After bringing early recordings from Twilight Moon and Degenerate back to life, Finnish metal icon Mathias Lillmåns, known by most as the vocalist of Finntroll and …And Oceans, now unveils the central monument of his archive project: the most expansive collection of recovered material to date. Together with the release of the album, also out now is the video of the song “Sanguine Sadism“.
With Remains, released Friday 28.11.2025 via Stormbound Records, Mathias Lillmåns presents the first full-length retrospective of his early, unreleased and long-forgotten recordings: a 17-track anthology spanning material from the bands Twilight Moon, Remains, Degenerate, Chthonian, Vere and Observant.
Where the earlier archival EPs gave glimpses into Lillmåns’ formative years, Remains is the complete excavation – a three-decade timeline of raw beginnings, stylistic pivots and the gradual emergence of the voice that would later become a defining part of modern Finnish metal.
“Most listeners see me as a singer”, says Lillmåns, “but with this compilation I wanted to show the transformation I went through, from being an instrumentalist that wanted to stay in the shadows to becoming the front man I’m known as today.”
Drawing from sessions some of which were presumed lost to time – rescued from basements, rediscovered on MiniDiscs, pulled from unlabeled tapes and forgotten hard drives, Remains is an inspiring musical story of trial, instinct and evolution. Across these recordings, listeners will hear Lillmåns finding his voice, from early bass-only roles, to reluctant vocalist, to a fully realized frontman.
For listeners who want deeper context, the CD edition includes personal liner notes by Lillmåns himself. He recounts the improvised reel-to-reel beginnings of Twilight Moon, the garage-recorded rawness of Remains, and the early studio ambitions of Degenerate. He reflects on the intentionally abrasive spirit of Chthonian, the one-night whirlwind that became Vere, and the sharpened, self-produced approach of Observant. Together, these notes sketch a concise but revealing portrait of the creative evolution that shaped his earliest years.
TRACK-LIST: 01 Twilight Moon – Wanderlust 02 Twilight Moon – Spirit Lord 03 Twilight Moon – Shattered Reflections 04 Twilight Moon – Stuck in Eternity (Live 1999) 05 Remains – Forced into Lies 06 Remains – Leaving the Path of the Blind 07 Remains – The Life That Passed (Slowly Fading) 08 Degenerate – Blinded 09 Degenerate – Displacement 10 Degenerate – Lost in Glass and Stone 11 Chthonian – Ill 12 Chthonian – Larvae, Nymph, Decay 13 Chthonian – Sanguine Sadism 14 Vere – The Silver Lining 15 Vere – Ignite, Enflame 16 Observant – As Corroded as You 17 Observant – Still Nameless
Remastered by Owe Inborr at Wolfthrone Studios, Remainsis available now on all major streaming platforms and on CD via Stormbound Records.
We’re heading back to Australia in March 2026 for four shows — Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. we can’t wait to bring the noise down under 🇦🇺
The tour will commence on Monday March 23 at Brisbane’s at Fortitude Music Hall, followed by Wednesday March 25 at Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, continuing on to Melbourne’s Festival Hall on Thursday 26 March, before concluding at Enmore Theatre, Sydney, on Saturday 28 March.
If you’re a band or musician and would like your music reviewed or be interviewed by Stone, please click the link under the “ALBUM REVIEWS ARCHIVES” section below!
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