Founded more than 20 years ago, the Finnish death-doom squad, SWALLOW THE SUN, has gathered more than enough mileage, not to mention treading in rather deep waters, to fill a book with their story. Longstanding Editor-in-Chief of Finnish metal magazine Inferno and author of North From Here: The Sentenced Story (2021), Matti Riekki wrote down the band’s saga, which came out on January 12th, 2024.
When it comes to matters of writing, my observations about the book are about the Finnish edition, however, if there is enough interest from international fans, there is a possibility for the book to be published in English as well. The breathtaking narrative is pieced together from interviews with the band’s primus motor, Juha Raivio – who opens up for the first time about the devastating shadows cast by the death of his spouse – and with everyone who has contributed to the band’s journey over the past quarter of a century. According to vocalist Mikko Kotamäki, this book project was quite a therapeutic session for the band – laughter and tears could not be avoided. Perhaps it is exactly this – the raw vulnerability and emotion conveyed by the text – that makes the reading experience something similar; the Spinal Tap moments on the road make you laugh out loud, while the most heart-wrenching passages easily make you feel a lump in your throat.
Considering the contrast between the shadows and the light, Riekki‘s writing style does justice to the band’s story brilliantly. I have not yet read the acclaimed SENTENCED biography he wrote, although it was published (in Finnish) already in 2015 – shame on me! Here, I must quote my colleague at Tuonela Magazine, who reviewed the English edition a few years back. As Licia Mapelli wrote, “The author’s admiration towards the band is almost touchable, but it never ends up becoming cheesy or fanboy-ish: there is a nice balance between a journalistic approach and the genuine passion of someone whose life has been deeply touched by SENTENCED‘s music.” The same holds true in this new endeavor, down to a tee. Given the nature of the emotional rollercoaster ride that grabs you straight from the get-go, I would sincerely recommend this biography even for the casual metal-music aficionados who may not be so well-versed in SWALLOW THE SUN‘s music – after reading the book, it would be unlikely not to be interested in checking out the music too. Of course, the band’s longtime fans know the deal – the songs have a habit of getting under your skin and the tidbits of insider knowledge revealed across the pages of the book, about the stories behind the songs, shed light upon the reasons why.
I have read a shit-ton of music biographies over the years and a mere handful of them have been of such excellent caliber that I have read them twice or thrice. This is one of those books; it tells you so much more than just the story of the band – a haunting account of all the raw emotions that come with the package when you play in a world-class metal band. Yeah, I’m a fanboy. Still, there aren’t many books with 350 pages I’ve read in 2 days. I simply couldn’t put the book down after I started. As a bonus, I was delighted to learn that Raivio shares a few, perhaps somewhat unexpected, guilty pleasures with me. Considering the dark and gloomy nature of SWALLOW THE SUN‘s music, you might not expect him to like DURAN DURAN and Brian Setzer. Long story short, this is an excellent book about an excellent band!
Written by Jani Lehtinen
