Interview with Vocalist Jemiina Heloise of SWANSONG

Interview with Jemiina Heloise, Lead Vocalist of Melodic Death Metal band SWANSONG. Hailing from Finland they recently released their debut full length album Awakening. They also have one EP released in 2022 titled Winter Maiden.

Interview by Blake Mossey

The Metal Pit: Your bands debut full length album just came out recently. How happy are you with early reviews and fans reactions?

Jemiina Heloise: It has been amazing and we are very honored and grateful. It has truly surprised us and we are very excited! I have been a bit emotional, it feels so amazing!

I myself (Blake Mossey) wrote a album review and was really impressed with what I heard. In my review I stated that your songs didn’t really follow the traditional structure of songs. Was this something the band set out to do or did it just come naturally?

JH: Thank you so much! Everything comes naturally. We don’t plan or calculate these things: Topi is a very emotional guitar player and composer. He composes freely and lets his emotions run. No one is telling him what to do or what not to do.

When I do the lyrics and arrangements, I also just let everything come out and I see the story of the song in front of me. I don’t usually change things afterwards. I do it freely without restrictions or rules. We trust in our intuition what it comes to making our music.

For anyone that hasn’t heard your band yet how would you describe your bands sound?

JH: It is a bit difficult to describe it, since it has so many elements. But 80’s and 90’s beautiful guitar harmonies iced with thick layer of brutal, versatile extreme vocals. The vocals are influenced by such bands as Dark Tranquillity, 90s melodeath, death and black metal, and for a more modern use of sound from Shadow Of Intent. In terms of composition, the biggest influences are Iron Maiden, Children Of Bodom and the 80´s neo classical metal, to name a couple. Brutal yet catchy!

Do you have any immediate plans for shows to play these songs live?

JH: Definitely yes, and we can’t wait for that! But we can’t announce anything yet. So please follow our social media to keep updated!

Do you personally have a favorite track or 2 on this album?

JH: It is hard to choose, because they are different. But I would have to say my favorite right now is ‘Shot In The Heart’ because the music is so versatile. It reminds me of Children Of Bodom a bit. There is a femme fatale story and low growls in some parts. This is a story about a woman your mother warned you about, we all know the type. Fascinating but deadly.

Another favorite is ‘Frost Of Winter’, An atmospheric, melancholic and melodic beautiful song that tells about separation, life lived or death depending on the listener. When life has been experienced, the world seen, a home built and lost, a heart broken and it’s time to leave: ‘Frost of Winter’ take me away deep into the land. Wash away all my sorrows, for my time has come. Bury me and walk away.

As a bonus I have to mention ‘Blood Widow’ since it has crazy extreme vocals and double vocals in verses: high and low growls on top of each other.

The musicianship on this album really impressed me. Introduce your band mates?

JH: Thank you! Yeah the guys are amazing and experienced players! I am very thankful to be in the same band with them.

Topi Pitkänen: our composer and guitarist, best known from metal band Verjnuarmu. Topi loves 80s and 90s heavy metal and Children Of Bodom. He is highly skilled and plays emotional solos. When a guitarist is both emotional and technical: BOOM! Amazing composer. He just sits down with his guitar and creates all this amazing music from nowhere.

Tuomas Leskinen/Finn Widdow: Our guitarist, best known from Carnal Demise, Bad Baron. He is something else! How cool is it to be in a band with TWO AWESOME technical solo guitarists?! Tuomas makes half of the solos by himself and he is incredible. He is the type of guitarist that when he hears Topi’s composing, he grabs his guitar, goes through it and then he can perform it almost instantly. Impressive! He is skillful and he has also been a tour hired gun for such bands as the mighty Bloodred Hourglass.

Lauri Huovinen our bass player, best known from Bad Baron and Late_Lokakuun. Lauri is a skillful bass player and also an incredible clean voice vocalist in his own bands. Topi sends the songs to him and he creates awesome bass beats in them with no guidance or anything. This guy does not need anyone’s guidance, because he has the talent to create and dive into music. Everything comes so naturally and effortlessly from him, natural talent! He also shares my love for deathcore, cool guy! Lucky to have him.

