Tag Archives: swallow the sun

PHOTO REPORT: MELANCHOLY MASS


Melancholy Mass 2022: Red Moon Architect, Kaunis Kuolematon, Marianas Rest, October Tide and Swallow the Sun at Olympia in Tampere, FI

What better way to welcome the beautiful gloom of Autumn than with the masters of melancholy and doom? Friday, September 23, 2022 was the Autumnal Equinox and Melancholy Mass hit the stage in Tampere, Finland.

Marianas Rest opened the mini festival with their usual presence that is almost viscerally tragic. Melancholic with a touch of extreme.

Red Moon Architect continued with their huge sound and amazing stage presence, probably the heaviest sound of the night balanced with the delicate vocals of Anni Viljanen.

The night continued with Kaunis Kuolematon endulging the audience in their own brand of melancholic metal. The contrast between Olli and Mikko’s vocals never ceases to bring chills and a unique feeling of strength and powerlessness.

October Tide blew me away. They were the only band on the bill that I had not seen before and I truly hope they make their way back soon. They added a raw heavy twist to the mix, still doom as hell but some got under your skin in a deeper and dirtier way than the other bands. Love their stage presence too, Alexander has a snarky dgaf attitude that keeps things light but heavy at the same time, i.e. (to the audience) “Are you happy?” -audience cheers- “why are you happy? We’re trying to make you sad.”

And the highlight of the evening, Swallow the Sun. I can never praise this band enough. They are always a pleasure to watch and shoot, even when their performance is a little off, it makes it all the more of a unique experience, as each show of theirs is.

Advertisement

Brutal Assault #25 – DAY IV REPORT


The fourth day starts and I feel a bit tired a bit from rushing stage to stage. Slight pain in the throat does not help at all, too. But rock’n’roll awaits still.

In the afternoon, the thrash group Nunslaughter, Exhorder and the Czech Faust are worth mentioning. I was happy with the music of Benighted, which I had the opportunity to see last year as well. Their extreme action full of growling and pig squeals was satisfying as usual.

Nunslaughter, Faust, Exhorder

From the modern and more progressive side, bands like Aviana, Stake, Humanity’s Last Breath, Frontierer played early. Another less metal, more hardcore (kinda) was presented by Comeback Kid and Sick of It All or fusion of styles by Stake.

Stake, Humanity’s Last Breath, Sick of It All

Outside of black metal, I was looking forward to doom performed by Swallow the Sun. Again and as always, nice performance. The sad melodies dug into us damn deep. Maybe even more so, when we watched the lead guitarist Juho Räihä. He seemed crazy thin to me…

Swallow the Sun

I was preparing for blackness again. Mainly Abbath and Panzerfaust from Canada. I saw the guys a few months ago in Czech club. The music was good, but because of the (in)correct lights and smoke, everyone saw complete crap the whole concert… At the Brutal Assault, it really bothered me that many bands of similar genre overlapped at the same time… Was it like that last time too? I do not even remember due covid break. Now it was very frequent and I was quite sad. Panzerfaust didn’t start playing until half an hour after Abbath, but that was actually even worse for me. Most of us who were at Abbath show wanted to hear the second part of the set, when they again played covers from the legend – Immortal. So I didn’t hear anything from that part… Panzerfaust showed us that their black metal is powerful and strong at least, even if there was a little too much of the fog for my taste. The „chaotic“ plucking of dissonant chords in the fast tempo and the slower passages enhanced the greatness and force the band has.

Abbath, Panzerfaust

As the previous day represented the legend of King Diamond, on Friday it was the legacy of Chronos with Venom. Again, and absolute professionalism combined with a fun that was felt from the members. They kicked off the concert with the legendary song “Black Metal” and that was actually enough to give me full satisfaction. As Imentioned overlapping times of some bands, here, due Venom, I have missed Slagmaur which was playing on other side of the festival, unfortunatelly. Black metal band who closed the day of the day, was Mysticum, which was more on industrial side of the genre. Besides good music and great light show, many of us drooled on the great muscle mass of the guitarist. I think ladies had quite a hard time to keep on their legs. Stay tuned for the final day.

Venom, Mysticum

REVIEW: IANAI – “Sunir”


by Carina Lawrence / Dark Art Conspiracy

IANAI is a mysterious multi-instrumentalist project from Jaani Peuhu (Swallow The Sun), which includes collaborations from members of HIM, Massive Attack, Sisters of Mercy and The Rasmus. Through Jaani’s vision and the impressive array of guests, it is no surprise this debut album ‘Sunir’ embodies many sounds and influences, taking you on a beautiful, transcendent journey. ‘Sunir’ will take listeners through the instrumentation of Scandinavia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America and beyond. 

Continue reading REVIEW: IANAI – “Sunir”

PHOTO REPORT: SWALLOW THE SUN, KAUNIS KUOLEMATON AND EDGE OF HAZE


Swallow the Sun played at Pakkahuone in Tampere on 27th of May. It was the second date of their Finnish tour promoting their new album Moonflowers which was released last year. Kaunis Kuolematon and Edge of Haze were the opening acts (for only two of the seven dates in Finland). It was a solid lineup. Edge of Haze opened with energy and heaviness, and Kaunis Kuolematon brought it down to a more melancholy yet powerful level. Then, Swallow the Sun hit all of the above, including songs from their first few albums that they haven’t played live in a while. From the more melodic “Stone Wings” to one of my personal favorites, and heaviest song off the new album “This House Has No Home”. So heavy in fact, that a mosh pit broke out! I don’t think I have ever seen a pit during a Swallow the Sun gig! It was great to see all three bands at a bigger venue. I don’t believe this gig was sold out but it was pretty well attended. I, like many others, cannot get enough of Moonflowers and it is just magic to see live. I wish I could say more, but this band always leaves me speechless. Let the photos speak for themselves…

EDGE OF HAZE:

KAUNIS KUOLEMATON:

SWALLOW THE SUN:

Photos and review by: Serena Solomon

REVIEW: Swallow The Sun – “Moonflowers”


by Carina Lawrence / Dark Art Conspiracy

Finnish death-doom metal pioneers, Swallow The Sun return from the darkest crevices with their eighth album ‘Moonflowers’. The new offering is the follow-up to their chart-topping Finnish Grammy-nominated 2019 album ‘When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light’. ‘Moonflowers’ remarkably manages to turn up the emotional heaviness expected from the quintet. The album’s artwork added to this grim sentiment as guitarist and primary songwriter Juha Raivio created it using dried up flowers he collected along with his blood to paint the moon, making the image both tragic and elegant, much like their music.

Continue reading REVIEW: Swallow The Sun – “Moonflowers”

SWALLOW THE SUN announce European tour for Winter 2022


SWALLOW THE SUN are finally hitting the road again. After being forced to not play live shows due to the pandemic for such a long time, the Finnish doom death metal spearhead is happy and proud to announce a European headline tour in Winter 2022 with special guest AVATARIUM.

Starting on January 24th, the band grasps the opportunity to celebrate their latest release of the full-length studio album ‘Moonflowers’ – which will be released on November 19th 2021 – with 35 shows through 15 countries across Europe ending on February 27th.

Continue reading SWALLOW THE SUN announce European tour for Winter 2022