My immediate question on seeing that Swallow the Sun had a new lyric video for the track “Heartstrings Shattering” from their upcoming Songs from the North I, II and III full-length was to which of those three parts the cut belonged. The Finnish death-doom six-piece will release the album on Nov. 13 through Century Media, and the triple-disc outing follows the format of playing toward their particular style both in its whole and in the parts that make it up, the first chapter being their typical approach, the second an acoustic outing and the third a more extreme, presumably death metal, vision.
I’ve noted a couple times already the ambitiousness of the project and that I’m looking forward to hearing how it’s all turned out. “Heartstrings Shattering” comes from the first of the three parts, and sure enough, it blends melancholic, melodic passages — in this case using a guest vocalist and all — with the band’s post-Peaceville take on doom, shades of classic My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost cast over more modern chug and fluid transitions from one modus to another. Ultimately, it’s as lush as it is pummeling, and that’s no doubt why it was chosen to be the first audio to be made public from the work as a whole. I don’t imagine it was easy to pick a track with three records’ worth of material on-hand.
Swallow the Sun have also announced a European tour for next month, and you can find those dates under the lyric video below, courtesy of the PR wire:
Swallow the Sun, “Heartstrings Shattering” lyric video
SWALLOW THE SUN launch lyric video for “Heartstrings Shattering”
SWALLOW THE SUN have just launched a lyric video for their brand new song “Heartstrings Shattering”, taken from the first part of their upcoming triple album!
Songs from the North I, II & III will be released on November 13, 2015 via Century Media Records!
Incorporating dark menace and gradations of death, black and funeral doom, each of the three albums of “Songs from the North I, II & III” embodies the band’s unofficial band motto, “Gloom, Beauty & Despair”:
Songs from the North I continues in the vein of the albums before it – first-rate death-doom in the typical style of SWALLOW THE SUN.
Songs from the North II is a beautiful, acoustic foray representing the group’s ability to unplug and revel in the darkness.
Songs from the North III is the most extreme album, a complete ride into SWALLOW THE SUN’s most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.
In addition to the launch of the new lyric video, SWALLOW THE SUN have also announced a European headlining tour dates for November/December 2015! They will be accompanied by fellow countrymen Wolfheart and further support bands that will be announced soon. See below for the exact dates!
SWALLOW THE SUN live: 11.26. Berlin, K17, DE 11.27. Hamburg, Headcrash, DE 11.28. Rotterdam, Baroeg, NL 11.29. Apeldoorn, TBC, NL 11.30. Paris, Glazart, FR 12.4. Valencia, Rock City, ES 12.5. Barcelona, Apolo 2, ES 12.6. Madrid, Caracol, ES 12.8. Montpellier, Secret Place, FR 12.9. Pratteln, Z7, CH 12.10. Brescia, Circolo Colony, IT 12.11. Ljbubljana, Orto Bar, SL 12.12. Budapest, Dürer Kert, HU 12.13. Kosice, Colosseum Club, SK 12.14. Krakau, Club Rotunda, PL 12.15. Vienna, Viper Room, AT 12.16. Munchen, Backstage, DE 12.17. Weinheim, Café Zentralbar, DE 12.18. Vosselaar, Biebob, BE 12.19. Bochum, Matrix, DE
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Finnish death-doomers Swallow the Sun have posted more details concerning their previously-announced triple album, Songs from the North I, II & III. The rather massive undertaking will be released Nov. 13 via Century Media as the follow-up to the band’s 2012 fifth LP, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird (track stream here), and along with the artwork and tracklistings for each of the three parts, the intent of each individual chapter has been made public. The first will be sort of the standard Swallow the Sun blend of extreme doom and melodic melancholy, the second acoustic and the third heavier, so that the band presents a different personality on each outings that then feed off each other to form the whole.
