Melodic death/doom metal band, Coldbound, have released their new single and music video, "Slumber Of Decay". Mastermind / multi-instrumentalist Pauli Souka, vocalist Liv Kristine (ex-Leaves' Eyes, ex-Theatre of Tragedy) and former Ensiferum keyboardist Meiju Enho spoke with BraveWords writer Carl Begai about the new single and plans for their forthcoming album. Following is an excerpt from the interview. 

BraveWords: Coldbound was launched as a project solely under your control. What do Liv and Meiju bring to the creative process that you couldn’t achieve on his own?

Pauli Souka: “That’s a very interesting question. For this album recordings I’ve had the privilege and honour to work with almost 43 people; 43 wonderful musicians and fantastic personalities. Some of these people had a huge impact on the way I see music. Two of them were definitely Liv Kristine and Meiju. The main reason I brought them into this is that I knew I could trust the project in their hands 100%. The results I received left me speechless, as the sounds they created were unique and definitely beyond any expectations I had. To be able to co-exist in the same project with these two fantastic ladies is a huge honour. They’re both unique and exceptional in their fields.”

BraveWords: I know that in Liv’s case, the whole Leaves’ Eyes fiasco from 2016 made the music business unappealing to her for a while. And I know that Meiju left Ensiferum to focus on other things. So, what convinced them that Coldbound was worth returning for?

Meiju Enho: “I really liked the megalomanic touch of the project a lot, combined with a progressive approach to make music. But what really caught my heart was the ambition to create a genuine and authentic flow of music together, as a tribe and a family without the traps of the ego.”

Liv Kristine: “The feeling of being at home with both musical compositions and my band members. This raises creativity immensely. Moreover, there is this fine, compassionate connection and communication between Meiju, Pauli and me. It’s a very healing process for me.”

Read the complete interview here.

Coldbound recently issued the following update:

"Upon discovering new ways to express our visions, finally we discovered this genuine portal of innocence, freedom but also of hardships. We have completed a very tough musical work for this release by capturing the moment and expanding our vision. A vision that resonates within our music in a mysterious way. A way that is capable of putting our audience into a unique trance of thinking through all kind of situations; whether these emotions are connected to a mysterious approach, freedom, fantasy or of inner struggles. This is 'Slumber Of Decay'."

Tracklisting:

"Slumber Of Decay" (album version)
"Slumber Of Decay" (radio edit)
"Slumber Of Decay" (Analogue Knobs & Orchestra Reprise)

Personnel:

The Band:
Liv Kristine - Vocals
Pauli Souka - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Orchestration, Keyboards, Drums
Meiju Enho - Keyboards, Orchestrations

Session musicians:
Markus Riihimäki - Kantele
Lotta Sofia Kyrönaho - Woodwinds
Pasi Sipilä - Lead Guitar

Main Crew:
Pauli Souka - Production, Recording, Mixing at 'Stairway To Sound'; Hudiksvall, Sweden
Antti Välimäki - Recording at 'Studio Sampolaaris'; Tampere, Finland
Øystein G. Brun - Stem Mastering at 'Crosound Studio'; Bergen, Norway.

Artwork/Photography:
Balsara Inc - Xeniya Balsara Photography