Kristian Ranta
Kristian Ranta, also known as Kride, was the guitarist of the Finnish melodic death metal band Norther,[1] until their break up in 2012.[2] Kristian has composed most of Norther's best known songs including Frozen Angel, and is also credited for renaming the band (originally called Requiem).[3] Ranta has played the guitar on all the band's full-length albums, the most recent being Circle Regenerated (2011) and N (2008), and contributed clean vocals to the Solution 7 EP, Till Death Unites Us, the No Way Back EP and N. He has formed an experimental side project named Gashouse Garden with Children of Bodom drummer Jaska Raatikainen.
Kristian Ranta | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | Kride |
Born | Helsinki, Finland | 13 May 1981
Origin | Vihti, Finland |
Genres | Melodic death metal |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | Century Media |
Associated acts | Norther |
Website | Norther's Website |
Kristian has also acted, along with his band mates, in a Finnish film called Vares 2. Norther and Kristian also composed a title track for this film called Frozen Angel, for which a music video, featuring images of the movie, was made. He was also interviewed in a TV documentary about Finnish heavy metal bands - Promised Land of Heavy Metal - (2009).[4]
Kristian was a co-founder and CEO of a Finnish diabetes technology company called Mendor [5] until he left the company in November 2015. A well known Finnish businessman Risto Siilasmaa, served at the Mendor Board of Directors and is an investor in the company.[6]
Later in 2015 Kristian co-founded a company called Blooming to work on stress reduction at workplaces. Blooming was featured in TechCrunch in March 2016.[7] Kristian was also featured in the biggest newspaper in Finland called Helsingin Sanomat in the summer of 2016 (text in Finnish).[8]
With the lead of Kristian as its CEO, Blooming changed its name in 2016 to Meru Health and focused on building a digital treatment solution for depression and anxiety. In 2018 Meru Health got accepted to a famous startup accelerator in Silicon Valley called Y Combinator[9] and has appeared on number of mainstream media publications such as TechCrunch[10], INC [11] and MobiHealthNews.[12]
In 2018 Kristian started his own featured blog on Forbes magazine. [13]
Personal information
- Name: Kristian 'Kride' Ranta
- Date of Birth: 13 May 1981
- Place of Birth: Helsinki, Finland
- Instruments Played: Guitar (since 1996) and piano (since around 1987)
- Practices: at least an hour a day, sometimes more.
- Idols and influences:
Guitarists: Paul Gilbert, Nuno Bettencourt, Roope Latvala, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Romeo, Zakk Wylde and Marty Friedman.
Bands: Waltari, Children of Bodom, Arch Enemy, Emperor, Sentenced, King Diamond, Stone, Eppu Normaali, Van Halen, Lost Horizon, Slayer, Pantera, Skid Row, Stratovarius, Amorphis, Opeth, In Flames.
Equipment
- Kristian along with the rest of Norther is currently sponsored by Jackson Guitars and Guild Guitar Company.
- Amfisound Custom. This guitar was created during the short time Norther was endorsed by Amfisound.[14]
- Jackson RR Custom (24 frets, skull and crossbones inlays, EMG-81 bridge and EMG-85 neck pickups) used prior to getting Amfisound custom.
- Jackson KV2, Snow white with black bevels.
- Guild GAD-30PCE
- Black Jim Dunlop Jazz III picks
- Marshall EL34 50/50 Power Amp and Digitech GSP 1101 pre-amp / multieffect
- DR 11-52 set strings in D tuning
- Kristian uses Steinberg Cubase for recording
Discography
Norther
- Circle Regenerated (2011)
- N (2008) - CD
- No Way Back EP (2007) - EP
- Till Death Unites Us (2006) - CD
- Scream (2006) - CD Single
- Solution 7 EP (2005) - EP
- Spreading Death (2004) - DVD Single
- Death Unlimited (2004) - CD
- Spreading Death (2004) - CD Single
- Mirror of Madness (2003) - CD
- Unleash Hell (2003) - CD Single
- Dreams of Endless War (2002) - CD
- Released (2002) - CD Single
- Warlord (2000) - Demo
Gashouse Garden
- Untitled three-track demo
References
- http://www.norther.net
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2011-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://www.getreadytorock.com/pure_metal/norther_interview.htm
- http://www.promisedlandofmetal.com/featuredfaces.html
- http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/european-tech-tour-names-nordics-most-promising-high-growth-technology-companies-selected-companies-stand-to-benefit-from-10-billion-in-investment-capital-96372779.html PRNewswire
- https://www.crunchbase.com/person/risto-siilasmaa#/entity
- https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/14/blooming-stress/
- http://www.hs.fi/raha/a1467948471710
- https://blog.ycombinator.com/6-companies-from-the-yc-summer-2018-batch/
- https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/25/meru-health-wants-to-make-mental-health-care-more-accessible/
- https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/a-genuinely-smart-creative-way-to-treat-depression-right-from-your-smartphone.html
- https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/palo-alto-medical-foundation-taps-meru-health-digital-therapeutic-depression
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/11/28/mental-health-is-a-growing-concern-here-are-some-ways-entrepreneurs-can-cope/#68efc1c194e0
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Kristian Ranta on MySpace—Official MySpace profile
- Kristian Ranta on Twitter
- Norther—Official page
- Mendor—Official page
- Kristian Ranta on IMDb