Swallow The Sun band biography

Good news and bad news for Swallow The Sun fans: The critically acclaimed band biography (350 pages, publisher LIKE) is at the moment available in Finnish language only.
Now the good news – a translation to English (by Salla Harjula) is absolutely possible, if enough fans announce their interest in such a book ON THIS WEBSITE – therefore sign up, people!

Here a few impressions of the book presentation in January 2024 at Loose Bar Helsinki (interactive gallery)

A bit about the book:
The Death-Doom band Swallow the Sun was founded in 2000 in Jyväskylä, Finland, and has since then released 8 studio albums, performed hundreds of gigs all over the world, slowly making their way to international success, chart positions and award nominations. The author of this review has also actively contributed to that; the STALKER print magazine had been definitely one of the first non-Finnish media reporting about a STS live show 20 years ago:

The STALKER print version might also have released the very first interview with the band outside Finnish media. And yes, this historic moment – for many different reasons – is mentioned in this biography:

Here the original interview from back then

For me, just like for all the STS fans, this book is a must-have anyway. For everybody else it’s providing a candid glimpse into backstage area and everyday routines for a band struggling with the workings of music business, not just the Finnish one. With author Matti Riekki*, the band members talk openly about the group’s internal conflicts, difficulties with the music business, and the pain they’ve suffered in reaching the top of the melodic doom metal scene. And of course there are hilarious stories … actually, I wonder whether I REALLY wanted to know all those details about touring and what’s happening in a band bus … Ultimately, those stories tell a triumphant tale of great friendships forged, and of a collective will power strong enough to break down every barrier they faced.

Author Matti (left) with band mastermind Juha

The Bio doesn’t just deal with the difficulties around the creation of the band’s unique sound over the past quarter of a century: Band mastermind Juha Raivio talks for the first time about almost insurmountably difficult issues, the most devastating being the death of his spouse Aleah Starbridge: “The songs from the North are now between these covers, in laughter and sadness, and my seven years of silence are over.”

“The band is old enough that they started to have stories like a book. And this was quite a therapeutic session for us to talk through old stuff. It was no easy task for a Finnish man! We couldn’t avoid laughter, though – and tears.” (Mikko Kotamäki, STS vocalist)

*Matti Riekki is one of Finland’s most acclaimed journalists specialising in heavy rock. He is best known in his homeland as the host of the late national radio show Metalliliitto and the longstanding Editor-in-Chief of Finnish heavy metal magazine Inferno. He is the author of North From Here: The Sentenced Story (Svart, 2021).

Apropos Sentenced, HERE and on the following pics you can read our last interview with Sentenced