His other stage name, which he used during his time in Lordi and whenever appearing as drummer, Kita, comes from the Finnish word meaning "jaws", "gap", or "maw".

The band recorded a few albums and toured in Finland but Astala didn't have much time for Stala & SO anymore since he joined Lordi in 2000 as drummer.

He arranged and performed all backing vocals on the Lordi albums, but could not sing live due to his massive mask.

[1] In recognition, the city of Karkkila, where he spent his teenage years, named its youth facilities after him.

On 29 November, "Pamela", the song with which he would play in Eurovision stage was revealed through the YLE channel.