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Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
. The group consists of
Marko Saaresto Marko Saaresto (born 5 December 1970) is the founding member, lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Finnish alternative rock band Poets of the Fall. Saaresto worked as a graphic designer before forming the band in late 2002. Sam Lake, Saa ...
(lead vocals),
Olli Tukiainen Olli "Ollie" Tukiainen is a Finnish musician and the guitarist of the rock band Poets of the Fall. Biography Before joininPoets of the Fall Tukiainen along with Poets vocalist Marko Saaresto, made songs for Playground, which was Saaresto's ban ...
(lead guitar), Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen (keyboards, production), Jani Snellman (bass), Jaska Mäkinen (rhythm guitar), and Jari Salminen (drums, percussion).


History


Early years (2003–2004)

The band was founded on 25 April 2003 by Saaresto and Tukiainen. Tukiainen had written multiple songs for Saaresto's previous band ''Playground'' and performed with Finnish jazzband ''Pohjoinen Syke'' previously. In 2003, Saaresto's friend Sami Järvi, a script-writer working at
Remedy Entertainment Remedy Entertainment Oyj, trading internationally as Remedy Entertainment Plc, is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Notable games the studio has developed include the first two instalments in the '' Max Payne'' franchise, ''Alan ...
handed Saaresto a poem he had written, asking him to turn it into a song to use in Remedy's video game '' Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne''. The song, entitled " Late Goodbye", was used as the ending-theme of the game as well as a recurring motif, being sung and whistled by multiple characters. It was produced by Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen, who joined the band shortly after due to Saaresto and Tukiainen liking his work. Kaarlonen being a former employee of
benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...
-developer
Futuremark Futuremark Oy was a Finnish software development company that produced computer benchmark applications for home, business, and press use. Futuremark was acquired by UL on 31 October 2014, and was formally merged into the company on 23 April 2 ...
, POTF were offered to have their song ''Lift'' included in the 2005-literation of Futuremark's benchmarking software
3DMark 3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by UL, (formerly Futuremark), to determine the performance of a computer's 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing capabilities. Running 3DMark produces a 3DMark score, with h ...
, which exposed the band to a wider audience than ''
Max Payne 2 ''Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne'' is a 2003 third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sequel to 2001's ''Max Payne (video game), Max Payne'' and the second game in the ''Ma ...
'' had done. In order to keep complete control and freedom over the band, the members founded their own independent record label, Insomniac, on which they have released all their CDs as of 2014. On 30 June 2004, the Poets released their debut single '' Late Goodbye'' in Finland which was followed by ''
Lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...
'' on 9 September 2004. The songs charted No. 14 and No. 8 on the Finnish single charts and reached No. 2 and No. 7 in YleX's 2004-voting for "Best Finnish song". POTF were also voted "Fresh Newcomer of 2004" by YleX. The videos for both songs were directed by Tuomas "Stobe" Harju. POTF performed at Popkomm 2005 in Berlin. On 18 December 2004, the Poets released a free download single on their website Maybe Tomorrow is a Better Day to market the release of their debut album '' Signs of Life''. After having been taken offline, it was remastered and reissued on the band's second album ''
Carnival of Rust Carnival of Rust is the second album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released on 12 April 2006 in Finland, 12 September 2006 in Sweden, October 2006 in Australia, Russia and Ukraine, then on 20 April 2007 in Germany. The alb ...
''.


''Signs of Life'' (2005–2006)

The band's debut album '' Signs of Life'' was released in Finland on 19 January 2005, followed by iTunes on 25 May 2005. It entered the Finnish Top 40 album chart at number one and has been certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
by the Finnish
IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
. The album was awarded the Emma Award for the "Best Debut Album of the Year 2005" and the band received the "Best Newcomer of the Year"-Award. Accompanying the album, the band released a video for the song ''
Lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...
'', directed by Tuomas "Stobe" Harju, and used the songs ''Stay'' and ''Illusion and Dream'' as promotional radio singles. The album contains a password granting access to a secret page on poetsofthefall.com that hosts a remix of the song "Lift", entitled "Dramadance Remix" as well as wallpapers made from the "Lift" video and the album artwork. The title ''Signs of Life'' is a reference to the Pink Floyd-instrumental of the same name released in 1987.


