Conversation so far:
What happened with the band Sonata Arctica in 1996?
Sonata Arctica was founded by Marko Paasikoski, Jani Liimatainen and Tommy Portimo in Kemi at the end of 1995 and Pentti Peura joined in early 1996.

Question: how did they form?
Self-contained rewrite: How did Sonata Arctica form?