Sunniva unveils haunting new single “Valovaltimo” ahead of debut album

Finnish post-metal band Sunniva has returned with a new single “Valovaltimo”, a moody seven-and-a-half-minute track that fuses Finnish and Swedish vocals. The single is from their upcoming debut album “Hypostasis”, set for release on September 19th via Svart Records. The Swedish lyrics come courtesy of Lotta from Svarta Havet, adding a distinctive texture that reflects hometown cultural blend.

“Valovaltimo” serves as a heavy meditation on death—its inevitability and the fear of what lies beyond. Inspired by a dream in which animals accepted death calmly while humans resisted, the song becomes a metaphor for embracing the end instead of fearing it. Musically, it builds from layered, towering riffs into a moment of stark, unexpected calm.

The single follows “Mercurial Bloodstreams”, a harrowing first glimpse into “Hypostasis” that challenges the illusions of progress and freedom in the modern age. “Hypostasis” was recorded in Turku, mixed in Tampere, and mastered by Brad Boatright (Pig Destroyer, Red Fang, Kylesa) in Portland, Oregon, with the band promising an album steeped in visceral drama, philosophical weight, and cinematic scope.

Formed in 2016 in Turku out of a shared hunger for the raw sonic power of heavy music, Sunniva takes their name from the Old English Sunngifu, meaning “gift of the sun”—a nod to the interplay of darkness and light in their sound. Blurring the lines between death doom, sludge, and post-metal, they summon the seismic intensity of acts like Amenra, Neurosis, and Dark Buddha Rising. Their past releases—”The Holy Mountain” (2017), self-titled EP (2020), and the sprawling single “This Reality Only Speaks In Blood” (2018)—have cemented their reputation for crafting immersive, soul-crushing soundscapes.

1. Mercurial Bloodstreams
2. Peine Forte Et Dure
3. Valovaltimo
4. Opening The Key
5. Sun Funeral
6. Hung From The Sky