Dancing With Loss: Marianas Rest on The Bereaved

Dancing With Loss: Marianas Rest on The Bereaved

Finland has long been a breeding ground for emotionally charged, atmospheric metal, and Marianas Rest continue to carve out their own space within that legacy. Emerging from the coastal city of Kotka, the band has spent the last decade refining a sound that blends crushing heaviness with stark vulnerability. Their new album, The Bereaved, released through Noble Demon Records, is their most personal and thematically focused work to date—an exploration of loss, memory, and the many shades of letting go.

I sat down with vocalist and lyricist Jaakko Mäntymaa to talk about the band’s evolution, the unexpected inspirations behind their songs, the realities of releasing music during a pandemic, and what the future holds as they bring The Bereaved to the stage. What followed was a candid, thoughtful conversation that reveals just how deeply Marianas Rest pour themselves into their craft.

Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in the band.
I’m Jaakko, and I handle vocals in Marianas Rest. I mainly write the lyrics, and in general our band works in a way where everyone has their own role in the composing process. So that’s my part in the whole thing.

Where are you guys based out of, and what is the metal scene like there?
We’re based in Kotka, a few hundred kilometers from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It’s actually just as close to St. Petersburg as it is to Helsinki, so we’re right near the eastern—Russian—border.

Our city has been one of the best places to be, metal-wise, especially through the 2000s and onward. We’ve had a lot of great musicians and bands come from here, and the scene back in the early 2000s was a really good environment to grow up in. There were world‑class bands playing in local pubs and small venues, and you could learn a lot just by being around it. Many of those bands are still active—like Omnium Gatherum and all of Markus Vanhala’s projects. It was a great place to soak in influences.

Your band has a new home at Noble Demon Records. How did that come about? You were on Napalm and Sliptrick before—how did Noble Demon enter the picture?
After our deal with Napalm ended, we already had the new album, The Bereaved, recorded. So we started shopping it around to different labels. Noble Demon—and Patrick in particular—showed interest right away. That’s always a good sign, when the enthusiasm is immediate and genuine.

We connected quickly, and in the end it was an easy decision to go with their offer. We haven’t regretted it at all. They’re the right‑sized label for us, and they really love this kind of music. They have a lot of bands from the same scene, so everyone benefits from being part of that roster. And they’re always reachable, which is important. Everything has gone really well with them.

Let’s talk about The Bereaved, your fantastic new album. Is there an overall story or concept behind the title?
Yeah, kind of. With our album, Fata Morgana, we went as far as we could with that theatrical, soundtrack‑like concept. So we felt there was no point trying to repeat it. We needed to do something a bit different this time.

On Fata Morgana, I think there was maybe one chorus on the whole album. So we thought maybe we should write something more traditional—song‑wise—a more traditional metal album. That was the starting point musically: songs with more choruses, more catchiness, more tracks that could stand on their own instead of relying on the full album context.

Then we started talking about what these songs would actually say—what the story was. Around that time, we had a lot of misfortune around us. People close to us passed away, and because we spend so much time together, we talked about it a lot. Eventually we thought: if we’re talking about death this much, why not make a concept album about it?

So The Bereaved became an album about all the different perspectives on dying and letting someone go. It’s not all grief—sometimes there’s relief, sometimes you remember someone with a smile. We tried to capture all those angles in different songs. I’m not sure I explained it perfectly, but that was the idea.

Let’s talk about a few of the songs and explore the theme further. I picked four of them. First, the opening track: “Thank You for the Dance.” Tell me about the inspiration behind it.
That’s my favorite song on the album. It’s kind of like a Finnish funeral mass—people carrying the coffin, that whole atmosphere.

The inspiration actually came from a Snoopy comic. There was an autumn leaf falling from a tree, and Snoopy watched it drift down and started dancing. The leaf looked like it was dancing in the wind, and Snoopy said, “Thank you for the dance.”

When Nico, our guitarist, showed us that comic strip, something clicked. It was melancholic but also had a positive tone. That became the core of the song—the last trip you take with someone who has passed away, carrying the coffin, remembering the dance you shared together.

