The inception of Clad in Darkness began in the winter of 1999 for guitarists John Benter and Coy Scottberg. Meeting in high school the two shared a common passion for music in general and metal especially. The idea was always to create epic far reaching soundscapes that transgressed the conventions of metal. Soon after the band would be complete with the addition of ex-Sapphist drummer Brian Rendina, with fellow members Casey Hogan handling the vocals and Chris Shive playing bass.

In 2006, Novembers Doom once again entered the studio to record the follow up to 2005’s “The Pale Haunt Departure.” The philosophy was simple… If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Sessions for “The Novella Reservoir” began with Chris Djuricic once again engineering and co-producing, also taking up the recording of the Bass guitar. Mixed by the highly respected Dan Swano, and mastered again by legendary James Murphy, “The Novella Reservoir” was completed, becoming the bands greatest audible onslaught yet. Taking their musical direction to the next logical step in their evolution, Novembers Doom has broken free from their past genre labels, to create a modern dark metal CD influenced heavily by their Chicago 90’s death metal roots. “The Novella Reservoir” is easily the bands most aggressive CD to date, and will, without a doubt concrete them as one of the top bands of their genre.

More than two decades of despair, beauty, and heartache have not only shaped but fueled Finnishmelancholy torchbearers, the chart-topping and two-time Finnish Grammy nominated Swallow TheSun. Formed in Jyväskylä in 2000, the quintet has enjoyed numerous fan-lauded music videos(10+ million YouTube views) and streaming dominance (50+ million Spotify plays), while alsoembarking on a four-continent, 900-show run throughout their 23-year career. The new album,Shining, however, is the group’s first step on the new path to the unknown.Shining is an exceptional album, not only because of the beauty and sheer power of the songs, butbecause this time the band searched for something new, something bright, something that will takethem to new spheres.Dan Lancaster, two-time Grammy nominee producer (Bring Me The Horizon, Muse, Don Broco,Blink 182, Enter Shikari, etc.), had the privilege to dive into the new Swallow The Sun material.This unexpected combination, and him producing the album, created something that Swallow TheSun has never experienced before. The leap into the unknown created an album that will blow youaway!Shining the latest album from Swallow the Sun, encapsulates the profound duality of the humanexperience and the band's enduring brilliance. The album explores the intrinsic challenges of beinghuman, contrasting the beauty and purity within individuals with the transformation that occurswhen we come together, chasing us away from innocence like rats from Eden. It highlights thestruggle and disillusionment in human interactions, dealing with a deep carved fear of life, and howmelancholy can slowly turn into your God.Marking 23 years of their musical progression, Shining also symbolizes the band's pride andresilience, showcasing their brightest and strongest work to date. This album is a testament toSwallow the Sun's artistic legacy, intertwining existential reflections with their characteristicmajestic sound. Shining – or the “Black Album” of Death Doom, as the bassist Matti Honkonencalls this album – was produced and mixed by Dan Lancaster, mastered by Tony Lindgren(Fascination Street Studios), and recorded by Juho Räihä at SoundSpiral Audio, except vocalsrecorded by Dan Lancaster. The artwork is by Rami Mursula.