Smackbound’s Netta Laurenne: 5 Albums That Changed My Life

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Signed to expansive metal label Frontiers, Finnish metal band Smackbound have recently released their debut album 20/20. But the quintet are not new to the game — founded by singer and actress Netta Laurenne (you might have heard her with Amorphis, Lordi, Black Sun and more) in 2015, she recruited well-known instrumentalists: guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari (Wintersun), drummer Rolf Pilve (Stratovarius), keyboardist Vili Itäpelto (Tracedawn) and bassist Tuomas Yli-Jaskari (Tracedawn). Not surprisingly, considering their free-wheeling sound, the band members draw from a diverse assortment of musical influences, including plenty of mosh-pit fodder but lots of quieter, more introspective offerings. “We wanted to make metal mixed with all the goodies we love in music,” says the band. “Some love blues, one is into trap, the other into Ludovico Einaudi. Yet you can’t beat the force and energy of metal. That’s why we brought everything to it.” With that in mind, we caught up with Laurenne to find out what five albums truly shaped her as an artist, and she had some great and wide-ranging picks, from classic metal to straight-up pop. See them below.

Pain of Salvation – Road Salt One

An utterly “out of this world” experience how it carries you through all emotions and returns you back to the same train station you started the journey from — but you’ve been transformed.

Damien Rice – O

As a poet, I love the open rules of music of this beautiful album.

Dio – Holy Diver 

 Revelation that soul can be heard in any type of music.

Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey   

It was great as a kid to hear this musical, singer-songwriter style of songwriting and using the voice in several different styles.

Symphony X – V

Introduced me to symphonic metal.