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Photo Credit: Lauri Hämäläinen at Square Ink

SMACKBOUND have been blurring the lines between Heavy Metal and Melodic Rock since their inception in 2015. The Finnish quintet features keyboardist Vili Itäpelto & bassist Tuomas Yli-Jaskari of TRACEDAWN, drummer Rolf Pilve of STRATOVARIUS, guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari of WINTERSUN, and vocalist Netta Laurenne.

Laurenne was known for her backing vocal work with the likes of AMORPHIS, LORDI, BLACK SUN, ELVENKING and others before forming SMACKBOUND.

2020 saw the release of the band’s debut album 20/20 through Frontiers Music. Not exactly the best year for music to be released, but SMACKBOUND certainly caught a lot of ears and praise for their first effort.

During the World’s downtime, front woman Netta Laurenne teamed up with BATTLE BEAST front woman Noora Louhimo for the release of The Reckoning, under the LAURENNE/LOUHIMO banner. The duo’s debut release rivals that of the notable Frontiers Music pairing of Russell Allen & Jorn Lande for the 2005 release The Battle.

SMACKBOUND’s sophomore album Hostage was released on April 21, 2023. I had the chance to speak with Netta Laurenne about a month prior.

Highlights include:

-Discussion of their new album Hostage
-How the band formed in 2015
-The stories behind the singles
-How their songwriting process works
-Upcoming festival appearances
-Signing with Frontiers Music
-Her side-project LAURENNE/LOUHIMO
-Laurenne’s expertise in the wine sector
-And much, much more

www.smackbound.com