Swallow the Sun

New album stream available!

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:42:00 +0200

You can stream the new album EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD for a week at Inferno Magazine's website here! Enjoy, and feel free to share the link as much as you can! Remember that you can pre-order the CD or 2LP with an exclusive shirt from Record Shop X!

Finnish Tour with The Man Eating Tree

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:37:00 +0200

We are very excited to present you our Finnish tour with our good friends of The Man-Eating Tree! The tour consists of 11 shows around Finland, starting from our home town Jyv�skyl�, including many cities and venues we haven't played in a while and ending at Nosturi, Helsinki. The dates are as follows:

�19.1.2012 Spinefeast at Sea *
�10.2. Jyv�skyl�, Lutakko
�11.2. Oulu, Nuclear Nightclub *
�17.2. Finnish Metal Expo *
�18.2. Kuopio, Henry's Pub
�23.2. Tampere, YO-Talo
�24.2. Kouvola, Rytmi-Katti
�25.2. Joensuu, Kerubi
�2.3. Turku, Klubi
�3.3. Vaasa, Amarillo
�9.3. Helsinki, Nosturi

* without TMET

We haven't played any shows in a year, so we're really looking forward to this - see you on tour!!

LP RELEASES!

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0200

We are very happy to announce that both EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD and NEW MOON will be released on vinyl by Svart Records on February 1st!!

Emerald Forest will be released as a gatefold double LP on green vinyl (limited to 400 copies) and white vinyl (200 copies). The long-awaited New Moon vinyl release will be a single LP with a special manilla sleeve limited to 500 copies.

CATHEDRAL WALLS VIDEO SHOOT

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0200

Last weekend we shot a video for the song CATHEDRAL WALLS from the upcoming album EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD. The video was directed by Tage R�nnqvist for Eva Lingon Ltd. This must have been our biggest video production so far, and it features some really gloomy imagery to complement the mood of the song. We will post more detailed information on the video when it's released, but check out some behind the scenes photos meanwhile!

EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:00:00 +0200

We are proud to announce details of our fifth full length album, titled EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD. It will feature 10 tracks of the trademark Swallow the Sun sound of gloom, beauty and despair, and the track list is as follows:

1. EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD
�2. THIS CUT IS THE DEEPEST
�3. HATE, LEAD THE WAY
�4. CATHEDRAL WALLS (feat. Anette Olzon)
�5. HEARTS WIDE SHUT
�6. SILENT TOWERS
�7. LABYRINTH OF LONDON (HORROR PT. IV)
�8. OF DEATH AND CORRUPTION
�9. APRIL 14th
�10. NIGHT WILL FORGIVE US

"I found myself listening to an old Finnish lullaby called 'Sininen Uni' over and over again, and suddenly images started pouring into my mind of a dad reading a tale to his dying child, trying to explain where the child is going that night, the tale of Emerald Forest and the Blackbird," says Juha Raivio, the main songwriter.

"Finally this image lead me into a long journey through this night and got me trapped in the limbo between the dusk and the dawn. The place where you face your demons and angels, meet the souls of the ones you loved and lost. Will we walk the night forever, or let the night forgive us and let us say a last goodbye? These are songs from the limbo, notes of sorrow, hate, love, darkness and light. The tale of Emerald Forest and the Blackbird."

We are extremely honoured to have Anette Olzon of NIGHTWISH featuring on vocals on CATHEDRAL WALLS. Her recognizable voice gives the song the depth and the angelic character it demands.

"When I got to listen to the rough demo of 'Cathedral Walls' I fell in love with the song immediately and I was so honoured to be asked to sing on this song. The melody and lyrics are truly beautiful.", comments Olzon.

In addition, Aleah Stanbridge of TREES OF ETERNITY - whose ethereal voice is familiar from our previous works - is also featured on two tracks.

The album was recorded during September and October 2011 by the legendary Mikko Karmila (Nightwish, Amorphis and Children of Bodom, to name a few) at Drumforest Studios in Viitasaari and Sonic Pump 2 in Helsinki, and by Hannu Honkonen at Noisework Studios in Helsinki.

For when it comes to mixing, we are more than excited to work with another legend in the Finnish metal scene, Hiili Hiilesmaa. Hiili is known for his work with HIM, Apocalyptica, Amorphis and Moonspell, etc. We are convinced that his vision, insight and experience will bring our sound to a new level.

