Poets of the Fall
Encyclopedia
Poets of the Fall is a rock band from Finland
. It consists of Marko Saaresto (lead vocals), Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar) and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen
(keyboards, production). On tour the band is supported by Jani Snellman (bass guitar), Jaska Mäkinen (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Jari Salminen (drums, percussion).
The band has sold over 100,000 albums in Finland.
In 2003, Saaresto's friend Sami Järvi, a script-writer working at Remedy Entertainment
handed Saaresto a poem he had written, asking him to turn it into a song to use in Remedy's upcoming action 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
-developer Futuremark
, POTF were offered to have their song Lift included in the 2005-literation of Futuremark's benchmarking
-software 3DMark
, which exposed the band to a wider audience than Max Payne 2
had done.
In order to keep complete control and freedom over the band, the members founded their own independent record label, named Insomniac, on which they have released all their CDs as of now.
On 30 June 2004, the Poets released their debut single Late Goodbye
in Finland which was followed by Lift
on 9 September 2004.
The songs reached ranks 14 and 8 on the Finnish single charts and ranks 2 and 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 entitled 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
.
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 by the Finish IFPI
. 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
, 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.
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
, 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
. In 2009, the video was remastered by Elmeri Raitanen as his bachelor-thesis in visual and media arts at Lahti institute of Design
and reissued in high definition
.
The Poets' second album Carnival of Rust
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
. 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.
song You Know My Name
, and their own song Diamonds for Tears
.
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 #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
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
, was released in Finland
and on iTunes on 26 March 2008. Its cover was designed by Tuomas Harju and features a giant padlock
with a built-in roulette
, abandoning the lolipop 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.
On 18 September 2009, the band released a "Best of"-compilation in India.
-tour, the band announced they would be heading into the studio to record their fourth album whose genre 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
, 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 live-action scenes from the game. 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 character) and the band, except Saaresto, who portray Alan Wake's in-game antagonists, lumberjacks possessed by an evil force named "The Dark Presence", called "The Taken".
On 18 January, the band announced that their fourth album entitled Twilight Theater
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.
video-game Death Rally
. The video to the song was directed by Mikko Harma and premiered on The Voice
on 18 March 2011.
A fifth studio album is also in pre-production, scheduled for release in spring 2012 to conform to the release-cycle of two years set by the previous albums.
"*" = refers only to the song, not b-sides etc. featured on the single
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. It consists of Marko Saaresto (lead vocals), Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar) and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen
Markus Kaarlonen
Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen is a Finnish musician/songwriter/producer, and the keyboardist of the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. Kaarlonen catapulted to considerable underground fame with his Amiga MOD music in the early 1990s. His first commercial album was released as Dance Nation's album...
(keyboards, production). On tour the band is supported by Jani Snellman (bass guitar), Jaska Mäkinen (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Jari Salminen (drums, percussion).
The band has sold over 100,000 albums in Finland.
Early years (2003–2004)
The band was founded in 2003 with the collaboration of Saaresto and Tukiainen who 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
Remedy Entertainment is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 1995 and based in Espoo, Finland. The company is best known for its Max Payne and Alan Wake series of video games.-History:...
handed Saaresto a poem he had written, asking him to turn it into a song to use in Remedy's upcoming action game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Rockstar Vienna for the Xbox & PlayStation 2 and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3...
. The song, entitled Late Goodbye
Late Goodbye
"Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life...
, 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
-Geology:*Benchmark , a point of reference for a measurement**Benchmarking , an activity involving finding benchmarks*Benchmark , used in pricing crude oil-Technology:...
-developer Futuremark
Futuremark
Futuremark Oy is a Finnish software development company, that produces computer benchmark applications for home users and businesses. Company headquarters and R&D department are located in Espoo, Finland...
, POTF were offered to have their song Lift included in the 2005-literation of Futuremark's benchmarking
Benchmark (computing)
In computing, a benchmark is the act of running a computer program, a set of programs, or other operations, in order to assess the relative performance of an object, normally by running a number of standard tests and trials against it...
-software 3DMark
3DMark
3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by Futuremark Corporation to determine the performance of a computer's 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing capabilities. Running 3DMark produces a 3DMark score with higher numbers indicating better performance...
, which exposed the band to a wider audience than Max Payne 2
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Rockstar Vienna for the Xbox & PlayStation 2 and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3...
had done.
In order to keep complete control and freedom over the band, the members founded their own independent record label, named Insomniac, on which they have released all their CDs as of now.
