Sirenia (band)

Sirenia
Sirenia performing live in 2019
Background information
Origin	Stavanger, Norway
Genres	Gothic metal, symphonic metal
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Napalm (2002–2005, 2014–present) Nuclear Blast (2005–2014)
Members	Morten Veland Emmanuelle Zoldan Nils Courbaron Michael Brush
Past members	Fabienne Gondamin Henriette Bordvik Kristian Gundersen Monika Pedersen Bjørnar Landa Michael S. Krumins Ailyn Jonathan Pérez Jan Erik Soltvedt
Website	mortenveland.com/sirenia

Sirenia is a Norwegian gothic metal band from Stavanger, founded in 2001 by Morten Veland.

The band uses melodic instrumentals, synthesizers, and distorted guitars with female vocals, male death vocals, clean male vocals, a choir, and violins. The lyrics are concerned with human existence, emotion, and mental states.

History

2001–2003: At Sixes and Sevens

In January 2001, Veland, a founding member of Tristania left the band, within a few weeks Veland had a new band along with three other members. He had written material for Tristania's next release but because of the split, he used it towards Sirenia's debut album At Sixes and Sevens with other new material written for it as well. The band entered the studio by November or December 2001. The band failed to find a suitable singer prior to recording in France, so they hired a session female singer named Fabienne Gondamin.

2004–2006: An Elixir for Existence

Henriette Bordvik in Inferno Metal Festival in 2003

On the subsequent tour Fabienne Gondamin was replaced by Henriette Bordvik, with whom the band recorded the album An Elixir for Existence and the EP Sirenian Shores.

The band signed with Nuclear Blast in May 2005.

In November 2005, Henriette Bordvik left the band, citing personal reasons.

2006–2007: Nine Destinies and a Downfall

In 2007 they released a third album – Nine Destinies and a Downfall. The album features new singer, Monika Pedersen from Denmark, who joined the band in April 2006, and new guitarist Bjørnar Landa (from Artifact), who joined the band during the recording.

On 5 November 2007 Monika Pedersen quit the band over musical disagreements. Her departure caused Sirenia to pull out of a planned European tour with Therion.

2008–2009: The 13th Floor

Sirenia began looking for a new singer in November 2007. The process in finding their newest member took about six months. About 500 applied, at the end they wanted to find someone from the EU region for practical reasons. On 9 April 2008 Sirenia announced Spanish X Factor contestant Ailyn as their new female vocalist.

On 19 May 2008 it was announced that Bjørnar Landa left the band in order to have more time for his family and studies. He was replaced by Michael S. Krumins (Green Carnation).

On 12 June 2008 Sirenia announced that for the first time in their career, they had decided to work with a bass player for their live shows. The session bass player will be Kristian Olav Torp.

Sirenia started recording their fourth album in July 2008. It was recorded in Sound Suite Studios, France and Stargoth Studios, Norway. The mixing and mastering took place in Antfarm Studios, Denmark with Tue Madsen. The album, called The 13th Floor, was completed in September and the release date was 23 January 2009. The album features guest appearances by Jan Kenneth Barkved. The first single, "The Path to Decay", was released on 26 December 2008 as a digital download.

2010–2011: The Enigma of Life

Ailyn and Morten Veland in March 2010

On 8 July 2010, the band announced that they started recording a new album. It was finished in November, and will be titled The Enigma of Life. It was released on 21 January 2011.

The first single, "The End of It All", was released on 21 December 2010 as a digital download.

Michael S. Krumins in Global East Rock Festival in September 2010

On 19 April 2011, Michael left Sirenia to put in more time on his own bands and projects. Jan Erik Soltvedt joined the band and filled in as the lead guitarist. Soltvedt accompanied Sirenia on their American and European tours in 2011, including the Gallus Sonorus Musicallis festival (GSM Fest) held in June 2011 in Barcelos, Portugal, and the Wacken Festival in Germany, held in August.

On 16 July 2011, and as one of their most important performances of that year, was held at the famous heavy metal festival Masters of Rock, which takes place annually in the city of Vizovice, Czech Republic. Previously, their first and only participation dates from 2008.

By the end of July and the beginning of August 2011, Sirenia made their second Latin American tour, which took them back to countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and for the first time to Peru and Chile in October.

2012–2013: Perils of the Deep Blue

On 16 October 2012 Sirenia announced that they have entered the studio to record their next album for an early 2013 release. The band on their sixth album, "The progress on the new album is going very well — we feel confident that the sixth Sirenia album will have some nice surprises up its sleeve, as we've been determined to make this record somewhat different from the previous two albums".

