Photo: Marko Konttinen
Finnish hard rock veterans STUD has released a new live album, celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary. The album was recorded live at Bar Loose in Helsinki on April 24, 2026, capturing STUD at full power in their natural element – on stage. The set features songs from all five of the band’s studio albums, covering STUD’s journey from Out Of The Darkness (2013) to Under Silver Sky (2025).
The current line-up features Ari Toivanen (vocals), Mika Kansikas (guitar), Jari Behm (bass) and Stenda Kukkonen (drums).
As a special encore, the album takes a trip all the way back to 1986 with “Mä Haluun Elää”, the Finnish-language debut single that started STUD’s journey. Originally released by record company Finnlevy in 1986, the song has become a rare and highly sought-after piece of STUD history.
STUD – Live
Released digitally: October 2, 2026
Recorded live at Bar Loose, Helsinki – April 24, 2026
Listen to the album on music services (Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, Bandcamp etc.): https://push.fm/fl/stud-livebarloose
Tracklist:
- Out of the Darkness
- Hey You
- Freedom Call
- Holy Light
- Castaway
- Searching for Freedom
- In My Tragedy
- War of Power
- Mä haluun elää
–Record label: Cranksonic
–Promotion: Inverse Records
Formed in Helsinki in 1986, STUD is one of Finland’s longest-running hard rock stories. From the very beginning, the band stood out with its powerful guitar-driven sound, strong melodies and uncompromising live energy.
STUD’s original line-up released the single Mä Haluun Elää / Viimeinen Yö on Finnlevy in 1986. The release quickly gained attention, followed by extensive gigging, television appearances and a place in the finals of Finland’s Rock Championship in 1987. STUD also became one of the Finnish rock bands to tour Soviet Estonia during the late 1980s. After a short but eventful first chapter, the band eventually split up in 1989.
More than two decades later, the original members reunited and STUD returned to the stage. Since then, the band has released five studio albums — Out Of The Darkness (2013), Rust On The Rose(2014), Circle Of Lies (2017), War Of Power (2020) and Under Silver Sky (2025) — earning international radio play and strong reviews along the way. Their music combines classic hard rock and heavy metal with melodic hooks, high-pitched vocals, powerful guitar work and plenty of old-school rock’n’roll spirit.
Four decades after STUD first hit the stage, the message remains the same: turn it up, play it loud and keep the rock’n’roll alive.
STUD discography:
- Out of the Darkness (2013)
- Rust on the Rose (2014)
- Circle of Lies (2017)
- War of Power (2020)
- Under Silver Sky (2025)
