Cemetery Skyline, a new supergroup fronted by Dark Tranquility vocalist Mikael Stanne, have just premiered their first single: a torrentially inky track titled "Violent Storm."
The self-described "Nordic Gothic" quintet additionally features guitarist Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, I Am the Night), keyboardist Santeri Kallio (Amorphis), bassist Victor Brandt (Dimmu Borgir, Witchery) and drummer Vesa Ranta (Sentenced, the Abbey). You'll find all five musicians wandering their local gravesite in the black-and-white "Violent Storm" video, which is scored by a brooding, if darkly romantic arrangement led by Stanne's low-rolling vibrato.
"The song mood is highly inspired by the late nightly empty roads of Goth-emburg and their desperate stories of loneliness and getting lost to the unique beautiful misery and sorrow of Nordic gothic," Vanhala said in a statement, with Stanne adding that his lyrics home in on "the feeling of helplessness and how it can take over."
Cemetery Skyline began teasing the line-up over socials in February, slowly unveiling the roster post-by-post. There, it was revealed that the band have been making music since 2020, "from the idea to create ageless dark music with respect to our generation's biggest influencers." They added of the aesthetic: "You may call it gothic rock, dark rock or even heavy metal. We just call it Nordic Gothic."
It's unclear at present if "Violent Storm" is part of a full-length project from the quintet. Beyond the debut single, Cemetery Skyline will also play their first show at Laukaa, Finland's John Smith Rock Festival on July 18th.