On 30 June 2004, the Poets released their debut single Late Goodbye
Late Goodbye
"Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life...
in Finland which was followed by Lift
Lift (Poets of the Fall song)
"Lift" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It is the second single released from their debut album, Signs of Life. The song was released in Finland on 9 September, 2004. The song reached #8 on the Finnish Top 40 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks...
on 9 September 2004.
The songs reached ranks 14 and 8 on the Finnish single charts and ranks 2 and 7 in YleX's
Yleisradio
The Finnish Broadcasting Company , abbreviated to YLE , is Finland's national broadcasting company, founded in 1926. YLE is a public-broadcasting organization which shares many of its characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled...
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 entitled Maybe Tomorrow is a Better Day to market the release of their debut album Signs of Life
Signs of Life
- Film :* Signs of Life , by Werner Herzog* Signs of Life , a U.S. film- Literature :* Signs of Life by M...
. After having been taken offline, it was remastered and reissued on the band's second album Carnival of Rust
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...
.
Signs of Life (2005–2006)
The band's debut album Signs of LifeSigns of Life (Poets of the Fall album)
-Release history:-Singles:-Awards:-Nominations:...
was released in Finland on 19 January 2005, followed by iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on 25 May 2005. It entered the Finnish Top 40 album chart at number one and has been certified platinum by the Finish IFPI
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland...
. The album was awarded the Emma Award
Emma-gaala
The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990....
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 (Poets of the Fall song)
"Lift" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It is the second single released from their debut album, Signs of Life. The song was released in Finland on 9 September, 2004. The song reached #8 on the Finnish Top 40 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks...
, 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
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
-instrumental of the same name released in 1987.
Carnival of Rust (2006–2007)
Having won the "Best Finnish Breakthrough"-Award at the NRJ Radio Awards, POTF released their third single, entitled Carnival of RustCarnival of Rust (song)
"Carnival of Rust" is the first single and the title track of the Carnival of Rust album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released in Finland on 22 March 2006 and in Germany on 1 December 2006. The single contains two versions of the track and a live recording of the song "Don't...
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
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
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
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...
, 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
- Music :* The Voice of Frank Sinatra, a Frank Sinatra album* The Voice , a 1984 album by Bobby McFerrin* The Voice , a 1994 EP by Vicious Rumors* The Voice , a 2001 album by Russell Watson...
. In 2009, the video was remastered by Elmeri Raitanen as his bachelor-thesis in visual and media arts at Lahti institute of Design
Lahti Institute of Design
Institute of Design is a part of Lahti University of Applied Sciences, which is a large, multidisciplinary institution of higher education, located some 100 km north of the Finnish capital, Helsinki...
and reissued in high definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
.
The Poets' second album Carnival of Rust
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...
was released in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
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
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...
also went straight to No. 1 on the Finnish charts. It has been certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. It was selected as one of the best albums 2006 by Finland's
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
, 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 bandname. They also participated in the Voice's CD compilation Livenä Vieraissa, with a cover version of Chris Cornell'sChris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
song You Know My Name
You Know My Name
"You Know My Name," performed by Chris Cornell, is the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. Cornell wrote it jointly with David Arnold, the soundtrack's composer. The film producers went after Cornell because they wanted a strong male singer...
, and their own song Diamonds for Tears
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 the song Carnival of Rust and the video to the...
.
In the same year, POTF signed Phoenix Effect, the band of former Sunrise Avenue
Sunrise Avenue
Sunrise Avenue is a Finnish rock band originally formed in 1992 in Espoo, Finland. In the early days the band was called “Sunrise” and the name was changed to “Sunrise Avenue” in 2001. Sunrise Avenue is known for their catchy melodic and modern songs and energetic live performances. Their style...
-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 #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
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 of Fire, the opening track from the band's second...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
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
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...
which was recorded during the Poets' performance at Ankkarock Festival 2007
Ankkarock
Ankkarock is a Finnish rock and metal festival held annually in Korso, Vantaa, in the Greater Helsinki area. It literally translates into Duckrock. The first Ankkarock was held in 1989; the festival was free of charge until 1998....
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
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
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and on iTunes on 26 March 2008. Its cover was designed by Tuomas Harju and features a giant padlock
Padlock
Padlocks are portable locks used to protect against theft, vandalism, sabotage, unauthorized use, and harm. They are designed to protect against some degree of forced and surreptitious entry.- History :...
with a built-in roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
, abandoning the lolipop 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
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...
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
Musexpo
MUSEXPO is an international music, media & technology conference based in Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2005, MUSEXPO has played host to thousands of executives from all around the world and showcased 100+ artists from dozens of countries, many of which left with substantial outcomes...
in Los Angeles on 29 April.
