| Poisonblack | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Origin: | Oulu, Finland |
| Genre: | Heavy metal, gothic metal |
| Years Active: | 2000–2015, 2023 |
| Label: | Hype Records |
| Associated Acts: | Kalmah, Sentenced, Nothnegal, Charon |
| Current Members: | Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto Ville Laihiala Tarmo Kanerva Marco Sneck Antti Remes Antti Leiviskä Janne Markus |
| Past Members: | Janne Kukkonen Janne Dahlgren |
Poisonblack is a Finnish gothic metal band led by singer and guitarist Ville Laihiala.
In 2003, the band's first album, Escapexstacy,[1] was on the Finnish national charts for three weeks, peaking at No. 21.[2] They opened for Iron Maiden at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki on 21 December 2003 for the Dance of Death World Tour.[3]
Singer Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto left in the autumn of 2003 to concentrate on his work with Charon.[4] Ville Laihiala, the band's principal songwriter, assumed vocal duties and has since led Poisonblack out of the gothic genre of their first album and in a musical direction that closely mirrors that of his former band Sentenced.
In 2006, the band toured Europe with Lacuna Coil and their second album, Lust Stained Despair,[5] reached No. 2 in Finland for one week.
In 2008, they released A Dead Heavy Day which hit the Finnish Album Chart in position 6. After this success, they toured Europe with Dark Tranquillity and Fear My Thoughts. In 2010, Poisonblack released Of Rust and Bones, their fourth album. The fifth album, Drive, was released in 2011 on Hype Records and the band's latest album, Lyijy, was released in September 2013 by Warner Music Finland. The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish album chart.
On 23 August 2015, singer Ville Laihiala posted a statement on the band's Facebook page and website stating that the band had broken up. The band played their final show at Oulu, Finland (21-08-2015). JP Leppäluoto joined the band in their final few shows. The final song the band would ever perform would be "The State", before ending their farewell show and tour.
In February 2023, it was announced that Poisonblack is coming back to play some shows in September for Escapexstacy's 20th anniversary. All of the band's members throughout their tenure are reuniting except ex-guitarist Janne Dahlgren and ex-bassist Janne Kukkonen.[6]