History & Biography Maple Cross is one of the older Finnish metal bands out there and has remained active on and off over the years. The band hails from Jääli in Kiiminki, which is in East-Central Finland. The monicker, replacing the name Ace, could refer to an English town all right, or Girlschool’s 1986 album. The Finns got together in 1985 however under their original name! Aside from singer Marco – who joined in 1986 replacing vocalist Pope - the group featured guitarists Ilkka Heino and Marko Siekinnen, bassist Mikapinen and drummer Ville Hyry at this stage.
The band’s first demo was Sacred To The Memory Of Ace. The group issued a 1988 demo called Thirteen Witches... But One Of Them that laid the foundation for the band’s thrash sound. Niko Karppinen was on bass between 1989 and 1995. 1990’s The Fourth And Last Demo proved the band’s foresight short and faulty. The band kept performing shows in Finland and also hit Denmark with Invocator. 1991 brought The Eighth Day Of Creation, which might have referred both to the Jeudo God and the group’s previous demo! Maple Cross was experimenting with sounds and instruments at this point and, for its efforts, received a stellarly bad review in the underground magazine SOD at the time. The band issued demos until 1994 when a hiatus in 1996 broke the queue as the group’s next demo was issued in 2001. Upon return with a new line-up, the band was invited to participate in a metal program on local TV and to opine on the state of heavy metal. Three Embraze members also spent time in Maple Cross. The band participated at the Jalometalli 2002 metal festival. An album appeared in 2003. Maple Cross completed dates in England and Finland in 2003, shot a video for the song Au Revoir and hoped to head back to the UK in the autumn. The band parted ways with guitarists Late and Sami Siekkinen and replaced them with Thyrane’s Avather and Sethery's J. Henttunen in the winter of 2004. A three-way split appeared in 2005 with Sacred Crucifix and National Napalm Syndicate called Creatures From The North while the bands toured Finland. Thrash 'N' Roll was a 2012 demo. J. Kröger joined on guitar in 2012. The act became inactive.
Heimo was a concept album regarding World War II and the experiences of singer Marco R. Järkkä in it.
Verikauha Records is the band’s imprint. The records are distributed and licensed to record companies.
Reviews MAPLE CROSS - PROMO 1/02
The music of Maple Cross is aggressive, but the vocals of Marco R.J. are one level harder. Long considered broken up for good, Finland's Maple Cross has reformed and issued three songs here crossing heavy, speed and thrash metal. The closest comparisons are Hypocrisy, Sacrifice and At The Gates - especially vocally. Further reference can be made to The Haunted and even Sacred Blade. So let's check again. Are they Swedish? No. Are they Canadian? No. Fine then, they are actually Finnish and have dared release aggressive metal without k&F, harpsichord, harmonica and a string quartet. Now we are all confused. Seriously, find the band at www.maplecross.net and hope that the act will get signed this time. Now a quick note regarding technology. The band has sent in a second CD containing information, biography and their photos. Guess what? My computer does not read it. Don't you love technology?
MAPLECROSS - NEXT CHAPTER - VERIKAUHA
It was not long ago that a review for Maplecross' demo appeared on this page. The Finnish band has reformed and quickly gotten to work releasing two demos and now an album called Next Chapter through the auspices of fledgling label Verikauha.
Anyone who has heard the band's newer material, that is those composed post-reformation, will recognize the material here. For others, Maplecross is a screeching speed/death metal band with similarities to Sacrifice and Hypocrisy. The Finns are particularly reminiscent of Canada's Sacrifice. Having said that, the backing vocals on Embodiment Of Air is very similar to Lemmy. Maplecross does feature different vocals here and there. The band has also shot a video for the song Au revoir. Find the album either via www.maplecross.net or email contact@verikauha.com. - Ali "The Metallian"
Interviews
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