Sturm und Drang

by JT Lindroos
Sturm und Drang is a successful Finnish heavy metal band. The group was formed in 2004 by two friends, André Linman (guitar and vocals) and Henrik Kurkiala (bass and background vocals), after a Judas Priest concert. They soon added three other players to the band -- Jesper Wahlroos (keyboards), Calle Fahllund (drums), and Alexander Ivars (guitar) -- and started publicly playing both original and cover songs soon thereafter. The bandmembers, all 13 and 14 years old at the time, were influenced by "old-school" hard rock and metal bands, like Dio and Bon Jovi, as well as more modern melodic metal bands, such as Arctica Sonata.
After playing numerous gigs in both festivals and smaller venues, Sturm und Drang recorded a demo in the fall of 2005. This was brought to the attention of Helsinki Music Company, which signed the band upon seeing the boys perform live with the Swedish garage rock band the Hellacopters. They recorded their first album, Learning to Rock, in 2006, and with its May 2007 release, it quickly rose up to number three on the Finnish charts. The single release "Rising Son" charted at number nine. The record was released across Europe by GUN Records in August 2007 in a slightly augmented edition that featured a Judas Priest cover and other bonus material.