Sirenia is a Norwegian gothic metal band from Stavanger, founded in 2001 by Morten Veland.
The band uses melodic instrumentals, synthesizers, and distorted guitars with female vocals, male death vocals, clean male vocals, a choir, and violins. The lyrics are concerned with human existence, emotion, and mental states.
History
2001–2003: At Sixes and Sevens
In January 2001, Veland, a founding member of Tristania left the band, within a few weeks Veland had a new band along with three other members. He had written material for Tristania's next release but because of the split, he used it towards Sirenia's debut album At Sixes and Sevens with other new material written for it as well. The band entered the studio by November or December 2001. The band failed to find a suitable singer prior to recording in France, so they hired a session female singer named Fabienne Gondamin.
2004–2006: An Elixir for Existence
On the subsequent tour Fabienne Gondamin was replaced by Henriette Bordvik, with whom the band recorded the album An Elixir for Existence and the EP Sirenian Shores.
The band signed with Nuclear Blast in May 2005.
In November 2005, Henriette Bordvik left the band, citing personal reasons.
2006–2007: Nine Destinies and a Downfall
In 2007 they released a third album – Nine Destinies and a Downfall. The album features new singer, Monika Pedersen from Denmark, who joined the band in April 2006, and new guitarist Bjørnar Landa (from Artifact), who joined the band during the recording.
On 5 November 2007 Monika Pedersen quit the band over musical disagreements. Her departure caused Sirenia to pull out of a planned European tour with Therion.
2008–2009: The 13th Floor
Sirenia began looking for a new singer in November 2007. The process in finding their newest member took about six months. About 500 applied, at the end they wanted to find someone from the EU region for practical reasons. On 9 April 2008 Sirenia announced Spanish X Factor contestant Ailyn as their new female vocalist.
On 19 May 2008 it was announced that Bjørnar Landa left the band in order to have more time for his family and studies. He was replaced by Michael S. Krumins (Green Carnation).
On 12 June 2008 Sirenia announced that for the first time in their career, they had decided to work with a bass player for their live shows. The session bass player will be Kristian Olav Torp.
Sirenia started recording their fourth album in July 2008. It was recorded in Sound Suite Studios, France and Stargoth Studios, Norway. The mixing and mastering took place in Antfarm Studios, Denmark with Tue Madsen. The album, called The 13th Floor, was completed in September and the release date was 23 January 2009. The album features guest appearances by Jan Kenneth Barkved. The first single, "The Path to Decay", was released on 26 December 2008 as a digital download.
2010–2011: The Enigma of Life
On 8 July 2010, the band announced that they started recording a new album. It was finished in November, and will be titled The Enigma of Life. It was released on 21 January 2011.
The first single, "The End of It All", was released on 21 December 2010 as a digital download.
On 19 April 2011, Michael left Sirenia to put in more time on his own bands and projects. Jan Erik Soltvedt joined the band and filled in as the lead guitarist. Soltvedt accompanied Sirenia on their American and European tours in 2011, including the Gallus Sonorus Musicallis festival (GSM Fest) held in June 2011 in Barcelos, Portugal, and the Wacken Festival in Germany, held in August.
On 16 July 2011, and as one of their most important performances of that year, was held at the famous heavy metal festival Masters of Rock, which takes place annually in the city of Vizovice, Czech Republic. Previously, their first and only participation dates from 2008.
By the end of July and the beginning of August 2011, Sirenia made their second Latin American tour, which took them back to countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and for the first time to Peru and Chile in October.
2012–2013: Perils of the Deep Blue
On 16 October 2012 Sirenia announced that they have entered the studio to record their next album for an early 2013 release. The band on their sixth album, "The progress on the new album is going very well — we feel confident that the sixth Sirenia album will have some nice surprises up its sleeve, as we've been determined to make this record somewhat different from the previous two albums".