Finlandia Foundation and Veriteras, Seattle-Based Metal Band With Finnish Roots, Team Up For Heavy Metal Membership Drive
Written By:
Minea Herwitz
Finlandia Foundation National (FFN), a non-profit organization that champions Finnish culture and heritage across the United States, and Seattle-based melodic death metal band Veriteras, who have Finnish roots and play a Finnish style of metal, have teamed up for two heavy metal tours in 2025. The tours will focus on introducing fans of Finnish heavy metal to FFN and their local chapters.
One of the biggest cultural exports from Finland over the past few decades has been heavy metal music, with some of the biggest acts in metal (Nightwish, Amorphis, Children of Bodom, and Apocalyptica, to name a few) all originating in Finland. Finland is also famous for having the highest number of metal bands per capita of any country in the world, and fans from around the globe travel to Finland each summer for heavy metal festivals like Tuska Open Air. As such, heavy metal music is a very common connection that people have with Finland. The FFN-Veriteras partnership and associated tours seek to help people deepen that Finnish connection, forged through heavy metal music, by introducing them to local Finlandia Foundation chapters.
Why get involved with FFN and their local chapters? In a world where people are increasingly disconnected from those around them, FFN and their local chapters provide an excellent opportunity to connect people with others with similar interests (Finland!). FFN supports numerous Finland-related programs, like the Performer of the Year and the Lecturer of the Year programs, along with providing scholarships and a very popular artistic and academic grant program. Local chapters organize local events, like Finnish movie showings, dances, language classes, and other events.
Veriteras is a Seattle/USA-based metal band that plays a subgenre of metal that is very popular in Finland called “melodic death metal”. The band, made up of Santtu Winter (who was born in Finland), Sean Osterberg, Jason Gooselaw, and Major Bruno, was formed in 2019 and since their creation they have released 4 albums, with the most recent released in April 2024. They toured Finland in 2022, and the band’s musical style is reminiscent of Finnish bands like Kalmah, Catamenia, and Children of Bodom.
“We’re super excited to be hitting the road this coming year to spread the gospel of Finnish heavy metal! Finnish metal music has played a big role in my own life, and Finland is known for so many fantastic metal bands. It’ll be very cool to be able to connect the dots between people who are interested in Finland because of heavy metal music and local Finlandia Foundation chapters.”
The tours will include stops in:
West Coast Tour:
- 4/22/25 – Portland, OR
- 4/23/25 – Eureka, CA
- 4/24/25 – Santa Cruz, CA
- 4/25/25 – Los Angeles, CA
- 4/26/25 – San Diego, CA
- 4/27/25 – Tempe, AZ
- 4/29/25 – Salt Lake City, UT
- 4/30/25 – Boise, ID
- 5/1/25 – Bend, OR
- 5/2/25 – Richland, WA
- 5/3/25 – Seattle, WA
East Coast Tour: September / October 2025
- Spokane, WA
- Missoula, MT
- Billings, MT
- Denver, CO
- Minneapolis, MN
- Milwaukee, WI
- Chicago, IL
- Detroit, MI
- Cleveland, OH
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Washington D.C.
- Baltimore, MD
- Philadelphia, PA
- New York, NY
- Boston, M
Additional information about Veriteras can be found at the following links:
