Premiere: Lähdön Aika ‘Pahansuovat’ – New EP ‘Valonaara’ Releases 10th December

Finnish heavy sludge doomers Lähdön Aika which, (according to Google at least) translates to ‘Departure Time’, quite an apt name considering the bands recent hiatus, a line-up change as they bring new vocalist Eeli Helin into the fold, and with it the release of a torturous new EP entitled Valonaara that’s set to be unleashed on the 10th December across three labels.

Lähdön Aika
Lähdön Aika

Featuring four downtuned and crushingly heavy tracks that allow Helin to throw caution to the wind and display his manic screams and guttural growls that come across as an incessant hybrid of the late Johnny Morrow and Mike IX Williams. And today, its our absolute pleasure to bring you a taste of the discordant filth this five-piece spew forth with the final track of the EP, the seven and a half minute aural assault that is Pahansuovat. So what are you waiting for, click play below, The Shaman demands it…

More on Lähdön Aika & ‘Valonaara’

Lähdön Aika are a Finnish post-metal/sludge/doom group whose new EP Valonaara will be released on December 10, 2021, on digital/CD/vinyl/tape formats via the band, Trepanation Recordings, Black Voodoo Records, and Bullwhip Records. Valonaara tails the band’s third full-length Alku from 2019, stitching in the longest gap between their releases as well as presenting their new vocalist Eeli Helin who joined them in early 2021, hence indicating a new beginning of sorts for the band that’s been around nearly two decades.

Lähdön Aika
Lähdön Aika

Lähdön Aika was founded in 2003 by then vocalist Marko Nyman and the remaining guitarist Akseli Kahra, who assembled the rest of the group around shared interests and vague ideas, and quickly after the standard trials and errors related to starting a new band, found their own, unique voice, and cemented their position in the local – and eventually domestic, underground scene. The band proceeded to release their debut EP S/T in 2004 and kept steadily putting out material in the form of three full-lengths and numerous smaller releases such as EPs and splits, up until the departure of Nyman and the pandemic threw some wrenches into their systematic process, slowing down their collective wheel on the release front.

Lähdön Aika 'Valonaara'
Lähdön Aika ‘Valonaara’ Artwork

After a while of serious discussions about whether to call it a day or to try to find a new vocalist and keep going, the latter turned out to be the only viable option; after all, the band wasn’t a stranger to hardships, not in the least due to founding themselves almost entirely on a strict DIY aesthetic. After laying low for a while, the band contacted a local vocalist Eeli Helin who agreed to give it a try, and officially joined Lähdön Aika after their first session together.

Valonaara represents Lähdön Aika in their most striking and unforgiving form yet, through four songs ebbing and flowing in and out of the mentioned stylistic leanings, together with a thematic concept about submission and loss mounts up to an intense and robust experience, showcasing the band on their prime.

Lähdön Aika 'Valonaara' Vinyl
Lähdön Aika ‘Valonaara’ Vinyl

Valonaara Tracklisting:
01. Hylkäys
02. Lehto
03. Aja Se Pois
04. Pahansuovat

Lähdön Aika is:
Eeli – Vocals
Akseli – Guitar
Aki – Guitar, Vocals
Anna – Bass
Sampo – Drums

The new Lähdön Aika four track EP Valonaara will be released on vinyl, compact disc and digital download on the 10th December through three labels; Trepanation Recordings, Black Voodoo Records, and Bullwhip Records, pre-orders are available now over on Bandcamp.

Label: Trepanation Recordings | Black Voodoo Records | Bullwhip Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram