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
Sundown
Sirenia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can see you descend
Like golden grains of sand
A weeping sun is descending
And the moon now ascending here
In these cold winterlands
I've been strolling through the pouring rain
I've been strolling down the darkest of lanes
Just to find it's all in vain
The sundown gives birth to another night
As the moon comes crawling across the sky
My soul feels cold and my heart is tired
I'm burning inside, can't stop the flames, the fire
From a distance
I can see you pretend
That your life's on the mend
A thousand riverines weeping
And a silver moon sweeping swift
Across forsaken lands
I've been crawling on my knees and hands
I've watched all suns descend
I've been dreaming some day, I'll ascend
Before the bitter end
In the verses of "Sundown" by Sirenia, the singer expresses their observation of someone they can see descending from a distance. As the sun sets and the moon rises, the cold winterlands become darker and lonelier. The singer speaks of wandering in search of better days, through pouring rain and dark lanes. But despite their efforts, they have found that it is all in vain. The setting sun gives birth to another night, and the moon crawls across the sky. The singer feels a sense of emptiness and exhaustion, burning inside like an uncontrollable fire that can't be stifled.
As the second verse comes around, the singer talks about seeing the other person pretend that their life is on the mend, in contrast to the vastness of sorrow in nature. There are a thousand riverines weeping, and a silver moon sweeping swiftly across forsaken lands. The singer continues to express their feelings of having crawled on knees and hands while watching all the suns descend. But still, they dream of ascending before the end of it all. The emotions conveyed in the song are raw and powerful, and the lyrics perfectly capture the feeling of being stuck in a moment of despair.
Line by Line Meaning
From a distance
The singer can see the subject from afar
I can see you descend
The subject is descending
Like golden grains of sand
The subject's descent is graceful and beautiful
A weeping sun is descending
The sun is setting and the sky is crying
And the moon now ascending here
The moon is rising in the sky
In these cold winterlands
The location is cold and desolate
I've been strolling through the pouring rain
The singer has been walking in heavy rain
In search of better days
The artist wants to find a better life
I've been strolling down the darkest of lanes
The artist has been traveling down a difficult path
Just to find it's all in vain
Despite their efforts, the artist's quest has been fruitless
The sundown gives birth to another night
The sunset marks the beginning of a new night
As the moon comes crawling across the sky
The moon is slowly and steadily rising
My soul feels cold and my heart is tired
The singer is emotionally exhausted
I'm burning inside, can't stop the flames, the fire
The singer is enduring intense emotional pain that they cannot escape
From a distance
The singer can still see the subject from afar
I can see you pretend
The subject is pretending to be okay
That your life's on the mend
The subject is trying to improve their situation
A thousand riverines weeping
The environment is crying in sorrow
And a silver moon sweeping swift
The moon is quickly and gracefully moving through the sky
Across forsaken lands
The location is abandoned and forlorn
I've been crawling on my knees and hands
The artist has been struggling to move forward
I've watched all suns descend
The artist has witnessed many sunsets
I've been dreaming some day, I'll ascend
The singer has hopes of a better future
Before the bitter end
The artist wants to achieve their goals before it's too late
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MORTEN VELAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind