Rising Finnish metal act Rioghan unveil long-awaited “Frozen” EP

Finnish genre-bending act Rioghan, known for navigating the worlds of alternative metal, progressive rock and dark pop, have released their long-awaited Frozen EP today. Alongside the release, the band unveils a breathtaking music video for “Chapter V: Sky,” the EP’s grand finale. Watch and listen it HERE.

Released as individual chapters throughout the past winter, “Frozen” is ultimately designed as one continuous musical composition. The EP’s story is based on poetry written by vocalist Rioghan Darcy, forming a cohesive narrative arc that unfolds track by track.

The final track “Chapter V: Sky” serves as the climactic conclusion, taking the listener from cinematic atmospheres through crushing metal intensity towards cathartic closing sequence. Clocking in at nearly nine minutes, the track journeys from dark pop melodies into the deeper realms of heavy, groove-driven progressive metal.

“I had wanted to make a version of Madonna’s Frozen for a long time, and now it felt like it would be a perfect fit for Rioghan,” guitarist Teemu Liekkala explains. “At first, we planned to do another cover EP, as we’ve usually done between albums. However, while working on that first track, we got the idea: what if the rest of the EP would actually continue the story of Frozen? The vision was to write one long composition, but in a way that each song would still function well as an individual track. It was intriguing and fun project, which turned out really well.”

“The EP is also a single continuous story about very brief, yet meaningful moments,” singer Rioghan Darcy adds. “The frozen heart introduced in the first chapter reaches a moment where it dares to open up and slowly begins to warm. The ice starts to melt, and after shedding its first tears, the heart cautiously opens the door and invites love back in. The sky opens with the break of light, and unfurled wings catch the wind. Ultimately, it represents letting go of the themes explored on the ‘Kept’ album. It marks the end of one era and the beginning of another.”

Every track on “Frozen” is accompanied by a visually striking music video created in collaboration with Aarni Visuals. All videos can be viewed HERE.

Rioghan has released an extremely limited vinyl pressing of “Frozen”, restricted to just 25 copies. Pressed on oceanic blue marble vinyl, the release is divided into five separate five-copy editions, each featuring unique cover artwork. The exclusive package also includes a necklace, signed poster and a hand-written sheet of lyrics. Only few copies remaining, order yours HERE.

Frozen EP tracklist:
1. Frozen
2. Moment
3. Teardrop
4. 520
5. Sky

On the live front, Rioghan are in the midst of an active spring. The band performed last month at the legendary Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki
alongside grandson, and recently played two shows with I Am Your God. Tonight, Rioghan will celebrate the release of “Frozen” with a special EP release show at Bar Kotelo in Tampere, joined by Time Primer and Joviac for a full evening of progressive metal. The festival season will start at the first edition of Ankea Festival, alongside acts like Katatonia, Leprous, Textures, Green Carnation and Ihsahn.

Upcoming shows:

• April 10 – Bar Kotelo, Tampere (w/ Time Primer, Joviac)
• May 8 – Tiivistämö, Helsinki (w/ I Am Your God)
• June 6 – Ankea Festival, Tampere
• June 13 – Hard Rock Korppi, Laukaa

+ More TBA

Rioghan Line-up:
Rioghan Darcy – vocals
Teemu Liekkala – guitar
Tero Luukkonen – guitar
Antti Varjanne – bass
Aleks Toppari – keyboards
Valtteri Revonkorpi – drums