On 13 April 2013 the band announced the title of their album on their Facebook page: Perils of the Deep Blue. Their single "Seven Widows Weep" was released through Nuclear Blast on 12 May 2013. On 3 June 2013, the official music video of the song was released. It was filmed in April of the same year in Serbia by iCODE Team.

Perils of the Deep Blue represented the first Sirenia album in US charts, such as the Billboard Hard Rock Albums and the Heatseekers Albums.

2014–2016: The Seventh Life Path, Ailyn's departure

The band announced they had returned to Napalm Records on 3 April 2014 with a pending album release for early 2015. On 10 February 2015 Sirenia announced the title of their next record called The Seventh Life Path. On 12 March 2015 the band announced on their Facebook page that Nightwatcher Films has signed Sirenia for the use of their song "Ducere Me In Lucem" of Perils of the Deep Blue for its soundtrack. The song will come out in the opening title sequence of a film called Abandoned Dead penned for release January 2016.

On 5 July 2016 Sirenia announced that after 8 years they were parting ways in good terms with longtime vocalist Ailyn but that the work with the upcoming album will proceed as normal. The same day, Ailyn released a statement disputing the bands claim, saying that the decision was not hers and she was not a part of it.

2016–2018: Dim Days of Dolor, new singer, North American tours

Emmanuelle Zoldan performing live in Kherson, Ukraine, in June 2016

On 29 August 2016 Sirenia revealed eighth full-length album Dim Days of Dolor before their official announcement of their new singer.

On 8 September 2016 Sirenia announced their new singer Emmanuelle Zoldan, a French mezzo-soprano singer from Aix-en-Provence who has worked with Sirenia for 13 years and is part of The Sirenian Choir. She has contributed to lead vocals before on the Sirenian Shores EP cover of "First We Take Manhattan" by Leonard Cohen.

Sirenia toured with Arkona and MindMaze in May 2017 for their debut in the United States and Canada.

In October 2017 before a European tour, French guitarist Nils Courbaron unexpectedly was invited to participate in the live performances replacing Jan Erik Soltvedt. In November, longtime drummer Jonathan Pérez left the band and joined Green Carnation. Consequently, Sirenia temporarily again included Austrian drummer Roland Navratil, a live member who had performed with the band before.

The band returned to North America to join various bands on the heavy metal cruise, 70000 Tons of Metal for two shows on 2 and 3 February 2018.

Sirenia toured North America for the second time with Canadian metal band Threat Signal in April 2018, with support from Valinor Excelsior, Graveshadow, Niviane and Dire Peril.

2018–2020: Arcane Astral Aeons

Nils Courbaron in La Boule Noire, Paris, November 2018

On 14 August 2018, Sirenia had revealed the title of their ninth studio album Arcane Astral Aeons, along with a European tour in the fall. The album was released 26 October of the same year.

A lyric video was made for the single "Love Like Cyanide" released on 21 September 2018. The song features a guest appearance by Yannis Papadopoulos from Finnish band Beast in Black. On 12 October, "Into the Night" was released as the second single, followed by a music video. Both videos were directed by Swedish filmmaker and musician Owe Lingvall.

In the fall of 2019, Sirenia went an extensive European tour with bands such as Leaves' Eyes, Forever Still and Lost in Grey. During the tour, a new official member was introduced, British drummer Michael Brush from Magic Kingdom.

2020–2022: Riddles, Ruins & Revelations

On 8 December 2020, Sirenia announced the title of their tenth studio album Riddles, Ruins & Revelations, with the release of their first single off of the album, "Addiction No. 1". The album was released on 12 February 2021. The second single off of the album, "We Come to Ruins", was released on 12 January 2021. On 10 February 2021, the band released their third single off of the album which is a cover of Desireless' "Voyage, voyage". The tenth album was a remarkable stylistic shift for Sirenia, adding synth-pop to their usual symphonic metal musical style, opting for a more commercial bet.

