Dragonspool - The Rise & Fall

Dragonspool is an epic heavy metal band from the metal capital of the world, Finland. This five piece band originally hail from the town of Porvoo, on forming in 1995 they burst onto the local metal scene in Porvoo and within a year received a local status not to be mocked. Dual guitar, regular drum solos, keyboard solos, guitar offs, even bass/ guitar offs and symphonic mastery between them all, they had everything. The raw energy brought forth by lead front man Urmas Haapakoski (guitar and vocals) and Brother Isto Haapakoski (drums), was like pumping pure oxygen into a raging fire creating a fireball of such epic proportion that one could only watch in a star struck gaze as they were totally consumed and then corrupted by the metal. Turning every non appreciator of the genre into a genuine metal head, not to mention the three remaining members. Each in their own rights the lord of his instrument.

After a year of steady rise and constant gigs, Dragonspool came to the point of realisation that, although they had quite a large fan base in Porvoo, they were not accelerating in the direction they had wanted or anticipated. They had only performed throughout Finland a few times, and although they had considered these gigs to be a success, they never had a gig that was solely theirs only various festivals of large numbers of up and coming metal bands. They were not at all, at least to their knowledge, known on the international circuit. That is where they wanted to be. They spent the next six years working on adapting there sound and harnessing their skills to introduce to Finland, and then the world the way of the epic black metal.

In this time they released three albums. Their debut album (Dragonspool), released in 1997 was unlike anything heard before. Based on the idea of trying to capture the atmosphere and energy of the live gig on album, unfortunately the concept was light years before its time and the album was a flop. This had an immensely negative influence on the band and their attitude towards studio production, and decided to go back to the stage where they were comfortable and knew and most of all were good and give their attention to the loyal fans that deserved it. This continued for another three years until they decided to release their second album (Beyond Bullets). Revisiting the same idea as before but be more direct. Give the audience the live gig feel and don’t try to recreate it, so in the summer of 2001 they released their first live album “give it to them live”. This album demonstrated with a very real certainty that Dragonspool were destined for the highest level of fame and respect as entertainers. The sheer vulnerability of the crowd as the epic riffage extruding from each individual instrument was collaborating in front of their trance like faces and enveloping and including them into a the world of the thrashed, lost and strung up (the metal).All this is easily noticed in the makeup of the album and become features of it. One can actually hear the dominance of the band and how they just control the stage and the audience. Needless to say the album was a success, and elevated Dragonspool right to the top of the Finnish metal scene. They had concurred Finland.

The following year they released another studio album. They were very happy at the way things were going and increasing number of fans, and felt they needed a studio album to satisfy the needs of their growing fan base, they also wanted to get a foot hold into the global metal scene and felt that this was the way to do it. So Dragonspool conformed to the studio method of music, and in 2001 released “when heaven burns like hell” a critically acclaimed album that reached no.12 on the Finish charts.

Everything was going well growing in popularity in their native Finland all the time and just beginning to break into the European charts. But then on November 2001 Isto Haapakoski the drummer died tragically in a base jumping accident. All the members of the band took the event very hard and there was talk of deforming the band. Urmas Haapakoski front man and brother of Isto took it the hardest. He found it very hard to deal with the stress and expectations that were demanded of him and fell into a state of depression, fuelled by grief. He turned to drugs hoping that heroin might provide some comfort, some release form his overwhelming internal pain, with a dribble of false positivity, but actually pain was intensified as an exact equal and opposite situation occurred. A very real negativity leapt into his life as he began pushing away people of importance. Money wasn’t a problem so it was easy for heroin to become a bigger and bigger part of his life while family and friends became smaller and smaller .It wasn’t long before he was playing gigs high, too high to stand not to mention play guitar. The band lost a lot of creditability and popularity and was forced to deform by May 2002.

Noting was heard form Dragonspool for the next six years except that Urmas Haapakoski was emitted into rehab in 2006 as it got to a point so bad it was the only option felt. He remained in rehab for 18 mounts and during that time in went through a period of philosophical self-improvement as well as physical recreation through the treatments provided by the rehab centre in tackling addiction. He had many epiphanies and slowly began to realise the person he had become, the people he had hurt and let down, and fell again into a severe state of depression. All he could focus on was guilt he felt. He let people down; a lot of people down some people quite dear to him, how he could expect to receive forgiveness. But he was in a place of recovery and as his self pity issues were dealt with, a gradual stable mental state was reached. Urmas Haapakoski was well on the road to recovery and begin to analyses objectively his past not drowned his self pity but looking for solutions to rectify his mistakes. He began thinking of the old times and the band, and realised that they were very good. Great talent has a responsibility to be shared with the world. Who are the talented to deny people their greatness, because pride is afraid to try fix broken relationships? Where would we be if Einstein considered himself immaterial because of a grief stricken state, considering it easier to wallow in self pity and selfishness? Deprived of the greatest mind the planet ever produced. Where would we be if Children Of Bodem just didn’t bother? Deprived of the epic that’s where. Urmas Haapakoski had to also share his greatness; he was going to reform the band.

He started writing new material. He had finally let go of all grief connected to the death of his brother Isto. He couldn’t let a mere everyday occurrence such as death hinder the excellence that would be achieved in their epic style that would be enjoyed long after, they both, were gone, somewhat creating immortality. He would do this for his brother, he would create a band so awesome, so epic as to change music forever, they would be listened to, and they would influence others for ages to come. Their names would echo into the future like an eternal ripple in an infinite pool and their names would never be forgotten. People are remembered by the magnitude of what they leave behind and immortality is achieved by the magnitude of people who remember.

Urmas Haapakoski left rehab in 2008 a new man. Feeling healthy and clean he contacted the old members of the band who were only thrilled to hear from him and that he was clean and feeling well. They had much to discuss and decided that they all missed the same thing, so on the 1st of January 2009 they officially reformed the band after recruiting a new drummer and headed straight for the recording studio to record the new material invented by Urmas Haapakoski. The album was released and sky rocketed in popularity. A lot of people heard about the new and improved Urmas Haapakoski and were only delighted to rejoin the fan base, unfortunately some did not. This disappointed Urmas Haapakoski immensely and blamed himself but was very pleased at the growing rate of followers from the European and Asian markets. Tours were on demand that the band were only too happy to meet.

Now 2010, the band is growing exponentially throughout the world. They have another album on the way due to released in 2011, and to be followed by a world tour and after that a metal festival headlining in front of some of the biggest metal bands such as “satins ****bowl”,”Silt your throat and **** the wound” “screaming children” “raped eye socket” and “bloodshot ****“.Their live performances are yet to be matched, and are at present monopolising, controlling, and dominated and metal seen of the world. Not much has changed only the size of the crowds.