Amberian Dawn

Official videos

Follow this artist

About this artist

Amberian Dawn is a Finnish symphonic-cum-power metal band founded by multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Tuomas Seppälä and bass player Tommi Kuri. The female-fronted unit (originally lyric soprano Heidi Parviainen) delivers an evocative, yet forceful blend of carefully arranged neo-classical power metal that evokes comparisons to Epica, Sonata Arctica, Nightwish, and Within Temptation. Since delivering their charting debut long-player River of Tuoni in 2008, the band’s layered harmonies, cinematic charts, and trademark guitar and keyboard interplay and sweeping vocals have won them a large fan base across Europe. 2010′s End of Eden, a darker, faster, moodier offering won them critical accolades from the metal press and charted at home. 2015′s Innuendo and 2017′s Darkness of Eternity showcased the band’s second vocalist, former pop star Päivi “Capri” Virkkunen’s as the perfect singing, lyric-writing foil for Seppälä’s increasingly complex compositions.
Amberian Dawn emerged from the ashes of Atheme One that combined the compositional prowess of Tuomas Seppälä and the lyrics of vocalist Peter James Goodman. Unsatisfied, Seppälä and bassist turned keyboardist Tommi Kuri placed an ad in local music trades for a classically-trained female vocalist to replace Goodman and hired Heidi Parviainen (former keyboardist with Iconofear). Changing their name to Amberian Dawn, they cut and released a two-track demo single in 2006, and signed to the Finnish independent KHY Suomen Musiikki Oy. Their 2008 debut, River of Tuoni received airplay and charted, prompting the band to tour incessantly on their own and as an international opener for Epica. Seppälä wrote constantly during the tour; almost immediately upon completing it, Amberian Dawn headed back into the studio and began work on their sophomore outing, 2009′s The Clouds of Northland Thunder. Due to the popularity of the video for its first single “He Sleeps in a Grove,” the band won opening slots on high-profile tours, and their first invitation to play the main stage of Belgium’s Metal Female Voices Fest.
After inking a deal with Spinefarm Records, the group issued a third studio album, 2010′s heavier, darker End of Eden. While rumored to be a concept album about religions due to its song titles and some lyrics, the notion was disavowed by the band. drummer Joonas Pykälä-Aho and guitarist Emil Pohjalainen left after the tour, but returned for 2012′s Circus Black, their first album to utilize a full choir and the last to feature vocalist Parviainen. Seppälä wasted no time recruiting former pop star, singer and songwriter Päivi “Capri” Virkkunen, as lead singer and lyricist and gave her time to break in with 2013′s Re-Evolution a set of re-recordings to introduce her to its audience.
The band signed to Napalm Records for the following year’s Magic Forest, its first set of original material with Virkkunen up front. Both critical and popular reception went beyond any Amberian Dawn received to date. Seppälä, always keen to strike when the ear of the public was tuned to the band, continuously wrote songs as they toured and headlined festivals across Europe. Upon returning, Amberian Dawn wasted little time getting back to the studio with orchestral arranger and vocal producer Mikko P. Mustonen. They recorded Innuendo, which saw release during the fall of 2015. Its two singles, “Fame and Gloria,” and “The Court of Mirror Hall,” both charted in Northern Europe. The set also included a re-recording of “Sunrise”; its original version had been a showcase for Parviainen. October 2017 saw the release of the single “Maybe” in anticipation of the arrival of the group’s eighth full-length, Darkness of Eternity, which arrived later that November as the band’s most successful chart outing to date, moving into the Top Five at home and inside the Top 20 in several European countries and on streaming metal charts. Amberian Dawn toured the globe in support. After a rest, the band surprised fans with a cover single of ABBA’s “Lay Your Love on Me,” that attracted new listeners to the Amberian Dawn sound. Though the official video registered hundreds of thousands of views, fan videos of their performances on various stages in Europe garnered almost as many. In January, the band kicked off the new decade with the release of Looking for You in January. The set found Seppälä shifting his aesthetic to feature keyboards more prominently than guitars in hooky songs that showcased Amberian Dawn’s accessibility. While some were disappointed with the more polished production, most celebrated the change even as Amberian Dawn enjoyed the attention of thousands of new listeners. The set charted inside the Top Five at home. ~ James Christopher Monger