Poisonblack (FIN)
Poisonblack is a Finnish gothic metal band helmed by singer/guitarist Ville Laihiala, vocalist of the now disbanded Sentenced. After the departure of Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto sometime after the release of their first album, Escapexstacy, Laihiala, the band's principal songwriter, assumed vocal duties himself and has since led Poisonblack in a musical direction that closely mirrors that of his former band.
In 2006 they toured Europe with Lacuna Coil. They have also done various concerts here and there outside Finland and opened for Iron Maiden in Helsinki, 2003.
Band members
Ville Laihiala - Vocals / Guitar
Tarmo Kanerva - Drums
Marco Sneck - Keyboards
Antti Remes - Bass
Janne Markus - guitar
Former members
Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto - Vocals
Janne Kukkonen - Bass
Janne Dahlgren - Guitar
Discography
Albums
Escapexstacy (2003)
Lust Stained Despair (2006)
Singles
Rush (2006)
Official website: http://www.poisonblack.com
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Private Line (FIN)
Private Line are a hard rock and sleaze glam band from Helsinki, Finland, formed during the mid-1990s and continuing today.
The band was founded in the 1990s, when the founding members, Sammy, Jari Huttunen, and Eliaz were still teenagers. They bonded through love of Hanoi Rocks and Mötley Crüe. Private Line won a local band competition and used the prize money from it to record and release their debut EP "Smooth Motions" in 1998.
After recording Smooth Motions, the band brought in two new members: Spit and Illy. Together they recorded a 5 song promo. Founding member and guitarist Jari left the band and joined Finnish heavy metal act Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus in 2001.
While in Helsinki in 2002, vocalist Sammy met a guitarist named Jack, who had previously played in a band called Palmcut. He was asked to join the band and gave a new breath of life into Private Line.
In December 2002, Private Line released their second EP Six Songs of Hellcity Trendkill with a revamped, energy-filled style. The EP got positive reviews from the Finnish rock media as well as glam and hard rock orientated webzines.
2004 saw the appearance of their debut full-length album 21st Century Pirates. A single called Forever And a Day was released from the album in February 2004 and it quickly shot up the Finnish record charts, reaching #3. A second single carrying the name 1-800-Out-of-Nowhere was put out in June 2004 and reached #4 in the Finnish charts. The video for the song stayed on MTV's Up North video chart for 10 weeks. A third single from the album called Already Dead brought the band more success with another top 5 charting in their homeland.
The band toured for the album in various countries, such as Italy, Spain, England, Sweden and Russia. They also supported Brides of Destruction, a band featuring Nikki Sixx and Tracii Guns, in their hometown Helsinki at the Tavastia Club in June 2004In 2005, Private Line got to open for their childhood heroes, Mötley Crüe, on a reunion tour date in Finland.
Private Line signed a new licensing deal between Playground Music (Scandinavia) and 456 Enterprises & Entertainment (USA). 21st Century Pirates was released in the United States in the summer of 2006.
From their forthcoming album, Private Line unveiled a new single on May 31, 2006 called Broken Promised Land. The video of the song featured a finnish porn star and celebrity Rakel Liekki. The track featured synthetizers, which were not as prominent in their earlier material. The single reached #4 on the Finnish singles chart. On the single was also another song from the upcoming album, called Uniform. In October they released a new song entitled Alive on their MySpace page and revealed that the new album will be called Evel Knievel Factor. The album was released on the 1st of November, and album reached #23 on the Finnish albums chart. A second single from the album, called Sound Advice, was released on 28th of January, and reached #9 on the singles chart in Finland. On the single were also two previously unheard songs, Tokyo and Criminal.
Members
Current
- Sammy - vocals
- Eliaz - drums
- Jack Smack - guitar
- Illy - guitar & synths
- Spit - bass
Former
- Jari Huttunen - guitar
Discography
Albums
- 21st Century Pirates (2004)
- Evel Knievel Factor (2006)
E.P.
- Smooth Motions (1998)
- Six Songs of Hellcity Trendkill (2001)
Singles
- Forever and a Day (Feb 2004)
- 1-800-Out-Of-Nowhere (June 2004)
- Already Dead (Dec 2004)
- Broken Promised Land (May 2006)
- Sound Advice (Jan 2007)
Official Website: http://www.privatelineweb.com
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