Shining, the latest full-length album from the Finnish death doom pioneers, Swallow The Sun, will be available via Century Media Records on October 18. The powerful and very heavy new track of transformation and rebirth, “What I Have Become”, will take you through personal hell and back.
The new record is produced and mixed by Dan Lancaster (Bring Me the Horizon, Muse, Enter Shikari, etc.), mastered by Tony Lindgren (Fascination Street Studios), and recorded by Juho Räihä at SoundSpiral Audio, except vocals recorded by Dan Lancaster.
Juha Raivio comments on the new song: “‘What I Have Become’ is about that moment when you look yourself deep in the eye from the mirror and your own eyes start to tell what your soul has become instead of what you always wanted it to be. The hardest thing is to forgive yourself and break that circle”.
Watch the visualizer for “What I Have Become” below, stream the song here.
About Shining, Juha Raivio adds: “After our last album, it soon became clear to me that writing another Moonflowers album would kill me. So, I made a quiet wish to myself that if there ever will be any new music then please have a little bit of mercy on yourself rather than be that infinite black hole that will suck out the rest of your remaining light and soul just for the sake of it. Musically this album shines like a glacier diamond and has that power and punch that feels like a kick in your face! While lyrically the album deals with how fearing life will eventually kill you and how melancholy can become your God.
“We want to thank all the support and trust from Century Media, not to mention our insanely talented producer Dan Lancaster having the balls and guts to jump straight in the deep end with this band and get us out of our comfort zone. This album truly feels like a sunrise in the night sky”.
Pre-order Shining here.
Shining tracklisting:
“Innocence Was Long Forgotten”
“What I Have Become”
“MelancHoly”
“Under The Moon & Sun”
“Kold”
“November Dust”
“Velvet Chains”
“Tonight Pain Believes”
“Charcoal Sky”
“Shining”
“Innocence Was Long Forgotten” video:
Moreover, Swallow The Sun will host a very unique and exclusive event at the beautiful Aleksanterin Teatteri in Helsinki on October 16. Their upcoming studio album Shining will be listened to in its entirety, before its official release on October 18. Please note the band will not perform at the event.
Anyone who wishes to attend the event can register and get their tickets via Levykauppa Äx from now until October 4. To order and register, head here.
At the exclusive pre-listening session, fans will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Swallow The Sun’s latest work with the best possible sound in one of the most beautiful places in northern Europe, the Aleksanterin Teatteri.
Mikko Kotamäki shares about the pre-listening session: “Very excited to go back to the very special theater, but this time enjoying the music as a listener! Also cool to meet everyone and talk about the ‘Shining’ process and how it was working with such people as Dan! See you in Helsinki!”
More than two decades of despair, beauty, and heartache have not only shaped but fueled Finnish melancholy torchbearers, the chart-topping and two-time Finnish Grammy nominated Swallow The Sun.
Formed in Jyväskylä in 2000, the quintet has enjoyed numerous fan-lauded music videos (10+ million YouTube views) and streaming dominance (50+ million Spotify plays), while also embarking on a four-continent, 900-show run over the course of their 20-year career.
Their new music, however, is the group’s first step on the new path to the unknown.
Swallow The Sun are:
Juha Raivio – Guitar, Keys
Juho Räihä – Guitar
Mikko Kotamäki – Vocals
Matti Honkonen – Bass
Juuso Raatikainen – Drums
(Photo – Jussi Ratilainen)