A melodic power metal unit from Helsinki, Finland, Thunderstone was originally formed simply for kicks in the year 2000 by guitarist Nino Laurenne. The band grew into a serious endeavor the following year with the arrival of singer Pasi Rantanen, keyboardist Kari Tornack, bassist Titus Hjelm, and drummer Mirka Rantanen. Soon armed with two promising demos, Thunderstone was courted and signed by Nuclear Blast, which issued the band's eponymous debut in June 2002. Stratovarius guitarist Timo Tolkki made a guest appearance on it, and later invited them to support his band, as well as America's Symphony X, on their European trek, after which Thunderstone reconvened in Helsinki to record their sophomore effort, The Burning, which was released in early 2004. 2005's Tools Of Destruction peaked at the #3 position on the Finnish albums chart, and 2007's Evolution 4.0 saw the group participating in the pre-selections of that year's popular Eurovision contest. 2009's Dirt Metal would be the band's first outing with ex-At Vance vocalist Rick Altzi and new keyboardist Jukka Karinen (Status Minor), and in 2016 they issued their sixth studio long player, Apocalypse Again. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia