Sirenia

Biography

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.

2001–2003: Formation and 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×At Sixes and Sevens21 May 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Meridian6:202Sister Nightfall5:383On the Wane6:374In a Manica6:045At Sixes and Sevens6:466Lethargica5:317Manic Aeon6:278A Shadow of Your Own Self5:589In Sumerian Haze4:38 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.

2004–2007: An Elixir for Existence and Nine Destinies and a Downfall

On the subsequent tour Fabienne Gondamin was replaced by Henriette Bordvik, with whom the band recorded the album An Elixir for Existence×An Elixir for Existence23 February 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Lithium and a Lover6:332Voices Within6:533A Mental Symphony5:264Euphoria6:355In My Darkest Hours6:056Save Me From Myself4:157The Fall Within6:498Star-Crossed6:299Seven Sirens and a Silver Tear4:46 and the EP Sirenian Shores×Sirenian Shores11 October 2004 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Sirenian Shores6:022Save Me From Myself (remix)5:053Meridian (acoustic)4:054First We Take Manhattan3:565Obire mortem2:23.
The band signed with Nuclear Blast in May 2005.
In November 2005, Henriette Bordvik left the band, citing personal reasons.
In 2007 they released a third album – Nine Destinies and a Downfall×Nine Destinies and a Downfall23 February 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Last Call4:452My Mind's Eye3:383One by One5:304Sundown5:055Absent Without Leave4:546The Other Side3:557Seven Keys and Nine Doors4:568Downfall4:449Glades of Summer5:3610My Mind's Eye (radio edit)3:17. 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.

2008–2011: The 13th Floor and The Enigma of Life

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 would 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×The 13th Floor23 January 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1The Path to Decay4:182Lost in Life3:123The Mind Maelstrom4:484The Seventh Summer5:225Beyond Life's Scenery4:336The Lucid Door4:497Led Astray4:358Winterborn 775:339Sirens of the Seven Seas5:1410The Path to Decay (radio mix)3:3511The Mind Maelstrom (instrumental)4:5012Winterborn 77 (instrumental)5:34, 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×The Path to Decay2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1The Path to Decay (radio mix)3:322The Path to Decay4:163Winterborn 77 (instrumental)5:32", was released on 26 December 2008 as a digital download.

On 8 July 2010, the band announced that they had started recording a new album. It was finished in November, and is titled The Enigma of Life. It was released on 21 January 2011.
The first single, "The End of It All×The End of It All21 December 2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1The End of It All (edit)3:552Fallen Angel (acoustic version)3:44", was released on 21 December 2010 as a digital download.

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, 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. Their only former appearance at the festival was in 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.

2012–2016: Perils of the Deep Blue, The Seventh Life Path and Ailyn's departure

On 16 October 2012 Sirenia announced that they had entered the studio to record their next album for an early 2013 release. The band said of the 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×Perils of the Deep Blue28 June 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Ducere Me in Lucem3:332Seven Widows Weep6:573My Destiny Coming to Pass5:164Ditt Endelikt6:115Cold Caress5:576Darkling5:357Decadence4:598Stille Kom Døden12:429The Funeral March5:3410Profound Scars6:0911A Blizzard Is Storming4:4912Chains4:2513Blue Colleen5:01. Their single "Seven Widows Weep×Seven Widows Weep12 May 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Seven Widows Weep (edit)4:532Ditt endelikt (edit)4:17" 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.
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 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, Ailyn and the band were parting on good terms, but that the work with the upcoming album would proceed as normal. The same day, Ailyn released a statement disputing the band's claim, saying that the decision was not hers and she was not a part of it.

