Poets of the Fall

Marko sold everything he had to invest in pursuing the love of his life, music, with his buddies Olli and Captain. He moved into his parents’ basement, when he couldn't keep a place of his own any longer. The guys then built a little studio of their own in Captain's living room for the recording and producing sessions, and kept an office in Olli's beat up old car.

The result of the recording sessions was a blend of pop, rock, metal and industrial sounds. Later the guys were joined by guitarist Jaakko "Jaska" Mäkinen, bassist Jani Snellman and drummer Jari Salminen. The band's first single was Late Goodbye, written for the acclaimed computer game Max Payne 2. Reaching millions of people through the game, the song earned the guys international recognition and the first prize at the G.A.N.G. Awards in 2004.

Their debut album Signs of Life went straight to #1 on the Finnish album chart in January 2005, and stayed on the chart for over a year. The next album Carnival of Rust, released in April 2006, also hit the number one spot on its first week, with the debut album still on the official Top 40 chart.

To date, both albums have sold platinum in Finland. The third album Revolution Roulette was released in March 2008. It also took the first place on the album chart, and broke the gold record limit in just a couple of weeks after its release. The fourth album Twilight Theater, released in March 2010, sold gold in one week, and made Finnish chart history by giving the band four number one places with their first four albums. 2011 saw the release of the first song and video compilation Alchemy Vol. 1, and the fifth studio album Temple of Thought hit the stores in March 2012.

The band’s first live release Live in Moscow was released on DVD in 2013, and the next album Jealous Gods in September 2014, reaching the #1 spot on the album chart.

The band’s next album, Clearview, released in 2016, was produced together with the acclaimed producer Stefan Boman at Park Studios, Stockholm. The successful release of the album, reaching top ten positions on numerous international charts, was followed by a tour running until the of 2017, including shows in India, UK, and Middle Europe.

In October 2018, Poets released their eight album Ultraviolet, 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. The third single, The Sweet Escape, saw the band break new ground, as they also released it in French as Partir Avec Moi.

In 2020, Poets released a series of twelve acoustic singles and videos, filmed in the prestigious Alexander Theatre in Helsinki. The acoustic sessions were also released as an album, The Alexander Theatre Sessions.

Their 9th studio album, Ghostlight, was released on April 29th 2022, with the first single Requiem for My Harlequin and accompanying music video premiering on April 1st, 2022.

The singles and videos released from Poets’ albums have received lots of media coverage, hundreds of millions of video views, and extensive airtime on radios worldwide. The song Carnival of Rust was the most played Finnish song in 2006, and singles like Dreaming Wide Awake and Cradled in Love spent several weeks among the top songs on national radio and TV.

The blockbuster video games Alan Wake, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and Control featured songs from various albums, as well as completely new songs, performed as the in-game band Old Gods of Asgard.

Among others, Poets of the Fall has received the following awards:

- Several gaming industry nominations and awards as part of the soundtrack team in the game Control, including the Game Developers Choice for Best Audio

- Best Finnish Act at MTV Europe Music Awards 2006

- Best Finnish Music Video of all time in TV2‘s Musiikki-TV and Best Music Videos of 2006 at The Voice (video Carnival of Rust)

- Two Emma Awards (the Finnish Grammys) in 2005 – the best debut album and the best new act The Bronze Muuvi and People’s Choice Muuvi 2006 Awards (video Carnival of Rust)

- Best Finnish band at the NRJ Radio Awards 2006

- Commercial Radio Stations’ Newcomer of the Year Award in 2005

Poets of the Fall has toured in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, USA, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, India, Romania, UK, Belarus, Netherlands, Italy, Hungary and France. The band has played sold out shows in major cities like Moscow, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Budapest and Stockholm.