The album will be mastered by Mika Jussila (Nightwish, Amorphis, Sentenced, etc.) at Finnvox Studios. The artwork is once again made by Rami Mursula, whose imagery sets the perfect mood for the album.

EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD will be released February 1, 2012 by Spinefarm Records. Follow us on Facebook and our web page for pre-ordering information.

www.facebook.com/swallowthesun
twitter.com/swallowthesunfi
www.myspace.com/swallowthesundoom
www.swallowthesun.net
www.swallowthesunfans.com
www.spinefarm.fi

Drum, guitar, bass and keyboards finished

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0300

We have finished recording all the instruments! The keyboard recordings took place at Noisework Studios with Hannu Honkonen. The production environment there is awesome and the end result is always top notch. The keyboards on this album will feature some of our most epic moments so far!

The vocal recordings will take place next week in Helsinki with Mikko Karmila. After that we are ready for mixing, and we will release more info on that later on. Stay tuned!

Drumforest Studios with Mikko Karmila

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:26:00 +0300

During the well deserved break we took from shows this year we've been preparing new music, and now we are happy to announce that we have entered Drumforest Studios at Viitasaari to record our fifth full length album, which will be released February 1st 2012 by Spinefarm Records.

Drumforest Studios is an atmospheric studio built in an old school middle of Finland in Viitasaari. It's the perfect environment for the legendary sound engineer Mikko Karmila to capture our signature sound. Mikko is well known in the metal world for his work with such names as Nightwish, Sentenced, Amorphis and Children of Bodom, just to name a few, and we're very happy to work with him.

Acoustic show and a quick update!

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:41:00 +0300

Hey everyone!

We've been quiet for this year, as we've been taking a break and working on a new album. There's been lots of cool things going on, and we will let you know soon enough what we're planning.

Anyway, Mikko, Markus and Aleksi are playing two acoustic shows at PRKL! Pimp My Fest 2011 in PRKL Club, Helsinki on August 11th and 13th. The set list will include Swallow the Sun as well as some of our favorite cover songs. See you there!

24 countries and 146 shows of deadly Finnish winter: the New Moon tour is over!

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:16:00 +0200

So, friends around the planet, it's time to summarize the New Moon tours of 2009 - 2010 and pick up the pieces of our gloomy and broken bones from countless stages, backstages, buses, hotels, bars, planes and police stations, giving huge thanks to all of you for making the New Moon tours the most successful tours so far for us! Thank you for coming to the shows, buying merchandise, believing in us and supporting the music!

Once again we toured more than ever before, and this time we brought the Finnish winter to 24 different countries, playing 146 shows in total after the album release. During the New Moon touring period we completed 3 European tours, 2 North American tours, played many summer festivals and also had the pleasure to play in Israel and Romania for the first time.

In 2010 we also made an endorsement deal with D'Addario strings, Planet Waves cables and Evans drum skins, and we are more than happy to be part of the D�Addario family from now on.

So this year, 2011, we are going to keep things a bit more quiet and start preparing for the next Swallow the Sun album, which will be released at the end of this year or in the beginning of 2012... yeah, if the world doesn't end! Ten new songs are already in the works, but we are not going to rush with recording, album release or new tours because our bodies, hair and especially livers just can't handle it yet, folks!!

We might do a few selected shows and festivals this year if it fits in with our plans, but otherwise this year is going to be a dark road of solitude towards new depths of gloom, beauty and despair – the 6th chapter of Swallow the Sun.

Long, dark winter wishes to everybody.

Swallow the Sun join forces with D'Addario!

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:42:00 +0200

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Swallow the Sun is now officially endorsed by D'Addario!

We are extremely proud and happy to tell you that in the future we are bringing our well-known sound and dynamics to you using D'Addario strings, Planet Waves cables and Evans drum skins!

Big thanks to Frank Aresti and everyone at D'Addario for making this happen - we are honoured to be a part of D'Addario family!

And guys, remember that we're touring Europe at the moment, check the dates at www.swallowthesun.net! This one will be the last one for a while, so remember to check when we're around! See you on tour, cheers!!!

(Image by Audrey Dujardin / www.shutterblast.net)