Jimi Myöhänen our drummer, best known from Sadistik Forest, Se Josta Ei Puhuta, and Kaera. Jimi is incredible. Every time I go to see gigs somewhere in Kuopio, people come up to me and praise Jimi! It is so cool! He is fast and accurate. He has a sense of style with his drum arrangements and also he has speed and danger in his playing! He also shares my love for many extreme metal bands. He is admired by many people: I know because they have come up to me and told me that. I think he does not even know how good he is. He recorded our debut album drums in one day.

How did the band come together?

JH: Well I had old lyrics and song arrangements in my own archive, that I had not shown to anyone. Topi is an amazing guitarist and I decided to show my lyrics to him. He liked them and he played me his old riffs and guitar melodies from his computer. I really loved them and we decided to join our forces and make music together.

At first this was just for fun: playing music on the weekends Tomas Ahlroos, Markus Tikkanen and Mika Tikkanen made our first EP with us, great talented guys!

But with the attention we got with our EP “Winter Maiden” our band grew. Not everyone have the time to be in a growing band and that is understandable. So that is why we had a change in our band members. No drama, just life and schedules against us. The guys are still our friends of course and follow and support us.

Topi asked Finn Widow to join, because he liked his skills with the guitar. And after we got the record deal with Noble Demon records, we asked Jimi Myöhänen and Lauri to join us. And gladly they did!

Where did the band name SWANSONG come from?

JH: I live in the countryside in a lake house. Every year the same swan couple returns to my beach cottage, so I love swans. That image is inspiring. Also death is a natural and interesting theme in songwriting and swansong stands for that in a beautiful way. And of course Carcass has a killer album called Swansong so many things led us to this name.

What is the song writing process within your band?

JH: Topi Pitkänen our guitarist composes everything, I make the lyrics. Arrangement is 50% by me and 50% by Topi. I create at my own peace and so does Topi We all trust each other.

What vocalists (for you) or bands influenced you and the band to play this style of metal?

JH: Topi’s influences are mostly Iron Maiden, Amorphis and Children Of Bodom to name a few.

For me there are so many influences starting from my youth: Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Cradle Of Filth, Children Of Bodom, Demented and Go (psychobilly band with horror themed lyrics), Kalmah, Amoprhis, Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork, and In Flames. Behemoth’s Nergal, Finntroll Mathias Vreth Lillmåns, Death vocalist Chuck Schuldiner. Moonsorrow is amazing. So many influences. I think it is a good thing to be in love with so many metal genres. I went to school wearing a Cannibal Corpse hoodie, our teacher was not happy!

And of course deathcore bands Lorna Shore and Shadow of Intent inspire me to evolve and train my vocals to be more versatile hopefully. Ben Duerr from Shadow Of Intent is amazing! Growling women also inspire me and they have shown the way: the legendary Arch Enemy. What they have done for all women: respect. So many awesome bands out there, I could talk for hours about this subject. And I have to mention Nightwish. I had their posters on my walls.

The band is from Finland What are the biggest positives of being a metal band from Finland?

JH: Snow everywhere, awesome landscape, lots of lakes and nature. Great place to write metal music. Forests everywhere so you can take your promo pics and get lost in the woods (just joking). People here are passionate about metal and we Finns are lucky that people around the world have supported Finnish music.

What if any are the negatives of being a metal band from Finland?

JH: Maybe long distance.

You sing very extreme metal vocals. Did you take lessons for this type of vocals?

JH: Thank you! When I started, I asked Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns (Finntroll, …And Oceans) to show me how to start doing it safely! I did not want to harm my vocal chords.

Markus Laakso (musician, artist, writer, author, journalist, so much more) helped me to get in contact with him. Mathias showed me how to get started in a skype meeting and then I started to train them by myself at home: I study extreme vocals on my own and I train them, I want to get better and evolve.

If you could open for any metal band out there which would it be?

JH: Difficult question because there are so many! In Flames, Soilwork, Carcass, Arch Enemy, Cradle Of Filth, Shadow Of Intent, Amorphis, Bloodred Hourglass (this happened earlier!), Finntroll, Amon Amarth, Iron Maiden, Kalmah, Swallow The Sun, and Behemoth.. The list goes on!

