Finland

When Patrik Mennander and Mika Kamppi weren't playing dress-up in the epic Tolkien-metal band Battlelore, they were taking their cue from tanz metal bands like Rammstein and Oomph! in Ruoska (Scourge). The band formed in the early 2000s with Mennander, Kamppi, Kai Ahvenranta, Anssi Auvinen, and Sami Karppinen. Their first two albums, 2002's Kuori and 2003's Riisu, earned Ruoska a loyal local following, and their third album, 2005's Radium, found the band with a couple charting singles. Ruoska moved to EMI for their fourth release, 2006's Amortem, an album that peaked at number six on the Finnish charts and held that position for nearly ten weeks. ~ Margaret Reges