Beast in Black

Beast in Black
Beast in Black in 2018
Beast in Black in 2018
Background information
Origin Helsinki, Finland
Genres
Years active 2015–present
Labels Nuclear Blast
Spinoff of Battle Beast
Members
Website beastinblack.com

Beast in Black is a Finnish power metal band founded in Helsinki in 2015 by lead guitarist and songwriter Anton Kabanen. The musical influences of the band include Judas Priest, Manowar, W.A.S.P., Accept and Black Sabbath.

History

Anton Kabanen founded the band in 2015 after he left his former band Battle Beast earlier in the same year. Like Battle Beast, the band's name is a tribute to the Japanese manga and anime series Berserk.

Beast in Black signed with the Nuclear Blast label and released their first album, Berserker on 3 November 2017, which received a very positive response worldwide. The debut album ranked seventh on Finnish charts albums. In addition, Berserker also charted in Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and France.

On 7 February 2018, it was announced that Atte Palokangas would replace Sami Hänninen as the permanent drummer. The band includes the Greek vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos (ex-Wardrum), the Hungarian bassist Mate Molnar (Wisdom) and Kasperi Heikkinen (former guitarist of bands like U.D.O., Amberian Dawn, etc.).

On 21 March 2018, it was announced that Beast in Black would be opening for Nightwish on the European leg of their Decades: World Tour.

The band's second album, From Hell with Love, was released on 8 February 2019. After the release of the album, the band did their first headline tour in Europe with the Finnish industrial metal band Turmion Kätilöt as support.

On 26 October 2021, Beast in Black released their third album, Dark Connection. In addition to Berserk, several songs in the album reference science fiction series such as Blade Runner, Armitage III, Bubblegum Crisis and Cyber City Oedo. The album charted in Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, ranking first in Finland.

Members

Current members

  • Anton Kabanen – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards (2015–present)
  • Yannis Papadopoulos – lead vocals (2015–present)
  • Kasperi Heikkinen – guitars (2015–present)
  • Máté Molnár – bass, backing vocals (2015–present)
  • Atte Palokangas – drums (2018–present)
  • Beast in Black, current lineup live at Rockharz 2022
  • Anton Kabanen
    Anton Kabanen
  • Yannis Papadopoulos
    Yannis Papadopoulos
  • Kasperi Heikkinen
    Kasperi Heikkinen
  • Máté Molnár
    Máté Molnár
  • Atte Palokangas
    Atte Palokangas

Former members

  • Sami Hänninen – drums (2015–2018)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
FIN
 AUT
 FRA
 GER
 NLD
 SCO
 SPA
 SWE
 SWI
 UK
Rock
Berserker 7 — — 51 — — — — 33 21
From Hell with Love
  • Released: 8 February 2019
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
 1 17 143 6 199 49 73 55 8 2
Dark Connection
  • Released: 29 October 2021
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
 1 16 165 13 — 31 — 53 11 7
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

  • "Blind and Frozen" (2017)
  • "Beast in Black" (2017)
  • "Born Again" (2017)
  • "Zodd the Immortal" (2017)
  • "Sweet True Lies" (2018)
  • "Die by the Blade" (2019)
  • "From Hell with Love" (2019)
  • "Moonlight Rendezvous" (2021)
  • "One Night in Tokyo" (2021)
  • "Hardcore" (2021)