Riddles, Ruins & Revelations is the tenth studio album by Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia. It was released on 12 February 2021 via Napalm Records.[4][5][6] The first single "Addiction No. 1" was released on 8 December 2020, along with a music video.[6] The second single, "We Come to Ruins", was released on 12 January 2021.[7] On 10 February 2021, the band released their third single which is a cover of French singer Desireless, "Voyage, voyage".[8]
It was elected by Metal Hammer as the 24th best symphonic metal album.[9]
Background
Riddles, Ruins & Revelations was recorded and produced in its entirety at Morten Veland's personal studio (Audio Avenue Studios) in Tau, Norway in mid-2020. It is the first album of the band that does not feature additional recordings in Marseille with the mixed French symphonic choir (called the Sirenian Choir).
Sirenia's tenth album is a remarkable stylistic shift for the group, adding synth-pop to their usual symphonic metal musical style, opting for a more commercial bet which included the release of two music videos.
Certainly, the band moved away from the traditional gothic and symphonic sound that characterized them in the past, twenty years after their foundation. Veland said:
The album is very diverse, as a Sirenia album should be. There's a lot of material that shows the band from a new side, and there is lots of material that is to be expected from the band musically. All in all the album will take the listeners through a journey that will cover both familiar and unexplored musical landscapes.[...][6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Morten Veland, except where noted
^Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
