Metsatöll started playing together at the end of the 1990s as a three-piece (Markus - vocals and guitar, Factor - drums, Andrus - bass), playing epic heavy metal with small influences from ancient Estonian folklore. The debut album called ‚Terast mis hangund me hinge’ (‚Steel frozen in our souls’) was released at that time. In 2000, a good friend Varulven joined the band. Thus far he had observed the activities of the band with a broad smile and had from time to time joined them on stage. Varulven had self-taught himself a number of ancient Estonian folk instruments and together it was realized that metal and old Estonian folk fit together perfectly.

Since then, the music of Metsatöll has intertwined more and more with old Estonian runo-singing and traditional melodies. 2001 was a difficult year for the band, since their bass virtuoso Andrus left the band, deciding to attend more to his personal affairs, and considering the band too much of a burden. Luckily, a new bass player, KuriRaivo, was found after a couple of months.

In 2002 Metsatöll blessed the Estonian music scene with their newest effort, ‚Hundi Loomine’, for which a video was also shot. ‚Hundi Loomine’ received numerous exceptionally positive reviews and commentaries in the local media, there was talk of the true mind of the Estonians, the destruction of the negative effects of the English language and the rebirth of folklore among today’s people, using contemporary means.

In the beginning of 2004 our drummer Factor dedicated himself completely to research and studying, and he was replaced by one of the better drummers in the Estonian metal scene, Marko Atso. The albums that followed – ‚Hiiekoda’ and a re-recorded version of ‚Steel...’ – brought fame to Metsatöll on both sides of the nation’s border, the band is offered more gigs in their homeland than they could ever accept, and there isn’t a single daily or weekly newspaper that does not publish an article about Metsatöll or about activities related to Metsatöll at least once a month. Metsatöll has become a paragon or a symbol of the preservation and revival of national culture and the Estonian language – and the spirit of being an Estonian in today’s globalizing world. Metsatöll has become more than just a band – it is now a movement,a way of thinking.

Last year, in 2006, in addition to ordinary gigs (such as at the Finnish Tuska festival, where Metsatöll was branded the most interesting band of the festival by the media; Rabarock, where Metsatöll drew the biggest audience of the festival), Metsatöll participated in several special projects, the biggest of which was a performance at the Maailmaküla festival together with the Estonian National Male Choir, where the songs by Metsatöll and by one of the most famous Estonian composers, Veljo Tormis, were performed. Metsatöll also wrote a song for the popular national shindigs – ‚Hakkame mehed minema’ (‚Men, let us go’), based on which a stage dance will soon be created, to be danced at just these shindigs that have a decades-old tradition behind them. Recently, Metsatöll released a DVD/CD combo live album of a gig filmed on November 11, 2005 – an event so overfilled that a few thousand people were left behind the doors. The first reviews of the DVD have been overwhelmingly positive. Metsatöll hopes to expand and improve their activities even further – there is a tour being planned to support the preservation and protection of Estonia’s old sacred places, and to help bring to the public’s attention the weak spots in the attempts to preserve and protect local nature and culture. Of course, even with all this, Metsatöll keeps on making good music and fiery gigs both in the musical and visual sense.

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