Swallow The Sun experience a total eclipse of the heart
THE BODY OF work that Juha Raivio has amassed since the death of his life partner, muse and bandmate Aleah Starbridge in 2016 represents surely the strongest half-decade of affecting creativity in doom history. From Trees Of Eternity’s posthumous sole opus, Hour Of The Nightingale in 2016, through Hallatar’s elegiac 2017 debut, No Stars Upon The Bridge, to Swallow The Sun’s crushing 2019 LP, When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light, the cathartic urge to escape into music to express profound sensations of grief has produced a surge of heart-rending masterpieces that compel uneasy immersion. It’s no surprise that Moonflowers continues this run, maintaining the standards impeccably. These consummate Finnish miserabilists have been a consistently potent, trustworthy doom force for nearly 20 years, and this eighth album is wrought with all the love, care and taste that these seasoned craftsmen bring to their art.