The Slashers

The Slashers are a popular Uralican post-grunge/hard rock band, based in Kirov. They are also the highest-selling Uralican band whose singing is not in English (it is in Finnish).

Current Membership

 * Raimo Harmaja - rhythm guitar, lead vocals
 * Kaarle Isomäki - bass, backing vocals
 * Jukka Minttu - lead guitar
 * Miksu Pakkarinen - drums

History
One of the newer bands in Uralica's burgeoning rock scene, The Slashers did not submit a demo to Bolak Records until April of 2009, with their eponymous first album coming out three months later. Harmaja, a survivor of the Uralic Purges, writes all the lyrics for The Slashers, which are passionate and often political.

Surprisingly, this quartet did not originally meet at church, but instead, at tryouts for football (soccer) club FK Kirov in February of 2009. None of them ended up making the cut because the coach felt they were too engrossed in their musical exploits to accomplish anything on the pitch at that high a level.

They began attending the same church shortly thereafter, and got permission to use the church's fellowship hall for musical practices. After a while, they submitted a three-track demo to Bolak Records in Syktyvkar, Uralica's top secular music label, and were accepted immediately - the executive board wrote back that "[their] music is exactly what [they] were looking for in terms of rock sound."

Although one member eventually did make the cut for a soccer team (PFK Kirovo-Chepetsk in the Kolmonen), the band still tours Uralica, which they have purposely based around Jukka Minttu's schedule.

Full Albums

 * July 2009 - The Slashers

Singles

 * July 2009 - Älä Sano Tuo (Don't Say That)
 * September 2009 - Murhasi (Your Murder) - this song was banned in The International for being "anti-revolutionary," but in fact it was Harmaja's "venting his pent-up anger and frustration over the fact that the Uralic Purges were allowed to happen."
 * November 2009 - Turpa Kiinni (translates as "Shut Your Yapper" according to Harmaja)

Trivia

 * Jukka is a professional footballer and plays left midfield for PFK Kirovo-Chepetsk
 * Raimo was born in Finland but grew up in what is now Karelia, in Käddluhtt.
 * Kaarle loves to ski-jump.
 * Miksu has a BA in Religious Studies and plans to attend the Uralican Transdenominational Seminary at Uralikan Yliopisto.