What is the biggest challenge of being a fairly new metal band in 2023?

JH: There is so much awesome new music coming that it is hard to get noticed. Also people love the old familiar metal songs and bands, me included. So it is challenging, but we are so happy and amazed that so many people have discovered our music!

Thank you for taking the time with me today. Anything you would like to add to this interview?

JH: Thank you so much for the awesome review and this interview was truly an honor! Great job lifting metal music and artists through your page.

Also thank you all so so much from all of us to everyone who has listened to our music! Without you there would be no Swansong, so PEDAL TO THE METAL!!

Thanks and I wish you all the best to you and your band.

JH: Thank you so much and to you also!

Jemiina Facebook
Swansong Facebook
Swansong Instagram
Jemiina Instagram

ALBUM REVIEW: CHILDREN OF BODOM

Children Of Bodom: A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)

Reviewed by: Jim Harrison

Review Score: 9.5

Legendary Finnish melodic death/doom metal band Children Of Bodom will release their new live recording of their last live show called, A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019). This recording is very important as not only is it the last show COB played as a band but also was prior to the untimely death of guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho on December 29, 2020.

Children of Bodom formed in 1998 and released a total of ten studio albums, two live albums, two EP’s, two compilation albums and one DVD in their storied career. With a huge catalog spanning over two decades they became a genre defining piece to the early 2000’s metal scene creating a fast, heavy vibe with the addition of keyboards that’s made their sound totally distinctive. Their origin of the name was derived from the Lake Bodom murders in 1960 and carries an interesting story.

The final line up upon their split in 2019 were, Alexi Laiho, vocals and lead guitar, Jaska Raatikainan drums, Henkka Seppälä bass, Jane Wirman keyboards and Daniel Freyberg rhythm guitar. Laiho and Freyberg carried on as Bodom After Midnight in 2020 up until Alexi Laiho’s death.

This live album has all their hits and incudes eighteen tracks with great audience participation and interaction.

There are so many great moments on this album and personally for myself as a huge fan I love the fact that the show starts ‘Under The Grass and Clover’ which ignites the show and really sets the tone for the cerebral assault and you can tell it gets the crowd amped up.

Some of the other highlights for me are the classic tracks ‘In Your Face’ that is such an amazing live track. ‘Shovel Knockout’ is another crowd pleaser as well is ‘Bodom Beach Terror’ that showcases Wirman’s keyboards. The ominous ‘Every Time I Die’ adds a doom sound and pounds the audience into total submission, this is one of my favourite COB songs.

Fan favourites, ‘Are You Dead Yet’ and ‘Blood Drunk’ gets the fans into a hyped frenzy. Tracks ‘Follow the Reaper’ and ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ will please all COB fans new and old as these are hits that showcase how great this band is.

Another one of my all time favourite songs is ‘Lake Bodom’ which has a classical vibe that rips into a face melter of a track. The audience is going wild for this one and it’s so heavy with Laiho’s signature voice just ripping through this. This sounds so good live and you can feel the excitement. The last track ‘Downfall’ from their second album Hatebreeder that was released in 1999 and actually was the last track on that album. What a great way to end the album, fast and heavy.

This is a special release not only for being their last performance but acting as an ongoing memorial to Alexi Laiho’s legacy and Children of Bodom’s contribution to the metal movement. This will be a great addition to any Children of Bodom fans collection and serves as a great way to bring in some new listeners who hopefully will check out their back catalog and see how musically, vocally and lyrically talented this band is.

Definitely pick this album up and play it at eleven!

A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019) drops December 15, 2023 via Spinefarm.

ALBUM REVIEW: GRYMHEART

Hellish Hunt

Rating: 9

Review by: Jim Harrison

Grymheart is set to release their debut album, Hellish Hunt on September 22, 2023 through Scarlet Records. Formed in 2020 and hailing from Budapest, Hungary this quartet brings a mix of folk metal harmonies and melodic death metal giving the listener a massive sound.

