There's definitely something in the Finnish tap water these days, as the Land of the thousand lakes has suddenly become a hotbed for epic pagan metal. Helsinki's Brymir's take on the subject is like its name: in the Norse folklore, the ice giant Ymir gave his life to create this world, Miðgarðr. After its end in the fires of Ragnarök the souls of the honourable shall feast eternally in the sacred hall of Brimir. So, since ages past the wise have known that even an apocalypse is in the end nothing but another beginning. Births and deaths; Brimir and Ymir; before and after; in the end are one, of the same endless continuum.

Taking their effort up another notch and carving a niche of their own somewhere between the violent technicality of Children of Bodom and pop sensibilities and modern approach of In Flames, yet armed with otherworldly subject matter completely of their own, myGrain's space metal is here and it will kick your sorry derriere to the Moon orbit. Earth-shattering, tsunami-inducing guitar riffs, extraterrestial keyboard soundscapes and the immaculate balance between brutal and melodic vocals go for the jugular and never let go.

The new wave of melodic death metal is coming from Switzerland, a country which never gave birth to any important act of this genre before. Dreamshade's upcoming album "What Silence Hides" will be a breath of fresh air and is going to stand out among the others thanks to it's new and unique sound: a mixture of guitar solos and melodies which will reach your emotions, in-your-face rithmics able to make you headbang and break your neck, incredibly technical drums, atmospheric keyboards, ripping screams and growls.

MICHAEL MONROE has long been at the forefront of breaking music barriers. The Finnish musician and multi-instrumentalist rose to fame as the singer for HANOI ROCKS and has served as the frontman for many all-star collaborations including GUNS ‘N ROSES and DEMOLITION 23 with Little Steven. Coming off the Hanoi Rocks reunion from 2002-2008, Michael returns with his highly anticipated new group. Together they will perform an assortment of material ranging from Hanoi Rocks and Demolition 23 classics, Michael Monroe solo favorites and three to four brand new songs the band has written over the last few months.

Spinefarm newcomers Crimfall merge genres from folk to black metal and wrap it up with cinematic expression. The band describe their sophomore album “The Writ Of Sword” more epic, more grandiose, more extreme and more dramatic than the debut. Leading the listener to new sceneries and seasons; as the debut album’s themes were of fire and summer’s end, the new one takes us amidst the coldest winter and into war with its ruthless reality, devoid of heroes and glory.

Spinefarm will release Shining's highly anticipated 7th album “VII: Född Förlorare” in 27.05. 2011. Founded back in 1997 in Halmstad, Sweden by the then only fourteen year old Niklas Kvarforth, Shining started out as a traditional black metal act which has since evolved into one of the most controversial extreme metal acts of the past decade, with the combination of beautiful soundscapes and lyrics of despair & self-destruction becoming the band’s trademark. The band’s leader Niklas Kvarforth is also known for his work with black metal acts Betlehem, Den Saakaldte and his good friend Maniac’s (Ex-Mayhem) Skitliv.

Founded over a decade ago and slowly building itself into one of Finland’s most praised acts in the 21st century, Profane Omen has come to a new beginning. The band’s second album “Inherit The Void”, originally released in 2009 in Finland and climbing to the top 10 in the charts, will be re-released as a worldwide release with bonus tracks by Spinefarm Records.

A dark star in a sea of monotonously predictable heavy bands, Medeia has stuck to one clear objective since its founding in 2002: creating a fresh, brutal sound rich in content and uncompromising in nature. Solely positive reviews for their self-produced and now sold-out debut album "Quantum Holocaust: World Domination" and the gutwrenching follow-up label release "Cult" stand as a loud testament to the success of that mission, hailing the band as the "new king of Finnish death metal" and stating Medeia "leaves no doubt in anyone's mind which band is rising to be one of the flagships of Finnish metal".