Metalrevs.com

The band was originally formed by Paul "Themgoroth" Mäkitalo under the name Scum in 1988. The band was originally a grindcore group with Paul Mäkitalo (Dark Funeral) on vocals, Olavi Mikkonen on guitar, and Ted Lundström on bass. The band took a turn into the melodic death metal genre when Johan Hegg joined the band.

The name Amon Amarth was adopted by the band after the release of their 1991 demo. In 1992 they officially changed their name and recorded their first demo under the new name. Thor Arise was released in 1993 followed by another demo in 1994 entitled The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter.

Their big break started back in 1996 when they signed with Pulverised Records, with whom they released their first MCD, Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds, which sold 6000 copies. The relatively low sales didn't cause the band to falter, as they pressed on as the vikings should, and they then signed with Metal Blade Records to release their first real full length album Once Sent from the Golden Hall in 1998. From then on their popularity has been growing internationally.

Teräsbetoni has hit the jackpot. They must be doing something right, as their albums are selling out in stores all over Finnland.

They gained international fame almost instantly after their very first album, Metallitotuus was released in 2005. Some people credit this to the fact that Teräsbetoni is very light metal, and it might be appealing to people who would not generally listen to this kind of music.

But seriously, this is Finnland we're talking about, metal songs top their singles charts. Everyone listens to metal.