Timo Rautiainen is a Finnish rock singer born in 1963 in Sulkava, best known as the frontman of Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus - a heavy metal band he founded in 1996 that helped bring Finnish-language heavy music to mainstream audiences. The band sold over 130,000 albums and won four Emma awards in 2002, including Album of the Year and Band of the Year. After a hiatus from 2006, the group returned in 2017 and has continued releasing new material, with the seventh studio album Tuomiojärvi out in September 2025.
Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus released their seventh studio album Tuomiojärvi on 12 September 2025, the first record with new drummer Aksu Hanttu.
The band launched an extensive autumn club tour across Finland to support the Tuomiojärvi album, starting 19 September 2025 in Kuusankoski.
The band played a series of summer festival shows under the banner 'Itku pitkästä ilosta 25 vuotta', including Tuska Festival in Helsinki and dates in Tampere, Oulu and Laukaa.
The band announced Aksu Hanttu as their new drummer, replacing long-time member Seppo Pohjolainen who was dismissed in late 2023; Hanttu also serves as the album's recording engineer, mixer and producer.
Rautiainen continued his role as vocalist for Leavings-Orkesteri on a club tour performing Gösta Sundqvist's classic songs, with dates extending into 2026.
concert19:00Leavings Orchestra performs Gösta Sundqvist's classic songs with tenor Timo Rautiainen at House of Olaf in Savonlinna.
concert19:00Leavings Orchestra and Timo Rautiainen perform classics from Leevi and the Leavings in original arrangements. The tour lineup features original members of the band.
