Circle Band Finland: Full Archive of a Finnish Experimental Rock Band
Pori, Finland — est. 1991 — still running
Since 1991, the Finnish experimental rock band Circle has released more records than most fans can name, invented a genre as a joke, and built an entire underground of side projects under other names. This is a fan-made archive for making sense of it — where to start, how the pieces connect, and what's actually worth hearing first.
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Who Is This Finnish Band, Circle?
Circle is a Finnish experimental rock band from Pori, founded in 1991 by bassist and vocalist Jussi Lehtisalo — the only member who has been there through the band's entire history. The current core lineup has been stable since the early 2000s. Across 28 studio albums since 1994 — plus dozens more live records, EPs, and one-off collaborations, 71 releases in total — Circle has moved through krautrock, progressive rock, ambient and heavy metal, sometimes inside the same record, which is part of why the band coined its own semi-serious genre label for itself: NWOFHM ("New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal").
The band has real international standing in underground and heavy-music circles: a 2011 artist-in-residence run at Roadburn Festival, releases via Southern Lord Records and No Quarter, and a 2021 collaborative album, Henki, with English musician Richard Dawson on Domino Records. Their most recent studio album, Muurahaiset, came out in 2024 — this is a living, working band, not a legacy act. Read the full history →
Where to start
Six places to start — Circle rarely repeats itself. The full 71-release discography (and every side project) gets its own page.
1994 · BAD VUGUMMeronia
The debut. Raw, hypnotic krautrock, partly sung in an invented language made up for the occasion.
Where it began →
2001 · BAD VUGUMTaantumus
Part of the run that carried Circle beyond Finland's underground and into international attention.
The turning point →
2005 · EKTROTulikoira
Heavy metal fully arrives — the record that split fans between the krautrock era and what came next.
The pivot →
2008 · EKTROHollywood
A deliberately "classic rock" collaboration — Circle treating a familiar sound as just another costume.
The curveball →
2017 · S. LORDTerminal
Doom and drone-leaning, released via Southern Lord — a signal of how far the band's reach had grown.
The doom chapter →
2024Muurahaiset
The most recent studio album — proof this is still a living, working band, not a legacy act.
Right now →Four songs, four eras
One track per stylistic turn, official Bandcamp embeds, streamed straight from the source — not a "best of" claim, just a fast way to hear how far the sound actually moves.
The extended universe
Jussi Lehtisalo and his collaborators have operated under half a dozen names at once for three decades. Here's a map of the ones with a real footprint.
Pharaoh Overlord
Stoner-rock spin-off — arguably as well known internationally as Circle itself. Full profile →Rättö ja Lehtisalo
Mika Rättö & Jussi Lehtisalo's long-running duo — krautrock roots under a synth-pop surface. Full profile →Ektroverde
The sister project that gave Ektro Records its name and one of its earliest releases. Full profile →Falcon
Circle's own hair-metal parody alter-ego, played entirely straight. No dedicated page yetPlus K-X-P, Aavikko, Doktor Kettu, Steel Mammoth, and more — see the full map above.
Frequently Asked Questions About Circle Band Finland
Is this the official Circle band website?
No — this is an independent, unofficial fan archive. It isn't affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the band, its members, or its labels. See About This Site for the full disclosure.
Where is the Circle band from?
Pori, Finland. Circle is a Finnish experimental rock band founded there in 1991 by bassist and vocalist Jussi Lehtisalo, and the current lineup has been based around Pori musicians ever since.
How many albums has the Circle band released?
28 studio albums and 71 verified releases in total across studio albums, live albums, EPs, collaborations, and soundtrack-billed releases, running from 1991 to 2024's Muurahaiset. See the full discography for every release.
What does NWOFHM mean?
It's short for "New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal" — a genre label the band invented for itself as an in-joke, first printed on 2005's Tulikoira. It's less a real genre than a way of describing how this Finnish experimental rock band borrows metal's weight without fully committing to it.
Where should a new listener start?
See "Where to start" above for six entry points spanning the catalog, from 1994's krautrock debut Meronia to 2024's Muurahaiset — or browse the full discography for all 71 releases.
A genre Circle invented — for themselves, as a joke
NWOFHM
"New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal" started as one of the band's own in-jokes and somehow stuck. It's a good entry point into how Circle thinks about genre at all: as something to invent, wear, and discard, not something to belong to.