KENZINER

1998
For years, Jarno Keskinen had been in contact with David Chastain of Leviathan Records, sending him his songs on c-cassettes. One day Jarno got a phone call from the USA: Chastain was offering Jarno a record deal and soon Jarno was on the plane, on his way to record his first album at Chastain’s studio. All the guitars, bass and keyboards were recorded by Jarno. Stephen Frederick (vocals) and Dennis Lesh (drums) joined to help Keskinen at the studio. Kenziner’s debut album, Timescape, was born and Jarno rose to fame as a master of neoclassical metal guitar.

1999
Jarno recorded his second album for Leviathan Records in 1999. The Prophecies was released all over the world and drew more and more attention to Keskinen’s neoclassical style in metal media. (Metal Hammer, Rock Hard, etc.) This time also another famous Finnish musician, Mikko Härkin (ex-Sonata Arctica, Wingdom) was featured in the studio line-up, alongside with Stephen Frederick and Brian Harris. Soon after the release of Prophecies, Jarno broke up with the label and Kenziner was hibernated for years to come.

2000-2004
Jarno was also looking for other musical opportunities and founded Virtuocity in year 2000. The band played power metal and recorded two albums. The first one, Secret Visions, saw daylight in 2001 but shortly after the release of Northern Twilight Symphony (2004) the band split, leading to Jarno’s decision to withdraw from active work on music for almost ten years.

2012
In 2012, Keskinen decided to revive Kenziner and begun gathering a band around himself. He started by hiring Markku Kuikka (Status Minor, The Ragged Saints, etc.) as the singer, and through Markku, found also the rest of the members: the new line-up features Jukka Karinen (Thunderstone, Status Minor, etc.) on the keyboards, Make Lievonen (Embassy of Silence) on the drums and Jupi Hjelt on the bass.
While the new line-up was being built, Jarno and Markku arranged Jarno’s new compositions for the upcoming album. As the songs took shape, it became clear that a new album will play a major part in Kenziner’s comeback.
Neoclassical guitar work and strong melodies have always laid the foundation for Kenziner’s music. The new line-up gave Jarno much better musical freedom because the music could be arranged in Finland, with the group working on the songs together.

2013
During the winter 2012 – 2013, Kenziner recorded their upcoming album. Having finished the recordings in September 2013, the band took the album to Sonic Pump Studios (Helsinki), and mixed their new masterpiece with Nino Laurenne (Thunderstone).

2014
In early January 2014, Kenziner signed a publishing contract with Power Prog, beginning a new era for the band. Kenziner aims to transform from the studio band that it has been up to now into a real touring act, creating music that is challenging and interesting for their fans.

1998 - Timescape

1999 - The Prophecies

2012 - The Absolute Best Of (Compilation)

2013 - Metal Treasures (Compilation)

2014 - The Last Horizon

2020 - Phoenix