Etal | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

Legendary musician Marko Hietala returns with new album Roses From The Deep. If you've followed the global shenanigans of heavier music over the past decades, you know the name Marko Hietala.

There is no doubt about it: Marko Hietala has been synonymous with quality for more than four decades. Hietala has not only shaped, but also defined the sound of harder rock, as a founding member of the heavy metal band Tarot, as an essential member of the supergroup Sinergy (next to extreme talents such as Alexi Laiho) or as one of the key figures of world's biggest symphonic metal band Nightwish. Needless to say, his thunderous bass lines and rich vocals have been echoed in the world's most famous venues, such as Wembley Arena and legendary festivals like Rock in Rio. However, despite all the achievements, new conquests are coming at a steady pace... Just recently, Marko Hietala has appeared in a starring role in the TV series Vain elämää, which has gathered millions of viewers in Finland.

When it comes to an endlessly talented artist with a strong musical flame in his heart, an eponymous album is always just a matter of time. In the case of Marko Hietala, it took a while, but better late than never: his long-awaited soolo debut, Mustan sydämen rovio, finally arrived to grace the spring of 2019 (later reissued in English as Pyre of the Black Heart). Guess what? Marko Hietala's musical and lyrical tide has not dried up and the well-received debut is getting the company it deserves. Released in February 2025, Roses from the Deep follows the adventurous path of its predecessor, but perhaps with even greater ambition.

When the upcoming album was composed and immortalized, Hietala's expressive band still included guitarist Tuomas Wäinölä, keyboardist Vili Ollila and drummer Anssi Nykänen. However, after the completion of the album, Ollila left the group and was replaced by Bob Engstrand (Turisas, Von Hertzen Brothers). "Let's put it like this: Roses from the Deep might exist without my bandmates, but it would be completely different – and much less adventurous", states Hietala.
Wäinölä, who also produced the album, also emphasizes the importance of the collective effort.

"Marko comes up with the first spark of an idea, but the final songs are always the result of intense collaboration", he explains. "When we worked on the first record a few years ago, our fruitful liaison was successfully started. However, with the second album, everything - the overall ambition, the song arrangements and so on - was taken to a new level." The sheer power of Mustan sydämen rovio should not be underestimated, but the new album feels like it has a little more of everything compared to its predecessor.

Lyrically, Roses from the Deep is just as multifaceted as its music. "Some songs are deeply personal, reflecting my own struggles with frustration and depression. Others are more socially aware, looking critically at political ideologies, organizations, fearmongers and so on. There's also some fantasy elements and imaginative storytelling there", describes Hietala. One of the distinguishing features of Roses from the Deep is its rich soundscape - partly engendered by the fact that all songs are recorded songs live in the studio and the band's groove was not killed by moving everything to the grid. There are also no digital drum samples, but instead there is a real piano, analog synths, Hammond organ and even a full string orchestra.

Some might say that the album's sound is reminiscent of old rock legends – Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper – but it also has a fresh and contemporary edge.