With Cold Flare Eternal, Before The Dawn continues the powerful resurgence that began with Stormbringers—but this new chapter dives deeper, hits harder, and soars higher. We caught up with bandleader Tuomas Saukkonen to explore how the creative fire evolved between albums, how emotional nuance blends with brutal power, and what role the Finnish landscape still plays in shaping the band’s DNA.
Photo by Teppo Ristola
“Cold Flare Eternal” follows the momentum of Stormbringers. How did your creative approach evolve between these two albums?
While Stormbringers was already an easy album to make the new album was completely on a different level. With Stormbringers we basically just got together after a decade of silence with a new member in the band and now we have 3 tours and bunch of festivals and an EP under our belt so we have become super well-functioning machine during these 2 years. That has really brought the strengths of each member a lot more noticeable and also makes the whole song writing process easier since there was less boundaries this time. I knew much better what we are able to do and what can be done musically.
The album blends soaring melodies with crushing heaviness. How do you balance emotional depth with brutality in your songwriting process?
With each song it is always about finding the balance between light and darkness. The balance varies a lot depending of the song so I don’t have a simple answer or a formula to give. ´It is all about creating contrasts that will underline and complement each other’s.
“Fatal Design” touches on the theme of inner conflict. How important are lyrical narratives in your music, and what inspired this particular track?
Lyrics always follow after music and I always write lyrics for an existing song that I have at least demo recorded so I can get the feel and mood of the song when writing lyrics. I never write anything before the music is written so lyrics don’t have any impact on the music. Lyrics are very important to me and with BTD I have more freedom with lyrics compared to Wolfheart where Nordic themes are in the main focus and I can out my own thoughts a lot more into the texts. Fatal Design is indeed about inner conflict of the inevitable end and our need to underline our existence with achievements and triumphs instead of just living our lives and enjoying the ride.
Tuomas, you’ve stated, ‘To create, one must destroy.’ How has this philosophy shaped your evolution across your various projects, especially in this new record?
I think that statement is from 2013 when I decided to bury all my current projects / bands at that time and started Wolfheart. Nowadays it is more li “to create on must create” ha-ha 🙂 specially since I have brought both Before The Dawn and Dawn of Solace from the grave. With new BTD album it was all about just creating and not thinking and analyzing too much.
Juho Räihä’s studio seems to have become a creative hub for the band. How does recording in a familiar environment influence the sound and feel of the album?
Sound wise it takes one big variable out from the equation because I know that the album will sound good and the sound engineer knows really well what kind of sound is needed. I have done more than 10 albums together with Juho and played hundreds of shows with him so being in a studio with a really good and close friend makes everything go smoother. There is no boundaries what can be said in the studio so feedback is very straight forward and honest and we know how to work in a way that it feels like stepping into your friends mancave to have a nice time instead of stepping into a studio and feeling the pressure of your performance. You feel better + you play better = your performance will sound better
With Cold Flare Eternal being described as a “journey into the depths of Nordic metal,” what role does Finland’s landscape and atmosphere play in your music’s identity?
Very big role. I spend a lot of time in the lakes and rivers fishing and that silence and tranquility is the contrast that I need to pick up the guitar and create some chaos and noise :).
If you could perform Cold Flare Eternal live in any unique location in Finland—like a frozen lake or ancient forest—where would it be and why?
Hmm….It would be a Castle of Olaf. It is one of the biggest castlet built in Finland and restored really well. It was built in 1400 it is near the area where I was born and lived my childhood. Truly an ideal place for a band’s like Korpiklaani or Ensiferum but would work really well for Before The Dawn also.
Which song from the album would best describe the band’s energy if it were a weather phenomenon—and what would that forecast sound like onstage?
Shock Wave since it is as thunderous and electrified as our energy at the moment. I am not sure if you asking me how the song would sound like onstage or what kind of a weather forecast it would create so I choose the forecast. “Attention people…. there is a stormfront closing and heavy circular winds will take place during the next 5 minutes while band is performing. For your own safety we ask to create a circle pit that goes clockwise to create a massive “human fan” and with that create a stream of air that will balance the force of the storm”
Cold Flare Eternal is not just an album. It’s a statement. It’s the sound of a band reborn, refined, and ready to ignite the storm. Find preorders HERE.
Categories: Before the Dawn, Interviews, Music
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