Tarot is a Finnish heavy metal band. They are most famous for being one of the earliest metal bands in Finland, and for the song "Wings of Darkness" from the 1986 album Spell of Iron. While having enjoyed a broad underground popularity in Finland, the band has never been notable elsewhere until gaining new success in recent years, with their singer and bassist Marko Hietala in the largely successful Nightwish for nearly two decades. With a more global audience, the band re-recorded Spell of Iron for its 25th anniversary.
Tarot was originally formed by the Hietala brothers in the early 1980s.[1] Back then the band was called "Purgatory".[2] As Purgatory reached the point when they got the record deal, they changed their name to "Tarot" at the insistence of the label Flamingo Records. The line-up settled into the form of Marko Hietala (bass/vocals), Zachary Hietala (guitars), Mako H (guitars) and Pecu Cinnari (drums).[3]
The "Wings of Darkness" single saw the daylight in April 1986[4] and in December that same year Tarot released their first full-length album Spell of Iron.[5] In April 1988, following the release of a single "Rose on the Grave", their second album Follow Me into Madness was released.[6][7]
After the second album, there was a hiatus in the band. During this "vacation" the line-up changed a little bit and a keyboardist was added to the band as Janne Tolsa joined Tarot and replaced the second guitarist Mako H.[8] After long preparation, the third album To Live Forever came out in February 1993.[9] Tarot received good publicity in Japan, making their first live album To Live Again to be released as a Japanese special edition in November 1994.[10] The live album was recorded at Tavastia Club, Helsinki in August 1994.[11] Some of the songs from the live album were released the following year on a limited edition bonus CD with the next studio album, Stigmata.[11]To Live Forever was remixed and re-released in 2006 together with all the previous albums.[7]
Much anticipated For the Glory of Nothing came out in 1998. Shining Black, a Tarot compilation album, came out in Japan in December 1998. While Tarot was inactive, Marko also played in the bands Conquest and Sinergy. Together with other members of Conquest, Marko played cover songs under the name Metal Gods. Marko became a member of Nightwish in 2001. Tolsa played the keyboards for Virtuocity's Secret Visions album as Marko sang a few songs on it. In summer 2002 Tarot played a special '80s gig in Kuopio, playing material only from the first two albums.[7]
In March 2003, the compilation Shining Black was released again in the rest of the world. Tarot signed a new record deal with Spinefarm Records and the new studio album Suffer Our Pleasures was released. While the album did well in Finland, it was barely noticed elsewhere.[7]
During these years Marko was busy with his other band Nightwish by recording and touring around the world. Tolsa worked on an album with Eternal Tears of Sorrow and toured with the industrial metal band Turmion Kätilöt.
Tarot performing in 2010
Early 2006, Tarot's earlier label Bluelight Records released a collection of the band's first six albums remastered with a large amount of bonus material, unreleased demos, live and special versions of the songs and some covers. Some of the albums were also remixed.[7][12]
The fans had been expecting the re-releases for years and the collection was so successful that in May 2006, when Tarot released the new single "You", it made number one on the Finnish charts for the first time in the history of the band.[13] During that time, the band formalized their long-time roadie/backing vocalist Tommi Salmela as a band member after being with the band for more than a decade.
Early 2006, Tarot was signed to KingFoo Entertainment in Finland, with Nuclear Blast covering the rest of Europe. During summer of 2006, the band not only toured various clubs and festivals but also composed, demoed and recorded new material. The album Crows Fly Black was released in October 2006.[14]
On 11 June 2008, Tarot released their first live DVD, Undead Indeed.[15] The DVD also had a live album counterpart. They followed the release with a short tour in support of Undead Indeed, which began 30 January 2009.
Their new album, entitled Gravity of Light, was released in Finland on 10 March 2010, in Europe on 23 April 2010,[16] the UK on 26 April 2010, and in North America on 8 June 2010.[17]
On 11 September 2016, it was announced on Facebook that drummer Pecu Cinnari had died due to a long-term illness. Since then, the band was on hiatus, during which Marko departed from Nightwish,[18] though he stated in an interview that new material from Tarot is still "up in the air".[19]
In March 2023, the band announced they will reunite for a one-off show on 26 July in Kuopio, Finland,[20] with Turmion Kätilöt drummer Antero Seppänen filling in Cinnari.[21] They will also perform at Tuska Festival in June 2024.[22]
Members
Current
Marko Hietala – lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar (1982–2016, 2023–present)
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000) and Century Child (2002).
Sinergy was a Finnish/Swedish heavy metal band started in 1997 by American musician Kimberly Goss. The idea for a "balls-out female-fronted metal band" was first formed when Kimberly Goss of Dimmu Borgir met Jesper Strömblad of In Flames whilst on tour in 1997.
Eternal Tears of Sorrow is a Finnish symphonic/melodic death metal band formed in Pudasjärvi.
