A metal band from Helsinki, Finland is capturing the attention of listeners around the world. ASHEN SKY is truly making a mark on the industry internationally and within their home area. ASHEN SKY has shared stages with international acts such as Dead by April, Self Deception and Oceans Ate Alaska, and performed at events like Helsinki Techfest as well as official aftershows of Hellsinki Metal Festival and Tuska. The band recently released their brand new album The Broken Era in May
ASHEN SKY is cutting into the industry with the sharpest blade showcasing that they deserve to be seen. And releasing singles filled with chaos, melodic tones, and lyricism that causes an emotional collapse with equal distribution of brutality and vulnerability.
ASHEN SKY
Olli Laaka – Vocals
Janne Suominen – Guitar / vocals
Jere Kontiainen – Lead guitar
Ville Vesala – Bass
Vade Estola – Drums
Interviewer: For new fans that just discovered the band; How would you describe your sound without referencing genre labels?
ASHEN SKY: “I’d describe our sound as a collision between melody and aggression. We love creating moments where huge, emotional choruses meet crushing riffs and intense, high-energy passages. There’s a strong sense of contrast in our music in between light and dark, hope and frustration and vulnerability and strength. Even at our heaviest, we always want the songs to carry an emotional weight. It’s not just about being loud or aggressive; it’s about creating an atmosphere that feels both powerful and melancholic. Whether someone connects with the melodies, the lyrics, or the intensity of the music itself, we want them to feel something real when they listen.”
Interviewer: What’s the earliest sound, memory, or moment that feels like the “starting point” of this band?
ASHEN SKY: “I don’t think the starting point was a particular riff, rehearsal, or show. For me, it was one of those moments when all of us were in the same room just talking about music, life, and the things that inspire us. We were sharing ideas, opinions, and experiences, and there was this feeling that everyone was contributing something unique while still pulling in the same direction. What stands out in my memory is how naturally everything clicked. Nobody was trying to force an identity or follow a formula. We were simply being ourselves, and somehow those different personalities and perspectives complemented each other.
There was a genuine excitement in the room, a feeling that we could create something bigger together than any of us could on our own. By the end of that conversation, there was this unspoken confidence between us. We looked at each other and thought, “Why not? Let’s give this everything we’ve got.” In a way, that was the real beginning of ASHEN SKY. Not the first song or the first show, but the moment we realised we believed in the same vision and were ready to chase it together.”
Interviewer: “The Broken Era” is the band’s newest album; what inspired the title of the album? The title The Broken Era came from an idea that felt relevant on both a personal and a broader level. We live in a time where a lot of people feel uncertain about the future. There’s a sense that old structures, beliefs, and certainties are fading, but whatever comes nexthasn’t fully taken shape yet. In many ways, it feels like we’re all living through a broken era.
For us, that idea also reflected where the band was at the time. We were entering a new chapter, redefining who we are and where we wanted to go creatively. There was a feeling of standing between the end of one phase and the beginning of another. But the title isn’t meant to be purely negative. To me, The Broken Era is a place of transition. It’s that moment when things seem uncertain, when you feel stuck or lost, but it’s also the point where growth becomes possible. It’s a reminder that no one is going to pull you out except yourself. You have to confront what’s in front of you, make peace with it, and keep moving forward. That idea runs through the entire album. It’s about recognizing the brokenness around you and within yourself, while still believing that something stronger can emerge from it.”
Interviewer: “Rise Above All”; What does this track represent in the larger arc of the album?
ASHEN SKY: ““Rise Above All” represents a turning point within the album. A lot of The Broken Era explores struggle, uncertainty, and the things that can keep us trapped mentally and emotionally. This song is the moment where you stop letting those things define you. The image I always come back to is taking the snake by the head and screaming at it. Whatever that snake represents in your life: fear, doubt, anger, manipulation or the things that constantly pull you down this is the moment where you finally confront it face to face. You stop running from it and take back control. From there, the song becomes a story of transformation. It’s about rising from the torment of who you were and stepping into something stronger. Not because everything suddenly becomes easy, but because you’ve made the decision to move forward despite everything that stands in your way.
In the larger arc of the album, I see “Rise Above All” as a gateway. It’s the point where the weight of the past starts to lose its power and a new path begins to reveal itself. The sanctuary isn’t necessarily a place but a state of mind. It’s finding peace with yourself after surviving the chaos.”
Interviewer: Looking back at where you were when you began writing this album versus where you are now, how has your understanding of these songs evolved?
ASHEN SKY: “We wrote the songs one by one, and the full meaning and storyline of the album only really came together when we were close to finishing everything. At the beginning, we had some loose ideas about what we wanted to represent as a band which were this sense of longing, loss, concept of nothing being forever, and the feeling of giving up or being stuck in between phases. But it wasn’t something we forced into a strict concept from the start.
It was more that the identity of the album revealed itself as we went. Each song added another layer to the bigger picture, and only in the final stages did we fully understand what we had actually created as a whole. Now, with the release coming up, we’re in a place where we can be really proud of it. We understand these songs in the way we always intended to, but it’s been especially interesting to see how listeners connect with them in their own ways. People find different meanings, different emotions, and different personal stories in the music, and that’s something we really value.
In the end, the songs don’t belong only to us anymore. They belong to whoever listens to them.”
Interviewer: What truth were you trying to confront through this record that you may not have been ready to address before?
