Ghost Brigade were a six-piece alternative metal band from Finland, formed in 2005 and disbanding in 2020.
Contents
History
Formation and Guided By Fire (2007)
Ghost Brigade was formed in 2005 by former members of the stoner rock bands Sunride (Wille Naukkarinen, Veli-Matti Suihkonen and Janne Julin) and Zerocharisma (Manne Ikonen and Tommi Kiviniemi).
They recorded four songs which were gathered in a demo, released in 2006.
The following year, they started to record several songs such as "Along The Barriers" and "Horns", which led to the band deciding to record their first proper studio album, Guided By Fire, with Mikko Poikolainen.
It was released on 17 September 2007 via Season Of Mist as a digital download and later reissued in 2012 in a clear vinyl edition.
It was the first album of the band to feature Aleksi Munter as a guest member, the keyboardist of the melodic death metal band Swallow The Sun and the only album to feature Fredrik Nordin, the vocalist of the stoner metal band Dozer as guest vocals.
The band went on tour with Insomnium in Finland to promote the album between April and October 2007.
Isolation Songs (2009–2010)
Two years after Guided By Fire, Ghost Brigade released their second album, Isolation Songs, on 3 August 2009 via Season Of Mist. The second album was recorded and mixed by Antti Malinen.
About this album, Wille Naukkarinen stated:
"We had a few different working titles for this record but 'Isolation Songs' was the one that we collectively felt good about. I remember reading through the lyrics of this album just before we went to the studio in order to come up with an album title and the word 'isolation' came to mind several times. The songs themselves aren't directly about that at all but I think that having a feeling of being isolated has been an inspiration or a driving force to at least some of the content of these lyrics. And if you think about our songwriting process in general, Isolation Songs is probably the best possible title to characterize that as well. I, for example, have to be completely isolated from the outside world to write riffs, melodies and songs for Ghost Brigade; it just doesn't work any other way. We can't go to our rehearsal room and jam until we come up with something 'pretty cool.' This band digs deeper than that. And besides, Isolation Songs sounds like it's a title of a country album and that of course, is a big bonus.
It was a lot of work to get this album done, it took almost two years to write these songs, but now that it's 100% ready I can only say that I feel privileged to be a member of GHOST BRIGADE. I have a strong feeling we have created something very special with 'Isolation Songs' and it is by far my personal favorite of all recordings I've ever been a part of. I hope people will enjoy these songs as much as we do once they get the chance to hear them."
After the release of Isolation Songs, the band went on tour as the opener for fellow metal band Amorphis during their 2010 tour in Europe.
Lineup changes, hiatus, disbandment and the birth of Ceresian Valot (2011–2020)
Ghost Brigade released their third studio album, Until Fear No Longer Defines Us, on 19 August 2011. The band played several European tours. One supporting Enslaved, another one supporting Paradise Lost and also co-headline tour with Insomnium. They also did two European tours as headliner. The first with Intronaut and A Storm Of Light as openers and another one with Talbot and Agrimonia.
In 2013, long-time bassist Janne Julin left the band and was replaced Joni Saalamo. The band also acquired a new permanent keyboardist in Joni Vanhanen. With this new lineup, the band recorded their fourth studio album, titled IV: One with the Storm. It was released on 7 November 2014, again via Season of Mist. The album was produced by the band and Tuomas Kokko. In December of the following year, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in a Facebook post.
In 2019 Joni Saalamo was replaced by Tapio Vartiainen (Endstand, On A Solid Rock, Sons Of Aeon) on bass. On 7 November 2019, the band announced their reactivation and scheduled a concert at the Tanssisali Lutakko venue for 10 April 2020 with a second show on the 11th added later that month. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these shows were pushed back to August, and later cancelled. On 20 August 2020, the band announced their disbandment in a Facebook post.
After the break-up Wille Naukkarinen, Veli-Matti Suihkonen, Joni Vanhanen and Tapio Vartiainen formed Ceresian Valot.
Band members
Final line-up:
Manne Ikonen – vocals
Tommi Kiviniemi – rhythm guitar
Wille Naukkarinen – lead guitar
Veli-Matti Suihkonen – drums
Tapio Vartiainen – bass
Joni Vanhanen – keyboards
Former members:
Janne Julin – bass
Joni Saalamo – bass
Guest musicians:
Aleksi Munter of Swallow The Sun – keyboards on Guided by Fire, Isolation Songs & Until Fear No Longer Defines Us
Fredrik Nordin of Dozer – backing vocals on Guided by Fire
Discography
Studio albums
Guided By Fire, 2007
Isolation Songs, 2009
Until Fear No Longer Defines Us, 2011
IV - One With the Storm, 2014
Demos
Demo, 2006