I’m interested to hear how it all turns out, but it looks like we have a while to go yet before we get there. Here’s the total four album covers and the latest details off the PR wire:
SWALLOW THE SUN reveal details for new triple album ‘Songs from the North I, II & III’
Melancholy death-doom masters SWALLOW THE SUN bring us a bold, adventurous and characteristically dark triple full-length album entitled Songs from the North I, II & III, which will be released on November 13, 2015 via Century Media Records!
Incorporating dark menace and gradations of death, black and funeral doom, each of the three albums of Songs from the North I, II & III embodies the band’s unofficial band motto, “Gloom, Beauty & Despair”:
Songs from the North I continues in the vein of the albums before it – first-rate death-doom in the typical style of SWALLOW THE SUN.
Track-listing: 1. With You Cam e the Whole of the World’s Tears 2. 10 Silver Bullets 3. Rooms and Shadows 4. Heartstrings Shattering 5. Silhouettes 6. The Memory of Light 7. Lost & Catatonic 8. From Happiness to Dust Total playing time: 59:20
Songs from the North II is a beautiful, acoustic foray representing the group’s ability to unplug and revel in the darkness.
Track-listing: 1. The Womb of Winter 2. The Heart of a Cold White Land 3. Away 4. Pray for the Winds to Come 5. Songs from the North 6. 66°50´N,28°40´E 7. Autumn Fire 8. Before the Summer Dies Total playing time: 42:33
Songs from the North III is the most extreme album, a complete ride into SWALLOW THE SUN’s most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.
Track-listing: 1. The Gathering of Black Moths 2. 7 Hours Late 3. Empires of Loneliness 4. Abandoned by the Light 5. The Clouds Prepare for Battle Total playing time: 51:57
Songs from the North I, II & III will be available as Special Edition 3CD Box containing 3 Digipaks and a booklet, Ltd. Deluxe Edition 5LP+3CD Box with each album in a gatefold sleeve & as digital album.
Main songwriter and guitarist Juha Raivio comments on the triple album concept: “Making a triple album in this godforsaken digital and modern day and age…Many will say it’s madness. I say it is to bring worth, heart and respect back into the music and to the album format where it belongs. This should never turn into a shallow fast food industry where music is only downloaded one song at a time. These albums hold life, death, gloom, beauty and despair in their deepest levels and forms. The three chapters are different but connected, one long journey through these songs written up here in the North. Music is holy, albums are holy. See you on the other side friends.”
Stay tuned for more news about Songs from the North I, II & III coming soon!
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 21st, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I’ve posted about Finnish death-doomers Swallow the Sun a few times over the years, and apart from a track stream I did for their last record, 2012’s Emerald Forest and Black Bird (posted here), the response is usually pretty quiet. Well, I’m gonna keep posting about them because I think they’re a cool fucking band and they’re prone to doing wacky stuff like putting out a triple-album, which they’ll do in Nov. in the form of Songs from the North I, II and III. Kudos to Century Media for what I can only assume was a toss-the-hands-up-and-say-what-the-hell decision to get behind such a massive undertaking, and to the band itself, because if you’re gonna go low and slow, you might as well also go completely overwhelming.
The PR wire has release details:
SWALLOW THE SUN finishes massive recording session; new triple album to be released in November
Melancholy death-doom metal masters SWALLOW THE SUN have completed their massive recording session! The Finnish sextet’s last album, Emerald Forest And The Blackbird, was released in winter 2012; come November 2015, the long wait between recordings will finally be over.
The new SWALLOW THE SUN release will be a triple album entitled Songs From The North I, II & III.
Main songwriter and guitarist Juha Raivio comments on the triple album concept: “Making a triple album in this godforsaken digital and modern day and age…Many will say it’s madness. I say it is to bring worth, heart and respect back into the music and to the album format where it belongs. This should never turn into a shallow fast food industry where music is only downloaded one song at a time.
These albums hold life, death, gloom, beauty and despair in their deepest levels and forms. The three chapters are different but connected, one long journey through these songs written up here in the North.
Music is holy, albums are holy. See you on the other side friends.”
Stay tuned for more news about Songs From The North I, II & III coming soon!
