The Black League was a heavy metal band from Finland. They were formed in 1998 by

Taneli Jarva Taneli Jarva is a Finnish musician born in Oulu, Northern Finland. He was the vocalist and bass player of the heavy metal band Sentenced from 1991 until leaving the group in 1995, citing creative differences. In 1998, Jarva formed The Blac ...

, three years after his departure from Finnish metal band

Sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and c ...

. The Black League's first two full-lengths carry on the spirit from Taneli's work with his former band, seasoning their metal with elements of traditional

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

. On their third release, ''Man's Ruin Revisited'', these influences take an even more prominent role in their sound. In October 2014, Taneli Jarva pronounced of his decision to call the band the quits due to "lack of personal inspiration".

Band members

– lead vocals (1998–2014) * Maike Valanne – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1998–2014) * Heavy Hiltunen – lead guitar (2005–2014) * Ilkka Tanska – bass (2005–2014) * Rale Tiiainen – drums (2005–2014)

Previous members

* Alexi Ranta – lead guitar (1998–2005) * Mikko Laurila (a.k.a. Florida) – bass (1998–2005) * Kimmo Luttinen (a.k.a. Sir Luttinen) – drums (1998–2005)

Session members

* Lene Leinonen – bass (live 2004)

Discography

Demos

*''Demo 98'' (1998)

Singles

*''

Cold Women & Warm Beer The Black League was a heavy metal band from Finland. They were formed in 1998 by Taneli Jarva, three years after his departure from Finnish metal band Sentenced. The Black League's first two full-lengths carry on the spirit from Taneli's work ...

'' (2003)

EPs

*'' Doomsday Sun'' (2001)

Albums

* ''

Ichor In Greek mythology, ichor () is the ethereal fluid that is the blood of the gods and/or immortals. The Ancient Greek word () is of uncertain etymology, and has been suggested to be a foreign word. In classical myth Ichor originates in Greek my ...

'' (2000) * ''

Utopia A.D. ''Utopia A.D.'' is The Black League's second full-length album, released in 2001 by Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. ...

'' (2001) * '' Man's Ruin Revisited'' (2004) * ''A Place Called Bad'' (2005) * ''Ghost Brothel'' (2009)

Videography

* ''Winter Winds Sing'' (2000) * ''Rex Talionis'' (2002) * ''Same Ol' Fuckery'' (2005) * ''The Pusher'' (2007) * ''The Beast Is a Riddle'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black League, The 1998 establishments in Finland Finnish heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 Musical quintets