It’s interesting where you can find inspiration from, that’s for sure. A comic strip—that’s cool.
Yeah, it’s strange. People ask me a lot where inspiration comes from, and honestly, it can be anywhere. Sometimes you don’t even remember where an idea started. But this one I remember exactly. It was at Nummirock, a really traditional Finnish metal festival. We were preparing for our own gig and talking about the album, and that’s when Nico showed me the comic strip.

Let’s talk about “Again into the Night,” the latest single and video. What was the inspiration behind that one?
That was actually the first song we wrote for this album. It’s been finished for almost two years now. The original plan was to release an EP between albums, and this song was supposed to be on that EP. When the EP didn’t happen, we still really liked the track, so we reworked it a bit so it would fit the theme and context of The Bereaved.

Story‑wise, it’s about frustration—when you see someone close to you struggling, and no matter how much you try to help, things always end up the same way. Not all the “letting go” on the album is about death; sometimes it’s about relationships drifting apart. You start on the same path, but somewhere along the way your paths separate, and you can’t fix it.

If I had to sum it up in one word, it’s frustration. But musically, it also shows how the band has evolved. It has something new and something old in it, and I think it represents where we are today really well.

Let’s go to the final track, “The Color of You.” What inspired that one?
It’s a love song, I’d say. A couple of years ago, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to write something like that, but now we’re like, “Fuck it, let’s do what feels right.” And it felt like the right time to write a song like this.

It’s about two people holding each other’s heads above water, and then when one of them is gone, you’re left helpless, trying to figure out how to keep going on your own. That’s the theme behind it.

You guys are currently doing some live shows around Finland. How have they been going, and what have been some highlights so far?
We’ve been playing shows with Kaunis Kuolematon, who are also on Noble Demon. They released their album a month or two before us, and they’re from the town right next to us—Hamina—so we’ve known them for a long time. We always have a great time playing gigs together.

The shows have been super fun, and the reception has been better than we expected. The new album has some different influences—nothing drastic, but enough that you wonder how people will react. There’s always a bit of anxiety about that. But everyone has been really supportive and seems to love the new material.

It’s also just great to finally play these songs live. When you start playing them live, they get a new life. The songs always change a bit on stage, and it’s really cool to finally give them that new life after such a long wait.

Has Marianas Rest ever played here in the States, or is that something you’d like to do in support of the new album?
Yeah, we’ve never played there. It’s really expensive, and a band of our size has pretty limited possibilities when it comes to that kind of touring. But of course, it’s the traditional rock‑and‑roll dream to tour the U.S. That’s definitely on the “things to do before you die” list. Hopefully someday. I don’t think it will happen on this album cycle—though who knows—but hopefully at some point.

You never know. In December—Omnium Gatherum were out here, and your keyboardist Aapo Koivisto is also a member of Omnium Gatherum. How did he become involved with Marianas Rest?
Well, like you asked earlier about the scene—we all know each other really well from different band projects over the years. We’ve known Aapo for a long time. When we made our first demo, we realized somewhere during the studio sessions that the tracks would probably benefit from some keyboards. The easiest solution was to call Aapo and ask if he had time. He’s a professional, so it didn’t take him long at all.

Pretty soon after that we asked, “How would you feel about joining?” because it worked out really well. We were already playing together in another band at the time, so it was kind of a no‑brainer. He joined, and here we are.

You should ask Omnium Gatherum to bring you to the States—that would be a great bill. Now, this year marks the 10‑year anniversary of your first album. When you look back on Horror Vacui, what do you think of it now, and how does it feel that it’s been 10 years?
I’m proud of it and not satisfied with it at the same time. I’m really happy it turned out the way it did, because back then the band didn’t really know what it was doing. We went into the studio with minimal plans—just a “let’s see how this works out” attitude.

But when you listen to it now, it doesn’t sound like we didn’t have a plan. It actually sounds like we did. I think we figured out a lot of things while making the album in the studio. I’m glad it went that way, because if it hadn’t—if the album had turned out to be total crap—I think the band might have stopped existing right after that.

