Photo by: Jani Kormu
Official press release:
Finnish melancholic death/doom metallers with male & female vocals, Hanging Garden, unveil details of their new studio album Isle of Bliss, set for release on March 20th via Agonia Records. In anticipation of the album, the seven-piece band premieres music video for its opening track, “To Outlive the Nine Ravens”. Watch the clip, below.
On their ninth album Isle of Bliss, Hanging Garden takes a different approach to their signature somber melancholy: the new full-length presents perhaps a darker, more sinister rendition of the oftentimes dreamlike tones of the past releases. Synths and sweet and airy vocal layers – albeit still present – give more room for a heavier aesthetic in the drum and guitar work.
The album was recorded in various studios in southern Finland by the band, along with the drums recorded at Klaukkala’s renowned D-Studio by master Jarno Hänninen. Mixing and mastering was performed by none other than the legendary Jaime Gomez Arellano, known for his work with names such as Opeth, Moonspell, Ghost and many others. The album artwork was created by Kalle Pyyhtinen (Children of Bodom).
The album’s themes revolve around the spiritual aspects of life, death and the liminality in between. The landscapes shift from the introspection of one’s core self, travelling past dense forests and deathless isles – all the way to the vast and distant infinities of the dying stars and the vast and eternal voids spun between.
The band comments on the album:
“This time we decided to take a more conscious step towards a more bare-bones composition on the new songs, supporting the perhaps darker and maybe even more ferocious side of our music. We happened to meet with Gomez during a live show of ours a few summers back, and he was an obvious choice for the sound we had in mind. And as we see it, he really delivered.
To complement the rawer sound, we also decided to make more use of Riikka’s capability to scream – a stark contrast to her aetheric cleans – and this can be witnessed in the death metal duets between her and Toni that can be found a-plenty along the tracks.”
Pre-orders:
- Europe: https://agoniarecords.com/en/hanging_garden
- N&S America: https://agoniarecords.com/en_us/hanging_garden
- Digital pre-save: https://orcd.co/arcd295
Isle of Bliss track listing:
- “To Outlive the Nine Ravens”
- “Eternal Trees of Turquoise”
- “Isle of Bliss”
- “To the Gates of Hel”
- “The Death Upon Our Shoulders”
- “The Blights Nine”
- “Arise, Black Sun”
- “Her Waning Light”
- “Beneath the Fallen Sky”
