Wolfheart Unveil New Single, “Ashes,” Announce New Album
Finnish melodoom outfit Wolfheart have announced plans for a new album, and they’ve just unleashed its first single, “Ashes.”
According to press copy, the album’s lyrical and musical content is inspired by the Winter War waged between Russia and Finland between November 1939 and March 1940. Wolfheart mastermind and frontman Tuomas Saukkonen was inspired by the personal stories of local veterans, conveying the tales of what they experienced and survived from their perspectives. He offers:
“I was born in a small village right on the Russian border, about 15km to the border zone from our family farm,” says Tuomas. “There is a hill with a cannon pointing towards Russia where we used to play as kids and the famous WW2 sniper “White Death”, aka Simo Häyhä, was from the neighboring village… so you could say the history of the war is well remembered in that area. We had 32 tanks against their 3,000 and 114 planes against their 3,800… we had less than 350,000 soldiers against their one million, and yet, still we speak Finnish.”
He adds about the new single:
“’Ashes’ is the last song of the album and grand finale of the main theme which is Winter War. More precisely the end of the war. The first dawn when the guns and cannons went silent. I was listening to a lot of stories told by veterans of that day. Most heartbreaking and grand was a story of veteran who lost his best friend in the war and his body was never found until just recently in the Russian woods by a team who still tries to find remains of the fallen heroes left behind. He waited 80 years to know the fate of his friend.”
Watch the visualizer for “Ashes” below. Wolves of Karelia comes out April 10, 2020 via Napalm Records, pre-order here.
Catch the band on the Devastation on the Nation tour of North America this March and April along with Rotting Christ, Borknagar, Abigail Williams and Imperial Triumphant. Dates:
3/19: Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone [tickets]
3/20: Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom [tickets]
3/21: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre [tickets]
3/22: Seattle, WA @ El Corazon [tickets]
3/23: Boise, ID @ The Shredder (Rotting Christ, Borknagar, Wolfheart only) [tickets]
3/24: Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall [tickets]
3/25: Denver, CO @ The Roxy Theater [tickets]
3/26: Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room [tickets]
3/27: Minneapolis, MN @ Skyway Theatre [tickets]
3/28: Chicago, IL @ Reggies [tickets]
3/29: Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary [tickets]
3/31: Toronto, ON @ Mod Club [tickets]
4/01: Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Electriques [tickets]
4/02: Quebec City, QC @ Le D’Auteuil [tickets]
4/03: Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus Bar [tickets]
4/04: Manchester, NH @ Jewel [tickets]
4/05: Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar [tickets]
4/06: Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall [tickets]
4/07: Lexington, KY @ Cosmic Charlies [tickets]
4/08: Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle [tickets]
4/09: Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco [tickets]
4/10: Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum [tickets]
4/11: Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Hell) [tickets]
4/13: Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [tickets]
4/14: Fort Worth, TX @ Rail Club Live [tickets]
4/15: Austin, TX @ Come and Take It Live [tickets]
4/16: El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse Bar [tickets]
4/17: Mesa, AZ @ Club Red [tickets]
4/18: San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick [tickets]
4/19: Los Angeles, CA @ 1720 [tickets]
