Swallow The Sun

Gnaw Their Tongues mastermind Maurice de Jong falls before draconian times on new The Sombre elegy “The Mourning Gloom.” Streaming in slow motion now!

Our cooped up correspondent pecks on some Decibel faves, moshy death dudes, and sullen Finnish doom metallers this week.

Mexico-based death-doom outfit Majestic Downfall beats until their heart stops on new album Aorta. Streaming morosely only at Decibel!

Finnish doom-death metallers Swallow The Sun stare death in the face on new album, “When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light.” A Q&A with Juha Raivio.

This week, get a sneak peek (okay, a nine-minute stare) at one of the crushing hymns from Songs III, “Abandoned by the Light.”

We asked keyboard player Aleksi Munter some questions about this stage in the band’s career, so stick around for what he had to say.  Also, be sure to check out the two videos Swallow the Sun have given us so far.

We’ve been geeked on Finland’s answer to My Dying Bride since 2003 when the fearless Finns issued debut album, The Morning Never Came. Years and four full-lengths later—the latest of which is the subtle yet stunning Emerald Forest And The Blackbird—, we’re still nuts about Swallow The Sun. So much so, we pre-empted the album…

I’ve often felt STS songs are like album-form movies. At this point, where does the cinematic inspiration come from?Aleksi: Mainly Twin Peaks, it has always been an inspiration, especially to the songs musically, but also lyrically to some extent. On Hope we tried to go for The Shining-type of vibes, but in hindsight that could’ve…