Gandalf (Finnish band)

Gandalf was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Helsinki. They incorporated elements of traditional hard rock/heavy metal into their sound, which drew comparisons with Entombed and Sentenced. The group was formed in 1993 by drummer (then guitarist) Nalle Österman (later in Shaman, Korpiklaani and Lullacry), guitarist Timo Nyberg and vocalist Jari Hurskainen, with session drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen, who later achieved fame playing with the band HIM. They released both of their albums through Wicked World Records, a subsidiary of Earache Records. The name Gandalf came from when the founding fans of the band used to refer to Gandalf's guitarist as the guitar wizard, Gandalf (from The Lord of the Rings).