When you think of hardcore and beatdown metal bands, there are certainly a few names that immediately come to mind. For example, Hatebreed has been at the top of the scene in the past year or two, and “Looking Down the Barrel of Today” is the perfect hype song for lifting heavy weight. However, there is one band out of Helsinki, Finland that is overlooked time and time again: St.Hood.

It’s no surprise you’ve never heard of this band, as they have only 492 monthly listeners on Spotify (myself included, of course). However, it boggles my mind as to how this band has never broken from the underground because they are absolutely insane! I was introduced to St.Hood by a good friend of mine at the gym who is close friends with Sami Halme, the lead singer of the group. As soon as I heard the gripping riffs, the unrelenting tone, and Sami’s brutal voice, I was hooked.

Although St.Hood may not be very well known, they are without a doubt one of the most talented hardcore bands on the scene and play with an energy and intensity that is unlike any other. Their music is raw and insatiably brutal, which makes St.Hood the perfect contender for a headbanging session or the greatest mosh pit experience of your life. They are raw, brutal, and have the perfect formula for getting the blows flowing and the adrenaline rushing in all their listeners. A piece of this puzzle is their overall tone which is thick, deep, and rich; words do no justice to describe how perfect it is for the hardcore genre and it’s absolutely incredible. With this professionally-picked tone comes some of the greatest riffs in the genre, hands down. In fact, I would even go as far as to say St.Hood’s riff repertoire is stuffed to the brim of headbang-inducing riffs, and I wholeheartedly believe they have written some of the best riffs in metal, period. It is also important to mention just how many different riffs St.Hood pumps into their songs, some songs having up to 4 or 5 riff changes over the course of a few minutes. I have to mentally remind myself while I’m driving not to headbang along to my favorite moments of songs like “Battlescars and Broken Hearts” and “Bring Forth the War”; the metal energy overwhelms me, however, and every red light or empty stop sign is the perfect opportunity to succumb to the urge and bang my head to the sweet sounds of Sami’s growl and his brutal band backing him up.

That is really the beauty of St.Hood: there is no one member or one aspect of their music that makes them stand out because the band is passionate, brutal, and fantastic songwriters. I physically cannot help myself from headbanging or pounding my fist to the beat of the drums because I can hear the love and devotion to their craft that St.Hood portrays through their raw and aggressive sound. That being said, it continues to baffle me that St.Hood has never tapped the surface of the mainstream hardcore, especially since they are absolutely on the same level as bands like Rise Against, Madball, and even Hatebreed who they share the most similarity to. I heard about this band through a friend at the gym, and I am eternally grateful for his recommendation because St.Hood is one of my favorite bands and they deserve all the recognition that other heavy hardcore and metalcore bands receive and then some. Finland is definitely a tough scene to conquer, as the entire country is practically obsessed with metal and its numerous subgenres. This sets up the perfect platform for great bands to rise, fall, and compete with each other for dominance and respect. Although I may not ever understand it, St.Hood is not the top band out of Helsinki, but I think it is a crime against metal to write them off as a reject band that doesn’t matter.

Despite the minimal success around the globe, St.Hood continues to write brutal pieces and play their hearts out. Their most recent release, Age of Unreason, was fantastic and just as brutal as their earlier music and is sure to blow you away. I implore you to check out some of St.Hood’s music and I promise you will not be disappointed if you are looking for something heavy, brutal, and outstandingly unique. Take a listen to “Unbroken Line”, “Battlescars and Broken Hearts”, The Grip”, “Dead World”, and everything in between! Below you can listen to “Bring Forth the War”, which is sure to wet your hardcore palate.

The world needs more of this kind of metal; the world needs more St.Hood! Check them out on Spotify and YouTube and get sucked into the vortex of heavy metal! Stay tuned for more music reviews, spotlights, and news on the Uproar’s only music column: TuneWarp!