Swallow the Sun

Swallow the Sun is a Finnish extreme metal band. Their style is rooted in doom metal and death metal and emphasizes melody and atmosphere.

Biography

The Morning Never Came (2003)

Swallow the Sun was formed in early 2000 by Juha Raivio, soon joined by Pasi Pasanen (both had played together in Plutonium Orange). They rehearsed a couple of songs, one of them being "Through Her Silvery Body" which would end up on their first demo,Out of This Gloomy Light. In 2001 Markus Jämsen, whom Raivio and Pasanen already knew from their earlier bands, joined as a second guitarist, and Mikko Kotamäki from Funeris Nocturnum as singer; then Aleksi Munter (keyboards) and Matti Honkonen (bass), also of Funeris Nocturnum, joined the band. In the spring of 2002 they started arranging songs for the demo Out of This Gloomy Light which was recorded in January 2003 at Sam's Workshop with Sami Kokko, who also mixed the demo.

A record deal with Firebox Records was signed a few months after the recordings of the demo, and Swallow the Sun entered studio at late July 2003. During the following three weeks they recorded their debut album, The Morning Never Came.

Ghosts of Loss (2005)

In February 2005, Swallow the Sun released their second album, Ghosts of Loss. Their single, "Forgive Her...," gained fourth place on the Finnish Top 20 singles chart in its first week of release, and stayed on the charts for six weeks. Their album entered the charts as well: No. 8 in between Gwen Stefani and System of a Down.

Hope (2007)

During the year 2006 they signed to Spinefarm Records and did a small European tour. In January 2007 they released their third album, Hope, which includes a cover version of the Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus song "Alavilla mailla" (which they translated into "These Low Lands") as a bonus track on the digipack edition, sung by Tomi Joutsen, the frontman of fellow Finnish metal band, Amorphis. There is also a guest appearance by Jonas Renkse of Katatonia on the song "The Justice of Suffering." They went on a US tour with Katatonia, Scar Symmetry and Insomnium in late 2007.

Plague of Butterflies (2008)

In September 2008, they released an EP called Plague of Butterflies, followed by a December tour of the UK of ten live shows supporting Apocalyptica.

New Moon (2009)

On May 18, 2009 Kai Hahto of Wintersun joined Swallow the Sun to fill the void left by former drummer Pasi Pasanen. Kai Hahto did the drums on their next album, entitled New Moon, Produced by Jens Bogren, the album was released on November 9, 2009.

Emerald Forest and the Blackbird (2012)

The fifth studio album Emerald Forest and the Blackbird was released February 1, 2012, on Spinefarm Records.

Songs from the North I, II & III (2015)

Swallow the Sun released Songs from the North I, II & III on November 13, 2015. On the album Juuso Raatikainen replaced Kai Hahto as full-time drummer as Hahto was filling in on Nightwish's 2015 album and tour. However, Hahto has not been kicked out or resigned.^[1]

Timeline

Members

Discography

Albums

• The Morning Never Came (2003)
• Ghosts of Loss (2005)
• Hope (2007)
• New Moon (2009)
• Emerald Forest and the Blackbird (2012)
• Songs from the North I, II & III (2015)

Videos

• "Descending Winters" (2005)
• "Don't Fall Asleep" (2007)
• "Doomed to Walk the Earth" (2007)
• "Falling World" (2009)
• "Cathedral Walls" (2012)
• "Rooms and Shadows" (2015)

Singles

• "Forgive Her..." (2005)
• "Don't Fall Asleep (Horror Pt. 2)" (2007)

Demos

• Out of This Gloomy Light (2003)

EPs

• Plague of Butterflies (2008)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swallow the Sun.

• Official web site
• Official Fan Club
• Interview with Juha Raivio and Matti Honkonen received on 08/09/2010
• Interview with Juha Raivio for "Emerald Forest and the Blackbird" published on 02/25/2012