ASHEN SKY: “I’ve always tried to be as truthful as possible in how I approach music. For me, it has never been about building something overly conceptual or trying to force a specific narrative from the start. It’s more about surrendering to the moment and expressing what I genuinely feel whether that’s about life, relationships, hardship, or the things you go through internally as a person. When we were writing The Broken Era, that approach was still the same. We didn’t sit down with a fully defined storyline in mind. We wrote from emotion first, and everything else started to take shape later. The understanding of the songs didn’t really exist in advance. It came afterwards, when we stepped back and looked at what we had created as a whole.
Even now, my relationship with these songs is still tied to that same honesty. I don’t feel like the meaning is something fixed or final. It shifts depending on where you are in life. That’s what makes it interesting to me. At its core, though, it’s always been about being truthful in the moment. There’s nothing
beyond that initial intent, just real emotions, translated into music.”
Interviewer: Many records become snapshots of a particular chapter in life. What chapter does this album document for you?
ASHEN SKY: “I think our understanding of these songs is still evolving. When you’re this close to the release, everything is still very connected to the emotions and the moment they were written in. You don’t fully step outside of it yet. Right now, we still relate to the songs in a very direct and honest way. They come from real experiences and real feelings, and that connection hasn’t changed. But I also believe that with time, the perspective will naturally shift.
In the future, I hope we’ll be able to look at this record not only as a reflection of struggle or uncertainty, but also as the starting point of something meaningful. A beginning of a new chapter which for us is the band and the ideas we are trying to build. There’s something interesting about how meaning changes over time. What feels like an ending in the moment can later be understood as the foundation of something new. I think The Broken Era might become that kind of record for us.”
Interviewer: What do you hope listeners discover about themselves while listening to this album?
ASHEN SKY: “For us, it comes down to emotions and perspective.
If there’s anything we hope listeners take from this album, it’s that connection. Everyone goes through different things in life, but emotions are something universal. Whether it’s loss, anger, confusion, or moments of clarity, those feelings are what connect us as people. At the same time, perspective is just as important. The same song can mean something completely different depending on where you are in your life when you hear it. That’s
something we’ve become very aware of during the process of making this record. We don’t want to dictate what people should feel or take away from the music. If anything, we hope it gives people space to reflect on their own experiences and maybe see things from a slightly different angle. If a song helps someone understand themselves a little better, or gives them a moment of clarity, that’s enough for us.
And at the same time, we also love the simple side of it. For some people, a good song is just a good song and that’s completely valid. We listen to music in the same way in everyday life, sometimes deeply, sometimes just in the background. So if someone just connects with the sound, enjoys it, and wants to turn it up loud, that means just as much to us. We appreciate everyone who supports the band in any way, whether they dive deep into the meaning or just vibe with what they hear.“
Interviewer: Do you believe art has a responsibility to comfort, challenge, or simply exist? How does this album fit into that philosophy?
ASHEN SKY: “We do believe that art can have very deep meaning, and it can genuinely shape the way people see their lives. Music, in particular, has a way of reaching people on an emotional level that can stay with them for a long time. At the same time, we don’t think art should be limited to one responsibility. Sometimes it comforts, sometimes it challenges, and sometimes it just exists and all of those things are valid in their own way. For us, The Broken Era sits somewhere in between those ideas. It definitely comes from a place of honesty and emotional weight, but we don’t see it as something that is trying to tell people exactly what to think or feel. It’s more about presenting something real and letting it resonate however it does.
We’re completely fine with whatever people take from it. If it helps someone through a difficult moment, that means a lot to us. If someone simply enjoys it for the sound and energy, that’s just as meaningful in a different way. Once the music is out in the world, it doesn’t really belong to us anymore, it belongs to the listener and their own perspective.”
Interviewer: In an era of constant content and shortened attention spans, what does releasing a full-length album mean to you?
ASHEN SKY: “For us, a music album is a music album. It’s a complete body of work with its own identity. Good music is good music, regardless of trends or how the industry shifts around it. We’re aware of how fast things move today and how much focus there is on trends and short-term attention. But we’ve never been interested in chasing that. It can easily lead you into creating music based on what’s expected at the moment, rather than what actually feels true to you as an artist.
We’d rather focus on building something with a strong foundation, something that lasts beyond whatever is popular right now. Trends will always come and go, but the core of why we make music doesn’t really change. It’s about honesty, emotion, and creating something that feels real to us first. That’s why releasing a full-length album still matters to us. It gives space for a bigger picture, not just individual moments. It allows the listener to step into a world, rather than just consume isolated songs.”
Interviewer: How do you remain artistically intentional when external expectations and algorithms increasingly shape the music landscape?
ASHEN SKY: “For us, it really comes down to staying true to ourselves. We’re focused on doing our own thing, not because we’re trying to separate ourselves from everything else, but because we want the music to come from an honest place. There are always external expectations, trends, and different directions the industry moves in, but we’ve learned that the most important thing is to not lose sight of why we started making music in the first place.
Staying intentional for us means trusting our own vision and instincts, even if it doesn’t always align with what’s happening around us. At the end of the day, we’d rather create something that feels real to us than something that fits into a moment. That’s what keeps everything grounded. If it’s truthful to who we are as people and as a band, then it’s the right direction.”
Keep Up With ASHEN SKY Online: Website
Leave a Reply