Biography

Musta Paraati is a Finnish gothic rock/post-punk outfit who released a pair of influential albums in the early 1980s before ceasing operations in 1985. Employing a sinister blend of icy darkwave and driving, bass-heavy punk, the band's brooding aural emissions evoked the works of contemporaries like Killing Joke and Theatre of Hate. Formed in 1982, the group cycled through dozens of members during their initial run (original vocalist Jorma Vastelin died from cardiac arrest in 1993), releasing Peilitalossa in 1983 and Käärmeet in 1984, and then breaking up one year later. Renewed interest in the band, spearheaded in part by the post-punk revival of the early 2000s, prompted Svart Records to reissue Peilitalossa in 2012, and three years later Musta Paraati re-formed for a series of shows in Finland. In 2018, the band made it official and inked a deal with Cleopatra, which issued their first set of new music in decades, the aptly named Black Parade (Finnish translation: Musta Paraati). The 11-track set featured a lineup consisting of original members Saku Paasiniemi (guitar), Panda Nikander (bass), Yrjo Knuuttila (drums), and Jani Kääriäinen (keyboards), and saw 69 Eyes frontman Jyrki 69 handling vocal duties. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi