You might not have given this much thought, but there’s actually more to Finland than heavy metal, ski jumping and lakes. Here, the very first guest blogger on ALL SCANDINAVIAN, Eduardo Alonso from the great Finnish blog Glue, let us in on the thriving and ever growing indie pop/rock scene in the eighth largest country in Europe.

The stereotype says that Finland is a heavy metal country, a feeling that was strengthened with Lordi’s glorious victory at the Eurovision Song Contest a few years back. Indeed, there is a lot of good heavy metal in Finland – and thrash, doom, death, black and any other possible extreme metal genre. New bands are stretching the limits of metal music and the post-metal band Callisto is becoming one of my new favorites with their dense guitars and suffocating atmospheres.

However, behind the leather clothing, the pale faces and the black hair dye, there is a rising scene of indierock, alternative music and the pop cool of today in Finland. In the last five years countless bands have emerged across the country delivering some refreshing pop sounds. They are bands that have turned their attention to Brit pop and bands like Radiohead, Muse or The Flaming Lips and from these influences created their own original music.

The flagship band of the Finnish indie scene could be Rubik (photo), a bunch of very good musicians and an excellent live act that drifts from very sweet melodies to loud noise trips. Their first album ‘Bad Conscience Patrol’ sold quite well in 2007 and they have just released its followup, ‘Dada Bandits’, which was produced and recorded by themselves.

These new bands benefit from a solid and growing music industry. The yearly Music & Media trade fair and festival has become an excellent showcase opportunity, production and recordings are top quality, and bands often have the opportunity to play outside Finland.

The independent label Fullsteam Records is partly responsible for the rise of the Finnish indie scene. Since it is foundation in 2004 it has supported and given freedom to all the new bands that did not fit within the limits of the established industry. Nowadays it is home to the most successful indie bands in the country, such as Rubik, Lapko and Disco Ensemble. The company is also an avid promoter. Organizing gigs and creating new festivals, Fullsteam have opened the doors to many international bands from Mad Sin and Gogol Bordello to Spiritualized and Wilco.

There are also some small indie record companies signing and recording original new acts. In just four years GAEA Records have gathered an interesting roster which includes garage girl band Pintandwefall, casio keyboard heroes Jesse and electropop band I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper. These are bands with a different image and attitude, with sounds not widely heard in Finland and, above all, a great sense of humor.

The Finnish indie experience is summarized well in the collective album ‘Desert Island Sessions’, a project inspired by Josh Homme’s ‘Desert Sessions’, where several musicians gathered in a studio and created a collection of surprising and spontaneous songs.

So, forget the stereotypes. There’s more to Finland than heavy metal.

Follow Eduardo Alonso and his writings on Glue.fi.