Drearyym was formed in January, 2014 by two Lempäälä-inhabitants, Leevi Kuunila and Jarno Kaasalainen. With Leevi playing guitar alongside his vocalist's duties and Jarno playing drums, they began pursuing a vision of creating melodic death metal with folk influences. Black metal also mixed into the stew as time went by, and even thrashy and doomy vibes would be heard.
After playing together for a while, the guys had three songs ready to be recorded. As they searched for a quick, low-budget way to get things done, they also realized that they required some keyboards on the songs. They then contacted Leevi's old bandmate, fellow Lempäälä-inhabitant and beginner keyboardist Eero Ahonen. With only less than a month to go before the recordings would take place, Eero agreed to play the keyboards and a guest guitar solo on the soon-to-be first demo of the band, which had also recently gotten a name. The name needed to reflect the music somehow, and the word best describing the music was "dreary", as the songs, though still very unpolished, were ominous and dark. Drearyym was born.
The recording session took place within the confines of the rehearsal room built inside Eero's house, which the band still uses today. Lasting only a day, the first ever recording session of Drearyym was excecuted by the three amigos with the help of beginner mix/master man Aapo Lankinen. Thus, the demo "Old Barn" was ready to be heard.
During the summer of 2014, Eero joined the band as a permanent member, and soon the band found it's second guitarist, also an old bandmate of Leevi and Eero's, Kimmo Kylä-Laaso. Shortly after Kimmo joined, the new single "Blòt" was ready to be recorded. This time the band hired local music multitalent Matti Auerkallio to record, mix and master the new song. As the band still didn't have a bass player, Kimmo played bass on the track, while Matti played a guest guitar solo. After the release of "Blòt", anyhow, the band found it's bassist as yet another old bandmate joined in: Arttu Helenius was the man handling the low ends, and so the band was ready to start rehearsing for live gigs.
The first gig was played in Tampere on the 13th of December, 2014. The group has continued doing gigs ever since, quickly making a name for themselves.
Not long after the first few concerts, it was time to hit the studio again; this time to make the band's first EP and physical release. With five new tracks and a collective head full of ideas, the band yet again contacted Matti Auerkallio and headed to his familiar home studio to give birth to what would become "Myths of the White North". The release laid the foundations for Drearyym's aknowledgement in the public eye, having been spread through the internet into reviews and other public feedback around the world, for example.
In May 2015, Drearyym had the honor of being chosen to be one of the bands competing in the Wacken Metal Battle. The competition brought yet again more attention to the band, among many things like co-operation offers and a Spotify account, even though the group only progressed to the try-outs.
The rest of 2015 was quite much circling around concerts and composing. The summer was a bit quieter, though a few gigs were played then too. In fall, bassist Arttu Helenius decided to part ways with the band to pursue other life goals. A new bassist was found quickly, as an old friend and the original second guitarist of Drearyym, Aleksi Tossavainen, hopped in to fill Arttu's shoes. Around the same time, the studio was calling again. This time, it would be something on the next level.
So, December 4th, 5th, and 6th were busy days as Drearyym prepared their most ambitious release at the time, while all of Finland was enjoying Independence day festivities. Working once again with Matti Auerkallio, the band had guests come in and sing on the newest track, the 12-minute epic "Hunter's Tale". Sara Strömmer came to sing the female parts on the song, and a group of friends (including members of the band Scaredom, with whom Drearyym had done shows etc.) was chosen to come and sing the choir parts on the song. The concept came together amazingly well, though the final version of the track would still be a long time without release.
Shortly after the studio sessions, the band took part in another battle of bands; Kukkona Tunkiolla. The first try-outs turned out to be victorious for Drearyym. However, the year was about to end and so was one era in Drearyym's story. About a month before the semifinals, the band replaced long-time drummer Jarno with Scaredom's Waltteri Grek. Having only three weeks to rehearse together before Waltteri's first show with Drearyym, the period of time was very hectic. However, the gig at O'Hara's, Tampere, was successful, and the band was ready for the semifinals.
The semifinals, taking place in Jack The Rooster in Tampere, where the Wacken competition had taken place only about a year earlier, brought all new drive to both the band and the crowd. With Aleksi also having taken his place in the band as a permanent member, the change of line-up had breathed new life to the group, and it showed. In the semifinals, the reception and feedback was overwhelmingly great, and the band progressed straight into the finals.
The finals were two weeks away, and the band was ready to give it all they got, also planning stage outfits and an even more striking show. In the finals, Drearyym received an even better reception, and the judges were very impressed. The band was now a full package, able of delivering a show and interacting with the crowd from start to finish. Still, the band did not ultimately win the competition, but the progress as a group was more than a vital part of the whole future of the band.
Approximately a month after the band competition, Waltteri decided to step down from Drearyym to concentrate on Scaredom and other aspects of his personal life. His successor was found in a friend and fellow drummer in the band competition; External's Julius Lehtonen would now be the heir to the throne. Alongside the new drummer switch, "Hunter's Tale" was finally ready to be released. The reception was better than ever before, and it yet again brought the band more publicity. In the midst of the release of the track, among a new take on the classic demo song "Old Barn", having rehearsed once again for about three weeks, the band was ready to hit the stage again, with Julius as their drummer. The gig took place at Hevijemma Metal Festival, Vantaa, and was very successful. Drearyym had risen once again.
Following these events, the summer of 2016 is yet again a new page in Drearyym's history. The studio plans for the first LP recording are underway, and the live shows are being pursued to take the next step as well. In the summer, the band will support Sonata Arctica at the legendary Tuiskula in Nivala, Finland. After that... well, everyone just has to wait and see.
