Kristian Ranta
Kristian Ranta | |
|---|---|
Ranta with Norther in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Kride |
| Born | 13 May 1981 Helsinki, Finland |
| Origin | Vihti, Finland |
| Genres | Melodic death metal, power metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 2000–2012 |
| Formerly of | Norther |
| Website | northerband |
Kristian Ranta (born 13 May 1981), also known as Kride, is a Finnish former musician. He was a guitarist and vocalist for the melodic death metal band Norther until their breakup in 2012.[1]
Career
Ranta composed most of Norther's best-known songs, including "Frozen Angel", and is also credited for renaming the band, which was originally called Requiem.[2] He played guitar on all the band's full-length albums, the most recent being Circle Regenerated (2011), and contributed clean vocals to the Solution 7 EP, Till Death Unites Us, the No Way Back EP, and N.
He also formed an experimental side project named Gashouse Garden with Children of Bodom drummer Jaska Raatikainen.
Ranta acted, along with his bandmates, in a Finnish film called Vares 2. Norther and Ranta 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).[3]
Entrepreneurial work
Ranta was a co-founder and CEO of a Finnish diabetes technology company called Mendor[4] until he left the company in November 2015. Later in 2015, he co-founded a company called Blooming to work on stress reduction at workplaces. Blooming was featured in TechCrunch in March 2016.[5] Ranta was also featured in the biggest newspaper in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat, in the summer of 2016.[6]
With the lead of Ranta 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 was accepted to a startup accelerator in Silicon Valley called Y Combinator[7] and has appeared on number of mainstream media publications such as TechCrunch,[8] INC,[9] and MobiHealthNews.[10]
In 2018, Ranta started his own featured blog on Forbes.[11]
Equipment
- Ranta, along with the rest of Norther, was sponsored by Jackson Guitars and Guild Guitar Company.
- Amfisound Custom. This guitar was created during the short time Norther was endorsed by Amfisound.[12]
- 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
- Ranta 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
- ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – NORTHER Get "Released" into Finnish Top 5". Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ^ "Get Ready to ROCK! Interview with Kristian of Finnish metal rock band Norther".
- ^ "Featured Faces". Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
- ^ "European Tech Tour Names Nordic's Most Promising High Growth Technology Companies; Selected Companies Stand to Benefit From $10 Billion in Investment Capital". PRNewswire (Press release).
- ^ "Blooming measures your heart and brain to reduce stress at work". 14 March 2016.
- ^ "Metallikitaristista tuli terveysalan startup-yrittäjä – "Jos rikot rajoja, aina tulee lunta tupaan" | Yrittäjyys | HS". Archived from the original on 9 July 2016.
- ^ "6 companies from the YC Summer 2018 Batch".
- ^ "Meru Health wants to make mental health care more accessible". 25 June 2018.
- ^ "A Genuinely Smart and Creative Way to Treat Depression--Right from Your Smartphone". 12 June 2018.
- ^ "Palo Alto Medical Foundation taps Meru Health for digital therapeutic for depression". 24 August 2017.
- ^ "Council Post: Mental Health is a Growing Concern: Here Are Some Ways Entrepreneurs Can Cope". Forbes.
- ^ "Amfisound tuotesivu". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
External links
- Kristian Ranta on Twitter
- Kristian Ranta at IMDb
- Norther—Official page
- Mendor—Official page