On 18 September 2009, the band released a "Best of"-compilation in India.
Twilight Theater (2010)
In mid-2009, after finishing the Revolution RouletteRevolution 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...
-tour, the band announced they would be heading into the studio to record their fourth album whose genre 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
Alan Wake is a story-driven action game in the psychological thriller genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios, released for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2010...
, a psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
video game developed by Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 1995 and based in Espoo, Finland. The company is best known for its Max Payne and Alan Wake series of video games.-History:...
. Along with War, Alan Wake
Alan Wake
Alan Wake is a story-driven action game in the psychological thriller genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios, released for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2010...
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 live-action scenes from the game. 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 character) and the band, except Saaresto, who portray Alan Wake's in-game antagonists, lumberjacks possessed by an evil force named "The Dark Presence", called "The Taken".
On 18 January, the band announced that their fourth album entitled Twilight Theater
Twilight Theater
-Release history:-Singles:-Trivia:*The track War is featured in the video-game Alan Wake*The track 15 Minute Flame was partly inspired by the movie The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis...
would be released on 17 March in Finland and that the first single from the album would be Dreaming Wide Awake
Dreaming Wide Awake (song)
Dreaming Wide Awake is the first single from the album Twilight Theater by Poets of the Fall. The single was released in Finland on 3 February 2010 and contains two versions of the title track...
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
Twilight Theater
-Release history:-Singles:-Trivia:*The track War is featured in the video-game Alan Wake*The track 15 Minute Flame was partly inspired by the movie The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis...
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–present)
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'sRemedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 1995 and based in Espoo, Finland. The company is best known for its Max Payne and Alan Wake series of video games.-History:...
video-game Death Rally
Death Rally
Death Rally is a top-down perspective racing video game developed by Remedy, published by Apogee and distributed by GT Interactive. It was released on September 6, 1996...
. The video to the song was directed by Mikko Harma and premiered on The Voice
The Voice TV Finland
The Voice is a Finnish music channel that replaced the VIISI television channel in 2004. The Voice has also a closely related radio station which started in the beginning of 2007...
on 18 March 2011.
A fifth studio album is also in pre-production, scheduled for release in spring 2012 to conform to the release-cycle of two years set by the previous albums.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Release | Charts | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Signs of Life Signs of Life (Poets of the Fall album) -Release history:-Singles:-Awards:-Nominations:... |
19 January 2005 (Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... ) 25 May 2005 (iTunes) 19 January 2011 (Limited Edition Vinyl – official webshop) |
#1 (Finland) | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... certification: Platinum |
| 2006 | Carnival of Rust 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... |
12 April 2006 (Finland, iTunes)12 September 2006 (Sweden) 6 October 2006 (Australia, Russia, Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... ) 20 April 2007 (Germany) |
#1 (Finland) | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... certification: Platinum |
| 2008 | Revolution Roulette 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... |
26 March 2008 (Finland, iTunes) |
#1 (Finland) | IFPI certification: Gold |
| 2010 | Twilight Theater Twilight Theater -Release history:-Singles:-Trivia:*The track War is featured in the video-game Alan Wake*The track 15 Minute Flame was partly inspired by the movie The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis... |
17 March 2010 (Finland, iTunes) 29 October 2010 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) |
#1 (Finland) | IFPI certification: Gold |
Singles
| Single | Release | Charts |
|---|---|---|
| Late Goodbye Late Goodbye "Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life... |
30 June 2004 (Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... ) |
#14 (Finland) |
| Lift Lift (Poets of the Fall song) "Lift" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It is the second single released from their debut album, Signs of Life. The song was released in Finland on 9 September, 2004. The song reached #8 on the Finnish Top 40 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks... |
9 September 2004 (Finland) 21 January 2011 (RBN Rock Band Network The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2... )* |
#8 (Finland) |
| Carnival of Rust Carnival of Rust (song) "Carnival of Rust" is the first single and the title track of the Carnival of Rust album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It was released in Finland on 22 March 2006 and in Germany on 1 December 2006. The single contains two versions of the track and a live recording of the song "Don't... |
22 March 2006 (Finland) 1 December 2006 (Germany) |
#2 (Finland) |