Vocalists and guitarist Gabriel Blacksmith has a distinct voice that really gives this band their own sound. Bassist Dargor Rivgahr pulling in the listener with killer base lines; drummer, Sorin Nalaar whose drumbeats keep the heart pumping and guitarist, V’arhel whose talented riffs and creativity keeps the listener engaged. This is an exciting tight knit unit that will appeal to all metal fans.

The album art was created by Gyula Havencsák who has done art for Burning Witches, Accept and Stratovarious. The album begins with a short instrumental “The Twilight is Coming” with a classical, folky guitar riff and rips into track two “Hellbent Horde” which is fast and furious. It’s melodic but Blacksmiths vocals give it that evil, death metal sound. This is one of two of my favourite tracks on the album. “Ignis Fatuus” has a classical folk guitar start and again the song rips into a killer riff. This is a melodic metal track with death metal and clearer vocals giving this track a PowerWolf sound and would be awesome live.

“To Die By The Succubus” is the first single release and video. This is my second favourite track, the drums and guitars are fantastic. The video is well done and this is a great teaser for the album. The band is in hoods, lots of great imagery and vocalist Blacksmith has a Tom G, Warrior from Celtic Frost look and sound about him, what a cool track.

“My Hellish Hunt” captures the essence of the band lending itself to a demon/monster hunters vibe reminiscent of The Witcher or Van Helsing movies.

Heading into just over half the album, “Army of the Graves“ starts slower but turns into a faster melodic track with a killer chorus. Track “ Everlost“ has more of a death metal vibe to it and so does “Fennirs Sons” both tracks remind me of Children of Bodom.

“Facing the Kraken” is the fastest song on the album and the drums and bass just pound. I love the title and this song is another example of the essence and imagery of this band.

“Harpies of Devil” has the double kick drum, massive guitar riffs and the vocals just light it up.

The last track “Monsters Among Us” has a huge sound finishing this album on a high, actually leaving you wanting more. The heavy guitar riffs, pounding drums and bass mixed with superb vocals puts the listener over the edge. Slowing with classical guitar midway than blowing it up again, it seems the band incorporated everything in the arsenal to finish this off in style. This will be another great live track.

I am always excited when I have the privilege to review a debut album and I am in the witness of something special with this band.

I predict Grymheart will become a leader In this genre, bringing something for all metal fans. Their musicianship, writing, vocals and subject matter are tight and creative setting them apart from other bands.

I recommend this album.

Gabriel Blacksmith: vocals, guitar
V’arhel: guitar
Dargor Rivgahr: bass
Sorin Nalaar: drums

ALBUM REVIEW: EVILE

The Unknown

Review Score: 7

Reviewed by: Billy Klare

UK thrasher’s Evile drop their sixth album “The Unknown” on Friday July 14, 2023 through Napalm Records. Evile are best known for their retro inspired thrash metal approach heavily influenced by the U.S. bay area thrash scene, especially Metallica. I’m a long-time fan and loved 2021’s “Hell Unleashed” album which was a full throttle thrash attack, easily their most vicious record to date. I expected something similar this time around but Evile had something else in mind with a shocking 180 degree turn.

I was four songs into “The Unknown” when I stopped to make sure it was the same UK thrash band I’ve listened to for the past twelve years. Long-time Evile fans should prepare for a significant shift in musical direction. The blistering thrash metal attack of “Hell Unleashed” is almost entirely gone as Evile shift to a slower, heavier, groovier and more melodic song writing approach.

Ol Drake delivers a very different vocal performance focusing on melodic clean singing leveraging a diverse range of emotions. The drums (Ben Carter) and bass (Joel Graham) have a dominate position in the mix helping drive the new heavier sound. The ferocious guitar solos of the past are replaced with slower emotive atmospheric guitar tones. The lyrical content is more mature covering topics about depression, personal loss, self-esteem and nightmares.

The album opens with the title track “The Unknown”, a slow dark atmospheric song with surprisingly clean melodic vocals (and the first single). The pace picks up on “The Mask We Wear” following a similar style to Metallica’s “Sad But True”. “Monolith” is a dark trance inducing track emphasizing the use of backing vocals. A power ballad “When Mortal Coils Shed” comes next in the vein of Metallica’s “The Unforgiven” & “Nothing Else Matters”. Evile finally taps into their thrash roots with “Sleepless Eyes” & “Out Of Sight” but with a less aggressive and more melodic approach relative to “Hell Unleashed”.

