Rotten Sound is a Finnish

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. ...

band from

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

, formed in 1993. The band comprises vocalist Keijo Niinimaa, guitarist Mika Aalto, bassist Kristian Toivainen, and drummer Sami Latva. The band has released eight studio albums and "earned a reputation for being one of the most intense bands on the Scandinavian death metal/grindcore scene".

History

Formation, ''Under Pressure'' and ''Drain'' (1993–2000)

Rotten Sound was founded by guitarist Mika Aalto in Vaasa, Finland, in 1993. The group started recordings in 1994, releasing the single ''Sick Bastard'' through Genet label. Their subsequent underground releases, between singles and EPs, included 1995's ''Psychotic Veterinarian'' on SOA, 1996's ''Loosin' Face'' on Anomie, and 1997's ''Splitted Alive'' on IDS. Rotten Sound's first full-length album, ''Under Pressure'', was released by Repulse Records (a Spanish label) in 1998 and was followed by ''Drain'' (also on Repulse) in 1999. This album was also the debut of second guitarist Juha Ylikoski. In early 2000, the band signed with American

Necropolis Records Necropolis Records (located in Fremont, California) was a record label founded by Paul Thind in 1993, mainly providing an American home for extreme black metal.Carcass's " Reek of Putrefaction". Paul Kott of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

praised the album saying, "Rotten Sound does a good job, and although the audio production does leave something to be desired, the finished product is well worth listening to for any fan of earlier death metal and more recent grindcore. The video segments are very well-produced, with fantastic live audio recording, multiple camera angles, and good edits." The band toured in Europe to promote the album, along with label mates Hateplow, In Aeturnum and Malevolent Creation.

''Murderworks'' and ''Exit'' (2001–2005)

Rotten Sound 2016233180920 2016-08-20 Summer Breeze - Sven - 1D X - 0396 - DV3P9812 mod

Rotten Sound release their second full-length, ''

Murderworks ''Murderworks'' is the third studio album by the Finnish grindcore band Rotten Sound. The album was recorded at Soundlab studios with production by Mieszko Talarczyk. Release ''Murderworks'' was released in June 2002 through Deathvomit Record ...

'', in 2002. The Allmusic reviewer Alex Henderson stated, "This 2002 release gives the listener no room to breathe; from start to finish, Murderworks is an exercise in sensory assault for the sake of sensory assault." For the album's promotion, the group headline a European tour, titled ''Murdering Europe'', with support of two Czech bands, Fleshless and Lykathea Aflame. They also toured Europe during June 2003, along with Hateplow and Debauchery. In May 2004, Rotten Sound teamed up with Circle of Dead Children,

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

, and Strong Intention for US ''Grind the East Coast'' tour. The band's fourth studio album, '' Exit'', was recorded at Soundlab studio in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, an ...

, Sweden with engineer Mieszko Talarczyk and mastered at the Cutting Room. Shortly after their release, the album peaked at number 22 on the Finnish album charts. In March 2005, the band teamed up with

Disfear Disfear is a Swedish crust punk band that formed in the early 1990s and recorded sporadically over the years. After releasing the albums '' Soul Scars'' in 1995 and '' Everyday Slaughter'' in 1997, the group did not release another album until 2 ...

for a co-headline Scandinavian tour.

''Consume to Contaminate'' and ''Cycles'' (2006-2007)

In January 2006, the band has embarked to European Tour dubbed the "Grind Your Face Off Tour 2006" in support of reissued ''

'' released on 6 January 2006 The "Grind Your Face Off Tour" extends for four weeks across European along with Sayyadina. They released an eight-song mini-CD '' Consume to Contaminate'' on 7 June 2006 via

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. History Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...

. Rotten Sound supported Malevolent Creation on their European Tour in early 2007. In July 2007, they entered the studio to begin recording their fifth studio album ''Cycles'' which was released on 9 January 2008 via Spinefarm Records. The album was recorded and mixed with Janne Saksa at Kantola and Sound Supreme studios. Mastering was handled by Pelle Henricsson at Tonteknik Studios. The first song "The Effects" was posted on their Myspace page.

''Napalm'' and ''Cursed'' (2009-2011)

Rotten Sound 2016233180217 2016-08-20 Summer Breeze - Sven - 1D X II - 0495 - AK8I7391 mod

In November 2009, the band signed a new record deal with

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label w ...

to release their follow-up studio album of ''Cycles''. Keijo Niinimaa commented: Rotten Sound released the ''Napalm'' EP on 30 March 2010 via Relapse Records. It features three new tracks in addition to three

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

covers. Rotten Sound also joined with

Aborted Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem. The group currently consists of vocalist, founder and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, guitarist Ian Jekelis, bassist Stefano Franceschini and drummer Ken Bedene. Although t ...

and

The Red Chord The Red Chord is an American metal band from Revere, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The group comprises vocalist Guy Kozowyk, guitarist/vocalist Mike "Gunface" McKenzie, bassist Greg Weeks and drummer Jon Rice. The band gained a fanbase with its ...

for the "Machines of Grind" tour, a three-week co-headlining European tour. The tour kicked off in mid-April, and included stops at the Neurotic Death Fest and Revolution Fest Open Air. The three bands also co-headlined on several dates throughout the United Kingdom for "Terrorizer Tour-ture", a tour sponsored by Terrorizer Magazine. In December 2010, Rotten Sound announced that their sixth studio album, entitled ''Cursed'', would be released on 15 March 2011 via Relapse Records (except in Finland, where it arrived on 16 March 2011 through Fullsteam Records). It was recorded at Nordic Audio Labs and is lyrically themed around the six curses of mankind. Rotten Sound headlined the "Cursed to Tour" from April to May in Germany. The line up for this month-long tour included

Trap Them Trap Them was an American hardcore punk band formed in Salem, New Hampshire in 2001. They released five studio albums and five EPs, including a split EP with Extreme Noise Terror. History Trap Them began in 2001 as a side-project for Ryan ...

