CROWEN

track-list:
Where The Darkness Falls
No Man’s Land
Dark Forever
Endless Pain
Self-Destruction
Veri on nimeni mun

line-up on EP:
Esa Uusimaa – vocals, guitars, synths, samples
Tuomas Saukkonen – bass
Mikko Merilinna – guitars
Samuli Peltola – gutars on ‘No Man’s Land‘
Jouni Uusimaa – clean vocals on ‘Where The Darkness Falls‘
Jenni Niemi – vocals on ‘Self-Destruction‘

Finnish melodic death metal band Crowen released their second EP ‘Where The Darkness Falls‘ on December 13th 2024 via Inverse Records.
In the EP’s title track ‘Where The Darkness Falls‘, Crowen explores the themes of suffering, death and love in Finnish.
The music video for the song was directed and shot by Elsa Wellamo.
The EP also includes a song entirely in Finnish, ‘Veri on nimeni mun‘ (English translation: Blood Is My Name).
The song ‘Where The Darkness Falls‘ and the music video for it depict darkness and how it consumes everything around it.
The song’s main language is English, as is the case with the majority of Crowen’s other songs, but additionally, the story is told in Latin and Finnish.
“I realised while making the song that Latin and Finnish together add a mystical element to it,”
says Crowen’s singer, guitarist and songwriter Esa Uusimaa.
The song first and foremost reflects on the themes of suffering, death and love.
The Finnish lyrics ‘Kärsimys/Voittaa/Rakkauden/Ikuisen…Missä kuolema on läsnä/Rakkaus ikuista‘ translate into English as ‘Suffering/Defeats/Love/Eternal…Where death is present/Love (is) eternal‘.
“In that dark place, there can be a longing for eternal love, regardless of where the other person is. It describes the battle of the mind,”
says Uusimaa, who co-wrote the song with Nina Kärki.
The melodic variation of the drum beats keeps the song’s hold strong.
In the midst of all the beating, a slow chorus brings you to a more peaceful atmosphere, with clean vocals performed by Jouni Uusimaa.
Wellamo directed the music video for the song ‘Where The Darkness Falls‘, in which Uusimaa and actors Angela Irtonainen, Emma Metsi and Laura Rustholkarhu take the viewer to a world of fire and darkness in a dreamlike state.
“Elsa’s approach to filming and directing the video was top notch. We had an excellent professional team, and we worked very efficiently. The video editor, Peetu Widestam, then worked his magic to make the atmosphere of the song and the overall story fit perfectly,”
Uusimaa concludes.
The song ‘Veri on nimeni mun‘ takes the listener but also Uusimaa himself as a singer and songwriter to a completely new territory.
“I’ve never enjoyed singing clean vocals, but just preferred screaming. After getting to know Jussi Aspivaara from the company Hiiden Nahka while filming the music video for the song ‘Dark Forever’, I immersed myself with interesting dark folk bands. The melodic atmosphere and lyrics for this song were inspired by that world,”
Uusimaa says.
The entire ‘Where The Darkness Falls‘ EP leads the listener to the verge of darkness:
darkness and melancholy are fascinating topics from which Uusimaa can easily create music.
The EP takes you from blast beat and chaos to beautiful female vocals, as performed by Jenni Niemi in the song ‘Self-Destruction‘.
Earlier this autumn, the song and music video ‘Dark Forever‘ from the mini-album were released, with the melodic guitars of Mikko Merilinna, known from the band Khroma, adding a melancholy tone to it.
In ‘No Man’s Land‘, Samuli Peltola’s superb solo brings a sense of chaos to the song.
Tuomas Saukkonen, known from the bands Wolfheart and Before the Dawn, plays the bass in the entire EP.
“Tuomas is an extremely talented studio bassist. His playing brought the songs to life. We have a long history with Tuomas, and it was really easy and such a pleasure to record together while eating mud cake,”
Uusimaa says.

music and lyrics by Esa Uusimaa
mastered by Ville Hautaluoma

Finnish melodic death metal band Crowen is set to release their new EP ‘Where The Darkness Falls’ later this autumn via Inverse Records.
The First single ‘Dark Forever’ has been released.
‘Dark Forever’ tells the story of an afterlife where darkness, beauty and a sense of anguish are present.
The song also addresses the question of whether it is possible to come out of the darkness.
”The darkness served as my inspiration for this song. The afterlife is an intriguing topic, and I drew my ideas from it into the lyrics. Eventually, the lyrics of this song became the theme of the entire EP,”
says Crowen’s frontman Esa Uusimaa.
Dark Forever is punchy, fast-paced and melodic death metal with folk influences.
After the intro, the song transitions quickly from one part to the next, which leaves no time to catch a breath except for the last calm part at the end.
The melody guitars by Mikko Merilinna, known from the band Khroma, add a melancholy tone to the song, possibly even creating a slightly sinister atmosphere near the end.
Tuomas Saukkonen, known from the bands Wolfheart and Before the Dawn, plays the bass in the song and the entire EP.
The concept of two worlds continues in the music video for the song, directed by Lana Gonch.
Lead actress Mira Cibulka and Jussi Aspivaara’s leather masks contribute to the mysterious atmosphere of the video.
Crowen is a melodic death metal band founded in Espoo, Finland in 2019, led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Esa Uusimaa.
In addition to guitars, Uusimaa played keyboards on the EP and built the samples for the album.
He also recorded and mixed the album.