BLACK EMPYREAN:
TEARS OF THE LOST ONE
Gateway To Silence
Tears Of The Lost One
Blackened Roses On My Grave
Prayer For Enlightenment
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IN SILENCE MY TEARS FALL:
UNDER AUTUMNAL RAIN
The Crown of Black Thorns
Lovelorn (I Wither Away)
Under Autumnal Rain #1
Can You Hear The Funeral Winds?
"So early Fall 1995 brought us a kind of meddle, something between melodoom and rocking death. There were a few interesting titles, for a demo we never recorded. The songs were not among our finest. Although not that bad either, the style did not feel like my own. The drummer Jussi Matikainen wanted a faster speed of sound, to get the roll-on to be able to develop as a musician (which, everybody knows, he did quite well). I was never interested in that, but went on with the flow. So there were things like ...In The Northern Skies, My Lost Kingdom Of Sorrow, Carved In Stone (Of The Heath), and a really good and meaningful one, differing from the others, Under Autumnal Rain #2. It was another weeping song, reminding us of the late Summer wailing, quite heavily influenced by The Gathering's Mandylion, both music and lyrics. We have it on tape with no vocals, and the riffs are truly magnificent (I am allowed to say this, because I was not the composer). The lyrics have been lost, unfortunately. How I'd like to see those old pieces of paper filled with young tears." From a note written in the Summer of 2020
THE NAMELESS BAND:
CARVED IN STONE
....In The Northern Skies
My Lost Kingdom Of Sorrow
Carved In Stone (Of The Heath)
Under Autumnal Rain #2
"I think I'll just put my head into the X.X.X.X and let it go. No one wants to remember the band name of the late 1995. Well, it was Far Beyond Mortality, of course. And there were new songs. Again the style and the sound of music had changed, when Autumn died and Winter came. Suddenly we had one North From Here rip off and another from Amok. A poor young boy's version of both, goes without saying. The Heathen And The Moon and Winterevenings Of Loneliness. I liked them like some Dumb or even Dumber. Our friend was a bit critical about the way we handled the situation. But especially Winter Evenings rocked so well in my standards, that I regret we never recorded it officially. Many lyrical fragments remain, and I can still play the main riffs.
This era came to an end, having its culmination early in 1996 when we did our worst (or was it the best) piece, with In Silence Of The Night, never mind the grammar. With shame and honour I confess it was trying hard to be Desert By Night. Lyrically, there were two different versions, both of which are still visible in their main parts. Eastern religions and Western philosophy were equally showing up their asse[t]s. Or is that an optimistic outlook on a pessimistic subject." From a note written in the Summer of 2020
FAR BEYOND MORTALITY:
THE HEATHEN AND THE MOON
The Heathen And The Moon
Winterevenings Of Loneliness
In Silence.... Of The Night
In Silence.... Of The Night
The second version from 1996,
one of the better lyrics
"At the same time, somewhere in between 1995-1996 we had another change in style, taking Dark Tranquillity seriously with My Dreaming, Black Heart. The song and the lyrics both remain, but not standing, they fell a-long, long time ago. For the next year the band was called Crimson Winds. We went into folkish, melodic blackening forest metal. Ulver, Marduk, Naglfar, Dissection and the rest were there, in nature or in spirit. Through The Mist Of Night Eternal was about howling, and Winter Queen had one of the best lyrics I had written, with a neutral description of Nature's cycles, and the process of reincarnation mentioned, also (in February 1996). Lost, of course. Right away I spoiled the whole thing by changing the title into The Goddess Of Lovelorn Passion and re-writing the lyrics in the ugly spirit of self-deceit, the best friend of all those who had taken the same trail. I remember having a well-deserved critique from an elder man, who knew something about these topics. I am still grateful. Though, at the time, it did not help. And I was obsessed with Freya, had to be a jerk-off course." From a note written in the Summer of 2020
CRIMSON WINDS:
WINTER QUEEN
Through The Mist Of Night Eternal
Winter Queen
My Dreaming, Black Heart
In Silence....Of The Night #2
Arthur Rackham's Freya
"We went on, for the grand new song called In The Light Of The Silver Moon, still on tape, with 300 words and a Cradle Of Filthy Love. There was this Autumn Serenade, with a few changes, A Serenade For The Stars / For The Wolves. In May we recorded a promo song (in Vehkalahtisali studio). The style was different from all the rest, with only spoken words of longing and truly epic whispers oh so full of darkness and languish. The song was called Lovelorn #2. Then the Summer came once again, and in June 1996 we had a freezer for the pale white face to stay cool even in Midsummer time, called Deathwhite #1, The song is on tape without vocals (I remember the chorus, but not the verses). Maybe I will just repeat myself, the melodies were almost too good to be true, and the lead guitarist Tomi Pekkola was only 14 and a half. Forever I shall enshrine the memory, that's how the chorus began.
The Summer of 1996 would end with an August masterpiece called Misanthropic (Let The Crown Fall). Most of the lyrics were taken from a book about Scandinavian mythology, with a verse or two of my own. The song is on tape with vocals. This was a well-tracked wooden piece, with romantic folks tuned on / in hate, and the usual mythic end of the world feeling. Accompanying was our only cover at the time, Shadowthrone. When the fall came, we had another song, Strigoi Mort, with (n)ice and eccentric lyrics & music searching for a new kind of mixture, I guess. It is on tape, as well (the only vampire song ever written by this band). There were some oddly even things going on. The Autumn was depressive enough with Brunhild And The Dreamless coming out, having one night stand-out lyrics, almost as if to die for. I was beginning to master the art of singing oneself into the swamp. Another example of this was Deathwhite #2, a furious and fast but very deadlike tyrant metal, maybe the fastest song we ever made or played. But there were some more developed lyrics, too, like The Perfumed Garden, inspired by the book, Bereavement, and a title for December Tears. Well, the year changed into another, and I remember watching Music Television on mute and listening to Katatonia's Brave Murder Day, writing an avantgarde tragedy, Gravesilence, the last of its kind. There would be no more suicidal, romantic and melodic death metal for us, ever again." From a note written in the Summer of 2020
CRIMSON WINDS:
IN THE LIGHT OF THE SILVER MOON
Misanthropic (Let The Crown Fall)
Deathwhite #1
In The Light Of The Silver Moon
Strigoi Mort
A Serenade For The Wolves
CRIMSON WINDS:
BRUNHILD AND THE DREAMLESS
Misanthropic (Let The Crown Fall)
Deathwhite #2
Brunhild And The Dreamless
Gravesilence
Autumn Serenade
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