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 24th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Been a quick decade since Finnish doomers Swallow the Sun released their debut full-length, The Morning Never Came. I recall the album came out in the States on the now-defunct Olympic Records, which at the time was an imprint of Century Media, and it was a killer atmospherically from the word go. Probably you could debate back and forth how influential the band has been since, and that might be fun, but I know that album certainly left an impression on me when I heard it. Enough so that I haven’t let one of Swallow the Sun‘s albums pass unbought since, even as they’ve moved on from their doomly beginnings to a more melancholic brand of dark, progressive metal.
Apparently I’m not the only one to have been caught in The Morning Never Came‘s wake, since Swallow the Sun will perform the album from to back as part of a 10th anniversary celebration this Thursday at Klubi in Tampere, streaming the whole thing live as well. If that sounds like your glass of lonkero, check out the details below, courtesy of the PR wire:
SWALLOW THE SUN TO LIVESTREAM SEPTEMBER 26 SHOW IN FINLAND
DOOM LEGENDS TO PERFORM DEBUT ALBUM THE MORNING NEVER CAME IN FULL
Iconic Finnish doom merchants Swallow the Sun are embarking on a fall tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their landmark debut album The Morning Never Came.
The band’s show, scheduled for Thursday, September 26 in Tampere in their native Finland, will be livestreamed globally (10PM UTC/6PM EDT).
Swallow the Sun will perform the album in full, adding other tracks to the encore.
Stream the event here and feel like you are front and center without ever having to leave the house!
Swallow the Sun tour dates 26.9.2013 Klubi, Tampere 27.9.2013 On the Rocks, Helsinki 28.9.2013 Lutakko, Jyväskylä
w/ Antimatter & The Foreshadowing 25.10.2013 Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland 26.10.2013 Rock & Roll Arena, Milan, Italy 27.10.2013 Backstage, Munich, Germany 28.10.2013 Nova Chmelnice, Prague, Czech Republic 29.10.2013 Steinbruch Theater, Darmstadt, Germany 30.10.2013 Grünspan, Darmstadt, Germany 31.10.2013 Helvete, Oberhausen, Germany 1.11.2013 Nouveau Casino, Paris, France 2.11.2013 Brainstorm Festival, Apeldoorn, Netherlands 3.11.2013 Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium 4.11.2013 Underworld, London, UK
Posted in audiObelisk on August 6th, 2012 by JJ Koczan
Their sound has never been for everyone, but Finnish six-piece Swallow the Sun stand tall among the heirs to the first wave of European death/doom. Over the course of their five albums, the band has crafted increasingly intricate and lush melodies offset by brutal growling, mournful plod and a flair for the emotionally epic. Their songs bear the weight of loss, perhaps most of all on their latest outing, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird.
The album saw its Euro release back in February, but in order to highlight the upcoming US issue via Spinefarm, Swallow the Sun will hit the road in support of Kreator and Accept (info here). They’re no strangers to the States when it comes to touring, and no doubt this will be their biggest American run yet, as the material on Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is their most refined work to date and its weepy guitar leads, vicious growls and sorrowful atmosphere should provide stark contrast to the thrash and classic metal of their tourmates.
And yeah, we all know the album’s been out in Europe and once a record hits (or more generally, well before) it’s available on YouTube front to back, but I was offered the chance to highlight the opening title-track of Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, and I jumped at it because I’ve been a fan of the band’s balance of extremity and emotion since their first album made it over to North America seven years ago. Regardless of its availability, I hope you dig it as well.
“Emerald Forest and the Blackbird” is available for streaming on the player below, followed by the Teutonic Terror Attack tour dates:
In addition to the release of the album, we will be joining the legendary KREATOR and ACCEPT on their Teutonic Terror Attack 2012 North American tour! The tour will take place in September and November, starting right after the album release on September 5th from Washington DC! We’re stoked to be back, and here are the dates – including couple of cities we’ve never played before.
