First of all Downstone is about rock and metal. Yet it’s the dynamics, melodies and the strong atmosphere
in music which are the elements to finally create a unique Downstone brand of music and style.
Downstone was formed in 2005. The nearby towns of Oulu and Kemi, located in the Bothnian Bay area in
northern Finland, were the birthplace for the band. Soon, after a few changes in the line-up, Downstone
consisted only of Oulu-based players. After these rearrangements Downstone had a possibility to concentrate
fully on writing kick ass material built on the distinguishing elements of the band’s sound. The first demo,
recorded at the Sirius-studios in Oulu, was released in early June 2006 on the band’s website. Just a
couple of months later a self-titled six-track ep was released to be a more representative release of
the many-sided Downstone material. Year 2007 was very productive for the band in every way. During the year
Downstone did bunch of sweaty live shows and an eight-track self-released live album, entitled “aLive”, was
released in September 2007. Around that very time came out also a single “Lose it” which was recorded and
mixed by multitalent Jari Niemi.
Anyway it doesn’t necessarily take massive guitar walls to make heavy music. This was proven right when the
band first started messing around with some acoustic arrangements for its old material at the end of 2007.
It felt natural because, after all, the basis of the Downstone material has always been in acoustic ambience
and songwriting. The band was overwhelmed by the great response from the live audience and started to work
even more determinedly for the unplugged material and performance. The acoustic excursion culminates in the
release of the full-length unplugged Downstone album in August 2008. Again it’s engineered by Niemi. The
album - entitled Hinderance - is mastered by Tommi Inkilä.
As promising as the going unplugged may look for the band it’s safe to say that Downstone hasn’t quit
loving those massive electric guitar walls. Actually things couldn’t be further from the truth! The plans
are set to release the beast in the near future. Just wait for it!
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