ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW · Children Of The Dark Waters | WHITE/TURQUOISE/BLACK MARBLED LP

White/turquoise/black marbled vinyl in gatefold sleeve, includes booklet. Limited to 100 copies.

Background information about ''

Finnish melodic death metal has rarely sounded this majestic, this utterly enveloping. Eternal Tears Of Sorrow have been crafting their particular brand of frostbitten melancholy since the mid-nineties, but with Children of the Dark Waters they hit a creative peak that still resonates with an almost painful intensity. Originally released in 2009, this sixth studio album takes everything that made Before the Bleeding Sun so compelling and pushes it further into the shadows — darker, more atmospheric, yet never losing that razor-sharp melodic edge that makes these songs lodge themselves in your skull for days.

The album opens with the epic "Angelheart, Ravenheart (Act II: Children of the Dark Waters)," a direct continuation from its predecessor, and from the very first notes you know you're in for something special. The dual guitar work is absolutely breathtaking — intertwining melodies that soar and dive like northern lights across a winter sky. Altti Veteläinen's growls have never sounded more commanding, while the clean vocal passages add a gothic grandeur that elevates tracks like "Tears of Autumn Rain" into genuinely transcendent territory. Speaking of which, the guest appearances by Miriam Renvåg of Ram-Zet and Heidi Parviainen of Amberian Dawn on that single are simply spellbinding — their ethereal voices cutting through the metallic density like beams of moonlight. The production, tracked at the legendary Tico Tico Studio in Kemi and mastered at Finnvox, captures every nuance: the thunderous double bass, the crystalline keyboards, those impossibly catchy lead lines.

What makes this album endure is its perfect balance of aggression and beauty. "Sea of Whispers" crashes like waves against a desolate shore, while "Midnight Bird" flutters with a desperate, fragile hope. The closing "Nocturne Thule" is pure atmospheric blackened death metal poetry — the kind of song that makes you stare at the ceiling at 2 AM questioning everything. This is music for dark waters indeed, but also for the light that somehow always finds its way through.

For fans of:
Insomnium, Before the Dawn, Dark Tranquillity, Kalmah, Omnium Gatherum

Track listing

A1. Angelheart, Ravenheart (Act II: Children Of The Dark Waters)
A2. Baptized By The Blood Of Angels
A3. Tears Of Autumn Rain
A4. Summon The Wild
B1. Sea Of Whispers
B2. Midnight Bird
B3. Diary Of Demonic Dreams
B4. When The Darkest Night Falls
B5. Nocturne Thule

Manufacturer: Oy Svart Musik Ab, Saippua Center, Ruissalontie 12C, laituri O, 20200 Turku, Finland, Contact: www.svartrecords.com