Horizon Ignited battle the elements on their new album, Tides.
The first of their collaboration with their new label, Reaper Entertainment, it took Okko Solanterä (vocals, I Am The Night, Slaughterror), Vili Vottonen (guitar), Johannes Mäkinen (guitar), Miska Ek (keyboards), Jiri Vanhatalo (drums) and Jukka “Jugi” Haarala (bass) just under three years to complete.
Beneath The Dark Waters gets things off to a gentle start, but despite the haunting guitar, it doesn’t take long for the rhythm section to weigh the sound down and give it a groovy feel. The choruses allow Okko to lay down some gripping vocal parts, while his bandmates ensure a heady sound, as in the passage on clean vocals, then Ashes takes the reins, unveiling a jerky rhythm that’s quite slow but very catchy. The fury is quite obvious to perceive, as are the more majestic touches which disappear in favor of heaviness, then the band take off again at full speed with Baptism By Fire, which borrows its energetic patterns from Metalcore. It’s a short track, but it’s the perfect one to get the crowd moving, before Welcome To This House Of Hate lets the groove dictate the riffs once more, continuing in the same catchy vein, but it’s still a fairly rhythmic affair, and will have no trouble seducing. My Grave Shall Be The Sea (Leviathan pt. II) – a direct reference to the last track on the first album – begins with hypnotic keyboards, but retains its imposing passages and clear vocal parts, as well as more mysterious elements such as the final before joining Prison Of My Mind. The track returns to a steadier pace, still calling on this vocal duo, but the power will always end up rubbing off on the vocalist who shows us his talent here before Fraction Of Eternity strikes, remaining in the tradition of tracks perfect for live performance. The track gives way to Aurora’s Dance and its chilly Industrial overtones, but also a few moments of quietude, before being swept away again by the massive sound, but it returns in waves on Tides, the eponymous composition where the riffs are much brighter. There are also more virulent passages, such as the final that leads to Fragments, the last composition where the band returns to its avalanches of devastating palm-mutes to break our necks while enjoying the playful orchestrations.
With Tides, Horizon Ignited continue to distill their excellent blend of Melodic Death and Metalcore, complemented by cold or more majestic influences. The band richly deserves more recognition.
90/100
A few questions to Horizon Ignited’s vocalist Okko Solanterä for the release of the band’s new album, Tides.
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! How could you introduce the band Horizon Ignited without using the words “Melodic Death Metal” or “Metalcore”?
Okko Solanterä (vocals): Starting off with a tough one, I see! I think I’d say that we are a Finnish Modern Metal band with cool riffs and beautiful melodies mixed with harsh and clean vocals into this heavy bag of melancholy.
Do you remember where does the band’s name come from, and how do you link it to the music you play now?
Okko: To be fair, I think it just sounded cool at the time, plus it was available, haha! Also it’s kinda hard to describe, but I think that the name fits the style, right?
The band is about to release its third album, Tides. How do you feel about it? Do you already have any feedback?
Okko: Of course we are all super excited for a new album release! If we weren’t, I don’t think we’d be releasing this record. We’ve also had some feedback already, all positive so far so that is very good!
How would you sum Tides’ identity up in only three words?
Okko: Sorrowful, aggressive, melancholic.
How did the creation process happen for Tides? Were there any differences compared to the band’s previous record?
Okko: Johannes has always been the driving force of the band, but on this one he took an even bigger role in terms of songwriting. Most of the album is made by him. And because he was going through some tough times when writing the album, I think you can hear it in the end result.
The band’s sound is of course anchored in Melodic Death Metal, on a quite modern and heavy approach, but how do you create your own touch? Which bands could you quote as your inspirations?
Okko: Good question. I think that we are a mixed bag of stuff from many bands. It started out with In Flames but now there are some influences from bands like Architects and maybe Amorphis. A lot of other stuff as well, although when writing this third album, we tried not to take too much influences from the outside. We tried to find our own thing, listened to our strengths and moved away from our weak spots.
Do you have a favorite song on this album? Or maybe the hardest one to achieve for the album.
Okko: Hard to say what would be my favourite, but the hardest one to sing is by far Aurora’s Dance! That really took its toll on me when recording. I’m going all out on that one.
One song especially caught my attention, the very diversified My Grave Shall Be The Sea (Leviathan pt. II). I bet it’s a reference to the song Leviathan from your first album, but what is this song’s story? What is the link between both songs?
Okko: I don’t want to give up too much on the story, but basically in a very small nutshell it goes like this:
Leviathan Pt 1 – Terror awakens from its slumber.
Leviathan Pt 2 – The hunt for the monster begins.
Other than that, you need to figure it out yourself.
Where do you find your inspiration to create music? Is there a concept on Tides?
Okko: It is not a concept album, but the whole album does dance around the element of water in different forms, and as you listen to it from start to finish, it is kinda like being caught in waves and carried away by tides.
Do you think you improved yourself as a musician and songwriter with this new record?
Okko: Absolutely, 100%! At least I think that this is a much stronger album than the previous ones, so that has to mean something, right?
What can you tell me about the artwork? What guidelines did you give Riivata Visuals for this one?
Okko: We sent them the songs, the album name and said that we need something to do with water or the ocean. That was basically it.
Tides is also the first record on new label Reaper Entertainment, how is the collaboration? How did you both get in touch?
Okko: The collaboration has been great, the guys from Reaper are just awesome! We got in contact through some common friends and got in contact through them.
The band already played a lot of concerts all around the European continent, but I especially remember the show you did in Paris, in October 2022. Do you have a special memory of this show, or even the tour with Hypocrisy, Septicflesh and The Agonist?
Okko: Oh, indeed! We’ve played a few shows in France and every single one of them has been awesome! The people there really liked us. Can’t wait to get back!
In a general way, how do you get prepared to play on stage?
Okko: Every one of us has their own routines. For me, my stomach starts to act up as I get nervous so I just run to the toilet. A lot, haha! Also a lot of water and some warm ups.
What will happen next for Horizon Ignited? Do you plan to go on tour soon?
Okko: We will focus now on doing some shows in Finland, but as soon as we can, we will head out for a tour! Don’t know yet when that will happen though, hopefully soon.
Are there any musicians or artists you would like to collaborate with? Whether it is for one song, or maybe more.
Okko: Oh many! I’d love to do a collab with Josh Middleton from Sylosis for example. Others that I’d love to have featured are Devin Townsend, Joe Duplantier and Mikael Åkerfeldt. And many more! There’s just too many, I can’t list them all.
What do you know about the French Metal scene? Are there any bands you know and like?
Okko: Well the first one that comes to mind is obviously Gojira. A huge band, and we are all big fans of theirs. I myself like also like a lot of Alcest and Dagoba as well. Especially Alcest, they are magnificent!
If you had to organize a concert for Tides’ release show, which bands would you love to play with? I let you create a poster with Horizon Ignited and three other bands! Even unrealistic answers are accepted
Okko: Oh damn! Let’s see… Obviously we would headline, but the openers would be these bands in this order: Sylosis, Opeth and Gojira! Of course everyone would leave before we’d start to play but at least I’d enjoy it, haha!
Last and funny question: which dish would you compare Horizon Ignited’s music with?
Okko: Pizza. A lot of variation but always good!
That was the last question for me, so thank you very much for your time and your music, last words are yours!
Okko: Thank you! This might be our third album but we are only getting started!