BESRA

Finland-based BESRA first made waves with their debut album, Anhedonia, in 2018. Both critics and audiences praised their hard-hitting and emotionally vulnerable approach to post-metal. Then they retreated to compose new material – a plan that turned out to be more challenging than they thought.

Having dealt with a plethora of personal crises, the isolation of the Covid years and the pain of shedding their skin musically, BESRA is finally back. Having distilled the pain into their strongest work yet, they’re ready to solidify their status as an inventive and original voice.

Before the release of their upcoming second album, the band has released a live film of their performance at the Rødhouse Studio in Turku, Finland. Having spent a lot of time there in the recent years, the space symbolizes both the struggles and the eventual triumph of a group unwavering in their vision.

Directed and shot by filmmaker Atte Heinonen, recorded & mixed by the band’s vocalist Hannes Hietarinta and mastered by none other than Magnus Lindberg from Cult Of Luna, Live At Rødhouse Studio sees BESRA at their genre-bending best. In addition to two new tracks and surprising saxophone parts played by the guest musician Oskari Ruohonen (Oskr, Yournalist), the band presents a jaw-dropping new arrangement of the hard-hitting fan-favourite “Dwell In Gloom.”

Somehow, it all works together – proving that innovative risk-taking is part of BESRA’s DNA.

At turns angry, eerie and surprisingly tender, Live At Rødhouse Studio is both a fitting endnote toa bygone chapter – and a most exciting teaser for the next one.

“As someone who works for the event industry, I’ve witnessed the anxiety of the Corona years up close. During a time when live performances were out of the question, we had to think of other ways to keep the fire burning and improve ourselves as artists. Focusing on the studio environment and how we sounded there felt like a logical shelter. As a result, we managed to create ourselves a new sound, over 60 minutes of recorded music – and this live piece recorded in the studio.” – Hannes Hietarinta, vocalist of BESRA