Gotham O.D.

Gotham O.D is a Finnish modern versatile band that still bases its music into very traditional rock values. The band has proudly created a new music style – Dark Heavy Rock – and up until now has been a sole member of this so called genre. Like their debut album, the second album of Gotham O.D from Pieksämäki was released by Off Records/Firebox on March the 3rd, 2010. The album is called Disbeliever. Before Disbeliever the band has gone through and seen a lot. It was established year 2003. However, from that group the two remaining members are the vocalist Ilkka Moilanen and the drummer Jone Matilainen. The bass player Jesse Muranen has been with the band since the end of 2004 and thus hardly anyone even remembers the band without Jesse. The guitarist Juuso Jalasmäki and the keyboard player Mikko Riipinen have joined the band after the first album. The current members of the band all agree that “this is it!”when talking about the chemistry of the band. The band has played well over a 100 gigs in Finland and neighbor countries, venues varying from a 6000 people Lithuanian rock festival to small, smoky clubs. Besides Finland, Gotham O.D has Street Team activity in South Africa, USA, Germany, Netherlands and Czech Republic, and therefore they have a good international network and a wide fan base also abroad. The band published their debut album Monochromatic on August 2007, from which they also released a single that reached Finland’s official charts. In addition to the album, the band has also released five other recordings including a domestically very high quality music video “Blame”. The video was produced by Coppersky Productions and it was directed by Timo Puustinen. Monochromatic has also been released in Central Europe on July 2008. Gotham O.D is an excellent live performer that tours actively. The gigs bring out the creativity, spontaneity and healthy Finnish craziness of the band members, meaning that they don’t take themselves too seriously. You can hear and see that everything happens naturally in the way they play and perform. There are no hang-arounds in this band, but rather everyone is fully committed creatively and artistically. The co-operation of drummer Jone Matilainen and bass player Jesse Muranen in the rhythm section is of high quality, but in no means too finely tuned. Jone is at home on stage and Jesse always gives out 100%. Ilkka Moilanen’s vocals are very impressive and versatile. After January’s On the Rocks-gig one female fan wrote on an internet chat forum that “Ile’s vocals had more balls than all the other people in the bar put together”. The same fan also said that this is nowadays very rare in Finland, which is completely true. Moilanen’s voice is very powerful, confident and above all, versatile. Guitarist Juuso Jalasmäki with his artistic flair has been strongly involved with the new album’s production by writing approximately half of the songs. Juuso’s overpowering tube amplifier distortion sound supplements the phonic palette into strong but dynamic heavy rock. Keyboard player Mikko Riipinen is a crazy Finn who brings retro and progressive rock influences into the band. Riipinen’s instruments compare well with the 70’s cars, and Mikko really encapsulates the meaning of the word “natural”. In spring 2008 Gotham O.D started to create new material on new guitar player Juuso Jalasmäki’s home estate in Kerimäki. From these three-part, overall two weeks lasting sessions, the band put together the new album’s first single’s “Disbeliever” music video with photograph collage theme. In the video the band is portrayed the way it is – real and with big heart. The new album shows Gotham O.D’s versatility and talent that cannot be measured in money terms. The lyrics of the songs are skillfully made and make the album a raw, beautiful and even touching listening. The changes in the band’s and its member’s lives are reflected in the lyrics. Musically the album provides a very wide scale, based to which the band cannot be tied down to any certain genre. The album has been produced by the band itself with the help of Teemu Nykänen from Korpse studios. A lot can be expected of this album and people should listen to it thoroughly with some thought. By no means should you try and categories the band into a certain mould. All band members are individuals, but also friends together, and they share a very distinctive sense of humour. You can sense a sort of a cartoon character feel from these guys, and therefore, the band’s gloomy path may very well lead them either straight to stardom or to Gotham Arkham Asylum. The Band: Ilkka – Vocals Juuso – Guitar, Back-up vocals Mikko – Organ, piano, keyboards Jesse – Bass guitar Jone – Drums, percussion