For the sake of As the Sun Falls and the people who filmed the video you’re about to see, we hope they pulled it off in one take so as to avoid frostbite. The expansive snowbound setting (filmed against the backdrop of Nummela, Finland) is dramatic, and the band’s members are heavily bundled and throwing themselves into the performance in a way that surely got their blood rushing — but it still looks icy cold.
Yet with a song named “Aurora” and a band who make their home in “the frozen heart of Finland”, the setting was a natural choice. And the video well-suits the music itself, which gets the heart pounding, creates a bitter and desolate chill, and beautifully but hauntingly shimmers like the aurora borealis.
The new song that’s the subject of the video is from this melodic death metal band’s new album Kaamos, which will be released by Theogonia Records on May 3rd. It follows the group’s 2021 debut album Last Days of Light and their 2023 EP Where the Silence Reigns.
The title Kaamos reflects the inspiration drawn by the band from a mystical part of the winter season in their homeland when “the sun remains hidden below the horizon, yet the landscape is bathed in surreal blueish and violet Arctic lights”. But the season also serves as a representation of winters of the soul, when melancholy and despair take hold.
And now, to return in more detail to the aspects of “Aurora” previewed above:
It definitely does get the heart pounding, and wastes no time doing that. Launched with a mighty howl, thunder rumbles in the low end, the drums crack like a whip, and the guitars blaze and vibrantly flicker. Yet seamlessly, the music shades into emotional darkness and then transforms again as rapidly darting fretwork and voracious growls dial up the intensity.
The changes keep coming, anchored by a gigantic bass-pulse and neck-snapping beats. The guitars grow feverish but also deliriously swirl, both brilliant in their tone and despairing in their mood. Slow and fluid, the lead guitar portrays feelings of grief, which becomes a prelude to the phase of the song that manifests its title.
In that phase, the intensity subsides but the rhythm section still stand out, still getting the listener’s muscles moving, while the music ethereally shimmers and drifts, mystical and mesmerizing in its effects. As the intensity builds again, the sound glitters like sun on storms of blowing ice, and the band then reprise the earlier melodic themes, accompanied by fierce roars and wrenching howls — a reminder of how multi-faceted and memorable the song is.
The video was created under the direction of Atte Santala and Jani Mikkänen, and produced by Atte Santala. The song will be available today on all major streaming platforms.
BAND LINEUP:
Jani Berney Mikkänen – Guitars, Vocals
Lauri Unkila – Guitars
Oskar Englund – Bass
Paul Rytkönen – Drums
Mikko Voutilainen – Vocals (Studio session musician)
The album includes guest appearances by Gogo Melone, who lends her ethereal clean vocals to “Through Sorrow and Grief” (in addition to creating the artwork and layout), and by Kari Olli, who adds his haunting voice to “Into the Shadows”. Additionally, all keyboards on Kaamos were recorded by George Tzahristas. The album was mixed and mastered by Guillaume Schappacher at Gravity Sound Prod. Studios.
Theogonia will release this 60-minute album on CD, and for more info about the album and how to get it, check out the links below. Also check out the official video for the first single from the album, “Among the Stars“, which we’ve included after the links.
THEOGONIA RECORDS:
Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/theogoniarecords
Website : https://theogonia-records.com
Facebook : / theogoniarecords
Bandcamp : https://theogoniarecords.bandcamp.com
AS THE SUN FALLS:
https://www.instagram.com/asthesunfalls
https://www.facebook.com/asthesunfalls