Re-Armed, 4 May 2024

Re-Armed is a melodic death metal band from Kerava, Finland. The band mixes their melodic death metal, death metal and thrash metal influences bringing them together and putting a modern feel to the music they create.

The band have been around since 2001, when five guys decided to start playing similar music likened to so-called “Gothenburg metal”, what is now better known as “melodic death metal”. Their musical style has evolved along with many critically acclaimed demo tapes, gigs, lineup changes and a well received debut album ‘Worldwide Hypnotize’, which appeared internationally via German, Massacre Records in January 2012. This was followed by tours in Europe along with American bands Chimaira, Suffocation, Origin, Cattle Decapitation and Canadian death metallers Cryptopsy. In the same year the group made their first outdoor appearance in United Kingdom’s, Bloodstock Open Air metal music festival. In addition, Kärtsy Hatakka one of the most remarkable faces in Finnish rock history, the vocalist and bassist for the Finnish music group Waltari, played bass in Re-Armed in 2012 as a session member.

The second album ‘Rottendam’ was released in January 2014 via German, Eternal Sound Records, but major lineup changes froze the band almost for a year. Former guitarist/songwriter Tommi Helkalahti decided to leave the band – leaving vocalist Jouni Matilainen as the only current former member in the band.

In 2015 the new lineup is in order faster than expected. Self-released EP ‘Total Lack of Communication’ was released in August 2015 and the band toured in Finland, Baltics and China to support the release.

The band released their third album ‘The Era of Precarity’ in September 2016 via Finnish, Saarni Records. United Kingdom’s well known webzine, No Clean Singing interviewed the band and wanted to know more about the album’s theme. The album is the band’s most acclaimed release so far according to Metal Rules webzine “Their most ambitious, fully realized work to date.” – quote taken from the album review. Within 2016 and 2017, Re-Armed toured first time in Japan with famous Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium and in Spain with German thrash metallers Dust Bolt to promote the album.

In the fall of 2018, after the numerous tours and shows on behalf of the third album, Re-Armed released a new single ‘Built to Last’ via Finnish, Inverse Records. The single includes symphonic elements and it is more melody-oriented than before. This was just a taste of what’s coming!

In the beginning of 2020, the band finished a new album recordings. The band comments on the upcoming release: “This is our 4th studio album and it will be the first one that includes lots of melodies, symphonic elements, and way more cleaner vocals than ever before, so writing and producing needed some extra brainstorming. The upcoming album is called ‘Ignis Aeternum’ and it will contain ten songs, that are strong and lifeful. A loose theme for the album is about positivity, a constant change and seeing life as it is in every level. It is a trip, a breathtaking view about life’s diversity. This album is an ode to life.”