Then Comes Silence are a Stockholm post-punk trio – Alex Svenson, Jonas Fransson and Hugo Zombie – and Bye Bye Land is the third single from their album Requiem Ballroom, out 20 November on Metropolis Records.
There's a great sense of momentum running all the way through the song – it always feels like it's just about to break into something bigger, and that forward push gives the whole thing a really thrilling edge.
Svenson wrote the song for a close friend who, after a life-changing trauma, reached a point where he no longer wanted to be here. "I'm not going to pretend that I know what was going through his mind," Svenson says, "but I do know how deeply grateful I am that he's still here… I want to remind him of how much he means to all of us." The band add that if anyone reading is going through a difficult time themselves, help is available and they don't have to face it alone.
Bye Bye Land was recorded by Jorgen Wall at Stockholm's Kapsylen Studio and mixed by Tom van Heesch, whose other credits include Rammstein and Apocalyptica. It follows two earlier singles from the album – Judgement Day and Remaker Redeemer – and Requiem Ballroom will be the band's eighth album, after Trickery in 2024 and Hunger in 2022.
The band formed in 2012 and have built a following on the European goth and post-punk circuit, playing M'era Luna, Wave-Gotik-Treffen and Amphi Festival among others, and sharing stages with Fields of the Nephilim and Clan of Xymox.
Bye Bye Land is out now on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music. Give it a listen.