ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW · Saivon Lapsi | TRANSPARENT ORANGE/BLACK SMOKE LP

Transparent orange/black smoke vinyl in gatefold sleeve, includes booklet.

Background information about ''

There are albums that hit you like a northern blizzard — and then there's Saivon Lapsi, the seventh studio album from Eternal Tears of Sorrow, which does something far more interesting: it freezes you to the bone and then slowly thaws you out with moments of unexpected warmth. Released originally in 2013 and now finally getting its well-deserved first vinyl pressing via Svart Records, this is the sound of a band that refused to be boxed in.

What makes Saivon Lapsi such a thrilling ride is how effortlessly it swings between extremes. One minute you're being pummeled by ferocious death metal riffing and blast beats, the next you're floating through a melancholic piano passage or a soaring, almost radio-rock chorus that somehow doesn't feel out of place. The Finns have always had a knack for weaving symphonic grandeur into their melodic death metal framework, but here they push that fusion further than ever. Tracks like “Dark Alliance” and “Legion of Beast” deliver the kind of neck-snapping intensity you'd expect, yet it's the quieter, more atmospheric moments — the frostbitten beauty of “Kuura,” the haunting “Sound of Silence” — that linger longest in the memory. The production is crisp and modern, giving every orchestral swell and guitar harmony room to breathe.

The album's concept, rooted in Finnish mythology and the idea of Saivo — a kind of underwater spirit realm — gives the whole thing a cohesive, almost cinematic quality. Vocalist Altti Veteläinen growls with conviction, but it's the interplay between harsh and clean vocals, between brutality and melody, that defines this record. There's a confidence here that only comes from a band two decades into their career, unafraid to let a little arena-rock bombast seep into their blackened death metal core. It's the kind of album that makes you want to crank the volume and just let it wash over you.

For fans of:
Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, Dark Tranquillity, Amorphis, Wintersun

Other Versions

CD · Sold out LTD.DIGI DIGI · Sold out

Track listing

A1. Saivo
A2. Dark Alliance
A3. Legion of Beast
A4. Kuura
A5. Dance of December
A6. The Day
A7. Sound of Silence
B1. Beneath the Frozen Leaves
B2. Swan Saivo
B3. Blood Stained Sea
B4. Angelheart, Ravenheart (Act III: Saivon Lapsi)

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