On April 18, 2016, she passed away, leaving her partner Juha Raivio to process this grief alone with the echoes of her voice. Prior to her death, Juha had planned to release a full-length Trees of Eternity album but was unable to do so in time; however, all the material for it, along with other demos, had already been recorded.

Grieving for his partner, Juha Raivio put immense effort into coping with his pain. In this review, I will not discuss the work of Trees of Eternity or Hallatar, the band created in Aleah's memory. Instead, I want to talk about a spellbinding and painful emergence of a shadow into the light—specifically, a unique requiem for Aleah released by Swallow the Sun in 2019.

Swallow the Sun have always been known for their tragic and painful lyrics, heavy music, and extreme vocals, but the album announced after Aleah's death, When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light, was completely different from their past work. Significantly lighter yet steeped in genuine agony, this record truly forced the shadow into the light, helping Juha step out of the darkness he had plunged into after his loss.

This album can be called truly conceptual, as it is entirely built upon a single theme. It is beautiful for exactly what it is.

Shortly before the album's release, Swallow the Sun put out an EP titled Lumina Aurea (“Golden Lights” in Latin), which featured a 14-minute epic single and its instrumental version. The release took place on December 21, during the winter solstice and the longest night of the departing year of 2018. Even though Lumina Aurea was never included in the album's tracklist, it is impossible to fully analyze the record without it.

The song “Lumina Aurea” is performed by Wardruna vocalist Einar Selvik and The Foreshadowing vocalist Marco Benevento. The track itself strongly resembles a prayer, which is why its lyrics are written in Latin. Despite the darkness and depressiveness of this video, the song itself is a kind of cleansing, relaxation, and a sort of rebirth.

The slogan of the new release was the Latin phrase “Mors fortior quam vita est, amor fortior quam mors est”, which translates to “Death is stronger than life, but love is stronger than death.”

Following the announcement of the new album, it was also revealed that Swallow the Sun’s lineup had undergone changes. Two new members joined Swallow the Sun: guitarist Juho Räihä (Before the Dawn, Gloria Morti) and Jaani Peuhu (Iconcrash, currently of Mercury Circle and IANAI), who stepped in as the keyboardist and backing vocalist. Peuhu had previously contributed to Swallow the Sun's work—ranging from recording backing vocals on the album Hope to producing the concept for Songs from the North I, II & III. This time, his arrival was also marked by the addition of clean vocals on the album When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light.

This album feels like a rebirth—a transformation of darkness into something stronger and brighter than itself.

The opening track, the title song “When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light”, immediately stands out, sounding drastically different from “Lumina Aurea” and from everything Swallow the Sun had done before. Mikko Kotamäki's clean vocals in the chorus gradually shift into extreme growls, balancing out the almost triumphant, bright melody in the background. In truth, this track—or rather, its musical side—creates a deceptive impression of what the entire album will sound like, yet it also serves as the best summary of everything the record tries to convey.

The next track, “The Crimson Crown”, connects very naturally with the idea of spring. Since the album was released in late January, it carries that very feeling of spring's painful arrival—with all the stages nature goes through to turn the familiar winter darkness into something new, blinding to the eyes, feverishly alive, and never still, like the currents of melting ice.

“The Crimson Crown” is a dark song, but one with bright, luminous notes. It resembles cracked ice on the surface of a lake—which doesn't necessarily promise anything good, yet marks the beginning of change.

This “Bridge of Stars” is not mentioned by chance in the song. Aleah Stanbridge would sometimes sign her name as Aleah Starbridge. She has always been and will always be that night bird for Juha—a nightingale—which is why such imagery also appears in the lyrics.

This song truly stands out with a unique tenderness in both its music and vocals. Extreme techniques are absent here; instead, there is a wealth of clean vocals. Some of these parts were performed alongside Mikko by Jaani, who possesses a remarkably piercing and distinctive voice.

And while “The Crimson Crown”, as mentioned above, became a sort of lullaby, melancholic and peaceful, the following track “Firelights” brings us back to the main theme of the album, which is loss.

The band placed a big bet on this song, even releasing a music video for it, which was dark and fully matched the mood of the album. Here, extreme vocals make a reappearance, the guitar parts become significantly heavier, and the drums strike a nearly funeral rhythm.

The song “Upon the Water” serves as a logical continuation of “Firelights”. And here, it no longer hides the despair, exposing it with words as sharp as a razor. It seems that a person who had the ground pulled out from under their feet could have felt nothing else. The track feels like falling into a pit freshly dug with one's own hands, like a painful attempt to follow after. The current is gone. Time has stopped. Nothing changes. Perhaps it is this song, with its whispers resembling the intrusive thoughts that haunt a person, that best reflects the anger, rage, and sense of injustice over what happened.

The album also allows the listener to feel the onset of spring, a riot of emotions, and changing moods. Despair, anger, painful attempts at acceptance, helplessness, and detachment are just a fraction of what it conveys.

“Stone Wings”, in turn, serves as a logical continuation of “The Crimson Crown”. This song resembles acceptance and the first attempts to come to terms with what is happening. “Leave your battle” sounds like an appeal to oneself. This battle was lost long ago, but to continue fighting it means risking even more casualties in this completely unfair and unequal warfare.

“Stone wings” is a stunning expression if one digs a bit deeper than the mere visual component. Wings represent the opportunity to fly away and follow after. However, the stone they are made of pins you to the spot. A choice exists, but it cannot be realized. It is the realization of one's complete helplessness and the necessity of submission, yet it is not submission itself.

The next song is “Clouds on Your Side”, an amazing intertwining of one's own suffering with the suffering of a loved one. It comes with attempts to grasp what feels like an impression of exactly what was going on in the mind of the one who was doomed. It is a comparison between physical death and one's own emotional demise. At the end of the song, lines in French are heard—a poem read by a female voice. Remarkably, this fragment feels entirely fitting in this song.

The penultimate track of the album is one of its most painful and desperate—“Here on the Black Earth”. It is a truly piercing song, built on a harmony of voices, melodies, and lyrics that shake you to the core. Even though it sounds significantly more painful than any of the previous tracks, it is this very song that brings a complete realization that the reality of what happened truly sets in. The effect of Mikko's almost funereal vocals in this song is only heightened by the sound of violins, a marching drumbeat, and truly stunning guitar riffs.

And now comes the turn of the final song on the album's tracklist, “Never Left”. The guitar riffs in it sound particularly good in combination with the fragile keyboard parts and the piercing melody of the violins. Quoting the lyrics helps to reveal important aspects of this album. Its entire core is an individual experience that does not even attempt to conform to a generalized experience of similar situations, yet empathy for this tragedy makes it impossible to remain indifferent. This album, along with every song and line in it, is a genuine revelation, the sincerity of which is simply staggering.

An amazing aspect of the album is its lightness in sound, contrasted with the heavy meaning behind the songs and the story itself. Swallow the Sun did not turn into a “tribute band to Aleah Stanbridge,” yet they have never shied away from themes that could strike a chord. They have always given a special place to tragedy in their lyrics. This time, they told a real story, one that was far removed from the melancholic illusion upon which their songs had previously been based. The experience poured into this record has forever sealed within it the most honest words and emotions, making it complex yet truly magnificent. Despite the fact that it clearly stands out from all the band's full-length releases, its existence is a true masterpiece.

Even though it did not receive an Emma Gaala award for Best Metal Album, true connoisseurs will still not be able to look past this story wrapped in music.

Rating: 10/10