After playing together for a while, the guys had three songs ready to be recorded. As they searched for a quick, low-budget way to get things done, they also realized that they required some keyboards on the songs. They then contacted Leevi's old bandmate, fellow Lempäälä-inhabitant and beginner keyboardist Eero Ahonen. With only less than a month to go before the recordings would take place, Eero agreed to play the keyboards and a guest guitar solo on the soon-to-be first demo of the band, which had also recently gotten a name. The name needed to reflect the music somehow, and the word best describing the music was "dreary", as the songs, though still very unpolished, were ominous and dark. Drearyym was born.
The recording session took place within the confines of the rehearsal room built inside Eero's house, which the band still uses today. Lasting only a day, the first ever recording session of Drearyym was excecuted by the three amigos with the help of beginner mix/master man Aapo Lankinen. Thus, the demo "Old Barn" was ready to be heard.
During the summer of 2014, Eero joined the band as a permanent member, and soon the band found it's second guitarist, also an old bandmate of Leevi and Eero's, Kimmo Kylä-Laaso. Shortly after Kimmo joined, the new single "Blòt" was ready to be recorded. This time the band hired local music multitalent Matti Auerkallio to record, mix and master the new song. As the band still didn't have a bass player, Kimmo played bass on the track, while Matti played a guest guitar solo. After the release of "Blòt", anyhow, the band found it's bassist as yet another old bandmate joined in: Arttu Helenius was the man handling the low ends, and so the band was ready to start rehearsing for live gigs.
The first gig was played in Tampere on the 13th of December, 2014. The group has continued doing gigs ever since, quickly making a name for themselves.
Not long after the first few concerts, it was time to hit the studio again; this time to make the band's first EP and physical release. With five new tracks and a collective head full of ideas, the band yet again contacted Matti Auerkallio and headed to his familiar home studio to give birth to what would become "Myths of the White North". The release laid the foundations for Drearyym's aknowledgement in the public eye, having been spread through the internet into reviews and other public feedback around the world, for example.
In May 2015, Drearyym had the honor of being chosen to be one of the bands competing in the Wacken Metal Battle. The competition brought yet again more attention to the band, among many things like co-operation offers and a Spotify account, even though the group only progressed to the try-outs.
The rest of 2015 was quite much circling around concerts and composing. The summer was a bit quieter, though a few gigs were played then too. In fall, bassist Arttu Helenius decided to part ways with the band to pursue other life goals. A new bassist was found quickly, as an old friend and the original second guitarist of Drearyym, Aleksi Tossavainen, hopped in to fill Arttu's shoes. Around the same time, the studio was calling again. This time, it would be something on the next level.
So, December 4th, 5th, and 6th were busy days as Drearyym prepared their most ambitious release at the time, while all of Finland was enjoying Independence day festivities. Working once again with Matti Auerkallio, the band had guests come in and sing on the newest track, the 12-minute epic "Hunter's Tale". Sara Strömmer came to sing the female parts on the song, and a group of friends (including members of the band Scaredom, with whom Drearyym had done shows etc.) was chosen to come and sing the choir parts on the song. The concept came together amazingly well, though the final version of the track would still be a long time without release.
Shortly after the studio sessions, the band took part in another battle of bands; Kukkona Tunkiolla. The first try-outs turned out to be victorious for Drearyym. However, the year was about to end and so was one era in Drearyym's story. About a month before the semifinals, the band replaced long-time drummer Jarno with Scaredom's Waltteri Grek. Having only three weeks to rehearse together before Waltteri's first show with Drearyym, the period of time was very hectic. However, the gig at O'Hara's, Tampere, was successful, and the band was ready for the semifinals.
The semifinals, taking place in Jack The Rooster in Tampere, where the Wacken competition had taken place only about a year earlier, brought all new drive to both the band and the crowd. With Aleksi also having taken his place in the band as a permanent member, the change of line-up had breathed new life to the group, and it showed. In the semifinals, the reception and feedback was overwhelmingly great, and the band progressed straight into the finals.
The finals were two weeks away, and the band was ready to give it all they got, also planning stage outfits and an even more striking show. In the finals, Drearyym received an even better reception, and the judges were very impressed. The band was now a full package, able of delivering a show and interacting with the crowd from start to finish. Still, the band did not ultimately win the competition, but the progress as a group was more than a vital part of the whole future of the band.
Approximately a month after the band competition, Waltteri decided to step down from Drearyym to concentrate on Scaredom and other aspects of his personal life. His successor was found in a friend and fellow drummer in the band competition; External's Julius Lehtonen would now be the heir to the throne. Alongside the new drummer switch, "Hunter's Tale" was finally ready to be released. The reception was better than ever before, and it yet again brought the band more publicity. In the midst of the release of the track, among a new take on the classic demo song "Old Barn", having rehearsed once again for about three weeks, the band was ready to hit the stage again, with Julius as their drummer. The gig took place at Hevijemma Metal Festival, Vantaa, and was very successful. Drearyym had risen once again.
Following these events, the summer of 2016 is yet again a new page in Drearyym's history. The studio plans for the first LP recording are underway, and the live shows are being pursued to take the next step as well. In the summer, the band will support Sonata Arctica at the legendary Tuiskula in Nivala, Finland. After that... well, everyone just has to wait and see.
Formed in: 2014
Status: Active
Years Active: 2014-Present
Leevi Kuunila - Vocals, Guitars
Julius Lehtonen - Drums
Eero Ahonen - Keyboards
Kimmo Kylä-Laaso - Guitars
Aleksi Tossavainen - Bass
Country of origin: Finland
Location: Lempäälä
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Current Label: Unsigned/Independent
Booking/Press Contact: Drearyym@gmail.com
Official Website: http://drearyym.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Drearyym
Bandcamp: http://drearyym.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/drearyym
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Drearyym
Precursions Part I (EP - 2016)
Released May 1, 2016