5.9. The Howard Theater, Washington, DC 6.9. The Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA 7.9. Best Buy Theater, New York, NY 8.9. The Palladium, Worcester, MA 9.9. Mavericks, Ottawa, ON 10.9. Metropolis, Montreal, QC 11.9. Imperial De Quebec, Quebec City, QC 12.9. Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON 13.9. Station 58, Syracuse, NY 14.9. Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH 15.9. Mojoes, Joliet, IL 16.9. The Beaumont Club, Kansas City, MO 18.9. Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO 19.9. The Complex, Salt Lake City, UT 21.9. Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, BC 22.9. Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA 23.9. Roseland Theater, Portland, OR 24.9. Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA 25.9. The Grand Ballroom, San Francisco, CA 26.9. Avalon, Hollywood, CA 27.9. The Grove, Anaheim, CA 28.9. Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ 29.9. Tricky Falls, El Paso, TX 30.9. Emo’s East, Austin, TX 1.10. Trees, Dallas, TX 2.10. House of Blues, New Orleans, LA 3.10. The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA 4.10. Tremont Music Hall, Charlotte, NC
Posted in Where to Start on July 26th, 2012 by JJ Koczan
We’re more than halfway through 2012, and we’ve already seen great releases from the likes of Orange Goblin, Pallbearer, Conan, C.O.C., Saint Vitus and many others, but there’s still a long way to go. The forecast for the next five months? Busy.
In my eternal and inevitably doomed quest to keep up, I’ve compiled a list of 13 still-to-come releases not to miss before the year ends. Some of this information is confirmed — as confirmed as these things ever are, anyway — either by label or band announcements, and some of it is a little bit vaguer in terms of the actual dates, but all this stuff is slated to be out before 2013 hits. That was basically my only criteria for inclusion.
And of course before I start the list, you should know two things: The ordering is dubious, since it’s not like I can judge the quality of an album before I’ve heard it, just my anticipation, and that this is barely the beginning of everything that will be released before the end of 2012. The tip of the fastly-melting iceberg, as it were. If past is prologue, there’s a ton of shit I don’t even know about that (hopefully) you’ll clue me into in the comments.
Nonetheless, let’s have some fun:
1. Colour Haze, She Said(Sept./Oct.)
I know, I know, this one’s been a really, really long time coming. Like two years. Like so long that Colour Haze had to go back and remake the album because of some terrible technical thing that I don’t even know what happened but it doesn’t matter anymore. Notice came down yesterday from guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek that the recording is done and the long-awaited She Saidis on the way to be pressed on vinyl and CD. Got my fingers crossed for no more snags.
2. Enslaved, RIITIIR (Sept. 28)
The progressive Norwegian black metallers have put out 10 albums before it, and would you believe RIITIIRis the first Enslaved album that’s a palindrome? Kind of cheating to include it on this list, because I’ve heard it, but I’ve been through the record 10-plus times and I still feel like I just barely have a grasp on where they’re headed with it, so I think it’ll be really interesting to see what kind of response it gets upon release. Herbrand Larsen kills it all over these songs though, I will say that.
3. Mos Generator, Nomads(Oct. 23)
Hard for me not to be stoked on the prospect of the first new Mos Generator album since 2007, especially looking at that cover, which RippleMusic unveiled on Tuesday when it announced the Oct. 23 release date. It’s pretty grim looking, and even though Mos once put out a record called The Late Great Planet Earth, I’ve never thought of them as being particularly dark or doomed. I look forward to hearing what Tony Reed (Stone Axe, HeavyPink) has up his sleeve for this collection, and if he’s looking to slow down and doom out a bit here, that’s cool too. I’ll take it either way.
4. Ufomammut, Oro – Opus Alter(Sept.)
No, that’s not the cover of Oro – Opus Alter, the second half of Italian space doom grand masters Ufomammut‘s Oro collection — the first being Opus Primum (review here), which served as their Neurot Recordings debut earlier this year. That cover hasn’t been released yet, so I grabbed a promo pic to stand in. I’m really looking forward to this album, though I hope they don’t go the Earth, Angels of Darkness Demons of Lightroute and wind up with two records that, while really good, essentially serve the same purpose. I’ve got my hopes high they can outdo themselves once again.
