Ceresian Valot premiere the video clip ‘Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus’ (“Timelessness / Infiniteness”) as the first single taken from the forthcoming debut full-length “Uumen” (“Depths”). The first album of the Finnish heavy alternative band that is rising from the ashes of GHOST BRIGADE and based in the city of Jyväskylä has been slated for release on May 23, 2025.
Ceresian Valot ‘Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus’ taken from the album “Uumen”: https://youtu.be/qA74vOXzVeU
Ceresian Valot comment on ‘Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus’: Wille Naukkarinen writes: “Our first single ‘Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus’ quite sets the tone for both the album and Ceresian Valot as a band”, the guitarist and main songwriter explains. “When Ghost Brigade went on an indefinite hiatus in 2015, it was quite a challenging time for me. Playing in bands had been my life since I was a teenager and suddenly I was without that element in my life. Feeling lost and having an identity crisis at the same time. For many years, I did not touch a guitar and I believed that playing in bands was over for me. With time, wounds started to heal. I grabbed my guitar and slowly started writing again. Some of the first riffs that I wrote back then are featured in this song. When I completed the instrumental version and sent it to the other guys, I thought that I might have written the best piece of music of my musical journey so far. This song became a gateway for me getting musically active again. It has many familiar characteristics that I often use in my compositions: Sabbath’ian undertones, sludgy doom, tons of cold Northern melancholia, and delicate, fragile quietness.”
Joni Vanhanen adds: “The electronic beats in the middle part of ‘Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus’ contain certain elements that are a tribute to Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’ which is an important record to some members in the band”, writes the keyboard player. “With my roots in 90s trip hop and instrumental hip hop, this was a very interesting experiment and turned out quite awesome as combining acoustic drums with electronic beats can be quite challenging.”
Panu Perkiömäki concludes: “The lyrics of ‘Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus’ are inspired by the Ouroboros symbol, which depicts a serpent that is eating its own tail”, the vocalist reveals. “This song revolves around the eternal cycle of life and how by some means everything is connected, death is followed by birth, separation is followed by unification and so on.”
“Uumen” tracklist: 1. Ajattomuus / Rajattomuus 2. Taivaankatsoja 3. Uumen 4. Pohjavirtauksia 5. Karavaaniseralji 6. Hyöky 7. Valojuovat
If the new Finnish band Ceresian Valot were to adopt a symbol, the Ouroboros or the Phoenix would be excellent candidates. Both mythical creatures symbolise the cyclical aspect of nature that means: every end is also a new beginning. When four former members of much loved but sadly disbanded Finnish metal act GHOST BRIGADE got together for a conversation in their hometown Jyväskylä in late 2020, things escalated quickly into an unexpected direction that ultimately led to the birth of Ceresian Valot.
Guitarist and main songwriter Wille Naukkarinen had fallen into a creative hole after the end of his former band, and he was finally ready to climb out of it. He decided to do exactly what had always come naturally to him and not try to hide his musical handwriting. With multiple songwriters in Ceresian Valot as well as two vocalists singing in Finnish, Wille was confident that the musical style of the new band would change all by itself. Time proved him right, with the sound of the debut album “Uumen” (“Depths”) turning out as stylistically very dynamic and multidimensional with a broad range of sound and vision that include alternative, rock, progressive, and various genres of metal to name but a few.
Written in Finnish language, the lyrics on this album circle around the theme of insecurity. This refers as well to the instability of global affairs as well on an intimate personal level. While the album often sounds bleak and melancholic, its lyrics do not only dwell in doom and gloom, but they also offer some hope and a light at the end of the tunnel – although it might appear to be rather dim.
When the four former GHOST BRIGADE musicians came together at the aforementioned meeting, they found common musical ground again and at first the idea of a studio project took shape. Once bass player Ville Angervuori and vocalist Panu Perkiömäki joined soon after, they were six and the new band was born. As Ceresian Valot include song writers, graphic designers, producers, mixing & recording engineers, and even a mastering engineer in their ranks, it is hardly a surprise that the band employs a strong DIY-ethos.
During 2023 and 2024 the six-piece recorded their debut album. Ceresian Valot embark on an exciting new musical journey with “Uumen” that weds something old, something new, something borrowed, something dark, and a golden talent for songwriting in their hands: Surrender to the unknown and enjoy its beauty!
Ceresian Valot line-up: Panu Perkiömäki – vocals / Wille Naukkarinen – guitars, programming / Veli-Matti Suihkonen – drums, percussion / Joni Vanhanen – keyboards, vocals, programming / Tapio Vartiainen – guitars / Ville Angervuori – bass
Recorded by Veli-Matti Suihkonen at Ceresian Valot HQ Studio in Jyväskylä (FI) / -Additional guitars recorded by Wille Naukkarinen in Jyväskylä (FI) / -Additional guitars recorded by Tapio Vartiainen in Helsinki (FI) / -Keyboards recorded by Joni Vanhanen at Electric Fox Studios in Jyväskylä (FI) / -Mix by Veli-Matti Suihkonen at Ceresian Valot HQ Studio in Jyväskylä (FI) / -Mixing assistantance by Wille Naukkarinen / -Mastering by Joni Vanhanen at Electric Fox Studios in Jyväskylä (FI) / -‘Uumen’ & ‘Hyöky’ recording, mix & performance: Joni Vanhanen at Electric Fox Studios in Jyväskylä (FI) / -Artwork & layout by Wille Naukkarinen (Kuuverstas)
Available formats: “Uumen” is available Digipak CD, as a black vinyl LP, as a ltd. marbled black & solid white vinyl LP (200 copies).
Shop at http://lnk.spkr.media/ceresianvalot-uumen
