Sirenia (band)

2001–2003: At Sixes and Sevens

In January 2001, Veland, a founding member of Tristania left the band, within a few weeks Veland had a new band along with three other members.^[3] He had written material for Tristania's next release but because of the split, he used it towards Sirenia's debut album At Sixes and Sevens with other new material written for it as well. The band entered the studio by November or December 2001. The band failed to find a suitable singer prior to recording in France, so they hired a session female singer named Fabienne Gondamin.^[3]

2004–2006: An Elixir for Existence

Henriette Bordvik in Inferno Metal Festival in 2003

On the subsequent tour Fabienne Gondamin was replaced by Henriette Bordvik, with whom the band recorded the album An Elixir for Existence and the EP Sirenian Shores.

The band signed with Nuclear Blast in May 2005.^[4]

In November 2005, Henriette Bordvik left the band, citing personal reasons.

2006–2007: Nine Destinies and a Downfall

In 2007 they released a third album – Nine Destinies and a Downfall. The album features new singer, Monika Pedersen from Denmark, who joined the band in April 2006, and new guitarist Bjørnar Landa (from Artifact), who joined the band during the recording.

On 5 November 2007 Monika Pedersen quit the band over musical disagreements. Her departure caused Sirenia to pull out of a planned European tour with Therion.

2008–2009: The 13th Floor

Sirenia began looking for a new singer in November 2007.^[5] The process in finding their newest member took about six months. About 500 applied, at the end they wanted to find someone from the EU region for practical reasons.^[5] On 9 April 2008 Sirenia announced Spanish X Factor contestant Ailyn as their new female vocalist.^[6]

On 19 May 2008 it was announced that Bjørnar Landa left the band in order to have more time for his family and studies. He was replaced by Michael S. Krumins (Green Carnation).

On 12 June 2008 Sirenia announced that for the first time in their career, they had decided to work with a bass player for their live shows. The session bass player will be Kristian Olav Torp.

Sirenia started recording their fourth album in July 2008. It was recorded in Sound Suite Studios, France and Stargoth Studios, Norway. The mixing and mastering took place in Antfarm Studios, Denmark with Tue Madsen. The album, called The 13th Floor, was completed in September and the release date was 23 January 2009. The album features guest appearances by Jan Kenneth Barkved. The first single, "The Path to Decay", was released on 26 December 2008 as a digital download.

2010–2011: The Enigma of Life

Ailyn and Morten Veland in March 2010

On 8 July 2010, the band announced that they started recording a new album. It was finished in November, and will be titled The Enigma of Life. The release date is 21 January 2011.

The first single, "The End of It All", was released on 21 December 2010 as a digital download.

On 19 April 2011, Michael left Sirenia to put in more time on his own bands and projects. Jan Erik Soltvedt joined the band and filled in as the lead guitarist.

2012–2013: Perils of the Deep Blue

On 16 October 2012 Sirenia announced that they have entered the studio to record their next album for an early 2013 release. The band on their sixth album, "The progress on the new album is going very well — we feel confident that the sixth Sirenia album will have some nice surprises up its sleeve, as we‘ve been determined to make this record somewhat different from the previous two albums".^[7]

On 13 April 2013 the band announced the title of their album on their Facebook page: Perils of the Deep Blue.^[8]

2014–2016: The Seventh Life Path, Ailyn's departure

The band announced they had returned to Napalm Records on 3 April 2014 with a pending album release for early 2015.^[1] On 10 February 2015 Sirenia announced the title of their next record called The Seventh Life Path.^[8] On 12 March 2015 the band announced on their Facebook page that Nightwatcher Films has signed Sirenia for the use of their song "Ducere Me In Lucem" of Perils of the Deep Blue for its soundtrack. The song will come out in the opening title sequence of a film called Abandoned Dead penned for release January 2016.^[8][9]

On 5 July 2016 Sirenia announced that after 8 years they were parting ways in good terms with longtime vocalist Ailyn ^[10] but that the work with the upcoming album will proceed as normal.^[8] The same day, Ailyn Released a statement disputing the bands claim, saying that the decision was not hers and she wasn't a part of it.^[10]

2016–2018: Dim Days of Dolor, new singer, North American tours

Emmanuelle Zoldan performing live in Kherson, Ukraine in June 2016

On 29 August 2016 Sirenia revealed eighth full-length album Dim Days of Dolor before their official announcement of their new singer.