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the primary songwriter, keyboardist, and a co-founding member of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that his songwriting is influenced by harmonic film music.
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He is also the vocalist and bassist as well as composer and lyricist for the heavy metal band Tarot.
Turmion Kätilöt is a Finnish industrial metal band founded in 2003 by MC Raaka Pee and DJ Vastapallo, who until the latter's departure, were the only studio lineup. The line-up now includes Master Bates, RunQ, DQ, Bobby Undertaker and Shag-U, alongside MC Raaka Pee.
Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, commonly shortened to Tuska, is a Finnish heavy metal festival taking place annually in Helsinki. The first Tuska took place in 1998 and the festival has since grown larger every year. The location of the festival has been in Kaisaniemi park in the middle of the city from 2001. However, since 2011, Tuska has taken place at the Suvilahti event field in the Kalasatama neighbourhood of the Sörnäinen district. The festival dates have always been in either June or July.
Sakari "Zachary" Hietala is the guitarist, co-songwriter and founding member of Finnish heavy metal band Tarot in early 1980s, together with his younger brother Marko Hietala, who joined Nightwish in 2001. Zachary works as a youth instructor in his hometown, Kuopio, as well as teaching music theory to ninth and tenth grade students, and takes part in the management of the official Tarot website, responding to questions and comments made by fans on the forum.
Spell of Iron is the debut album by Finnish metal band Tarot, released in 1986 by Flamingo Music. It was released on CD in 1994 by Bluelight Records, and a remastered version was released in 2006 by Spinefarm Records.
Follow Me into Madness is the second album by Finnish metal band Tarot, released in 1988 by Bluelight Records. A remastered version was released in 2006 by Spinefarm Records. Rose On The Grave was released as a single in 1988. This is also the last album with Mako H., as he is replaced by Janne Tolsa, the current keyboard player.
Sauna Open Air Metal Festival, shortly Sauna Open Air or just Sauna, was one of the largest music festivals dedicated only to heavy metal and related styles of rock music in the Nordic countries. It was first arranged in 2004 and takes place in the Ratinanniemi park in Tampere, Finland. From 8 June to 10 June 2006, over 20,000 people arrived to watch such bands as Cradle of Filth, Finntroll, Iggy & The Stooges, Lordi, Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P.
Crows Fly Black is the seventh album by Finnish heavy metal band Tarot, released on 27 October 2006. This album is accompanied by the single "You", and the music video "Ashes to the Stars". This is the first album to officially acknowledge Tommi 'Tumple' Salmela as a member of the band, referred to as an 'old-new' member; until then, Tommi's role was limited to sampling and backing vocals, while in this album, Tommi takes role of fully fledged vocalist.
Janne Tolsa is a Finnish heavy metal musician. Known for his keyboard work in Tarot from the late 1980s, Tolsa also takes part in the melodic death metal band Eternal Tears of Sorrow, which he joined in 2005 for their album Before the Bleeding Sun, as well as the industrial metal band Turmion Kätilöt. Tolsa is also known to work as a composer for television. Janne Tolsa plays keyboards in Marenne Band and is one of the composers in the band's debut album The Past Prelude.
"While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marko Hietala of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film The Matriarch, which was written and directed by renowned Finnish director Markku Pölönen; the film premiered in Finland in September 2007. The song is included on Nightwish's "Amaranth" single, which was released on 22 August 2007 as the second single of their sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play. It was also released on their live / compilation EP Made in Hong Kong in 2009.
Undead Indeed is the first live DVD/2CD by Finnish heavy metal band Tarot. It was recorded in Rupla Club, Kuopio, Finland, on 17 August 2007. The DVD was released on 11 June 2008.
Sapattivuosi is a Finnish Black Sabbath tribute band singing in Finnish. The band was initiated as a project by vocalist Hannu Paloniemi, drummer Simo Vehmas, and guitarist Janne Halmkrona. Sapattivuosi's first two albums covered songs from the Ozzy Osbourne era. Then vocalist Paloniemi left the band. He was replaced by Marko Hietala, known from bands such as Nightwish, Tarot and Northern Kings. Hietala first appeared with Sapattivuosi on their single Pelon lait, which came out on 4 March 2009. The band's third full-length album, Ihmisen merkki, also covers songs from Black Sabbath's Ronnie James Dio era. It was released on 1 April 2009.
Gravity of Light is the eighth studio album by the Finnish heavy metal band Tarot. It was released in Finland on 10 March 2010, in Europe on 23 April 2010 and in the US on 8 June 2010.
The Spell of Iron MMXI is the ninth album by Finnish heavy metal band Tarot, released on 11 April 2011. It is a re-recording of the band's 1986 debut album for its 25th anniversary. It is the final album to feature Pecu Cinnari before his death in 2016.
The Human. :II: Nature. World Tour was the eighth world tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, in support of their ninth studio album, Human. :II: Nature.
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