''Carnival of Rust'' (2006–2007)

Having won the "Best Finnish Breakthrough"-Award at the
NRJ Radio NRJ (NRJ is an acronym read as Nouvelle Radio Jeune, or ''énergie'' in French, pronounced , literally "energy") is a private French radio station created by Jean-Paul Baudecroux and Max Guazzini in June 1981, and was widely popularized than ...
Awards, POTF released their third single, entitled "
Carnival of Rust Carnival of Rust is the second album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released on 12 April 2006 in Finland, 12 September 2006 in Sweden, October 2006 in Australia, Russia and Ukraine, then on 20 April 2007 in Germany. The alb ...
" in Finland on 22 March 2006 with a release in Germany following on 1 December 2006. The single, which entered the Finnish charts at No. 2, features a radio- and an album-edit as well as a live-recording of ''Don't Mess With Me'', the fourth track on ''Signs of Life'', from the band's performance at Rockperry Festival, Vaasa, Finland on 15 July 2005. On 30 March 2006, the band released the video to ''Carnival of Rust'' which shows a gas-masked woman visiting an old carnival, and also references every song from the band's second album of the same name. The video became hugely popular in Finland, winning two Muuvi Awards as well as the YLE Audience Choice Award as "Best Finnish Music Video of All Time". It was also voted "Best Music Video 2006" by
The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
. In 2009, the video was remastered by Elmeri Raitanen as his bachelor-thesis in visual and media arts at
Lahti Institute of Design LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts () is a faculty of LAB University of Applied Sciences in Finland, which is a large, multidisciplinary institution of higher education. The LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts is one of the largest Finnish sch ...
and reissued in high definition. The Poets' second album ''
Carnival of Rust Carnival of Rust is the second album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released on 12 April 2006 in Finland, 12 September 2006 in Sweden, October 2006 in Australia, Russia and Ukraine, then on 20 April 2007 in Germany. The alb ...
'' was released in Finland on 12 April 2006 and has since been released in Sweden, Australia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany and on iTunes. It includes 11 new songs, a remastered version of ''Maybe Tomorrow is a Better Day'', as well as the music video to the title track. The cover, which sees the return of the lollipop from the first album, was designed by Tuomas Harju. ''Carnival of Rust'' also went straight to No. 1 on the Finnish charts. It has been certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
. It was selected as one of the best albums 2006 by Finland's largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, and was nominated for "Best Finnish Album" at the NRJ Radio Awards as well as "Best Rock Album" at the Emma Awards in 2007.


''Revolution Roulette'' (2008–2009)

