Poisonblack was a Finnish

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band led by singer and guitarist

Ville Laihiala Ville Laihiala (born 13 June 1973) is a Finnish musician. He was the vocalist and guitarist of the gothic metal band Poisonblack. He was also the frontman for Sentenced from 1996 (when he replaced their former bassist and vocalist Taneli Jarva) ...

History

In 2003, the band's first album, ''Escapexstacy'', was on the Finnish national charts for three weeks, peaking at No. 21. They opened for

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki on 21 December 2003 for the

Dance of Death World Tour The Dance of Death World Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their thirteenth studio album, ''Dance of Death''. The group's eighth live record, '' Death on the Road'', was recorded in Dortmund. The tour was s ...

. Singer

Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto Juha-Pekka is a Finnish given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Juha Pekka Alanen, Finnish guitarist of Altaria *Juha-Pekka Haataja (born 1982), Finnish ice hockey player *Juha-Pekka Hytönen (born 1981), Finnish ice hockey player ...

left in the autumn of 2003 to concentrate on his work with

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo ...

. Ville Laihiala, the band's principal songwriter, assumed vocal duties and has since led Poisonblack out of the gothic genre of their first album and in a musical direction that closely mirrors that of his former 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 ...

. In 2006, the band toured Europe with

Lacuna Coil Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...

and their second album, '' Lust Stained Despair'', reached No. 2 in Finland for one week. In 2008, they released ''

A Dead Heavy Day A Dead Heavy Day is the third studio album by the Finnish gothic metal band Poisonblack. It was released on 1 September 2008 by Century Media Records. Track listing Digipak limited edition bonus DVD *Making of ''A Dead Heavy Day'' *Liv ...

'' which hit the Finnish Album Chart in position 6. After this success, they toured Europe with

Dark Tranquillity Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarded a ...

and Fear My Thoughts. In 2010, Poisonblack released ''

Of Rust and Bones Of Rust and Bones is the fourth studio album by the Finnish gothic metal band Poisonblack. It was released on 22 March 2010 in Europe by Century Media Records. Track listing All music by Laihiala, except for tracks 1, 3, 6 and 8 by Markus. All ...

'', their fourth album. The fifth album, ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

'', was released in 2011 on Hype Records and the band's latest album, ''

Lyijy ''Lyijy'' is the sixth and final studio album by Finnish gothic metal band Poisonblack. The title of the album means lead in English. Track listing # Home Is Where the Sty Is – 3:35 # Down the Ashes Rain – 3:53 # The Flavor of the Month ...

'', was released in September 2013 by

Warner Music Finland Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * All Money In * Artist Partners Group * Asylum Rec ...

. The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish album chart. On 23 August 2015, singer Ville Laihiala posted a statement on the band's

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page and website stating that the band had broken up. The band played their final show at Oulu, Finland (21-08-2015). JP Leppäluoto joined the band in their final few shows. The final song the band would ever perform would be "The State", before ending their farewell show and tour.

Band members

– vocals (2003–2015), guitars (2000–2015) * Antti Remes – bass (2004–2015) * Marco Sneck – keyboards (2000–2015) * Tarmo Kanerva – drums (2000–2015)

Former members

– vocals (2001–2003-2015) * Janne Dahlgren – guitars (2000–2003) * Janne Markus – guitars (2004–2010) * Janne Kukkonen – bass (2000–2004)

Tour members

* Veli-Matti Kananen – keyboards (2008) * Antti Leiviskä – guitars (2010–2015)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

*''

Escapexstacy ''Escapexstacy'' is the debut album of Finnish gothic metal band Poisonblack. It was released on 17 February 2003 in Germany, 25 February 2003 in the United States and Canada, and 8 March 2003 in Japan. Amy Sciarretto gave a favourable review ...

'' (2003) *'' Lust Stained Despair'' (2006) *''

'' (2008) *''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2011) *''

'' (2013)

Video albums

*''A Dead Heavy Day'' (DVD) (2008)

Singles

*"Love Infernal" (2003) *"

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

" (2006) *"Bear the Cross" (2008) *"Mercury Falling" (2011) *"Scars" (2011) *"Home Is Where the Sty Is" (2013) *"Down the Ashes Rain" (2014)

Compilation

* ''Classics'' (2009)

References

External links

*
Interview with Ville Laihiala "Music Is My Savior In So Many Ways" February 9, 2010

Hype Records
{{Authority control Finnish gothic metal musical groups Finnish heavy metal musical groups Finnish hard rock musical groups Finnish gothic rock groups Musical groups established in 2000