, Gaza, The Kandidate, and Haust. Following this tour, Rotten Sound headed to Japan for the Kabuto Metal Fest. Other acts included

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered ...

and The Haunted.

''Species at War'', ''Abuse to Suffer'' and ''Suffer to Abuse'' (2012-present)

In January 2012, Rotten Sound announced the Grind Over Europe Tour 2012. Set to kick off on 24 February in Barcelona, Spain, the band toured through 16 cities over a three-week period with label-mates Exhumed and powerviolence group

Magrudergrind Magrudergrind is an American grindcore band formed in 2002. They have released numerous splits and three full-length albums. Since its inception the band has toured Europe and North America multiple times, Puerto Rico, Japan, and South East Asia ...

. Rotten Sound were toured in support of the band's sixth studio album "Cursed," issued in early 2011 via Relapse Records. In November 2012, Rotten Sound signed to

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...

to a European deal. The band's next EP ''Species at War'', was recorded at Nordic Audio Labs and was mixed and mastered by drummer Sami Latva at Latva Studios and released on 18 January 2013 on CD, etched vinyl, and digital. Keijo Niinimaa says: The band released its seventh studio album, ''Abuse to Suffer'', in 2016. The album contains an audio sample excerpt of

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

's 2011 speech at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

entitled ''The New War Against Terror'': "Yeah, they’re rotten. Lot of rotten things in the world. We should be — if we’re serious — we should be concerned with what we do. And what we can do. If there’s an elementary moral truism, that’s it."

The New War Against Terror Noam Chomsky interviewed by various talk participants MIT, October 18, 2001
chomsky.info.

Members

;Current members *Keijo Niinimaa - vocals (1993–present) *Mika Aalto - guitar (1993–present) *Sami Latva – drums (2006–present) *David Kasipovic - bass (2020–present) ;Former members *Masa Kovero – bass (1994) *Ville Väisänen – drums (1994) * Kai Hahto – drums (1995–2006) *Juha Ylikoski – guitar (1998–2001) *Pekka Ranta – bass (1997–2000) *Mika Häkki – bass (2000–2003) *Toni Pihlaja – bass (2003–2010) *Kristian Toivainen - bass (2010–2020)

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums *1997 – ''Under Pressure'' (Repulse/Revenge) *1999 – ''Drain'' (Repulse/S.O.A.) *2002 – ''

'' (Autopsy Stench/Necropolis/ Century Media/

Relapse In internal medicine, relapse or recidivism is a recurrence of a past (typically medical) condition. For example, multiple sclerosis and malaria often exhibit peaks of activity and sometimes very long periods of dormancy, followed by relapse or ...

) *2005 – '' Exit'' (Spinefarm/No Tolerance/Willowtip) *2008 – ''Cycles'' (Spinefarm) *2011 – '' Cursed'' (Relapse) *2016 – ''Abuse to Suffer'' (

) ;Extended plays *1994 – ''Sick Bastard'' (Genet) *1995 – ''Psychotic Veterinarian'' (S.O.A.) *1996 – ''Loosin' Face'' (Anomie) *2000 – ''Still Psycho'' (

Necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

/Merciless) *2006 – '' Consume to Contaminate'' ( Spinefarm/

Power It Up Power It Up Records is a German record label mainly focused on grindcore. The label puts out both vinyl and CD. It has released records with Birdflesh, Rotten Sound, Regurgitate, Bathtub Shitter and Yacøpsæ among others. See also * List of rec ...

) *2008 – ''Rotten Sound EP'' ( Spinefarm) *2010 – ''Napalm'' (

) *2013 – ''Species at War'' (

) *2018 – ''Suffer to Abuse'' (

) ;Splits *1997 – ''Spitted Alive'' Split with Control Mechanism (I.D.S.) *2001 – ''8 Hours of Lobotomy'' Split with Unholy Grave (M.C.R.) *2003 – ''Seeds of Hate'' Split with Mastic Scum (Cudgel Agency) ;Singles *2011 – ''Curses'' (Fullsteam Records) ;Compilations *2003 – ''From Crust 'Til Grind'' (Century Media) (Contains tracks from ''Sick Bastard'', ''Psychotic Veterinarin'', ''Loosin' Face'' and ''Still Psycho'') ;DVDs *2004 – ''Murderlive'' (Spinefarm) *2010 – ''Live at Obscene Extreme 2007'' (Relapse)

References

External links

* * * * *
Rotten Sound INTERVIEW
{{Authority control Crust and d-beat groups Grindcore musical groups Deathgrind musical groups Political music groups Finnish death metal musical groups Finnish hardcore punk groups Relapse Records artists Season of Mist artists Musical groups established in 1993 Musical quartets