Artist: ENTWINE
Album: FATAL DESIGN (CD)

Release date: 2006
Media type: CD

Although Lahti's ENTWINE have found commercial success with their brand of melodic dark flavoured Gothic Metal the group was rooted in a Death Metal prototype set up by vocalist / guitarist Tom Mikkola, drummer Aki Hanttu and bassist T.Taipole during late 1995. As time drew on this band shed its aggression and steadily became lighter. Panu Willman would be inducted to add second guitar and take over the lead vocal chores from Mikkolla. The first evidence of this shift in direction came in 1997 with the demo ‘Divine Infinity’. Keyboard player Riita Heikkonen was drafted and first live performances came in February 1998.

ENTWINE signed to the domestic Spikefarm label for the inaugural album ‘The Treasures Within Hearts’, which novelly included a cover version of DEPECHE MODE's 'Enjoy The Silence'. However, in April of 2000 Willman broke ranks, subsequently forging Stoner outfit CHOLLA then BEFORE THE DAWN, ST. HOOD and DARK FILTH FRATERNITY. This period of flux saw ENTWINE replacing Willman with Miika Tauriainen and also recruiting a new bassist, Jani Miettinen.

2001 proved to be ENTWINE’s year with both the single ‘New Dawn’ and album ‘Gone’ charting in their homeland. The group recruited Jaani Kдhkцnen as a session guitarist for live work but would soon announce the new man as a fully enrolled member. 2002 would bode well for the band too with an announcement of a European tour in alliance with THEATRE OF TRAGEDY and RAM-ZET announced for the Spring and the single 'The Pit' entering the national Finnish single charts at no. 6. Outside of Finland ENTWINE were licensed to Century Media for European and American releases.

In November of 2003 ENTWINE vocalist Mika Tauriainen debuted his Gothic Rock project SHAMRAIN, a creative union with Matti Reinola of FOUR BITCHES and GRAYSCALE, SOURCE OF DEMISE guitarist Daniel Freyberg, keyboard player Maria Nurminen, pianist Robert Blomerus and GRAYSCALE drummer Janne Jukarainen (a.k.a. 'Perversor' of SOURCE OF DEMISE). The debut album 'Empty World Excursion', recorded at F-Field Studio in Lahti, was released in November 2003 through Watch Me Fall Records. Earlier, Tauriainen and Reinola had issued a February 2002 EP credited to TEARS.

ENTWINE made a return with their fourth album 'DiEversity' album, recorded at Astia Studios in Lappeenranta, Finland with producer Anssi Kippo and mixed at Finnvox studios in Helsinki with Mikko Karmila. Released in March of 2004 'DiEversity' would be preceded by the February single 'Bittersweet', this track reaching no. 3 in the Finnish charts, the album charting high too at no. 11.

In outside activity, ENTWINE personnel guitarist Jaani Kдhkцnen and drummer Aki Hanttu fired up a new Finnish language project named TUONI, releasing the single 'Ruusut Helvetin' in May. ENTWINE got back onto the touring circuit in November, acting as support to XANDRIA's German tour. Aki Hanttu gained production credits on SOULRELIC's Finnish top ten single 'Hollow Craving' in early 2005. In May Tom Mikkola joined forces with THE COLLISION as stand in live guitarist.

ENTWINE's August 2006 album 'Fatal Design' entered the Finnish charts at number 11.

TRACKLIST:

1. Fatal Design
2. Chameleon Halo
3. Out Of You
4. Surrender
5. Oblivion
6. Twisted
7. Insomniac
8. My Serenity
9. Break Me
10. Curtained Life

LINE-UP:

Mika Tauriainen (vocals)
Tom Mikkola (guitar)
Joni Miettinen (bass)
Riitta Heikkonen (keyboards)
Aki Hanttu (drums)