2023–present: 1977

On 22 March 2023, the band simultaneously announced the first single which is a cover of English singer Tanita Tikaram's "Twist in My Sobriety". It is the first single that was featured on the eleventh studio album, 1977, which was released on 26 May 2023. The other two singles were "Deadlight" and "Wintry Heart".Heart". The album followed in the same vein as the previous Riddles, Ruins & Revelations, but with a style influenced by the rock bands of the 70s-80s.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions								Sales
		BEL (Fla)	BEL (Wal)	FRA	GER	SWI	UK Rock	US Heat	US Hard Rock
At Sixes and Sevens	Released: 13 August 2002 Label: Napalm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
An Elixir for Existence	Released: 3 August 2004 Label: Napalm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nine Destinies and a Downfall	Released: 23 February 2007 Label: Nuclear Blast	—	—	134	54	85	—	—	—
The 13th Floor	Released: 23 January 2009 Label: Nuclear Blast	—	—	127	87	67	—	—	—	US: 500+
The Enigma of Life	Released: 21 January 2011 Label: Nuclear Blast	—	—	—	73	53	—	—	—	US: 730+
Perils of the Deep Blue	Released: 28 June 2013 Label: Nuclear Blast	98	89	136	50	43	11	20	97	US: 1,560+
The Seventh Life Path	Released: 8 May 2015 Label: Napalm	198	122	—	68	77	—	18	—	US: 1,300+
Dim Days of Dolor	Released: 11 November 2016 Label: Napalm	—	150	—	—	89	34	—	25
Arcane Astral Aeons	Released: 26 October 2018 Label: Napalm	131	150	—	—	80	—	—	—
Riddles, Ruins & Revelations	Released: 12 February 2021 Label: Napalm	—	—	—	89	18	—	—	—
1977	Released: 26 May 2023 Label: Napalm	—	—	—	—	78	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Extended plays

• Sirenian Shores (2004)

Singles and promo singles

• "My Mind's Eye" (2007)
• "The Path to Decay" (2009)
• "The End of It All" (2011)
• "Seven Widows Weep" (2013)
• "Once My Light" (2015)
• "The 12th Hour" (2016)
• "Dim Days of Dolor" (2016)
• "Love Like Cyanide" (2018)
• "Into the Night" (2018)
• "Addiction No. 1" (2020)
• "We Come to Ruins" (2021)
• "Voyage, voyage" (2021, Desireless cover)
• "Twist in My Sobriety" (2023, Tanita Tikaram cover)

Music videos

Year	Title	Director(s)
2007	"My Mind's Eye"	iCODE Team
	"The Other Side"	iCODE Team
2008	"The Path to Decay"	Patric Ullaeus
2011	"The End of It All"	Patric Ullaeus
2013	"Seven Widows Weep"	iCODE Team
2015	"Once My Light"	iCODE Team
2016	"Dim Days of Dolor"	Owe Lingvall
2018	"Into the Night"	Owe Lingvall
2020	"Addiction No. 1"	iCODE Team
2021	"Voyage, voyage" (Desireless cover)	—
2023	"Twist in My Sobriety" (Tanita Tikaram cover)
	"Deadlight"	Cécile Delpoïo, Pierre Troestler

Members

Current members

• Morten Veland – guitars, harsh vocals, other instruments on studio (2001–present), live bass (2018–2020)
• Emmanuelle Zoldan – female vocals (2016–present), choir on studio (2003–present)

Former members

• Kristian Gundersen – guitars and clean vocals (live only) (2001–2004)
• Henriette Bordvik – female vocals (2003–2005)
• Monika Pedersen – female vocals (2006–2007)
• Michael S. Krumins – guitars and harsh vocals (live only) (2008–2011)
• Ailyn – female vocals (2008–2016)

Live members

• Nils Courbaron – guitars (2018–present)
• Michael Brush – drums (2018–present)

Former live members

• Bjørnar Landa – guitars (2004–2008)
• Kristian Olav Torp – bass (2008)
• Roland Navratil – drums (2004–2005, 2009, 2017)
• Jonathan A. Perez – drums (2003–2017)
• Jan Erik Soltvedt – guitars (2011–2020)

The Sirenian Choir

• Damien Surian – choir on studio (2001–present)
• Mathieu Landry – choir on studio (2003–present)
• Emilie Bernou – choir on studio (2012–present)

Former Sirenian Choir members

• Johanna Giraud – sirenian choir (2001–2004)
• Hubert Piazzola – sirenian choir (2001–2004)
• Emilie Lesbros – sirenian choir (2001–2010)
• Sandrine Gouttebel – sirenian choir (2003–2010)

Session members

• Fabienne Gondamin – vocals (2001–2002)
• Pete Johansen – violin (2001–2002)
• Anne Verdot – violin (2003–2004)
• Jan Kenneth Barkved – clean vocals (2001–2002, 2008; died 2009)
• Stephanie Valentin – violin (2008–2010, 2018)
• Joakim Næss – clean vocals (2012–2016, 2021)

Timeline

External links

• Sirenia – Official website
• Audio interview with Morten Veland
• Video interview with Morten Veland