Tapani Partanen - Drums / Janne Tuikkala - Guitar / Marko Ylisirkka - Vocals / Markus Junttila - Guitar / Pasi Brännlund - Bass
Muria was founded in 2007 when Markus Junttila (ex-Woyzeck, ex-STF, ex-5th Element, ex-Mistake) and Juha Pulkkinen discussed about music and the possibility of playing melodic thrash metal. From this conversation, the idea of a band rooted in melodic and melancholic metal was born. Soon, Markus's former bandmate Petri Hiltunen joined on drums, and this trio (Markus - guitar and vocals, Juha - guitar, Petri - drums) began rehearsing and writing new songs. However, they were still searching for a bassist.
In 2008, Markus' other bandmate, the talented singer Marko Ylisirkka, joined the band. After some unforeseen events, the drummer position became vacant again, but soon Heikki Tauriainen (Woyzeck) joined the band. Around the same time, they also recruited Jarkko Väisänen (ex-Burning Point, ex-Ghost Machinery) as the keyboardist. With this lineup, the band started performing live, although the bassist position was still open.
End of 2008, Pasi Brännlund (ex-Baby Dolls, ex- Amplifire, ex-MBD, ex-Lasihelmipeli and ex-BBC) joined as the bassist. The band began intense rehearsals and writing new songs. In 2011, they headed to the studio, resulting in the EP "After All," which received a good reception and even got radio play.
From 2011 to 2014, Muria continued performing and writing new songs. Juha had to travel significantly for work, so Tero Toivonen stepped in as a temporary guitarist and eventually became a permanent member. In the fall of 2014, they planned to record a follow-up to the 2011 EP, but the enthusiasm waned. Unexpectedly, Heikki announced his departure due to a lack of motivation. For a while, the future looked bleak, but then Tapani Partanen (ex-Need to Control, ex-Treadmill, ex-Portrait of Pain, ex-Horny Wallet, ex-Papattimatto) joined as the drummer, and the band continued writing new material.
2015 was another year of changes. Tero had to step back due to work commitments, and Jarkko announced his departure. Despite this, the band decided to continue. At the beginning of 2016, Pasi also left the band. Markus, Marko, and Tapani decided to keep going and actively searched for a new bassist and guitarist.
Help came from close by, and Mika Heinola (Standby, White Limo) joined as the bassist. With Mika, Mano Kotsifakis (Standby, White Limo) joined as the second guitarist. This lineup continued until 2019 when Tapani announced he was moving away and leaving the band. Several replacements were tried, but none seemed to fit, so Mika and Mano also left.
Markus and Marko continued with acoustic performances until by summer of 2019 Janne Tuikkala (Verilehto, Alpha Noir, Dawn of Everwinter, ex-Portrait of Pain, ex-Warceremony, ex-Strange Aeon) was recruited on drums and Pasi re-joined the band. Pandemic slowed things quite a bit in 2020, but within limitations the band kept going.
Muria continued with this lineup, and Jani Kähkönen (ex-Need to Control, ex-Portrait of Pain) occasionally played as the second guitarist. In 2022, Tapani Partanen expressed interest in returning. At this point, Janne switched to guitar, and Tapani returned as the drummer.
With this lineup, the band began active rehearsals and writing new material. Finally, their direction became clear, and in the fall of 2024, they released the EP "Rise of the Phoenix," followed by the singles "The Road" and "The Shining." Muria resumed live performances, and the Phoenix had risen from the ashes once again.