Century Media Records, the Finnish Metal Expo, Inferno magazine, Terrorizer magazine and Imperiumi.net joined forces to search for the Suomi Metal Star 2011. About 240 Finnish bands signed in for the squalifying and 12 were selected for a public online voting that closed on New Year’s Eve. The four finalist bands played at the Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki last Saturday and it was ODDLAND from Turku who won over the majority of the jury members with sophisticated prog metal/rock – somewhere between DEVIN TOWNSEND, OPETH and KATATONIA.

Oddland were formed back in 2003, when four 18-year-old wimps decided to play heavy music to as a mental anti-acne medication. The mental acne never disappeared, but neither did the passion to play overdriven music with captivating melodies and intense energy.

So far they made two recordings: the EP Connecions Critical Behind (2007) and the Demo/Promo Away From The Watching Eye (2009). The last demo can be bought at Recordshop X – they ship worldwide.

Oddland’s statement on signing to Century Media: "We are absolutely thrilled to be signed by Century Media Records and to be recording our debut album with them. We’re very proud to become part of the Century Media family. There are many amazingly talented bands with the label and we’re very honoured to become one of them. We’ve been playing together for a long time and it seems that all the hours spent at the rehearsal room were not in vain. We’re going to work very hard to make the best debut album we can possibly make. We don’t want to rush things however, because we want to put out music that will make us stick around. And last but not least, we want to say a huge thank you to all the fans, friends and family who have supported us to this point. Thank you!"

Jens Prueter (Head Of A&R;, Century Media Records Europe): "I was already convinced by their latest demo, but when it’s coming to complex Progressive Metal and Rock, it’s even more important to see a band live. Oddland's kind of music is not easy to play at all, but by the time they came on stage and played the first few notes, I knew they are special. I’m glad that we have next to TESSERACT another young band that combining classic Prog influences with modern metal. Welcome Oddland!”

Stay tuned for more news soon.