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Pain can inspire songs of heartbreaking beauty. And it’s clear enough that Juha Raivio isn’t feeling any better: just listen to Swallow the Sun's Moonflowers. The guitarist and bandleader admits it up front: he hates this album as much as he loves some aspects of it. Writing and listening to it have plunged the musician into the bitterest melancholy. A few years earlier, the Finnish band released When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light, a record that was overshadowed by the death of Aleah Stanbridge, a singer who had collaborated with the band on several occasions and Raivio's companion, who passed away after a tough battle with an aggressive form of cancer. The obscure beauty of this record let the light in on many occasions: a glimmer of hope that shone all too weakly. Despite its melodic strength, Moonflowers also returns at times to a darker and more visceral doom sound while integrating strings in a more sophisticated way on certain arrangements.
This is a work of composition that seems to indicate a grief that has settled in for the long haul. This sentiment is summed up perfectly by the opening track, Moonflowers Bloom In Misery, which, after a soft and melodic opening, gives way to heavy guitars and the return of vocals that are as much a growl as they are black metal screaming. The opener is followed by a tense Enemy, which relaxes to let the strings finish the song on a note of melancholy. The return of female vocals on All Hallow's Grieve (by Cammie Gilbert of Oceans of Slumber) brings in a certain sweetness before the return of a harder black metal at the end of the album. Moonflowers is testament to wounds that still haven’t closed. The band wanted to amplify a sense of majestic cruelty by having the Trio NOX (violin, viola and cello) reinterpret the whole album on a second record recorded in a medieval church, thereby offering a more acoustic perspective. Beauty in sadness. © Chief Brody/Qobuz
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Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
DISC 2
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Jaani Peuhu, Engineer - Jens Bogren, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Juha Raivio, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Swallow The Sun, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Juho Räihä, Composer, Engineer - David Castillo, Engineer - Tony Lindgren, Mastering Engineer - Juuso Raatikainen, Composer - Veli Matti Honkonen, Composer - Mikko Johannes Kotamaeki, Composer - Trio N O X, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Swallow The Sun, Trio N O X, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
Album review
Pain can inspire songs of heartbreaking beauty. And it’s clear enough that Juha Raivio isn’t feeling any better: just listen to Swallow the Sun's Moonflowers. The guitarist and bandleader admits it up front: he hates this album as much as he loves some aspects of it. Writing and listening to it have plunged the musician into the bitterest melancholy. A few years earlier, the Finnish band released When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light, a record that was overshadowed by the death of Aleah Stanbridge, a singer who had collaborated with the band on several occasions and Raivio's companion, who passed away after a tough battle with an aggressive form of cancer. The obscure beauty of this record let the light in on many occasions: a glimmer of hope that shone all too weakly. Despite its melodic strength, Moonflowers also returns at times to a darker and more visceral doom sound while integrating strings in a more sophisticated way on certain arrangements.
This is a work of composition that seems to indicate a grief that has settled in for the long haul. This sentiment is summed up perfectly by the opening track, Moonflowers Bloom In Misery, which, after a soft and melodic opening, gives way to heavy guitars and the return of vocals that are as much a growl as they are black metal screaming. The opener is followed by a tense Enemy, which relaxes to let the strings finish the song on a note of melancholy. The return of female vocals on All Hallow's Grieve (by Cammie Gilbert of Oceans of Slumber) brings in a certain sweetness before the return of a harder black metal at the end of the album. Moonflowers is testament to wounds that still haven’t closed. The band wanted to amplify a sense of majestic cruelty by having the Trio NOX (violin, viola and cello) reinterpret the whole album on a second record recorded in a medieval church, thereby offering a more acoustic perspective. Beauty in sadness. © Chief Brody/Qobuz
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 01:24:48
- Main artists: Swallow The Sun
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Century Media
- Genre: Metal
(P) 2021 Century Media Records Ltd.
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