To/Die/For

Yet another entry into Finland's burgeoning melodic metal scene, To/Die/For were founded in the town of Kouvola in the mid-90's, but it wasn't until decade's end that they were snapped up by local Spinefarm Records and released their 1999 debut All Eternity. Vocalist Jape Peratalo, guitarists J.P. Sutela and Joonas Koto, bassist Miikka Kuisma and drummer Tonmi Lillman then set out on tour supporting In Flames, Dark Tranquility and countrymen Sentenced. The In the Heat of the Night E.P. and a second full-length album entitled Epilogue followed in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and both saw the band gradually toning down their gothic-metallic tendencies in order to further embrace their love of melodic 80's rock. Never was this more evident than on To/Die/For's third L.P., 2003's pop-metal-flavored Jaded, which featured a cover of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" as its first single, and proved that the band (now featuring new guitarist Alli in place of Sutela) was effectively crossing over into non-metallic realms for good. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi