New Moon | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 4, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 15 June - Mid-July 2009 | |||
Studio | Fascination Street Studios (Örebro, Sweden) | |||
Genre | Death/doom, melodic death metal, gothic metal | |||
Length | 53:50 | |||
Label | Spinefarm, Svart Records | |||
Producer | Jens Bogren | |||
Swallow the Sun chronology | ||||
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Swallow the Sun chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Guitarist | [2] |
Rock Sound | [3] |
New Moon is the fourth studio album by Finnish band Swallow the Sun. The album was released on November 4, 2009 in Finland, November 9, 2009 in Europe, and November 10, 2009 in the United States. [4] Recording of the album commenced on June 15 at Fascination Street Studios with Jens Bogren as executive producer. [4] Wintersun drummer Kai Hahto replaced Pasi Pasanen and contributed drums on the album. [4] Some versions of the album contain an alternate recording of "Servant of Sorrow", which features a guitar solo by Steve Rothery.
The Horror songs continued from this album which would be Horror Pt. III, and also previously being on The Morning Never Came - Horror I, Hope - Horror Pt. 2, then finally later on Emerald Forest and the Blackbird - Horror Pt IV.
On February 1, 2012, Svart Records released the album on LP, limited to 500 copies. [5]
All tracks are written by Juha Raivio, except where noted [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "These Woods Breathe Evil" | 6:43 | |
2. | "Falling World" | Mikko Kotamäki, Raivio | 5:08 |
3. | "Sleepless Swans" | 7:23 | |
4. | "...And Heavens Cried Blood" | Kotamäki, Raivio | 6:17 |
5. | "Lights on the Lake (Horror pt. III)" | 7:45 | |
6. | "New Moon" | 5:00 | |
7. | "Servant of Sorrow" | 6:25 | |
8. | "Weight of the Dead" | 9:04 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
9. | "Servant of Sorrow (Alternate Version)" | 6:25 |
This section possibly contains original research .(May 2023) |
Generally, the songs mainly focus on themes of depression, death, mourning, and loss, with each song telling a story. These themes are often told with themes of horror, the paranormal and supernatural, such as the first track "These Woods Breathe Evil" describing a man's confession to a murder that he claims was motivated by the constant demands of the ghosts of a haunted forest that persist to possess him. This song is heavily influenced by the 90's television series "Twin Peaks" and the phrase "The owls are not what they seem" in the lyrics support this connection. Another example is "Lights on the Lake (Horror. pt III)" told from two points of view, one of the ghosts of a young woman who haunts a lake demanding to know why she was murdered by her father. The other point of view is of the father who describes his intentions for the murder were to save his daughter's soul from possession.
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
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Finnish Albums Chart | 10 [6] |
Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek. The project is named after the Korean super flyweight boxer Sung-Kil Moon.
Eternal Tears of Sorrow is a Finnish symphonic/melodic death metal band formed in Pudasjärvi.
Wintersun is a Finnish heavy metal band from Helsinki originally formed as the side project of Jari Mäenpää, then-vocalist and guitarist of folk metal band Ensiferum.
Steven Rothery is an English musician who is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the progressive rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo The Wishing Tree and an instrumental solo album, The Ghosts of Pripyat, released in September 2014. He also founded the British Guitar Academy in 2011.
Wintersun is the 2004 debut studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Wintersun, then the solo project of Jari Mäenpää. The Japanese edition of the album was released with the original three demo tracks used to obtain a contract with Nuclear Blast.
Swallow the Sun is a Finnish death-doom band founded in 2000 by Juha Raivio. Their death-doom style emphasizes melody and atmosphere, and occasionally steps into gothic and black metal territory. They have released eight full-length albums, one triple album, one EP, one demo, and seven singles.
Arthemesia was a Finnish black metal band active between 1994 and 2010. The band derives their name from Artemisia absinthium, Latin for wormwood, thought to have many spiritual qualities. Their music mainly concerns a projection of the band's philosophy, namely glorification of the occult and Satanism, but also nature and Shamanism.
Kai Hahto is a Finnish musician, best known as the drummer of Nightwish.
Ghosts of Loss is the second studio album by Swallow the Sun, released on August 24, 2005. Compared with their debut, this album has more influences of gothic metal. Some of its themes are greatly influenced by the 1990-91 TV serial Twin Peaks.
"Don't Fall Asleep " is a CD single by Swallow the Sun, released in 2007 by Spinefarm Records.
Diaboli is a Finnish black metal band, initially formed in 1992 as a five-piece. Following band member departures and the suicide of vocalist Hrim Grimn'r in 2001, Diaboli continues as a one-man project. To date the band has released five full-length albums for the labels Unisound, Full Moon Productions and Northern Heritage.
Agents is a Finnish band formed in 1979, playing rautalanka, schlager and rock'n'roll music. The head figure and musical director of the band is solo guitarist Esa Pulliainen.
Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is the fifth studio album by Finnish melodic doom metal band Swallow the Sun. The album was released February 1, 2012, by Spinefarm Records. It was also released on limited LP on both green and white vinyl by Svart Records.
Trees of Eternity was a Swedish metal band from Örebro that began in 2009 as a musical collaboration between Finnish guitarist Juha Raivio and South African-born Swedish singer Aleah Stanbridge.
K-X-P is an electronic rock band from Helsinki, Finland. The band consists of Timo Kaukolampi, Tomi Leppänen (drums), Anssi Nykänen (drums), and Tuomo Puranen (bass). For their second album II the band are signed to Melodic Records in the UK.
Songs from the North I, II & III is the sixth studio album by Finnish doom metal band Swallow the Sun. It is a triple album and was released on 13 November 2015, via Century Media. Each disc is focused on a different facet of the band's style: Gloom is a more typical death/doom album, Beauty primarily acoustic and folksy, and Despair a funeral doom album; these disc titles are also a single song title on their second album, Ghosts of Loss. This is the last release with Aleksi Munter and Markus Jämsen, who quit Swallow the Sun in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Songs from the North I, II & III received a generally positive reception from critics.
Aleah Liane Stanbridge, better known mononymously as Aleah, or Aleah Starbridge, was a South African singer-songwriter based in Örebro, Sweden where she lived until her death. In 2009, she and Finnish guitarist Juha Raivio founded death/doom inspired band Trees of Eternity. Aleah became well known in the rock and metal genre for her collaborations such as Swallow the Sun and Amorphis.
When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light is the seventh studio album by Finnish doom metal band Swallow the Sun. It was released on January 25, 2019, by Century Media. The album deals directly with the death of Juha Raivio's partner, the singer Aleah Stanbridge. It is their shortest studio album release to date, and also the first to have a much more prominent emphasis on clean vocals.
"Noise" is a single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the first from their ninth album Human. :II: Nature.. It was released with an accompanying video on February 7, 2020. The single is the band's first published song to feature the drummer Kai Hahto as a full-time member, following the departure of Jukka Nevalainen in July 2019.
Moonflowers is the eighth studio album by Finnish melodic doom metal band Swallow the Sun. It was released on 19 November 2021 through Century Media Records.