But it went well, people liked it, and that gave us the strength to say, “Okay, let’s see how we can make a second album and how far we can take this.” So I’m proud of it, but of course I hear a lot of things I would do very differently if we made it now. That’s just how it is with debut albums. Those small imperfections are often what make the album what it is. A lot of our listeners really love it, and I’m happy they do.

Fata Morgana was released in 2021 in the midst of a pandemic. What was it like to record and release an album during that historic time?
It was weird. Getting the whole Napalm deal was something we never even dared to dream about—it came completely out of the blue. We were all so happy and excited, and we put a lot of effort into making the album. But at the same time, we knew that when the album came out, we probably wouldn’t be able to tour or play it live, at least not right away. So it was a strange situation.

The album’s theme—solitude—ended up being a strange coincidence, because the lyrics were written well before the pandemic. In a way, the album became reality.

We also had to learn a lot of new things and become more professional once we started working with Napalm. There were so many new experiences that sometimes you almost forgot there was a pandemic happening. And living in Finland—at least in the areas where most of us are—it didn’t affect daily life as heavily as it did in bigger cities around the world. We had a short lockdown, but after that things were more normal compared to many other places. We had masks and restrictions, but not the long, total lockdowns some countries went through.

Still, it was weird. And it feels strange that it happened so long ago. It was such a defining moment—something so unusual that it probably won’t happen again in our lifetime. But at the same time, it feels like it happened yesterday.

I know exactly what you mean. It feels like it was long ago, but it was just a few years ago—and yet it feels like a lifetime ago.
Time before COVID and time after COVID.

Exactly. Let’s get away from pandemic days and onto where we are now. You just released a new album. What do you hope 2026 brings for you and for the band?
Hopefully a lot of great live shows—and I know they’re coming. We’re already about halfway through the shows in Finland, and then we get to tour Europe for a couple of weeks. After that, it’s the summer festival season and so on. So we have a lot of good gigs ahead.

Of course, we hope to expand our listener base, to find new people to share the road with us—new faces to meet, new people to have fun evenings with after the shows. Making new music, rehearsing, hanging out with the band—that’s all great. But the best part is the live shows and everything around them. Hanging out together afterward, having a good time—that’s what I’m hoping for.

And yeah, you mentioned the States. It would be really cool if something like that happened by the end of the year—or anywhere else in the world. Wherever we get to go, I’m happy.

And last question before we do a radio ID. Do you have any messages for Marianas Rest fans here in the States who are reading this now?
Of course—we hope to get there. We know you’re out there, and we haven’t forgotten you. These are strange times, with all the political tension and everything happening in the world. There’s this electricity in the air, all kinds of weird things going on. Hopefully things settle down so people can focus more on everyday life and just… living, instead of all the chaos.

So strength to everyone—energy to deal with it. It’s not going to last forever.

And yeah, this got more political than I intended. We always try to avoid that—it’s not what this band is about—but it’s hard to avoid these days because everything affects the whole world.

But yeah, we hope to get there someday, to play and hang out. And maybe with Omnium Gatherum—I wouldn’t complain about that.

In Conclusion

As The Bereaved makes its way into the world, Marianas Rest stand at a compelling point in their journey—ten years in, yet still evolving, still pushing deeper into the emotional landscapes that define their sound. Speaking with Jaakko Mäntymaa, it’s clear that the band’s strength lies not only in their musicianship, but in their willingness to confront the difficult, human truths that shape their art.

Whether they’re drawing inspiration from a Snoopy comic, navigating the uncertainties of a pandemic, or dreaming of one day bringing their music to American stages, Marianas Rest remain grounded, sincere, and fiercely committed to what they do.

With a powerful new album, a growing global audience, and a busy year of touring ahead, the band’s next chapter feels wide open. And for fans—both longtime followers and those discovering them through The Bereaved—there’s a sense that Marianas Rest are only just beginning to tap into the depths of what they can create.

Wherever the road leads, one thing is certain: the weight, beauty, and honesty of their music will continue to resonate far beyond the shores of Kotka.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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