Biography
CODEON is a modern metal band from Helsinki, Finland, playing technical yet melodic, aggressive metal.
2002
Everything was started in October 2002. Sami had just moved to Helsinki and was looking for a band, while at the same time Lauri was forming one and looking for members via the internet. E-mail discussions began, and eventually other members were found. Over the course of several meetings, the general style of CODEON's music was developed.
2003
Finally, in March 2003 CODEON started to play together as a band. It was immediately painfully clear that things weren't going to work out with the current lineup. Members were going in and out until Vesa was found in summer 2003. The lineup seemed to be stable for a while, but wasn't -- the second guitarist took off in the beginning of August, just two weeks before the band entered the studio to record their first demo, DEMO 2003. Sami handled all the guitars on the demo and a new second guitarist was soon found after the studio work. After receiving mostly very positive reviews of DEMO 2003, CODEON began writing new material and preparing for live shows.
2004
The first gigs were played in May 2004 and the band began planning for a new demo release. However, since there were more than just a couple of new songs and everyone wanted them recorded, the band decided to book some more studio time and record a self-financed EP instead. Unfortunately, once again things didn't seem to work out with the second guitarist. After learning a lesson last year, the band decided to part ways with him well before entering the studio. A replacement -- Asko -- was found almost instantly and CODEON entered the studio in October 2004 with a yet another new lineup. The EP was titled ON MY SIDE and winter 2004-2005 was spent looking for a label, using the fresh EP tracks as a demo.
2005
Early 2005 CODEON placed in the top 4 out of 148 other unsigned Finnish metal bands in a Finnish band contest and therefore was to perform at the finals in Finnish Metal Expo. The result of this was a shared 2nd position. No satisfactory agreement was achieved with any of the labels that expressed interest, so the band decided to "release" the ON MY SIDE EP through their website. Most of the year was spent gigging and promoting the EP, until in October 2005 CODEON was signed to DIES IRAE RECORDS. ON MY SIDE was re-released through the label. Soon after, the drummer of the band left due to personal reasons. Apparently, losing a band member per year is forming into a strong band ritual .. Fortunately a drummer friend of the band, Joni, offered his help with the upcoming gigs. He fit the group well and soon became the new drummer of CODEON.
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