The tempo slows down once again on “At Mirror’s Speech”, another chugging heavy song reminiscent of later era Metallica but ends with a cool slow doom grind. The pace accelerates on “Reap What You Sow” and “Beginning Of The End” successfully combining heavy groove metal and clean melodic vocals (and lots of backing vocals). The album closes on a strong note with “Balance of Time” integrating the best components of the new sound and the older thrash style.

Listening to “The Unknown” was an interesting musical journey for me, the album was completely unpredictable with countless surprises. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the faster aggressive thrash side of Evile but I fully respect their decision to make a change. The new style won’t be for everyone and I definitely prefer the faster songs on the record. Evile always wore their musical influences on their sleeves and comparisons to Metallica’s “Black” album will be inevitable and fair in my opinion. Evile’s courageous musical change reminds me of another UK thrash band Xentrix and their “Kin” album released in 1992 which I only fully appreciated a decade later, perhaps “The Unknown” will follow a similar path for me. I suspect Evile will broaden their fan base and all metal fans should give this record a chance but the new style may be too much to absorb for die hard thrash fans.

Standout Tracks – “Beginning Of The End”, “Balance Of Time”, “Sleepless Eyes” and “Out Of Sight”

Track Listing

The Unknown
The Mask We Wear
Monolith
When Mortal Coils Shed
Sleepless Eyes
Out Of Sight
At Mirror’s Speech
Reap What You Sow
Beginning Of The End
Balance Of Time

Line-Up

Ol Drake – Vocals & Lead Guitar
Adam Smith – Rhythm Guitar
Joel Graham – Bass
Ben Carter – Drums

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACKNING

Awakening Rage

Reviewed by: Jim Harrison

Rating: 8.5

Blackning, a Brazilian thrash metal band that hail from Santo Andrè, São Paulo are releasing thier third album via Black Lion Records on July 28, 2023. My first listen to this album blew me away and I had to do a review to get the word out that this is a “must listen” for thrash enthusiasts everywhere. A brutal assault of heavy thrash that doesn’t give in and pounds the senses to the very last note. The band consists of Clèber Orsioli vocalist/guitarist, Renan Pigmew drums, Richard Brigas bass/backing vocals and Zozi Fernando guitarist all talented musicians who have created such an individual, honest album.

The album has two instrumental tracks “Disfigured Trust” which sounds like it could have easily been on Slayer’s Seasons In the Abyss album and “Lex Talionis” that showcases a wicked drum beat. The first track “Violate” is one on my two favourite tracks and has a cool siren sound which sets the tone of the album that this will be a massive thrashing undertaking. The early releases of songs “Greed and Lies”, “ Never to be Free” and “ Eye For An Eye” all were smart choice’s to wet the listener’s appetite for what this album is about without giving away too much prior to the release. I love it when bands do that. “Lamb To the Slaughter “ is my second favourite track on this album which showcases Orsioli’s strong vocals and a fast pounding drum beat by Santos. The guitar work by Fernando absolutely speeds this song along. “Insanity of Power” starts slower with a cool guitar riff and then explodes into some darker vocals. “Vengeance Is Mine” is another massively sounding track that showcases how heavy this album is. “Unnamed Reality” has a killer bass sound by Brigas, coupled with the pounding drums makes this track the heaviest on the album. The vocals on this song are amazing. The last track “Lies That Bind” has a fantastic drum beat that makes this song very melodic. Orsiolis vocals again rip this track to shreds and really finishes the album off as heavy as it began.

The album art was created by Björn Goobes/Killustrations which is superb and awakens the rage of this album.

What I like about this band is they are consistent with the thrash movement, creating a unrelenting attack that doesn’t have any compromises and is an honest creation from start to finish. It has everything you want in a thrash album, speed, heavy, dark vocals, awesome musicianship and packs a punch. I strongly recommend this album.

Cléber Orsioli: Vocals /guitars
Renan Pigmew: Drums
Richard Brigas: Bass/backing vocals
Zozi Fernando: Guitars

https://www.facebook.com/blackning

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