| Sorry Go 'Round Sorry Go 'Round "Sorry Go 'Round" is a limited edition single by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall with a special, black lacquered cover. Every copy has a unique number. It features two versions of the track, which have been remastered in comparison to the full album's version. The band also planned to... (Limited Edition) |
16 August 2006 (Finland) | #7 (Finland) |
| Locking Up the Sun Locking Up the Sun "Locking Up the Sun" is the fourth track of the album Carnival of Rust by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. A single version of the song has been released in Finland on 29 November 2006. It includes the title track, a remix entitled "The Absolution" done by Captain and the music video... |
29 November 2006 (Finland) | #3 (Finland) |
| The Ultimate Fling 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 of Fire, the opening track from the band's second... |
6 February 2008 (Finland) | No. 2 (Finland) |
| Diamonds for Tears 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 the song Carnival of Rust and the video to the... |
21 May 2008 (Finland) | No. 13 (Finland) |
| Dreaming Wide Awake (Limited Edition) | 3 February 2010 (Finland) | No. 18 (Finland) |
| Can You Hear Me | 2 February 2011 (Download) | — |
"*" = refers only to the song, not b-sides etc. featured on the single
B-sides
| Year | Song | Included on | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Beautiful Ones | Lift Lift (Poets of the Fall song) "Lift" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It is the second single released from their debut album, Signs of Life. The song was released in Finland on 9 September, 2004. The song reached #8 on the Finnish Top 40 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks... |
|
| 2011 | Can You Hear Me | Alchemy Vol.1 | |
| No End, No Beginning |
Compilation albums
| Compilation | Medium | Release | Charts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best of Poets of the Fall | CD | 18 September 2009 (India) | — |
| Alchemy Vol.1 | CD+DVD | 16 March 2011 | #9 (Finland) |
Cover songs
| Song | Original artist | Featured on | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tobacco Road | Dingo Dingo (band) Dingo is a Finnish rock band formed around 1982 which fused Finnish melancholy with catchy rock melodies, headed by singer Pertti Neumann... |
Melkein vieraissa – Nimemme on Dingo | |
| You Know My Name You Know My Name "You Know My Name," performed by Chris Cornell, is the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. Cornell wrote it jointly with David Arnold, the soundtrack's composer. The film producers went after Cornell because they wanted a strong male singer... |
Chris Cornell Chris Cornell Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998... |
Livenä Vieraissa |
Videography
| Year | Video | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Late Goodbye | Tuomas Harju |
| Lift | ||
| 2006 | Carnival of Rust | |
| Locking Up the Sun | ||
| 2008 | The Ultimate Fling | Sami Mäkelä, Jussi Rautaniemi, Minni Wiitala |
| Diamonds For Tears | Niina Miettinen | |
| 2009 | Carnival of Rust (Special Edition HD Remaster) | Tuomas Harju |
| 2010 | Dreaming Wide Awake | Oskari Sipola |
| War | Aleksi Koskinen, Akseli Tuomivaara | |
| 2011 | Can You Hear Me | Mikko Harma |
Tours
| Years | Tour | Countries | Concerts | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2005 | Signs of Life Signs of Life (Poets of the Fall album) -Release history:-Singles:-Awards:-Nominations:... -Tour |
5 (Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... , Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... ) |
62 | |
| 2006–2007 | Carnival of Rust 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... -Tour |
8 (Denmark, Estonia Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... , Finland, Germany, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... , Lithuania, Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... , Sweden) |
126 | |
| 2008–2009 | Revolution Roulette 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... -Tour |
5 (Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, United States) | 59 | |
| 2010 | Twilight Theater Twilight Theater -Release history:-Singles:-Trivia:*The track War is featured in the video-game Alan Wake*The track 15 Minute Flame was partly inspired by the movie The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis... -Tour |
3 (Finland, Germany, Russia) | 24 | |
| 2011–present | Alchemy-Tour | 4 (Finland, Russia, Ukraine, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... ) |
5 |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Related work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Game Audio Network Guild Awards | Best Original Vocal Song – Pop | Late Goodbye Late Goodbye "Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life... |
||
| YleX's Yleisradio The Finnish Broadcasting Company , abbreviated to YLE , is Finland's national broadcasting company, founded in 1926. YLE is a public-broadcasting organization which shares many of its characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled... "Best of 2004" |
Best Finnish Newcomer | Themselves | |||
| Best Finnish Song | Lift Lift (Poets of the Fall song) "Lift" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It is the second single released from their debut album, Signs of Life. The song was released in Finland on 9 September, 2004. The song reached #8 on the Finnish Top 40 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks... |
2nd place | |||
| Late Goodbye Late Goodbye "Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life... |
7th place | ||||
| 2005 | Musiikki & Media Events | Newcomer of '05 | Themselves | ||
| Radio City | Album of the Year | Signs of Life Signs of Life (Poets of the Fall album) -Release history:-Singles:-Awards:-Nominations:... |