5. Witchcraft, Legend(Sept. 21)
I guess after their success with Graveyard, Nuclear Blast decided to binge a bit on ’70s loyalist doom, signing Witchcraft and even more recently, Orchid. Can’t fault them that. It’s been half a decade since Witchcraft released The Alchemist and in their absence, doom has caught on in a big way to their methods. With a new lineup around him, will Magnus Pelander continue his divergence into classic progressive rock, or return to the Pentagram-style roots of Witchcraft‘s earliest work? Should be exciting to find out.
6. Wo Fat, The Black Code(Nov.)
After having the chance to hear some rough mixes of Texas fuzzers Wo Fat‘s Small Stone debut, The Black Code, I’m all the more stoked to encounter the finished product, and glad to see the band join the ranks of Lo-Pan, Freedom Hawk and Gozu in heralding the next wave of American fuzz. Wo Fat‘s 2011 third outing, Noche del Chupacabra (review here), greatly expanded the jammed feel in their approach, and I get the sense they’re just beginning to find where they want to end up within that balance.
7. Blood of the Sun, Burning on the Wings of Desire(Late 2012)
As if the glittering logo and booby-lady cover art weren’t enough to grab attention, Blood of the Sun‘s first album for Listenable Records (fourth overall) is sure to garner some extra notice because the band is led by drummer/vocalist Henry Vasquez, better known over the past couple years as the basher for Saint Vitus. Whatever pedigree the band has assumed through that, though, their modern take on classic ’70s heavy has a charm all its own and I can’t wait to hear how Burning on the Wings of Desire pushes that forward. Or backward. Whatever. Rock and roll.
8. Swans, The Seer(Aug. 28)
This one came in the mail last week and I’ve had the chance to make my way through it only once. It’s two discs — and not by a little — and as was the case with Swans‘ 2010 comebacker, My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky(review here), the far less cumbersomely titled The Seeris loaded with guest contributions. Even Jarboe shows up this time around, doing that breathy panting thing she does. Unnerving and challenging as ever, Swans continue to be a litmus for how far experimentalism can go. 3o years on, that’s pretty impressive in itself.
9. Swallow the Sun, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird(Sept. 4)
Apparently the Finnish melo-doom collective’s fifth album, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, came out earlier this year in Europe, but it’s finally getting an American release in September, and as I’ve always dug the band’s blend of death metal and mournful melodicism, I thought I’d include it here. Like Swans, I’ve heard the Swallow the Sun once through, and it seems to play up more of the quiet, weepy side of their sound, but I look forward to getting to know it better over the coming months.
10. My Sleeping Karma, Soma (Oct. 9)
Just signed to Napalm Records and tapped to open for labelmates Monster Magnet as they tour Europe performing Spine of Godin its entirety this fall, the German four-piece are set to follow-up 2010’s Tri(review here) with Soma. Details were sketchy, of course, until about five minutes after this post initially went up, then the worldwide release dates, cover art and tracklist were revealed, so I updated. Find all that info on the forum.
11.Eagle Twin, The Feather Tipped the Serpent’s Scale(Aug. 28)
Way back in 2009 when I interviewed Eagle Twin guitarist/vocalist Gentry Densley about the band’s Southern Lord debut, he said the band’s next outing would relate to snakes, and if the cover is anything to go by, that seems to have come to fruition on The Feather Tipped the Serpent’s Scale, which is set to release at the end of next month. As the first album was kind of a mash of influences turned into cohesive and contemplative heavy drone, I can’t help but wonder what’s in store this time around.
