Jarmo Pikka - Drums / Jaakko Heinonen - Vocals / Pasi Hakuli - Bass / Lauri Pikka - Machinery / Saku Hakuli - Guitar / Harri Pikka - Guitar
Overview: Ten songs of intense, aggressive and modern death metal from Finland. This is what TOTAL DEVASTATION offers on their debut album, "Roadmap of Pain". While Finland is known for hi-tech's like Nokia and Linux, there is always realistic demand for soundtracks that detail the angst of modern society. "Roadmap of Pain" is a primo example of what frustration and injustices of the modern society can produce. A musical roadmap to your own pain...
History; Founded in the summer of 1998 by Jaakko Heinonen and Lauri Pikka. The original idea was to play all machines extreme music. Two summers later the line-up also included Harri Pikka with the guitar, and the chaos that the band delivered had already started to gear more towards the metallic sound reality. Around the same time Ville Heiskanen joined the band and later took all the responsibility for the lyrics. The fourth demo, "Divine-Ecstasy" (2001) was praised so much that the band received invitation to play in prestigious Down By The Laituri festival. For the live line-up three new members were invited: Jarmo Pikka, Saku and Pasi Hakuli. Yes, there is more than enough of brothers in this band. The fifth demo, "Left Hand Of The Devil" (2002) received the same, if even bigger, praise and in the end of year 2002 the band signed contract with Finnish FIREBOX RECORDS.
The "Roadmap of Pain" -album; In March 2003 the band headed to Sundi Coop studio (Savonlinna, Finland) and recorded the album under the supervison of Tuomo Valtonen. The final mastering was done by Mika Jussila at Finnvox studios in April 2003. On the album there are three 'guest' appearancies: Ville Heiskanen (although he writes the lyrics, he is not part of the live line-up), Tapio Wilska (of Finntroll fame, makes speech in the song "I Am God") and Kaisa Jaakkola (the violin in "Prepare to Die").
About the lyrics by Ville Heiskanen: The lyrical path for Total Devastation is the same one which I walk - the lonely one where misery is your only company. The stories are mixture of facts and fiction, all based on my own feelings of pain and misery. Listeners can make their own conclusions, think about their own feelings; don't expect me to tell you how you should live or act, I only lay down the roadmap of pain before you open your eyes.
Future: Band has already composed some new songs in antipation of a second album. the band will play both festivals and one-off gigs in Finland before taking their first tour, that will take them to Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Holland. Scandinavian tour is planned for late 2003.
