To / Die / For

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To / Die / For
General information
Genre (s) Dark rock
founding 1993 as Mary Ann
1999 as To / Die / For
resolution 2016
Website http://www.todiefor.fi/
Last occupation
Jarno "Jape" Perätalo
guitar
 Juppe Sutela
guitar
 Eza Virén
Samuel Schildt
Matti Huopainen
former members
singing
 Juha Kylmanen (2003)
guitar
 Roope Latvala (2001)
guitar
 Mika "Alli" Ahtiainen (2002-2006)
bass
 Miikka Kuisma (1999-2000)
bass
 Marko Kangaskolkka (2000-2004)
Juska Salminen (2004-2006)
Drums
 Tonmi Lillman (1999-2004)
Joonas "Jope" Koto (1999-2004)
guitar
 Antza Talala (2005-2014)
Jarkko "Josey" Sakari Strandman
Santtu Lonka

To / Die / For was a Finnish dark rock band from Kouvola , founded in 1993 under the name Mary Ann and renamed To / Die / For in 1999 .

style

To / Die / For play a melodic variant of Dark Rock , which contains elements of 80s synth pop as well as elements of melodic Power Metal . Due to the idiosyncratic voice of the singer Jape Perätalo, the band has a high recognition value , but it also provides opponents with a good breeding ground for criticism. Another distinguishing feature are the drum fills that have been reduced to the bare minimum , which often only consist of differently varied attacks on the bass drum and the snare .

Musically, especially at the beginning of their career, comparisons with their fellow countrymen from HIM were often made regarding the band , which was less the case after the second album. The comparisons were due not least to the fact that HIM was the first Finnish dark rock band to enjoy massive success across Europe and whose first single was also a cover version.

history

To / Die / For was founded in 1993 as Mary Ann . The band played hard rock with light glam rock elements and was named after a song by Alice Cooper . In 1997 the group released a self-titled album on their own. For the 1,998 recorded Deeper Sin - EP , the songs like Farewell , Dripping Down Red and the Pet Shop Boys -Cover It's a Sin contained, Mary Ann signed on 2 July 1999 a record deal with the Finnish label Spinefarm Records . Over the years, the style of the group had developed towards Dark Rock , which is why Mary Ann renamed To / Die / For at this point and thus heralded the birth of a new band.

The debut album All Eternity was released in Finland in 1999 and was licensed for Germany by Nuclear Blast the following year . The included song Mary-Ann (RIP) is to be understood as an homage to the old band name. In addition to singer Jape Perätalo, the band included the two guitarists Joonas Koto and Juppe Sutela as well as bassist Miikka Kuisma and drummer Tonmi Lillmann . With the single In the Heat of the Night , a cover of the Sandra song of the same name , To / Die / For jumped into the national charts. The single rose to number 17. In autumn 2000 the band went on their first European tour together with Sentenced , In Flames and Dark Tranquility . Subsequently, however, bassist Miikka Kuisma left the band and was replaced by Marko Kangaskolkka, who had previously played with Mary Ann.

The second album Epilogue was released in May 2001. The single Hollow Heart was To / Die / For's first top ten hit in Finland and rose to number 5 in the charts. The album itself reached number 10. In the summer guitarist Juppe Sutela left the band and was replaced for the following tour by the later Children of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala . The band tours Europe as support for Lacrimosa . Back in Finland, Mika Ahtiainen joined as the new guitarist. Drummer Tonmi Lillman played parallel to the band Sinergy between 2000 and 2002 and can be heard there on the two albums To Hell And Back and Suicide By My Side .

In March 2003, after a number of rumors about disagreements between the record company and the band, the third album Jaded was released . After the band had not recorded a cover for Epilogue, another foreign composition is represented on this album with the Cutting Crew song (I Just) Died in Your Arms . After the album was released, however, business problems began to run their course. The announced single Too Much Ain't Enough never appeared and an already confirmed European tour in April of the same year was canceled at short notice. In August 2003 singer Jape Perätalo announced his departure. The band did a Mexico tour in autumn with Juha Kylmanen from For My Pain on the microphone .

After leaving, Jape Perätalo founded a new band called Tiaga while Lillman, Koto and Kangaskolkka continued To / Die / For and were looking for a new singer. Confusion arises in the spring of 2004 when Spinefarm Records offered Tiaga a record deal on the condition that the band be called To / Die / For again. Tiaga signed the contract and operated under the old name from now on. In addition to Perätalo, the band now consisted of the two former T / D / F guitarists Juppe Sutela and Mika "Alli" Ahtiainen, the two New Dawn Foundation members Josey Strandmann (bass) and Santtu Lonka (drums) and the former HIM - and Mary Ann keyboardist Juska Salminen. The remaining, booted musicians Tonmi Lillman (drums), Joonas Koto (guitar) and Marko Kangaskolkka (bass) founded the thrash metal band Hateframe .

The fourth To / Die / For album was simply titled IV and was released in March 2005. Once again was with New Year's Day by U2 include a cover. The single Little Deaths reached number 7 in the national singles charts, the album landed at number 16. Although the band's main arrangers, Koto and Lillman, were no longer there, the record sounded very much like the band's previous works and was able to convince the press and fans alike . A European tour as headliner followed in April of the same year accompanied by their compatriots Soulrelic . After the tour, guitarist Juppe Sutela left the band again. He was replaced by Antza Talala from Soulrelic. In January 2006 the band played with the Brides of Destruction and Prong at the NAMM 2006 their first appearance in the USA. In contrast, keyboardist Juska Salminen took a break from the band. A little later, in February of that year, guitarist Mika "Alli" Ahtiainen announced his departure. For him, Joonas Koto returned to the band in May.

To / Die / For released their fifth album entitled Wounds Wide Open in October 2006 , which was mixed by Peter Tägtgren ( Hypocrisy ). After a long break of four years, the compilation Epilogue from the Past - best of was released , until a new studio album entitled Samsara was released on July 27, 2012 . On June 26th, 2015 To / Die / For released their eighth studio album Cult .

To / Die / For ended their musical career in July 2016.

Guest musician

To / Die / For have some songs with female vocals on their albums, which is why they always invite guest singers to the studio. Kimberly Goss ( Sinergy ) and Elisa Jokelin can be heard on All Eternity , Tanya Kemppainen ( Lullacry ) behind the microphone on Epilogue and Jonna Imeläinen and Anna Lukkarinen on Jaded . On IV you can also hear Katja Kallio in addition to the latter.

In addition to the guest singers, background singers also appear on the albums again and again, so u. a. Marco Hietala from Nightwish .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Epilogue
  FI 10 23/2001 (5 weeks)
Jaded
  FI 16 13/2003 (3 weeks)
IV
  FI 35 12/2005 (1 week)
Cult
  FI 47 28/2015 (1 week)
Singles
In the heat of the night
  FI 17th 
gold
gold
10/2000 (2 weeks)
Hollow Heart
  FI 5 07/2001 (9 weeks)
Little Deaths
  FI 7th 08/2005 (3 weeks)
Like Never Before
  FI 5 37/2006 (3 weeks)

Mary Ann Publications

  • 1997: Mary Ann
  • 1998: Deeper Sin (EP)

Albums

  • 1999: All Eternity
  • 2001: Epilogue
  • 2003: Jaded
  • 2005: IV
  • 2006: Wounds Wide Open
  • 2010: Epilogue from the Past - Best Of
  • 2011: samsara
  • 2015: Cult

Singles

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ a b Sources chart positions: Finland (FI) , accessed on September 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ Music Sales Awards: FI