While bands like Insomnium, Swallow the Sun, Ghost Brigade, Shape of Despair, and Rapture were part of a dominant Doom-Death Metal movement in Finland in the earlier part of the new millennium, emerging from the darkness in 2013 to join them was Marianas Rest. Following in the tradition of Finland’s best, Marianas Rest’s sound is deeply entrenched in a dark atmosphere of melody and Heavy Metal, with dream-like movements and highly sorrowful emotion.
A style in which they integrate numerous elements, you could say Marianas Rest’s sound is a hybrid of Doom, Death, and Progressive Metal, all with rich Gothic elements. Managing to keep themselves fresh from album to album, starting with 2016’s Horror Vacui and continuing through to 2023’s Auer, if one phrase describes their Doom-driven music, it would be mood-setting. Dreadier yet colorful, they have consistently captured something special with each of their records, and now, in 2026, they look to continue doing just that with the new album, The Bereaved.
Set for release on January 16, 2026, through Noble Demon, The Bereaved is the band’s fifth studio album and comes just over 9 months ahead of Horror Vacui’s 10th anniversary. Hard to imagine it has been that long since Marianas Rest’s debut record; the core has remained together, with Jaakko Mäntymaa on vocals, Aapo Koivisto on keyboards, Nico Heininen on drums, while Nico Mänttäri and Harri Sunila have remained on guitars, joined by Nik Lindman (who came on in 2017). A stability that has no doubt enhanced the quality of the music, with each album a collaborative writing effort, The Bereaved is very similar, but with a new wrinkle.
Where former Marianas Rest albums follow themes of despair, isolation, and light and darkness, The Bereaved primarily focuses on loss. Something everyone experiences, the death of a loved one, could be the most agonizing experience you can go through. Filled with sorrow and anger, it leaves you with a mark on your soul that remains until your dying day. A trauma that could either leave you a shell of yourselves (riddled with guilt and what-ifs), bitter and detached (feeling cheated), or end up more enlightened (internalizing the loss to a more gracious version of ourselves), it is really up to each of us which path we take.
With The Bereaved, Marianas Rest weaves these thoughts into 10 songs, forming a cathartic concept album that explores the various stages of grief following a personal loss. Touching on the act of clinging to a feeling, having survivor’s guilt, and the fear of letting the memory of someone fade away, the lyrics are figuratively very heavy. With that in mind, Mäntymaa’s approach to the vocals is brilliant, with dynamic shifts from agonizing growls and sorrowful clean singing to articulate spoken words. Matching this, the music is equally haunting and intense, with the guitar’s tones reverberating here, there, and everywhere, while the keyboards add layers that reach a deeper-rooted emotion you cannot deny.
Overall, The Bereaved carries a lot of weight that some of us may not be able to handle. However, if you are willing to accept your sadness and exorcise it from inside, each song on The Bereaved offers release. With so much to dig into, you must listen for yourself to take all of it in, but be sure not to overlook “Divided,” “Again into the Night,” “Burden,” “The Colour of You,” and “Goodbye and Good Intentions.” Each gives you a good place to start. From here, ease into the rest of the record, take a deep breath, and, if you need to, there is no shame in crying. The essence of all our loss, Cryptic Rock gives Marianas Rest’s The Bereaved 5 out of 5 stars.
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