City/ Location: Helsinki
Varjo was formed by Antti Lautala and Henry Waldén with a drum machine in 1995. It all began in a small town called Heinola in southern Finland. During first two years basists came and went until Kaide Luukkonen was found for a steady basis. In 1997 Varjo went to studio to record their first album for the punk label called The Beginning Of The End. After many difficulties it was released a year later as a 3 track EP called "Ensinäytös" ("Prologue"). Rest of the tracks were shelved for later use. Shamppoo Plip-Plop (Sampo Lindfors) joined as a keyboard player.
In 1999 it was time for the second EP. It had a monster name, which was all four tracks written together "Eilen klo 22:00 luulin löytäneeni sen oikean, odotan viimeistä yötä" ("Yesterday at 10pm I thought I found the right one, I'm waiting for the very last night"). It was self financed and sold out soon. The band got small underground following. The drummer Jaani Peuhu was added to the line up. Shortly after Shamppoo Plip-Plop left and Varjo signed to Futurecords label.
The debut album "Kuka korvaa poistetun sydämen" ("Who replaces the removed heart") saw the day of light at the beginning of the new Millenium. It was a bit of a set back for the band. It received mostly bad reviews in the music press, in some cases even pure hostility! It seemed the time wasn't right for Varjo. Anyway it raised the following and two singles were cropped from the album.
Internal conflicts ripped the band apart and it took couple of years until the second album was done. "Paratiisissa" ("In Paradise") was released in 17th january 2003. The album got very good reception, it was praised among the music press and fans! Varjo raised their profile and found themselves as the most popular Finnish goth band of the new Millenium! They did a tour and made couple of music videos, but tension inside the band band became unbearable. Jaani Peuhu was fired.
Despite troubles with the line up the rest of the band continued writing new material and rehearse with their old drum machine. Kalis joined forces with Varjo. He was the legendary drummer from the ´80:s cult goth band Kuudes tunti ("6th Hour"). The line up was powerful as ever! "Muistijälkiä" ("Memory traces"), 3rd and the difficult album was made. It was more arty, diverse and experimental than previous albums. When the album was released long term bassist Kaide left. Arto Nevalainen was found to replace Kaide and the forthcoming spring tour was made. After the tour the band had 6 months sabbath. Then came the shocking news Shamppoo Plip-Plop was disappeared. He was found a year and a half later in the forest near Turku where he was committed a suicide. That was very difficult time, because he was still a close friend. When it was time to meet again as a band Kailis told that he was leaving. It seemed like the end of Varjo, but gladly new drummer Jukka Laine was found pretty soon to save the band from the complete split.
Rehearsing new line up and playing gigs here and there took it's toll and basist Arto Nevalainen was replaced by Matthew Pallasoja. Creative juices began to flow again! After a long difficult period with ever changing line up it was like a fresh air. The creativity inside the band raised to unseen heights! There was at least one or two completely new tracks written in every reheasal and the material for the forthcoming album was done very soon! It was primitive, raw, tribal and uptempo. There was talking about the new birth of Varjo! Then suddenly everything stopped, when shocking news were received on 20th september 2009 Henry Walén had died accidentally in a fire. Varjo decided to split, because of Henry. They played the farewell gig and released the last album "Viimeinen näytös" ("The Last Act") via Stupio Records. On the album Henry played in three tracks and rest of the guitar parts were played by Antti and Matthew. Varjo's posthumous debut album was also finally released via If Society/Shitsuck Tapes. The album was called "Ensinäytös 1997" ("The First Act 1997").The survived members formed Silent Scream and released their debut album "In the cinema" via Stupido Records in 2010.
EP:s/Singles
Ensinäytös 7" (1998)
Eilen klo 22:00 luulin löytäneeni sen oikean, odotan viimeistä yötä MCD (1999)
Korvaamaton CDM (2000)
Maailmanpyörä CDM (2000)
Paniikki CDS (2003, promo only)
Ole minulle sisko (2003, promo only)
Joku sytytti kynttilän (2010, promo only)
Albums:
Kuka korvaa poistetun sydämen (2000)
Paratiisissa (2003)
Muistijälkiä (2006)
Ensinäytös 1997 (2009)
Viimeinen näytös (2010)