12. Hooded Menace, Effigies of Evil(Sept. 11)
You know how sometimes you listen to a band and that band turns you on in their liner notes to a ton of other cool bands? I had that experience with Finnish extreme doomers Hooded Menace‘s 2010 second album, Never Cross the Dead (review here), except instead of bands it was hotties of ’70s horror cinema. Needless to say, I anxiously await the arrival of their third record and Relapse debut, Effigies of Evil. Someone needs to start a label and call it Hammer Productions just to sign this band.
13. Yawning Man, New Album (Soon)
Make no mistake. The prospect of a new Yawning Man album would arrive much higher on this list if I was more convinced it was going to come together in time for a 2012 release. As it is, Scrit on the forum has had a steady stream of updates since May about the record — the latest news being that it’s going to be a double album — and Scrit‘s in the know, so I’ll take his word. One thing we do know for sure is that the band in the picture above is not the current Yawning Man lineup. Alfredo Hernandez and Mario Lalli out, Greg Saenz and Billy Cordell in. Bummer about the tumult, but as long as it’s Gary Arce‘s ethereal guitar noodling, I’m hooked one way or another.
Since we closed with rampant speculation, let me not forget that somewhere out there is the looming specter of a new Neurosis album, which the sooner it gets here, the better. Perhaps also a new Clutch full-length, though I doubt that’ll materialize before 2013. And that’s a different list entirely.
Thanks for reading. Anything I forgot or anything you’d like to add to the list, leave a comment.
The song “Cathedral Walls” comes off Swallow the Sun‘s forthcoming fifth record, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, and as if the death/doomers needed to be any more Finnish, they got Anette Olzon from Nightwish to do guest vocals. Accordingly, the clip features scattering ashes, candlelight brutality and interpretive dance in the rain. Scandinavia is so badass.
Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is due out Feb. 1 on Spinefarm. Hope you dig the clip:
Posted in Reviews on October 29th, 2009 by JJ Koczan
The progression Finland?s Swallow the Sun have taken over the course of their now-four full-lengths seems to be one of abandoning many of the lush flourishes their songs contained in their earlier work — keeping the melody — in favor of tighter songwriting and more straightforward songs. Their last album, 2007?s Hope, was a leap in this direction from 2005?s Ghosts of Loss (they apparently like to work on the evens; see you in 2011, boys), and the latest output from the Jyv?skyl? six-pack, New Moon (Spinefarm), confirms the shift that seemed so sudden last time around.
Of course, there are still melodic/melancholic/melodancholic parts. It wouldn?t be Swallow the Sun without them, but as heard on opener ?These Woods Breathe Evil,? it?s much more about the structure of the song, and in this case the catchy chorus, than trading off between heaviness and atmospheric. The atmospheres have become part of the songs, to put it another way. We hear that in the Katatonia-esque ?Falling World,? and later in the title track, where vocalist Mikko Kotam?ki gives what might be his most accomplished performance yet, showing a melodic range and dynamism with his deathly growls that only speaks to the growth he?s undergone as a performer since the band started out.
What?s happening more than anything else on New Moon is that Swallow the Sun are coming into their own. They?ve toured Europe and the US, they?ve been around the world, they?re coming up on their first decade as a band, and they?re in a position where more and more people know who they are. For melodic death/doom, they might be the top name out of Europe today that hasn?t already been around for 20 years. Are they this generation?s My Dying Bride? Maybe, if you take away some of the gothic drama and consider the fact that while the seminal UK doom act had a full scene supporting them, with bands like Paradise Lost, Katatonia and Anathema to accompany, Swallow the Sun are pretty much doing this with zero companionship on their level. In a way, that makes it all the more admirable.
The progression Finland?s Swallow the Sun have taken over the course of their now-four full-lengths seems to be one of abandoning many of the lush flourishes their songs contained in their earlier work — keeping the melody — in favor of tighter songwriting and more straightforward songs. Their last album, 2007?s Hope, was a leap in this direction from 2005?s Ghosts of Loss (they apparently like to work on the evens; see you in 2011, boys), and the latest output from the Jyv?skyl? six-pack, New Moon (Spinefarm), confirms the shift that seemed so sudden last time around.
