This time it ain’t much about music, pay attention to the date in their title instead:
YouTube: Swallow the Sun - April 14th [2015-May-11]
From “Emerald Forest and the Blackbird” (2012), as a tribute to Peter Steele.
Lyrics
April 14th and the sabbath is near.
The ground is trembling,
weakened by the longest winter.
These are the last steps
of the frost giants as they leave.
An April moon is rising as the trees turn to rust.
Killing season comes in shades of gray.
An April moon is rising as the spring turns to dust.
We lie down to a howling sound
as the world is slowly coming down.
Bless me, ghosts of winter,
for you have made me stronger,
to face this day and ever nights,
further north our paths will go.
South is burning, east is vast,
west is dying fast.
But as I leave,
my heart holds no fear;
I know there’s nothing from here.
An April moon is rising as the trees turn to rust.
Killing season comes in shades of gray.
An April moon is rising as the spring turns to dust.
We lie down to a howling sound…
On the altar of endless snow,
on a deep glacier’s glow,
we prepare our graves.
Here under the north star I will sleep away,
to the deep hum of your icy womb.
April 14th, and death is here,
the tide has finally turned.
The ground is trembling,
weakened by the longest winter.
These are the last steps
of the frost giants as they leave.
But my heart holds no fear;
for I know there’s nothing from here…
A few years later this brief message was found (via instagram, i think), addressed to the StS keyboardist Aleksi Munter:
doomlord.sod: « Aleksi, is the devastating news true about Aleah? » (2016-Apr-14)
Now keep in mind that Aleah Liane Stanbridge (who died on April 18th of 2016) actually worked with Swallow the Sun that same year when Aleksi played “April 14th” with his band…
Honestly i feel most clueless as i can only imagine his disbelief when informed in 2016 on his iPhone that she was critically ill, presumably. It must have been a serious shock to the survivors as it turns out mister Munter left the band around that sad period…
Sad but fascinating.
ADDENDUM
Another schematic showing the connections between Juha Raivio and his bands would have helped as well.
The truth which i initially felt transpiring through that music finally proved to exceed my expectations. Apparently i’d have to comment there were auto-biographic elements from 2 significantly different creators who mutually enhanced each other’s art, eventually, until one of them received a cancer diagnostic late in 2013, but not before they became a couple. To me this sheads light on their mutual transmutations and yet it remains a complicated situation. Not to mention it’s as if they teased death and it took them by surprise when it happened to bite them back…
Alone i wouldn’t find neither of them utterly exceptional, but together their brute talents matured to a point it causes me to miss that which i ignored before. Looking at a recent video i suspect the widower may be doomed to loose his way - exactly as he wrote in his last song on the Hallatar album, possibly inspired by Aleah’s sense of beauty in shape and words.
Their common symbolic universe emerged as a frosted forest, where tears turned into emeralds and sirens deceived lost sailor to eat them, etc. The loss seems immense in every way, i’d recommend having some background on Aleah’s early vocation:
[ myspace.com/iamthatwhichremains ]
Take note of the date Aleah’s team album was finally ready, enjoy these samples:
[ treesofeternity.bandcamp.com/ ]
Trees of Eternity, Hour of the Nightingale (2016-Nov-11)
Hour of the Nightingale (5:35)
A Million Tears (7:13)
Black Ocean (7:01)
Then her lover’s tribute, with his guiding light gone forever…
[ hallatar.bandcamp.com ]
Hallatar, “No Stars Upon The Bridge” (2017-Oct-20)
Mirrors (7:09)
My Mistake, with Heike Langhans (6:44)
Dreams Burn Down, with Aleah (6:32)
Use with caution as it could risk “cracking your shell” where it bleeds…