2016–2020: Dim Days of Dolor, new singer and Arcane Astral Aeons

On 29 August 2016 Sirenia revealed their eighth full-length album Dim Days of Dolor×Dim Days of Dolor11 November 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Goddess of the Sea4:422Dim Days of Dolor4:403The 12th Hour6:374Treasure n’ Treason4:555Cloud Nine5:146Veil of Winter5:297Ashes to Ashes4:368Elusive Sun5:239Playing With Fire5:0610Fifth Column6:0211Aeon’s Embrace3:57 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 had worked with Sirenia for 13 years as part of The Sirenian Choir. She had already contributed the lead vocals for 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 was unexpectedly invited to participate in the live performances, replacing Jan Erik Soltvedt. In November, longtime drummer Jonathan Pérez left the band and joined Green Carnation. Following this, Sirenia temporarily 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.

On 14 August 2018, Sirenia had revealed the title of their ninth studio album Arcane Astral Aeons×Arcane Astral Aeons26 October 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1In Styx Embrace6:002Into the Night4:403Love Like Cyanide5:494Desire5:155Asphyxia5:376Queen of Lies3:557Nos heures sombres4:308The Voyage5:109Aerodyne4:4010The Twilight Hour4:0411Glowing Embers5:3212Love Like Cyanide (edit)4:06, 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×Love Like Cyanide21 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love Like Cyanide5:49" 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×Into the Night12 October 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Into the Night4:41" 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 on 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–present: Riddles, Ruins & Revelations, 1977 and Amanita Messis

On 8 December 2020, Sirenia announced the title of their tenth studio album Riddles, Ruins & Revelations×Riddles, Ruins & Revelations12 February 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Addiction No. 14:032Towards an Early Grave5:273Into Infinity4:414Passing Seasons4:435We Come to Ruins5:126Downwards Spiral5:557Beneath the Midnight Sun4:438The Timeless Waning4:049December Snow5:2010This Curse of Mine4:1811Voyage Voyage4:18, with the release of their first single off of the album, "Addiction No. 1×Addiction No. 18 December 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Addiction No. 14:03". 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.
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×Twist in My Sobriety22 March 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Twist in My Sobriety4:10". 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×Deadlight18 April 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Deadlight4:542Twist in My Sobriety4:10" and "Wintry Heart×Wintry Heart25 May 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Wintry Heart4:032Deadlight4:543Twist in My Sobriety4:10". 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.
On 10 October 2025, the band released the single, "Nightside Den×Nightside Den10 October 2025 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nightside Den3:29", which is the first single from their upcoming twelfth studio album, Amanita Messis×Amanita MessisStudio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search).

Current

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

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

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

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

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

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)

Singles and promo singles

"My Mind's Eye" (2007) (Promo single)
"The Path to Decay×The Path to Decay2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1The Path to Decay (radio mix)3:322The Path to Decay4:163Winterborn 77 (instrumental)5:32" (2008)
"The End of It All×The End of It All21 December 2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1The End of It All (edit)3:552Fallen Angel (acoustic version)3:44" (2010)
"Seven Widows Weep×Seven Widows Weep12 May 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Seven Widows Weep (edit)4:532Ditt endelikt (edit)4:17" (2013)
"Once My Light×Once My Light9 April 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Once My Light7:21" (2015)
"The 12th Hour×The 12th Hour7 October 2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The 12th Hour6:37" (2016)
"Dim Days of Dolor×Dim Days of Dolor11 November 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Goddess of the Sea4:422Dim Days of Dolor4:403The 12th Hour6:374Treasure n’ Treason4:555Cloud Nine5:146Veil of Winter5:297Ashes to Ashes4:368Elusive Sun5:239Playing With Fire5:0610Fifth Column6:0211Aeon’s Embrace3:57" (2016)
"Love Like Cyanide×Love Like Cyanide21 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love Like Cyanide5:49" (2018)
"Into the Night×Into the Night12 October 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Into the Night4:41" (2018)
"Addiction No. 1×Addiction No. 18 December 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Addiction No. 14:03" (2020)
"We Come to Ruins" (2021)
"Voyage, voyage" (2021, Desireless cover)
"Twist in My Sobriety×Twist in My Sobriety22 March 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Twist in My Sobriety4:10" (2023, Tanita Tikaram cover)
"Nightside Den×Nightside Den10 October 2025 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nightside Den3:29" (2025)