Emerald Forest and the Blackbird

Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is the fifth studio album by Finnish melodic doom metal band Swallow the Sun.[2] The album was released February 1, 2012, by Spinefarm Records. It was also released on limited LP on both green and white vinyl by Svart Records.[3][4]

Emerald Forest and the Blackbird
Studio album by Swallow the Sun
Released	February 1, 2012
Recorded	September - October 2011
Genre	Death-doom, melodic death metal, progressive metal, gothic metal
Length	67:03
Label	Spinefarm, Svart Records
Producer	Mikko Karmila, Hannu Honkonen
Swallow the Sun chronology
New Moon (2009) Emerald Forest and the Blackbird (2012) Songs from the North I, II & III (2015)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Horror Series concludes from this album, also being on The Morning Never Came, Hope & New Moon.

On January 3, 2012, a music video for the track "Cathedral Walls" was released by the band.[5] The song features guest vocals by former Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon. The band made the entire album available for streaming on the Finnish metal magazine Inferno's website, from January 25 until its release a week later on February 1.[6]

This is the last release with Kai Hahto, as he would quit to work with Nightwish two years later.

Track listing

All music is composed by Juha Raivio.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Emerald Forest and the Blackbird"	Raivio	9:58
2.	"This Cut is the Deepest"	Mikko Kotamäki	5:21
3.	"Hate, Lead the Way!"	Kotamäki	6:14
4.	"Cathedral Walls"	Raivio	6:54
5.	"Hearts Wide Shut"	Raivio	5:56
6.	"Silent Towers"	Raivio	4:01
7.	"Labyrinth of London (Horror pt. IV)"	Raivio	8:29
8.	"Of Death and Corruption"	Kotamäki	5:00
9.	"April 14th"	Raivio	8:29
10.	"Night Will Forgive Us"	Raivio	6:41
Total length:			67:03

Personnel

• Mikko Kotamäki - vocals
• Markus Jämsen - guitar
• Juha Raivio - guitar
• Aleksi Munter - keyboards
• Matti Honkonen - bass guitar
• Kai Hahto - drums

Guests

• Aleah Stanbridge – vocals on tracks 1 and 7
• Anette Olzon – vocals on track 4

References

1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Emerald Forest and the Blackbird - Swallow the Sun". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
2. "Swallow the Sun - Discography" Archived 2013-04-30 at the Wayback Machine. swallowthesun.net. Retrieved on January 22, 2012.
3. "Swallow the Sun: Emerald Forest and the Blackbird 2LP (green) - Svart Records" Archived 2012-09-12 at Archive.today. Svart Records. December 24, 2011. Retrieved on January 22, 2012.
4. "Swallow the Sun: Emerald Forest and the Blackbird 2LP (white) - Svart Records" Archived 2012-09-11 at Archive.today. Svart Records. December 24, 2011. Retrieved on January 22, 2012.
5. "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - SWALLOW THE SUN: 'Cathedral Walls' Video Released" Archived 2012-01-08 at the Wayback Machine. Blabbermouth. January 5, 2012. Retrieved on January 22, 2012.
6. (in Finnish) "Inferno tarjoaa: kuuntele uusi Swallow the Sun -levy!". Inferno. January 25, 2012. Retrieved on January 25, 2012.