On 8 September 2016 Sirenia announced their new singer Emmanuelle Zoldan, a French mezzo-soprano singer from Aix-en-Provence who has worked with Sirenia for 13 years and is part of The Sirenian Choir.^[11] She has contributed to lead vocals before on the Sirenian Shores EP cover of "First We Take Manhattan" by Leonard Cohen.^[12]

Sirenia toured with Arkona and MindMaze in May 2017 for their debut in the United States and Canada.^[13]

In October 2017 before a European tour, French guitarist Nils Courbaron unexpectedly was invited to participate in the live performances replacing Jan Erik Soltvedt. In November, temporarily joined again Austrian drummer Roland Navratil, a Sirenia live member in 2004-2005 and 2009.

The band returned to North America to join various bands on the heavy metal cruise, 70000 Tons of Metal for two shows on February 2 and 3, 2018.^[14]

Sirenia toured North America for the second time with Canadian metal band Threat Signal in April 2018, with support from Valinor Excelsior, Graveshadow, Niviane and Dire Peril.^[15]

2018–present: Arcane Astral Aeons

On August 14, 2018, Sirenia had revealed the title of their ninth full-length album Arcane Astral Aeons, along with a European tour in the fall. The album is set to be released October 26 of the same year.^[16][17]

Albums

Extended plays

• Sirenian Shores (2004)

Singles and promo singles

• "My Mind's Eye" (2007)
• "The Path to Decay" (2009)
• "The End of It All" (2011)
• "Seven Widows Weep" (2013)
• "Once My Light" (2015)
• "The 12th Hour" (2016)
• "Dim Days of Dolor" (2016)
• "Love Like Cyanide" (2018)

Music videos

Current members

• Morten Veland – guitars, harsh vocals, other instruments on studio (2001–present)
• Emmanuelle Zoldan – female vocals (2016–present), choir on studio (2003–present)

Former members

• Kristian Gundersen – guitars and clean vocals (live only) (2001–2004)
• Henriette Bordvik – female vocals (2003–2005)
• Monika Pedersen – female vocals (2006–2007)
• Michael S. Krumins – guitars and harsh vocals (live only) (2008–2011)
• Ailyn – female vocals (2008–2016)

Live members

• Jonathan A. Perez – drums (2003–present)
• Jan Erik Soltvedt – guitars (2011–present)
• Nils Courbaron – guitars (2018-present)

Former live members

• Bjørnar Landa – guitars (2004–2008)
• Kristian Olav Torp – bass (2008)
• Roland Navratil – drums (2004–2005, 2009, 2017)

The Sirenian Choir

• Damien Surian – choir on studio (2001–present)
• Mathieu Landry – choir on studio (2003–present)
• Emilie Bernou – choir on studio (2012–present)

Former Sirenian Choir members

• Johanna Giraud – sirenian choir (2001–2004)
• Hubert Piazzola – sirenian choir (2001–2004)
• Emilie Lesbros – sirenian choir (2001–2010)
• Sandrine Gouttebel – sirenian choir (2003–2010)

Session members

• Fabienne Gondamin – vocals (2001–2002)
• Pete Johansen – violin (2001–2002)
• Anne Verdot – violin (2003–2004)
• Jan Kenneth Barkved – clean vocals (2001–2002, 2008; died 2009)
• Stephanie Valentin – violin (2008–2010)
• Joakim Næss – clean vocals (2012–2014)

Timeline