Finnish heavy alternative newcomers CERESIAN VALOT release & stream their impressive debut full-lngth „Uumen“ today, on May 23, 2025. The album scored a #3 in the soundcheck of leading French magazine Metallian and got into the top 10 (#10 out of 47) of the German classic Rock Hard: Ceresian Valot – Uumen [Full Album Player]
Wille Naukkarinen writes: „Musically speaking, ‚Uumen‘ shows all the sides of Ceresian Valot quite extensively and reveals a band that refuses to play it safe“, the guitarist and main songwriter states. „It has the doomy, heavy riffing and cold northern melancholia, but there are also many fragile, quieter parts, some progressive elements, and occasionally even darker trip hop-py soundscapes. I am very happy with the result, and can hardly wait to hear what people think about ‚Uumen‘. It is most certainly not the easiest album to digest, but I think in these modern times when a lot of new music offers just disposable fast entertainment like a bubblegum that you chew for five minutes and then throw away, albums like this are needed. Maybe more than ever?“
Panu Perkiömäki adds: „The lyrics on this album circle around the theme of insecurity“, the vocalist explains. „This insecurity is generated by the unstable state of the world, but on the other hand it is also the insecurity of the oneself. Another main theme on the album is the importance and uniqueness of nature and how we need to show it more respect. The lyrics are gloomy, but it’s important to note that they’re not hopeless. There is light at the end of the tunnel, even though the light is not shining very brightly.“
Tapio Vartiainen reveals: “When Ghost Brigade disbanded in 2020, four out of six band members wanted to continue playing together“, the guitarist tells. „New music started coming fast when main songwriter and guitarist Wille Naukkarinen hit a new creative streak. It still took a few years before the missing members of the band were found and Ceresian Valot was truly born. We wanted to commit to an even stronger DIY-ethos than before, which meant recording, mixing, mastering, and creating cover art, photography, and the layout were all done by ourselves. It took some more time, but here we are, proudly releasing our debut album ‚Uumen‘, a full length record with 44 minutes of progressive heavy alternative music, today!“
Joni Vanhanem concludes: „The initial idea for the two mini-songs ‚Uumen‘ & ‚Hyöky‘ was based on having purely instrumental passages in the album“, the keyboard player, vocalist, and programmer outlines an important part of his contribution. „However, after composing these passages and hearing the vocal melodies in my head, I just couldn’t help myself but to sing on them. I generally like contrasts in art very much, so I love it that this record consists of either pretty long or very short songs. And for my part there’s also a layer of acceptance in the lyrics. The deal with surrendering to the unknown and finding beauty in it.“
