Heidi Parviainen is a Finnish professionally educated classical lyric soprano and a singing teacher. She is best known from her cinematic metal band Dark Sarah and as the former lead singer of Finnish power metal band Amberian Dawn. Before working with Amberian Dawn, she played keyboards and provided background vocals for a band called Iconofear.
Early life
Heidi's musical history started quite early in a children's music playschool. Later on, at a primary school, she went to a music-oriented class. She started taking piano lessons at the age of 11, but soon she said it became very clear that she wanted more than just classical piano playing. After various teachers, she quit taking piano lessons and has played by herself. At the age of 14, she started classical singing studies in a music institute with the diploma singer Raisa Lahtiranta. During more than ten years she had also sung in various choirs and ensembles.
Musical career
Agonia, Iconofear (1997–2006)
The first contact with heavy music came in 1997 at high school, when a couple of high school heavy-metal guys asked her to sing on their EP. At that time, they played death metal and the band was called Agonia. After a while, Heidi joined the band as a keyboard player and backing vocalist. From 1997, the band changed its form, and its name to Iconofear. After years of classical singing studies, Heidi grew accustomed to the idea of being a vocalist and during the decade with Iconofear she also grew to like heavy music.
With Amberian Dawn (2006–2012)
So in the summer 2006, she started to look for a band, a metal band, because it seemed to be closest to her interests. The guys spotted her application, listened to her samples and called her, to set up a demo with her and the band. It turned out that she was exactly what they were looking for, due to her ability to both sing and contribute lyrics. This completed the band's lineup, now under the name of Amberian Dawn. Heidi started to write lyrics which were often influenced by Finnish and Norse mythology, and many songs reference the Finnish national poem Kalevala. She undertook three European tours with the band and performed at several European festivals. On 19 November 2012 the band announced that Heidi had parted ways with them. The decision was made in early 2012, thus meaning Amberian Dawn's appearance at Metal Female Voices Fest was their last show together with Heidi. with Amberian Dawn in 2009.
Dark Sarah (2012–)
A few days after her departure, Heidi announced that she had started a new musical project called "Dark Sarah". She said Dark Sarah "is making one of my dreams come true, a dream that had been sleeping for many years but now has finally awoken." Heidi explained the concept: The musical style combines elements of film music, metal music and music theater. On the album called Behind the Black Veil, which will feature several guest musicians such as Manuela Kraller, Inga Scharf and Kasperi Heikkinen. Dark Sarah consists of a talented band including musicians like: Erkka Korhonen , Sami-Petri Salonen, Jukka Koskinen and Lauri Kuussalo. Dark Sarah has released 3 albums so far, after an initial EP. The first album, Behind the Black Veil, was released in 2014. This was followed by The Puzzle, and The Golden Moth. The Violent Roses EP was released in 2014. In 2020 the band announced their signing to Napalm Records and a new studio album called "Grim".
