Cain's Offering's debut album "Gather the Faithful" will be released September 11th in the USA.

The band is the new artistic creation of Jani Liimatainen, the guitarist/songwriter formerly of Sonata Arctica and Altaria. In 2007, Jani parted ways with Finnish power metal act Sonata Arctica, a band he has contributed to and founded in 1996, and to which he devoted his full time and energy for more than 10 years.

Following his departure from one of Finland's biggest music exports in recent years, all eyes were set upon his newest creation: Cain's Offering. "After parting ways with Sonata Arctica, I took 'a leave of absence' from the metal circles, feeling that I had not much to offer at the time and that I needed a break to charge my batteries," said Liimatainen. "After a year or so the hunger to play metal returned with a vengeance, and so I decided to put together a new group of my own. I gave a call to a few friends, and voila: Cain's Offering! Cain's Offering is a collaboration of a world-class musicians and one of the best singers in the world of heavy metal. All of these guys are handpicked from the very best the Finnish metal scene has to offer and I'm very proud to have them join me in this band."

Joining Liimatainen in his quest for world domination - or rapid success, whichever comes first - are vocalist Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius, Kotipelto), keyboardist Mikko Harkin (Solution.45, Mehida, ex-Sonata Arctica, ex-Wingdom, ex-Kenziner), bassist Jukka Koskinen (Norther, Wintersun), and drummer Jani "Hurtsi" Hurula (Paul Di'Anno).

Drawing its musical influence from the classic hard rock scene, fast-paced European power metal, and a very modern heavy metal sound, Cain's Offering is, just as expected, a perfect example of today's living and breathing Finnish music scene. "To me Cain's Offering is a perfect combination of the things I value in music: beautiful melodies, emotions, top-notch musicianship, and some kick-ass metal!" said Liimatainen. "Basically it represents music as I like to hear it; every element is in its rightful place. I feel that what we came up with has all the traditional values that so many metal-heads, myself included, hold so dear, but with a fresh new twist to it. Lyrically the songs deal with very basic, almost primal emotions and subjects most people will be able to relate to...and...there are absolutely no dragons allowed!"

So, this is a tour-de-force of who's-who in the Finnish heavy metal scene, and yes, this does sound like a wet dream come through for all fans of melodic metal. And guess what - the product exceeds all expectations! With the debut album "Gather the Faithful" ready for release, Cain's Offering waste no time, and backed up by such a strong record label as Frontiers Records and their management Intromental, there's no doubt that 2009 will be the year where the Finnish metal scene finds a new hot exponent.