praise, along with the atmospheric Tyhjyys in 2017. With a firm commitment to the emerging winter metal style, the group delivered its fourth studio album, the icy and majestic Wolves of Karelia, in 2020.