7th place | ||
| The Voice The Voice TV Finland The Voice is a Finnish music channel that replaced the VIISI television channel in 2004. The Voice has also a closely related radio station which started in the beginning of 2007... |
Top 106 | Lift Lift (Poets of the Fall song) "Lift" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. It is the second single released from their debut album, Signs of Life. The song was released in Finland on 9 September, 2004. The song reached #8 on the Finnish Top 40 and stayed there for 11 consecutive weeks... |
10th place | ||
| 2006 | NRJ Radio Awards | Best Finnish Breakthrough 2005 | Themselves | ||
| Emma Awards Emma-gaala The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990.... |
Best Newcomer of the Year | Themselves | |||
| Best Debut Album of the Year | Signs of Life Signs of Life (Poets of the Fall album) -Release history:-Singles:-Awards:-Nominations:... |
||||
| MTV Europe Music Awards MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider... |
Best Finnish Act | Themselves | |||
| The Voice The Voice TV Finland The Voice is a Finnish music channel that replaced the VIISI television channel in 2004. The Voice has also a closely related radio station which started in the beginning of 2007... |
Best Music Video 2006 | Carnival of Rust | |||
| Locking Up the Sun | 12th place | ||||
| YLE Audience Choice Award | Best Finnish Music Video of All Time | Carnival of Rust | |||
| 2007 | NRJ Radio Awards | Best Finnish Band | Themselves | ||
| Best Nordic Band | Themselves | ||||
| Best Finnish Album | Carnival of Rust 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... |
||||
| Muuvi Awards | Bronze Muuvi Award | Carnival of Rust | |||
| Muuvi People's Choice Award | Carnival of Rust | ||||
| Emma Awards Emma-gaala The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990.... |
Best Rock Album | Carnival of Rust 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... |
|||
| Helsingin Sanomat Helsingin Sanomat Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays... |
Most Beloved Finnish Rock Song | Late Goodbye Late Goodbye "Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life... |
|||
| 2011 | Emma Awards Emma-gaala The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990.... |
Best Music Video | War |
In popular culture
| Song | Featured in | Type of media | Annotations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late Goodbye | Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne | video game (Win, PS2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... , Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... ) |
The song serves as the ending theme of the game and was written specifically for it. It is being sung and whistled by multiple characters. |
| Lift | 3DMark 05 3DMark 3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by Futuremark Corporation to determine the performance of a computer's 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing capabilities. Running 3DMark produces a 3DMark score with higher numbers indicating better performance... |
benchmarking software Benchmark (computing) In computing, a benchmark is the act of running a computer program, a set of programs, or other operations, in order to assess the relative performance of an object, normally by running a number of standard tests and trials against it... |
The song is credited as "Lift Me Higher" |
| Locking up the Sun | Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
TV-show | Opening theme in Finland |
| Carnival of Rust | Suden Vuosi (The Year of the Wolf) | movie | |
| Themselves | Phoenix Effect – King See No Evil | music video | |
| War | Alan Wake Alan Wake Alan Wake is a story-driven action game in the psychological thriller genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios, released for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2010... |
video game (Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... ) |
The song serves as the ending theme of episode five (The Clicker). During the episode, it is being played by Pat Maine on his radio show "Bright Falls KBF Radio" during a combat-sequence in a warehouse. The song is also included on the in-game soundtrack. |
| Children of the Elder God | Credited as the fictional in-game band "Old Gods of Asgard". The song was written specifically for the game and can be heard during a combat-sequence taking place during episode four (The Truth), as well as during the beginning of the second downloadable-content-episode named The Writer, which features the song with guitars and vocals edited to sound off key. The original version of the song is included on the in-game soundtrack. | ||
| The Poet and the Muse | Credited as the fictional in-game band "Old Gods of Asgard". The song was written specifically for the game and serves as the ending theme to episode four (The Truth).It is also included on the in-game-, as well as on the Limited-Edition Soundtrack. | ||
| Late Goodbye | The song itself is not included, but referenced in the manuscript-page The Sudden Stop 2 at the beginning of episode two (Taken) | ||
| Themselves | The band can be seen briefly on the Harry Garrett Show which can be watched by turning on the television in Alan Wake's flat at the beginning of episode six (Departure) | ||
| Can You Hear Me | Death Rally Death Rally Death Rally is a top-down perspective racing video game developed by Remedy, published by Apogee and distributed by GT Interactive. It was released on September 6, 1996... |
video game (iPhone IPhone The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007... , iPad IPad The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and... ) |
Song plays during the ending credits of the game. |
| Grinder Blues | Rochard | video game (PSN) |