Swallow the Sun

Swallow the Sun are a Finnish death-doom metal group from Jyväskylä, formed in 2000. The line-up includes Juha Raivio, Pasi Pasanen, Aleksi Munter, Markus Jämsen, Matti Honkonen, Mikko Kotamäki, Kai Hahto, Juuso Raatikainen and Jaani Peuhu. Their style is rooted in death-doom, doom metal and metal, with a melodic death-doom sound described in their early material.

Formation and early recordings

The band forms in early 2000 around Juha Raivio, with Pasi Pasanen joining soon afterwards. Both have previously played in Plutonium Orange. They begin rehearsing material that includes “Through Her Silvery Body”, a song that later appears on their first demo, Out of This Gloomy Light. Markus Jämsen joins in 2001 as second guitarist, followed by Mikko Kotamäki on vocals, with Aleksi Munter on keyboards and Matti Honkonen on bass. Munter and Honkonen also come from Funeris Nocturnum.

Work on the demo continues in spring 2002, and it is recorded in January 2003 at Sam’s Workshop with Sami Kokko, who also mixes it. A recording deal with Firebox Records follows a few months later.

Albums and releases

Swallow the Sun enter the studio in late July 2003 and record their debut album, The Morning Never Came, over the following three weeks. Their second album, Ghosts of Loss, is released in 2005. Its single “Forgive Her...” reaches 4th place on the Finnish Top 20 singles chart in its first week and remains on the chart for six weeks. The album also charts, reaching number 8.

In 2006 the band sign to Spinefarm Records. Their third album, Hope, is released in January 2007. It includes a bonus cover of Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus’s “Alavilla mailla”, translated as “These Low Lands”, with vocals by Tomi Joutsen of Amorphis on the digipack edition. The album also features Jonas Renkse of Katatonia on “The Justice of Suffering”.

The band release the EP Plague of Butterflies in September 2008. Later releases include New Moon, with drums by Kai Hahto, and Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, their fifth studio album, which appears through Spinefarm Records and also on limited green and white vinyl LPs through Svart Records.

Tours and collaborations

Swallow the Sun tour the United States with Katatonia, Scar Symmetry and Insomnium in late 2007. In December 2008 they undertake a UK tour of ten shows supporting Apocalyptica. Their recorded work also includes guest contributions from Tomi Joutsen and Jonas Renkse, reflecting links with other Finnish and Scandinavian metal acts.