ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how the foundations were laid during the 1980s and 1990s, how different subgenres and bands were lifted up and pushed down in the Finnish national media, and how this development was strongly influenced by wider metal trends, the emerging globalization and transculturalization of the metal scene in particular. It discusses how a recognized ‘brand’ of Finnish metal as an emblematic identity is constructed. In a musical sense, Sarcofagus was not significantly ‘heavier’ than many of its contemporaries. The band leader, Kimmo Kuusniemi, later admitted that the debut album was ‘more progressive rock and blues than heavy metal’. The growing popularity of the genre inevitably led to a few heavy enthusiasts to start work at rock magazines.
