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The Gauntlet: Impaled Nazarene |
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Finnish death metal legends Impaled Nazarene formed in 1990 originally consisting of brothers Mika and Kimmo Luttinen (vocals and drums, respectively) along with Mika Pääkkö (guitar), Ari Holappa (guitar), and Harri Halonen (bass). By 1992, the band had recorded a couple of demos and opened shows for bands like Sentenced, Amorphis, and Belial. The exposure attracted Finnish label Osmose Productions, who added them to their roster. After rearranging their lineup, replacing Holappa and Halonen with bassist Taneli Jarva and guitarist Jarno Anttila, Impaled Nazarene recorded their debut album Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz, which surprisingly hit number 40 on the Finnish charts. In 1993 they released their second album Ugra-Karma along with an EP entitled Satanic Masowhore. Suomi Finland Perkele, originally titled Hail to Finland, was released in 1994 and was banned by major chainstores due to lyrical content. During a 1995 recording session K. Luttinen quit the band and was replaced by Reima Kellokoski. After a European tour the band returned to the studio to record the album Latex Cult and the EP Motorpenis. At the end of the recordings Jarva left the band and was replaced by Jani Lehtosaari. In 1996 they toured Europe extensively, playing with Dark Tranquillity, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Angel Corpse, Gehennah, and Vader. Hare Krishnas slapped a lawsuit on the band and Osmose in 1997, claiming the cover art for Ugra-Karma was offensive. Osmose settled the case and re-released the album with a different cover. Their sixth release, Rapture, hit the stores in 1998 which they followed with extensive touring through Europe, the U.S., and Mexico. They went back to the studio in 1999 to record a split 7" with Driller Killer and the album Nihil, that features yet another lineup change with Alexi "Wild Child Laiho replacing Mika Pääkkö on guitar. Osmose followed Nihil by releasing the compilation Decade of Decadence that includes demos, unreleased tracks, and the long out of print Goat Perversion EP.
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