In 2008, POTF redesigned their moth-logo and also changed the font used to display their band name. They also participated in the Voice's CD compilation ''Livenä Vieraissa'', with a cover version of Chris Cornell's song " You Know My Name", and their own song "
Diamonds for Tears "Diamonds for Tears" is the second single from the album Revolution Roulette by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. The single was released in Finland on 20 May 2008 and contains two versions of the title track as well as a live recording of ...
". In the same year, POTF signed Phoenix Effect, the band of former Sunrise Avenue-guitarist Janne Kärkkäinen to their Insomniac-label and produced their debut album ''Cyanide Skies'' with Saaresto / Tukiainen performing additional vocals / guitar work. The album was released on 18 February 2009 in Finland and entered the Finnish album charts at No. 22. POTF also make a cameo-appearance in the video to Phoenix Effect's song "King See No Evil". Poets of the Fall released their next single called ''
The Ultimate Fling The Ultimate Fling is the first single from the album Revolution Roulette by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released in Finland on 6 February 2008. The single features three versions of the title track as well as a live recording ...
'' in Finland on 6 February 2008. The single features three variations of the title track (a radio-edit, an album-edit and an impromptu-version) as well as a live recording of ''Fire'', the opening track of the band's second album ''Carnival of Rust'' which was recorded during the Poets' performance at Ankkarock Festival 2007 on 5 August. The single charted at No. 2 in the Finnish singles charts. Months after the release of the single, the band published the accompanying video which consists of fan-recorded footage of the band performing at various gigs. The third POTF-album, entitled ''
Revolution Roulette ''Revolution Roulette'' is the third album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released in Finland on 26 March 2008 and went straight to the top of the Finnish charts.
'', was released in Finland and on iTunes on 26 March 2008. Its cover was designed by Tuomas Harju and features a giant
padlock Padlocks are portable locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent use, theft, vandalism or harm. Naming and etymology The term '' padlock'' is from the late fifteenth century. ...
with a built-in roulette, abandoning the lollipop used on the previous album-covers. The record marks the first POTF-album not produced in Markus Kaarlonen's living-room, but the band's own professional studio. It went straight to the top of the Finnish charts and was certified gold two weeks after being released. The band also released the title track of the album as a promotional radio-single. ''Revolution Roulette'' is currently the only POTF album that has not been released physically outside Finland. While on tour with the album, the band played their first gig in the United States at Musexpo 2008 in Los Angeles on 29 April 2008. On 18 September 2009, the band released a "Best of"-compilation in India.


''Twilight Theater'' (2010)

In mid-2009, after finishing the ''Revolution Roulette''-tour, the band announced they would be heading into the studio to record their fourth album, the genre of which they described as "cinematic rock". On 9 December 2009, the band announced that a song entitled "War" from their fourth studio album would be featured in ''
Alan Wake ''Alan Wake'' is an action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment. The story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake as he tries to uncover the mystery behind his wife's disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional ...
'', a psychological thriller video game developed by Remedy Entertainment. Along with "War", ''Alan Wake'' also features two new songs, "Children of the Elder God" and "The Poet and The Muse", which were written specifically for the game, and are performed by Poets of the Fall as the in-game band Old Gods of Asgard. In June, the band released a video for "War" (despite it being only a promotional single on radio) which reenacts scenes from the game in live-action. It features Finnish actor Ilkka Villi as the game's protagonist of the same name (Villi also served as the model used for the creation of the Alan Wake character) and the band, except Saaresto. The band portrays in the video some of ''Alan Wakes in-game antagonists, lumberjacks possessed by an evil force named "the Dark Presence". The antagonists are collectively called "the Taken". On 18 January, the band announced that their fourth album entitled ''
Twilight Theater ''Twilight Theater'' is the fourth studio album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released in Finland as well as on iTunes on 17 March 2010
'' would be released on 17 March in Finland and that the first single from the album would be '' Dreaming Wide Awake'' which debuted on Radio NRJ Suomi on 21 January and was released on 3 February as a limited-edition single. It reached No. 18 on the Finnish single-charts. ''Twilight Theater'' was released in Finland and on iTunes on 17 March, followed by Germany, Austria and Switzerland on 29 October. It went straight to the top of the Finnish album charts and was certified gold a week after release.


''Alchemy Vol.1'' (2011)

The band released a double-vinyl edition of their debut album ''Signs of Life'' on 19 January 2011, exactly six years after its original release. A CD&DVD-compilation entitled ''Alchemy Vol.1'' was released on 16 March 2011. It contains the band's whole videography as well as the favourite songs of the band-members and also features two new songs, "No End, No Beginning" and "Can You Hear Me". The latter was released digitally on 2 February 2011 and is featured in the remake of Remedy Entertainment's video game '' Death Rally''. The video to the song was directed by Mikko Harma and premiered on The Voice on 18 March 2011.


