Sirenia is a gothic metal band from Stavanger, Norway.

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

Downfall
Sirenia Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can see you walk out away
Turn your back on all your feelings
Seems you're loosing yourself again
To a void so devastating
And I can't deny I am the one,
The one to blame
For all your loss and your fading flame

Life it feels like a frozen winter dream
Like a silent scream
Life it feels like a thousand frozen tears
And the night dwells within me

I can see you break down again
All your life you've been bound to treason
On your knees and your tears descend
Oh your life's a fallen season
And time can not heal these wounds my friend,
Not again
So here you'll stand to face the end

Beyond the silence
Where your voices whisper to my heart
In the midst of December
On a night that comes without a star
I fall into darkness
Like I've done a thousand times before

I've burned all bridges
To the treacherous world outside my door

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sirenia's song Downfall explore themes of loss, betrayal, and despair. The singer addresses someone who is walking away, turning their back on their feelings and losing themselves to a devastating void. The singer admits that they are to blame for this loss and fading flame. Life feels like a frozen winter dream or a silent scream, with a thousand frozen tears and the night dwelling within the singer. The second verse sees the person breaking down again, bound to treason throughout their life, on their knees with tears falling. Time cannot heal their wounds, and they must face the end standing up.

The chorus repeats the imagery of winter and silence, suggesting a sense of emptiness and isolation. Meanwhile, the bridge ("Beyond the silence...") brings in new imagery, with voices whispering to the singer's heart as they fall into darkness. They have burned all bridges to the treacherous world outside their door, creating a sense of finality and isolation.

Line by Line Meaning

I can see you walk out away
I can perceive you departing

Turn your back on all your feelings
You're ignoring every impulse you have

Seems you're loosing yourself again
It seems that you're once again losing yourself

To a void so devastating
Your present state is a destructive emptiness

And I can't deny I am the one,
I'll admit with honesty that I'm responsible,

The one to blame
It's my fault.

For all your loss and your fading flame
Your defeat and failed spirit are my doing

Life it feels like a frozen winter dream
Life presently to me resembles a frigid dream

Like a silent scream
It's silent, but I still feel the pain

Life it feels like a thousand frozen tears
Life feels like I'm crying an unending icy stream

And the night dwells within me
Darkness is overwhelming me