Heidi Parviainen - Vocals

My musical history started quite early in children's music playschool and later at primary school I went on a music-oriented class. I started taking piano lessons at the age of 11, but soon it became very clear that I wanted more than just classical piano playing. After various teachers I quitted taking piano lessons and have played by my self until recent years. At the age of 14 I started classical singing studies in a music institute with a diploma singer Raisa Lahtiranta whom I'm still working with after these 14 years. During more than ten years I have also sung in various choirs and ensembles.

The first touch to heavy music I got in 1997 at high school when a couple of high school heavy metal- guys asked me to sing on their EP. By that time they played death metal and the band was called Agonia. After a while I joined the band as a keyboard player and a backing vocalist. From 1997 the band has changed its' form and name, and is nowadays called Iconofear. After years of classical singing studies I grew up to the idea of being a vocalist and during these ten years with Iconofear I have also grown into heavy music. So in the summer 2006 I started to look for a band, a metal band, because it seems to be closest to my interests. Guys spotted my application, listened to my samples and called me. Amberian Dawn was created and I'm very happy and proud to be part of it!

Tuomas Seppälä - Keyboards and Guitar

I'm the composer and the musical leader of Amberian Dawn. I play guitar and keyboards in studio and just keyboards when performing live with AD. Until 2009 i used to play only guitar on stage and not keyboards at all.

I started playing music at the age of 5 when I started playing classical piano in music school. I finished music school at the age of 15. At that moment I seriously considered playing piano as a profession. I had already started playing keyboards and composing my own songs. At the age of 16 I started playing guitar and the musical style was right away heavy metal. I took some guitar lessons but soon I realized that I didn't need a guitar teacher, so I'm very much a self-educated guitar player. Of course my training in classical piano helped me to acquire playing guitar.

My biggest musical influences are taken from following bands and players: Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night, ABBA, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio, Iron Maiden. My musical background is probably very typical for heavy metal musician. Nowadays I don't listen to music very much.

I've been working for example with following bands or musicians either on stage or in studio: Atheme One, Virtuocity (under pseudonym Michael Thomas), Twisted Silence,Hevein singer Juha Immonen and Nightbride. I've also played keyboards and guitar as a session musician in some various projects. My strangest musical project was playing drums at military orchestra for about a half of year.

Tommi Kuri - Bass

Music has always been a big part of my life since I was born and I went through almost all instruments until I decided that I should end with the same instrument I started with. The bass is an animal and it has that something that makes your legs shake and your chest tremble. Pure controlled and uncontrolled power I mean…

Joonas Pykälä-Aho - Drums

I was born in Hyvinkää in 1983. I started my musical carrier at the age of 11 when I started taking drumming lessions. My first public performance was in 1999. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music and I like seeing bands live. My favorite bands and inspirators are Satyricon and the drummer Frost, Gorgoroth, Pink Floyd , Kingston Wall and Iron Maiden. My musical ambition is simply to develop as a drummer. I also play drums in bands Thaurorod and Lathspell.

Kasperi Heikkinen - Guitar

I was born in 1980 in Kajaani, which is a small town right in the middle of Finland. I started playing classical guitar at the age of 8, but in the beginning I wasn't really interested in playing or practicing at all. Everything changed when I heard AC/DC for the first time. I was 10 back then, if I recollect correctly. A bit later I started learning some simple basic riffs by AC/DC, and that can actually be seen as the "real" start of my career as a "guitar-hero", he-he.

My very first rock-influences were bands like Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Hurriganes along with the afore-mentioned AC/DC. Few years later I discovered players like Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen and I was completely blown-away by their playing. I decided that someday I would be as good as them, or maybe even better. Later I also "discovered" Steve Vai, Vinnie Moore and Joe Satriani, just to name a few. I got my first "real" electric guitar; Ibanez Jem77FP, in December 1994 and that inspired me to practice even more and more.

If I had to name my all-time top-3 bands they would be AC/DC, Symphony X and Judas Priest. My present favourite guitar players are Michael Romeo and Steve Vai. Nowadays I play in various bands: Merging Flare, Guardians of mankind and Iconofear being the most important ones. I've been involved in two full-length albums (Elenium) and various smaller releases such as EP's and single-releases. The highlight of my career so far has been replacing Henjo Richter of Gamma Ray for six shows in Scandinavia and Russia, since he was unable to play due to an injury he suffered on a ferryboat between Stockholm and Helsinki.

Emil Pohjalainen - Guitar

"Once upon a time in the mid 80´s there was born a cute little boy, me. He lived a happy normal life.. until he got his first guitar at the age of 13. He heard some nasty distorted marshall amp screaming like.. like a werewolf in the foggy night and.. and there was no turning back! He was totally blown away and fascinated of the sound and attitude of rock-guitar. "I want to be a rock star, f*cking rock ´n´ roll baby!" his ass started to get falling apart..."
I quit my other hobbies and my mind just filled up with guitar and music. I started to practice a lot and composing those very first crappy riffs.. it took practicly all my free-time. Listening to great musicians and different kinds of guitar players was very motivating and kept my dreams alive, and ofcourse still does.. I took a few guitar lessons but it just wasn´t my thing so I am fully self-educated if you can say that hehe..

"For about ten years has passed and the young cute little boy has turned into a hairy, stinky member of Amberian Dawn! Thanks for Tuomas and other baboons of the band for it.. Cuz we know the boy has lost his pure mind and soul to Rock, we can only hope he would eventually someday get it what it takes to be a true guitar hero and live his dreams":D

FORMER MEMBERS

Heikki Saari - drums ( Norther, Atheme One, Virtuocity )

Sampo Seppälä - guitar ( Atheme One)

Tom Sagar - keyboards

Antti Velin- guitar