Dunces is melodic heavy-metal band from Tohmajärvi, Finland. The band was found at spring 1999. At first it played under the name Sanitarium. Later on the same year the band figured out that they need a keyboard player so Pirkka Maksimainen joined the group.

Early on the next year the band was working with a bunch of new songs. Best of them were recorded to a demo-CD, which was sended to qualifying of Kitee's band competition. The Band got into the competition but didn't do very well. Later, on the same autumn Sanitarium made a gig in Sotkamo in Hiukka-Rock. Soon after that the drummer Aki Karhu went to Kosovo with KFOR peace-keeping forces for a year and a half. During that time the band was practising with Tomi Kallio, but didn't do much gigs.

On the spring 2001, band started to record a new self-provided full-lenght album in Kitee's Caverock-studio. Because the name Sanitarium was allready in use by another finnish band it had to be changed. The new name Dunces was officially used at the first time on the new album which was released in October, it was called Waiting For.... The Record got much positive feedback especially for Rock-magazine Rumba. A wildest rumor told that the record had spread over the border and would be available among the Russian pirate record sellers. Later on that year Aki came back from Kosovo for good.

Early on the spring Dunces was once again working with brand new material. Before the new album they did a couple of gigs across the eastern Finland and of course, in Tohmajärvi. The new album kept the band busy from a summer to the next one. It was mainly recorded in Aki's, Mako's and Jani's homes, excludind drums, which were recorded in Caverock-Studio in Kitee. The new album was mixed and mastered by Tero Kinnunen just like the first one. Tero was also doing much of the bands live mixing. On May Dunces gave fans a little taste of the new album by releasing 50 copies of Alone special edition-single. The brand new album Kingdom Of Darkness was released on July 2003.

The song from the new album Drunk Dream, was chosen to the "Weeks demo" by the Finnish very popular YleX-radio station. On May 2004 the band had its biggest gig in Kitee, where it was supporting Nighwish with Trio Niskalaukaus. On the very same gig Nightwish released globally most popular Finnish metal album Once.