Following the success of their debut “Unohdan sinut”, Finnish black metal punks Qwälen are finally about to release a CD edition of the album via Time To Kill Records. Originally released in vinyl and tape format in 2021, the band’s first full-length will be released in an exclusive DVD digipack case format.
“What is left when you lose something dear to you? The world appears as a dark dystopian wasteland, with no one left to offer anything even close to comfort. Self-pity, misanthropy, Satan and abandonment offer new alternatives. Where can one turn his or her gaze to eventually forget and rebuild?
Now I can burn my temple. Destroy everything I created. Draw the plans into its ashes and start anew.”
Tracklist:
1. Pimeä tila
2. Viekää minut pois
3. Polku
4. Hän ei tule koskaan
5. Rituaali
6. Unohdan sinut
7. Temppeli
8. Unohdan sinut (live)
9. Temppeli (live)
Qwälen released their second album, “Syvä Hiljaisuus”, in March 2023 via Time To Kill Records.
Qwälen became what it is in 2017. The band members share a passion for playing music in its various raw manifestations and their band backgrounds include Kürøishi, Nistikko, Dumathoin and Akma among many others. Punk background bleeds into the music connecting Qwälen’s interpretation of black metal into how the genre started decades ago. Simplicity, rawness, speed and honesty. These values were present in the beginning and the same values still hold true. Punk background especially shows live as the chaotic energy of hardcore punk clashes with the ritualistic nature of black metal.
Lyrical themes in the first album focused on self-portrayal, dealing with loss, building anew along with finding alternatives in abandonment, misanthropy and Satan. The second album ponders the sheep-like nature of humanity, the inevitability of destruction, the acceptance of being faulted and surrendering to a greater force.
The second album was recorded at Waiting Room recording studio in Tampere with Mikael Neves who has worked with the likes of Death Toll 80k and Tryer. Mikael also handled mixing duties. Mastering was done by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios. The new album reflects Qwälen’s vision and world more clearly than ever. Like a dirty knife. Painful and infectious.
