Sirenia came… Read Full Bio ↴Sirenia is a gothic metal band from Stavanger, Norway.
Sirenia came together in early 2001, when Morten Veland parted ways with his former band Tristania due to musical disagreements and personal differences.
Sirenia combines strong melodic instrumentals, keyboard synthesis, and guitar works with light, female vocals (Fabienne Gondamin, Henriette Bordvik, Monika Pedersen, Ailyn), and currently Emmanuelle Zoldan, male death vocals, and a choir. Current band members are Morten Veland (programming, growling, clean vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Emmanuelle Zoldan (female vocals), Jan Erik Soltvedt (guitars) and Jonathan Perez (drums). Most of Sirenia's songs are atmospheric, yet intense with melodic backgrounds and interludes. The lyrics are concerned with human existence, emotion, and mental states.
Sirenia (at first called "Masters of Sirenia"), named after the Sirens of Greek mythology, was founded in 2001 after Morten Veland left Tristania. The band failed to find a suitable singer prior to recording in France, so they conducted auditions and found Fabienne Gondamin for the recording session of At Sixes and Sevens.
On the subsequent tour and follow-up album, An Elixir for Existence, Gondamin was replaced by Henriette Bordvik.
On September 13, 2005, it was announced that Bordvik would be leaving the band, and the search for a new singer commenced. Bordvik's replacement, Monika Pedersen of the band Sinphonia, was introduced on April 10, 2006. In the same year, Bjørnar Landa (from Artifact) joined the band as a guitarist.
Nine Destinies and a Downfall came out in February 2007. This album features more down-tuned guitars that chug and growl, with a texture not previously heard on Sirenia albums. Moreover, the male grunting and harsh vocals have been greatly reduced, with grunts only appearing on three songs: Sundown, Seven Keys and Nine Doors, and Downfall. There are occasionally clean male vocals as well, but they are used very rarely. Thus, fans who enjoyed the delicate balance between Morten Veland's harsh vocals and the female voice will likely be disappointed. On this album, the new female vocalist is front and center. Choirs are sprinkled throughout the songs, giving the music the feel familiar to Sirenia fans. This album marks a significant departure from Morten Veland's work in Tristania.
On April 9, 2008, Morten Veland announced Spanish X Factor contestant Ailyn as their new female vocalist.
On May 19th, 2008, it was announced that Bjørnar Landa left the band in order to have more time for his family and studies. He is replaced by Michael Krumins from Green Carnation.
'The 13th Floor' is the title of the new album. The release date is set to the 23rd of january 2009. Expect a melodic and powerful album in the typical Sirenia vein. The brand new single: 'The Path To Decay' will be released on December 26th and the new video from SIRENIA, will receive its online premiere on January 5, 2009 via MySpace.
The bands fifth studio album, 'The Enigma of Life' was released on January 29, 2011. Less than two months after the release of the album, Michael Krumins departed from the group to spend more time on other projects, he was replaced by Jan Erik Soltvedt.
On April 13, 2013, Sirenia announced the title of their next album on their Facebook page: Perils of the Deep Blue.
2016–2018: Dim Days of Dolor
On 29 August 2016 Sirenia revealed eighth full-length album Dim Days of Dolor before their official announcement of their new singer Emmanuelle Zoldan, a French mezzo-soprano singer from Aix-en-Provence who has worked with Sirenia for 13 years and is part of The Sirenian Choir. She has contributed to lead vocals before on the Sirenian Shores EP cover of "First We Take Manhattan" by Leonard Cohen.
In November 2017, longtime drummer Jonathan Pérez left the band and joined Green Carnation. Consequently, Sirenia temporarily again included Austrian drummer Roland Navratil, a live member who had performed with the band before.
2018–2020: Arcane Astral Aeons
On 14 August 2018, Sirenia had revealed the title of their ninth studio album Arcane Astral Aeons, along with a European tour in the fall. The album was released 26 October of the same year. A lyric video was made for the single "Love Like Cyanide" released on 21 September 2018. The song features a guest appearance by Yannis Papadopoulos from Finnish band Beast in Black.
2020–present: Riddles, Ruins & Revelations and 1977
On 8 December 2020, Sirenia announced the title of their tenth studio album Riddles, Ruins & Revelations, with the release of their first single off of the album, "Addiction No. 1". The album was released on 12 February 2021.
