Ceresian Valot - Uumen (2025) Hi-Res

Born from a lockdown reunion of ex-Ghost Brigade members, Ceresian Valot’s Uumen dives headfirst into brooding alt-metal and Finnish gloom, trading past glories for a shape-shifting sound that’s defiantly their own.

When four former members of Finnish metal cult heroes Ghost Brigade reunited in their hometown of Jyväskylä back in 2020, they didn’t intend to start a new band, they were just killing time during the pandemic. But as conversations turned into riffs, and riffs turned into songs, Ceresian Valot was born and given a new name to begin a new chapter. Their debut album Uumen - Finnish for “depths” - is a fitting title for a record that drags you through emotional undercurrents and shadowy terrain. But don’t expect a Ghost Brigade retread. With guitarist and main songwriter Wille Naukkarinen steering the ship, and multiple vocalists and songwriters contributing to the mix, Ceresian Valot quickly find their own identity, one that’s a shape-shifting brew of alt-metal, prog rock, with plenty of atmospheric gloom.

The album’s range is wide and unpredictable. One moment, you’re caught in a crushing wave of distorted guitars; the next, you’re floating through icy melodies and cinematic textures. All the lyrics are delivered in Finnish, which only adds to the mystery for those who don't speak it. And while the tone often leans bleak, it’s not without flickers of hope. But it’s the kind you need to seek out, the kind that glows faintly in the dark rather than blinding in the sun.

Lyrically, Uumen circles around the theme of insecurity - existential, personal, maybe even creative. But Ceresian Valot aren’t content to wallow. There’s a quiet defiance in their songs, a sense that confronting darkness head-on is the only way to find light, however dim it may be.

With Uumen, Ceserian Valot emerged from the ashes of Ghost Brigade not as echoes, but as explorers of something stranger, darker, and deeper. The depths have never sounded this alive.