The Black League
Taneli Jarva's departure from
Sentenced
after that band's 1995 release
Amok was mourned by many fans, and
it can be argued that Sentenced hasn't quite been the same since.
Five years later, Jarva returned in a new band, The Black League,
with a style that is very much a continuation
of the
Amok style of dark metal, though in places the band
stretches out a bit, such as on the excellent "Winter Winds Sing"
and "The Everlasting", both of which would sound at home on
Tiamat's
A Deeper Kind Of Slumber.
Ichor and its followup
Utopia A.D. would surely satisfy
old Sentenced fans, as well as those into dark gothic metal.
Three years later, and The Black League has shifted direction
with 2004's Man's Ruin Revisited.
Could the title be an homage to the now-defunct stoner rock
record label Man's Ruin?
Maybe not, and it may be just a coincidence, but
this album, unlike its predecessors, isn't a dark
metal album, but more a spirited, 70's-influenced
hard rock album
-- i.e. an album that would have fit perfectly on the
Man's Ruin roster a few years ago.
Jarva still has a gruff vocal style that may or may not be
ideal for this new direction, but the songs are well constructed,
and it's quite possible that The Black League can reach an
entirely new audience with Man's Ruin Revisited.
The band underwent a major lineup overhaul in 2005, with the
new lineup (below) releasing a new album, A Place Called Bad,
in late 2005.
Current Members
Taneli Jarva
bass/vocals
(Chaosbreed, Impaled Nazarene, Sentenced)
Maike Valanne
guitars
Kimmi Hiltunen
guitars
Ilkka Tanska
bass
Rale Tiiainen
drums
|
Former Members/Guests
Alexi Ranta
guitars
Mikko Laurila
bass
Kimmo "Sir" Luttinen
drums
(Impaled Nazarene)
|
Discography
Ichor
2000
Nuclear Blast
 |
- Doomwatcher
- One Colour: Black
- Deep Waters
- Goin' To Hell
- Avalon
- We Die Alone
- The Everlasting pt II
- Ozymandias
- Blood of the Gods
- Bunker King
- Winter Winds Sing
- Ecce Homo!
- Night On Earth
|
- Taneli Jarva
- Maike Valanne
- Alexi Ranta
- Mikko Laurila
- Kimmo "Sir" Luttinen
|
(EP) Doomsday Sun
2001
Nuclear Blast
 |
- 1% - Doomsday ... Now!
- City Of Refuge
- The Sunday Song
- Many Good Man
- Black Java
- Sanguinary Blues
|
- Taneli Jarva
- Maike Valanne
- Alexi Ranta
- Mikko Laurila
- Kimmo "Sir" Luttinen
|
Utopia A.D.
2001
Nuclear Blast
 |
- Transit Gloria Mundi
- Empiria
- Voice Of God
- Day One
- To Suffer And To Smile
- Tedium Vitae
- Harbour Of Hatred
- The Everlasting IV
- Rex Talionis (a.k.a. "The Foe")
- BlueSkyMagic
- Citizen Cain
- Alfa/Omega, The Desert Song
- Utopia Anno Zero
|
- Taneli Jarva
- Maike Valanne
- Alexi Ranta
- Mikko Laurila
- Kimmo "Sir" Luttinen
|
Reviews: Blabbermouth
Chronicles Of Chaos
Man's Ruin Revisited
2004
Ranch
 |
- Old-World Monkey
- Alive & Dead
- Cold Women and Warm Beer
- Hot Wheels
- Black Water Fever
- Lost in the Shadows
- Ain't No Friend O' Mine
- The Healer
- Crooked Mile
- Mad Ol' Country
- Man's Ruin Revisited
- Better Angels
|
- Taneli Jarva
- Maike Valanne
- Alexi Ranta
- Mikko Laurila
- Kimmo "Sir" Luttinen
|
A Place Called Bad
2005
Wolfgang
 |
- Same Ol' Fuckery
- Ball 'n' Chain Woman
- Bury Yer Brother
- Runnin' Lo' on Fumes
- Marked Man
- Altamount Man
- Bastard's Degree
- A Place Called Bad
|
- Taneli Jarva
- Maike Valanne
- Kimmi Hiltunen
- Ilkka Tanska
- Rale Tiiainen
|
Ghost Brothel
2009
Brainbomber
 |
- Zero Providence (Intro)
- Southern Scars & Curse
- Malabarista
- Bones 'N' Thangs
- Misfortune
- The Beast Is A Riddle
- Bipolar Meltdown
- No Parole
- Ghost Brothel
- Until We Sail
- Vin Mariani
- Joke's Over
- Heavy Downer
|
- Taneli Jarva
- Maike Valanne
- Kimmi Hiltunen
- Ilkka Tanska
- Rale Tiiainen
|
