Perhaps the most prolific musician on the Finnish Heavy Metal scene is none other than Tuomas Saukkonen. A quadruple threat, Saukkonen acts as a producer, writer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist in almost everything he has been involved in. With that in mind, it is a long list of projects to list on Saukkonen’s resume, and this includes his most well-known, Before the Dawn, Wolfheart, The Final Harvest, Black Sun Aeon, and Dawn of Solace.
Offering something different, Saukkonen’s musical personality is on display in each act: Before The Dawn is more Melodic Death/ Gothic Metal; Black Sun Aeon is more Melodic Doom Metal; The Final Harvest is more Thrash Metal, and Dawn of Solace is a bit of a mixture of style. Looking at Dawn of Solace a bit closer, the idea initially spawned in 2005, with Saukkonen handling every aspect of the debut album, 2006’s The Darkness, all by himself. Feeling more like a Melodic Death and Doom Metal hybrid, this album was rather impressive, but unfortunately, the project seized to be in 2013, with Saukkonen concentrating fully on his new project at the time, Wolfheart.
However, Saukkonen clearly felt like he had unfinished business with Dawn of Solace and relaunched the project in 2019. Still, this time, he added a new dynamic with Mikko Heikkilä joining up. For those unfamiliar, Heikkilä possesses a unique singing voice that shined brightly with his band Sinamore over the course of two records: 2006’s A New Day and 2007’s Seven Sins a Second. Since that time, Heikkilä went on Kaunis Kuolematon, a Finnish language band that successfully unified Black, Doom, and Death Metal into an engaging sound worth checking out.
All of this was considered Heikkilä’s voice, which seemed like a perfect fit for what Dawn of Solace was attempting to create, and it successfully did so on 2020’s Waves before 2022’s Flames of Perdition. Proving the good partnership, now in 2025, Dawn of Solace returns with the new album Affliction Vortex.
The fourth overall and third with Heikkilä arrived on February 14, 2025, through Finland’s Noble Demon. A fitting return, the album consists of nine carefully crafted dark pieces of Metal that should please many. In short, the album is just as melancholy as Flames of Perdition or Waves, but in fact, with a bit of a colder, heavier edge. This time around, Saukkonen amps up the darkness with more pronounced keyboards for texture and more upfront harsh vocals to coincide with the somber tone of Heikkilä. A factor that may be of concern to some because it would be a shame to see Heikkilä’s voice be overshadowed; the fresh approach is more dynamic than overbearing.
You can feel this right from the onset with early releases like “Murder,” where the sorrow oozes out of each and every corner of the track, “Fortress,” or “Invitation.” These are three stellar examples of what Dawn of Solace has accomplished this go-around, but still, there is more. This includes the brief instrumental opening of “Inception,” which is a tense table setter into uncertainty, while beautifully melodic storms such as “Into The Light,” “Rival,” and “Dream” each stand out boldly.
Amidst everything, Saukkonen’s guitar riffs are simply magical and intertwine perfectly with Heikkilä’s vocal performance, which is full of multi-emotions. In truth, if you were a fan of Sinamore and were disappointed to see that project dissolved, Dawn of Solace is a great way for international Metal fans to acquit themselves with Heikkilä.
Overall, Affliction Vortex is a stunning Gothic Metal album with tons of Melodic Doom Death Metal that paint vividly ominous landscapes that seem forbidding but are still worth exploring. That is why Cryptic Rock highly recommends Dawn of Solace and particularly gives Affliction Vortex 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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