In August 2024, the announcement was made that Finnish Melodic Doom/Death Metal band, Swallow The Sun, would tour North America starting in late February 2025 with support from Harakiri For The Sky, Ghost Bath, and Snakes Of Russia. A couple of months after this announcement, three years after the release of their eighth studio album “Moonflowers”, they would release their newest and highly anticipated ninth full-length album, “Shining”.
It appears that 2025 will be a very busy year for Swallow The Sun. Not long after announcing a North American Tour and releasing their ninth studio album, a special appearance was made at 70000 Tons Of Metal, which for those who don’t know is an annual Heavy Metal festival that takes place on a cruise ship, and a European Tour was announced. For the first time ever outside of Finland, Swallow The Sun performed “Plague Of Butterflies” in its entirety with Ballet Finland. 2025 will also mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the band’s existence.
Fast forward to now, it is currently late February 2025. Onwards to the Boston tour stop of “Shining Over North America Tour 2025”.
Snakes of Russia
The opening act was Snakes of Russia, Joseph Holiday’s dark electronic project based in Los Angeles, CA. Out of the four bands performing, it is safe to say that Snakes of Russia was the most divergent. Heavy synths, Deathbeats, and Modular but with an obscure and dystopian twist best describes this one-man electronic project. From the release of the debut EP “At Home Alone With Lions”, released in 2020, to the current debut full-length album “True Surrender”, released in 2023, the creative soundscapes and the ideas of modern day electronic music are always changing as the boundaries are being pushed. As far as the tracks that were played, they were varied, but one highlight in particular was the performance of “A Pale Horse”. This sinister and cunning track left the crowd in a grave, yet surreal trance leading to an ideal preparation for the next band, Ghost Bath.
Ghost Bath
Ghost Bath is a Depressive Suicidal Black Metal band hailing from Minot, North Dakota and was the next band to perform after Snakes of Russia. The band started in 2013 as a one-man project and has evolved into a full band over the years. In total they’ve released four studio albums. The day after the tour started, the band premiered a new single and music video “Rose Thorn Necklace”, which is also the title of their upcoming full-length album to be released in May 2025. Luckily, during their set, the band performed the new single for the crowd, which was a pleasant surprise.
The definition of the word Ghost Bath refers to the act of ending one’s life by submerging in a body of water. The lyrical content and imagery in relation to the band are haunting not only in the melodies but also in the vocals, which at times are high-pitched screeches paired with emotional and unyielding wails. The traditional Black Metal components in the instrumentation remained intact but at a much slower pace. Besides the performance of their newest single, their set consisted of tracks such as “Death and the Maiden”, “Hide From The Sun”, “Convince Me To Bleed”, and “Burial”. The raw emotion and energy of Ghost Bath left the crowd enamored in their art, yet yearning for the continuous landscape of sadness and dread with an atmospheric twist promptly accomplished by the next band, Harakiri For The Sky.
Harakiri For The Sky
Formed in 2011 by Matthias Sollak (M.S.) and Michael Kogler (J.J), Harakiri For The Sky, an Austrian Post-Black Metal band, performed after Ghost Bath. In January 2025, they released their eighth full-length album, “Scorched Earth”. Their set consisted of songs such as “Keep Me Longing”, “Without You I’m Just a Sad Song”, and “With Autumn I’ll Surrender”, which are mainly from their latest album. As a band, Harakiri For The Sky has lengthy songs ranging from seven to ten minutes, which also adds to their uniqueness. The band typically has a melodic and despairing sound, but then it gets paired with an atmospheric and ethereal tone, almost as if floating in the air of desolation and longing. Witnessing it live can also be described as a cathartic experience.
Lyrical themes such as depression and the downward and negative sides of life are very prevalent in their style of music. The notion that art can only be bred from the positive and beautiful aspects of life rather than the opposite doesn’t exist. As Harakiri For The Sky finished their set, a new level of sorrow emerged. At that moment, the crowd was ready for the headlining act, Swallow The Sun.
Swallow The Sun
In the year 2000, the Finnish Melodic Doom/Death Metal band Swallow the Sun was formed by Juha Raivio. In the span of twenty-five years, the band has released nine studio albums. As the band entered the stage playing for a crowd with open arms, their song choices touched on most of their discography. They performed stunning tracks such as “Woven Into Sorrow”, “Firelights”, and “New Moon”. The main songs such as “MelancHoly”, “Under the Moon & Sun”, “Innocence Was Long Forgotten”, and “November Dust”, all of which are from the latest album “Shining”, reigned supreme as far as their live set is concerned.
It can be said that Swallow The Sun’s heartfelt and honest approach to the term melancholy knows no bounds. Their latest album signifies a different chapter. Despite the dark and difficult subject matter prevalent in the lyrics of this release, the underlying theme of acceptance and forgiveness stands firm. The crowd that night would agree. From the start of their set to the conclusion, the energy and mood from the crowd shifted from the state of overall sadness to the victorious comfort of release. In the end, the darkness can be embraced while shining.
