Siissisoq was a Greenlandic heavy metal band, formed in 1994. The name Siissisoq means Rhino in Greenlandic. The band's lyrics are sung in Greenlandic and their songs are mainly named after African animals.[1] During their original incarnation they were considered the most popular rock band in Greenland.[2][3]
Siissisoq | |
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Origin | Uummannaq, Greenland |
Genres | |
Years active | 1994 | –present
Past members | Karl Enok Mathiassen Hans Mathiassen Knud Mathiassen Malik Løvstrøm Ilannguaq Mathiassen Hans Therkildsen Jens Samuelsen Villads Kristiansen Peter Fleischer Jens Thorin Peter Hendriksen Rasmus Petersen |
Siissisoq formed in 1994 in their hometown of Uummannaq. Guitarist Karl Enok Mathiassen started writing riffs inspired by Metallica and White Zombie.[4] Guitarist Jens Thorin was the first additional member of the new band.[5] Karl Enok Mathiassen started writing songs at age 15, and several of his early songs ended up on the first Siissisoq album.[4]
They released their first album, Aammarpassuillu, in 1998, and it stayed at number one on the Greenlandic charts for two months.[5] In 2001, the band released the live album Aammarlussuillu Live.[6] Their second studio album Super Day was released in 2002 but was not as successful as the first album.[citation needed] The band then went on an extended hiatus.
Siissisoq learned that their record label, ULO Records, had engaged in fraud and manipulation and only paid the band 3-4% of the income earned from their work. ULO claimed that there was not enough of a profit to give Siissisoq money.[citation needed]
The band played reunion shows in 2010 at the Nuuk Festival and the Nipiaa Rock Festival, and have performed live sporadically since then.[5] The album Black Box, compiling live tracks and new recordings of older songs, was released in 2018.[7] Today Karl Enok Mathiassen has his own record label and radio company.[8]