‘Life is short and the death knell is ticking, better to start a band now than tomorrow’

A blend of original proto-metal and heavy rock, Kuolemankello releases their debut album Perkeet. Eemeli Lehtonen, Tomi Helomaa and Matti Kallio founded the band as a noisy counterbalance to the bleakness of the covid era.

Kuolemankello's basis is to play loud rock in the spirit of old heavy metal, as if Black Sabbath and Finnish rock legend Tuomari Nurmio started jamming together. Sketchy songs baked around the screaming riffs, rolled up in full-body comping and marinated in a concrete bunker. An original band, with no clear plan or premonition.

The etymology of the band's name reflects the finite nature of time and a certain kind of fatalism; life is short and the death clock is ticking, better to start a band now than tomorrow. Three years after the formation of the band, it's time to release the first single Valoni from the upcoming debut.

"Valoni was born around a single riff, without any unnecessary negotiation. We just played it and went for it. There was a great feeling of accomplishment when everyone participated with teenage enthusiasm. Only the lyrics had to be completed afterwards, when the spontaneously looped chorus needed a story around it. The spark was found in the classic film Rosemary's Baby", says Kallio.