''Temple of Thought'' (2012–2013)

A fifth studio album, ''
Temple of Thought ''Temple of Thought'' is the fifth studio album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. The group consists of Marko Saaresto (lead vocals), Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar), M ...
'', was released on 21 March 2012 to conform to the release-cycle of two years set by the previous albums. Its name and album cover were revealed on the band's official Facebook page on 25 January 2012. Temple of Thought debuted at #3 on the Finnish charts. The first single of the new album, ''Cradled in Love'', was released for Finnish radio airplay on 24 January 2012. On 26 January it was released for digital download on the band's official digistore. The band released the music video for the song "Cradled in Love" on 3 March 2012. "The Happy Song", an original song written for ''
Alan Wake's American Nightmare ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. The game is a downloadable follow-up and spin-off to its predecessor, ''Alan Wake''. The game is an Xbox ...
'', also appeared on the album. A 45-second snippet of the German radio edit of "Kamikaze Love" was uploaded by Remote Music, an independent German record label, on 24 February 2012. The single was released in Germany on 13 April 2012. A special edition of album was released in Germany and internationally (digital-only) on 20 July 2012. It includes three bonus titles. The Temple of Thought Tour included locations in Finland, Russia, Germany, Romania and India. In March 2013, the band announced that they would film their show in Moscow on 23 March, during their 10th Anniversary Tour. They launched a campaign collaborating with
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
. In April they produced a track called Yö ("night") for the Finnish singer-songwriter Ima. On 13 September 2013 the band released their first live performance DVD titled ''Live in Moscow''.


''Jealous Gods'' (2013–2015)

On 8 July 2014 the band announced that their sixth studio album ''
Jealous Gods ''Jealous Gods'' is the sixth studio album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. The group consists of Marko Saaresto (lead vocals), Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar), Markus ...
'' would be released on 19 September on iTunes and
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, along with other digital music retailers, streaming services and selected record stores. The album's first single, ''Daze'', was released on 22 August on their official website along with its music video. Additionally, prior to the album's release, and as a countdown to the new single and video, each Friday, starting from 11 July with ''Signs of Life'', the band released each of their albums on Spotify in chronological order. In October 2014, the band began the ''Jealous Gods Tour'' in Finland and Germany.


''Clearview'' (2016)

On 11 June 2015, the band announced that they had begun working on their seventh studio album. In January 2016, they announced they would be working with
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
producer Stefan Boman on the album. On 26 May 2016, the band announced that their seventh album would be titled ''Clearview'', to be released on 30 September 2016 and is to be followed by an extensive world tour. On 4 August 2016, the album's first single, "Drama for Life", was released. Clearview was released on 30 September 2016, co-inciding with the start of the Clearview tour in Helsinki.


''Ultraviolet'' (2018)

On 11 March 2018, the band announced that their eighth album will be released in October 2018. On 5 October 2018, Poets released their eighth album
Ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...
, which once again hit the #1 position on the Finnish album chart. Two singles, False Kings and Dancing on Broken Glass, were released prior to the album. Currently the band is recording material for various new projects, as well as playing around the world with the Ultraviolet Tour. In 2019, a single from the album, My Dark Disquiet, was featured in the video game ''
Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...
''.


''Ghostlight'' (2022)

On 13 March 2022 Poets of the Fall announced their album ''Ghostlight'', released in April 2022, as a completion to the band's third trilogy, consisting of '' Clearview'', ''
Ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...
'' and ''Ghostlight''. According to the band, ''Ghostlight'' embodies the idea of metamorphosis, winning over hardship, of acceptance and becoming whole. The first single released was "Requiem for My Harlequin".


Members

* Marko Saaresto - vocals * Olli Tukiainen - lead guitar * Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen - keyboards, production * Jani Snellman - bass * Jaska Mäkinen - rhythm guitar * Jari Salminen - drums, percussion


Discography


Studio albums


DVDs


Singles

"*" = refers only to the song, not b-sides etc. featured on the single


B-sides


Compilation albums


Cover songs


Writing credits


Videography


Tours


Awards


In other media


References


External links


Official websiteOfficial YouTube channel
{{Authority control Finnish alternative rock groups Finnish hard rock musical groups Finnish musical groups Finnish rock musicians Musical groups established in 2003 Finnish musical trios MTV Europe Music Award winners