On 22 March 2023, the band simultaneously announced the first single which is a cover of British singer Tanita Tikaram's "Twist in My Sobriety". It is the first single that will be featured on the upcoming eleventh studio album, 1977, which is set to be released on 26 May 2023
Official site: www.sirenia.no
Beyond Life's Scenery
Sirenia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a growing void inside
There are doors in life that I can't seem to find
There's a fire in my dreams
fading day by day it seems
There's a narrow path beneath the fallen leaves
The years we tried to deny
There's a garden deep within
where all life is withering
There's a fall and there's a wall and there's a sin
There are nails through my heart
All hope is torn apart
There are footsteps leading to my epitaph
The years we tried to deny
still haunt us now
I see you stand forsaken
on a desolate and distant shore
You have been lost for so long
No one can ever take you back to how it was
Down, feeling down, falling down, sinking further down
Misery circles around
Wane, feel the pain, gone insane and this life's to blame
Seems like it's all in vain
Dark, the past was dark, the present's dark, the future seems so dark
Alike our hearts
Deep is the sleep that life keeps beyond it’s scenery
What life sows, we'll never reap
The years we tried to deny
still haunt us now
The pain still burns deep inside
as life flows by
The lyrics of Sirenia's song "Beyond Life's Scenery" depict a person who is struggling in life. The first verse talks about the inner turmoil that's eating up the person's mind, as they feel like they're unable to find the right doors to go through in life. They see the fire in their dreams fading away, and they feel like they're walking on a narrow path that's hidden beneath fallen leaves. The second verse talks about the person's deep emotional pain, as they feel like they're withering away from the inside out. There are nails in their heart, and hope has been torn apart. They can see the footsteps leading to their epitaph, and they can't escape the haunting memories of the things they've tried to deny.
The chorus talks about how the pain and the memories still haunt them now. They feel forsaken on a desolate shore, and they've been lost for so long that no one can take them back to the way things were. The person is sinking further into misery, and they feel like life has gone insane. The past, present, and future all seem dark and cold, and the person is unable to escape the pain that life brings.
Overall, the lyrics of "Beyond Life's Scenery" are quite heavy and emotional. They talk about a person who's going through deep emotional pain and is struggling to find their way in life. The lyrics paint a picture of a person who's lost and can't escape the painful memories of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a voice that speaks of time
A sense of the passage of time is constantly present in our lives
There's a growing void inside
A feeling of emptiness is continuously developing within oneself
There are doors in life that I can't seem to find
There are opportunities in life that are elusive and cannot be attained
There's a fire in my dreams fading day by day it seems
The intensity of one's aspirations is diminishing over time
There's a narrow path beneath the fallen leaves
There is a difficult and ambiguous way forward that must be taken
The years we tried to deny still haunt us now
The events of the past continue to affect us in the present
There's a garden deep within where all life is withering
One's inner self is decaying and deteriorating rapidly
There's a fall and there's a wall and there's a sin
Mistakes, obstacles, and guilt are causing one to suffer
There are nails through my heart. All hope is torn apart.
One's emotional pain is overwhelming and has shattered any chance of optimism
There are footsteps leading to my epitaph
The path one is traveling will ultimately lead to their death
I see you stand forsaken on a desolate and distant shore
Someone else is isolated and adrift, in a hopeless place far away from help
You have been lost for so long. No one can ever take you back to how it was
The person has been without direction and purpose for so long that returning to their previous state is impossible
Down, feeling down, falling down, sinking further down misery circles around
The more one gives into despair, the more they spiral down into hopelessness
Wane, feel the pain, gone insane and this life's to blame seems like it's all in vain
Pain and madness are consuming one's life, making it seem meaningless and futile
Dark, the past was dark, the present's dark, the future seems so dark alike our hearts
Every stage of time seems hopeless and gloomy, just like the inner selves of those experiencing it
Deep is the sleep that life keeps beyond it's scenery. What life sows, we'll never reap
There is an impenetrable mystery in how life works, and we may never understand why things happen as they do
The years we tried to deny still haunt us now. The pain still burns deep inside as life flows by
The past continues to impact our lives even as we move forward, and the pain of past events never fully goes away
Contributed by Katherine L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.