A 30-year journey unearthed: Finntroll frontman Mathias ‘Vreth’ Lillmåns releases “Remains”, his first full-length archival compilation.
- Rock Metal Machine
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
After bringing early recordings from Twilight Moon and Degenerate back to life, Finnish metal icon Mathias 'Vreth' 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 it's also out now the video of the song "Sanguine Sadism".
With Remains, released Friday 28.11.2025 via Stormbound Records, he 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 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.
TRACKLIST
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, Remains will be available November 28 on all major streaming platforms and on CD via Stormbound Records.
Website: stormboundrecords.com/lillmans
Facebook: facebook.com/lillmans
Instagram: instagram.com/lillmans_official
Pre-order our forthcoming edition
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