Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Raskasta Joulua collective, famous for their annual heavy metal Christmas concert tour, released their interpretation of Hear ’n Aid’s 1986 classic “Stars”. The long list of vocalists includes Marko Hietala, Tony Kakko, Tommy Karevik and Elize Ryd.

As COVID-19 cleared everyone’s tour schedules, Raskasta Joulua assembled online to create their version of “Stars”. The single features an impressive list of Finnish metal vocalists such as Marko Hietala (Nightwish), Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica) and Jarkko Ahola (Teräsbetoni) as well as Swedish guest stars Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) and Tommy Karevik (Kamelot). Instrumental solo parts are played by Raskasta Joulua musicians Erkka Korhonen, Tuomas Wäinölä and Vili Ollila. The first guitar solo is by Wintersun guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari.

Raskasta Joulua guitarist and founder Erkka Korhonen comments:

“The idea for the song came from one of our vocalists, Tuple Salmela, and we started the recordings in spring 2020. The video was originally supposed to be a classic modern day COVID video with clips from everyone’s home studios, but once we found out that we would actually be able to tour this year, we changed the concept and added clips and images from our live shows in previous years. This way we wanted to remind ourselves and our audience just how amazing live music can be.”

“Stars” features (in order of appearance):

Marko Hietala (Nightwish), Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Tuple Salmela (TUPLE, Lazy Bonez), JP Leppäluoto (Charon), Antti Railio, Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone), Jarkko Ahola (Teräsbetoni), Ville Tuomi (Suburban Tribe), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe), Kimmo Blom (Leverage), Antony Parviainen (Psychework), Ilja Jalkanen (Kiuas) ja Tommy Karevik (Kamelot).

Solos: Teemu Mäntysaari – guitar (Wintersun), Timo Pudas – organ, Tuomas Wäinölä – guitar, Vili Ollila – keyboards, Erkka Korhonen – guitar

Raskasta Joulua Band:
Erkka Korhonen – guitar
Vili Ollila – keyboards
Timo Pudas – organ
Erkki Silvennoinen – bass
Mirka Rantanen – drums