Entwine

Entwine emerged from Finland as a five-piece gothic metal ensemble devoted to a darkly melodic and densely layered style of heavy pop. The band originated in spring 1995 as a three-piece death metal unit featuring Aki Hanttu on drums, Tom Mikkola handling guitar and vocals, and T. Taipale on bass. Over time the musicians introduced additional melodic and atmospheric layers, shifting steadily away from death metal toward mainstream pop structures. Following several personnel shifts that brought second guitarist P. William into the fold, the group issued its debut demo, the four-track Divine Infinity, in 1997. Keyboardist Riita Heikkonen came aboard in 1998, by which point the atmospheric metal of Divine Infinity had generated underground press attention and an expanding audience. Entwine delivered its debut full-length album, The Treasures Within Hearts, in September 1999; the record earned further praise even as the lineup continued to change. In April 2000 Willman and Taipale departed, the latter replaced by Joni Meittinen. Mika Tauriainen arrived as lead vocalist the following month and supplied the band’s strongest commercial identity to date. His warm yet occasionally abrasive delivery, which echoed Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley, suited Entwine’s growing emphasis on melody and pop-oriented goth metal. Late in 2000, after three months of rehearsal, the reconfigured group tracked the album Gone at Astia A-Studio under producer Anssi Kippo, known for his work with Children of Bodom and Sinergy. Century Media issued the record in 2001; it reached number 25 on the Finnish pop album chart while the single “New Dawn” climbed to number ten on the singles chart. The musicians soon returned to the same studio to begin writing again. The resulting album, Time of Despair, adopted a more alternative direction, trading many of the band’s earlier gloomier elements for straightforward songcraft and immediate melodies.