Originally known as Requiem, the Finnish metal band Norther came together as a result of the collaboration of Toni Hallio and Petri Lindroos. After a spell working out the bugs, the pair were joined by Kristian Ranta on guitar and clean vocals, and Norther was born. The rhythm section was rounded out with the addition of Tuomas Planman, and for the odd flourish or two, keyboardist and synth player Jukka Koskinen came on board.