Deathsomnia release their debut album, You Will Never Find Peace, on September 3rd, 2021 via Isolation Records. Vocalist Kadri Sammel invites the listeners into the album's dark depths through a detailed track by track breakdown.
Deo Non Fortuna
The opener of the album was actually the last one I finished writing in terms of vocal melody and lyrics. Inspired by how the sounds in the intro are reminiscent of waves hitting the shore; the lyrics and theme were based on Dion Fortune’s novel The Sea Priestess; ritual magic, transformation and ecstasy. The Sea Priestess awakens her male partner to his full potential and releases his repressed imaginative and artistic talents; and then passes on herself. The notion of uncommitted spiritual experience is important here. During the more minimal instrumentation of the verses I also got to experiment with a deeper, darker stretched out vocal tone, which I haven’t used very often.
Akinesia
This one is about sleep paralysis - something all of us in the band have experienced. I suffered from frequent nightmares in my childhood and sleep paralysis from adolescence, but throughout the years I’ve learned to lucid dream and to control my dreams to an extent. Giving your fears a shape, a personification can make it easier to fight them. The guitars and roughness of the song easily make it one of my favorites from the album.
Void Oblivion
Breaking a pattern, overcoming inertia and turning away is so fucking hard. And sometimes when it seems that you’ve finally managed to do it, at the last minute something shifts and you’re surging back into the void, back in oblivion.
Gabriel Franco from Unto Others has joined for this one with his impressive voice.
Dysphoria
Dysphoria is one of the more melancholic songs on the album. A longing for an exit from the flesh vehicle. To leave the body when the mental discomfort manifests and becomes physical.
Katabasis
Katabasis is a journey to the underworld. Where danger is, there is salvation. Of course, the path is full of doubt, temptation and regret. In Christianity the descent is first - then comes ascent; but in alchemy the ascent is first, followed by the descent. So perhaps we have descended to hell, believing we’re on earth.
An excerpt from the Edda:
A hall did I see
Far from the sun,
On the shore of death,
The door to the north.
Dripping poison
Drops from the roof;
The chamber walls
Are bodies of worms
Open My Eyes
This song touches similar themes as Dysphoria, except it has a more playful attitude, but also a sardonic touch. The lyrics were inspired by an indie game called Disco Elysium that was developed by fellow Estonians and was initially called No Truce With The Furies. I was playing the game at the time of writing the song and its atmosphere lingered with me for a while.
Self Sabotage
Self Sabotage is about the frightening potential of the human mind and creation. Beauty and awe. It's a state where all seems to be lost and you are at least an accomplice, if not the architect of it all. The lyrical themes draw from picturesque memories as well as nuclear testing in the '50s. A sight to behold.
One Being /// One Flesh
David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and his other works have been a major influence throughout the years. Videodrome’s themes about the constant need of new stimuli and the distortion of reality and perception are still so relevant. Another recurring theme from the album reappears - leaving the body. I love how open the concept of the new flesh is - is it good or bad? Does it even exist?
Wastelands
This one is just a hazy dream, roaming around a post-apocalyptic landscape, where the future is like a distant memory. Ben described the song as a simple surf/synth punk song like Siouxsie & the Banshees' Hybrid or Primal Scream's Autobahn 66 or even the B-52's Roam.
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