We have finally released our first full-length album, The End of Times. Published by the Italian label Rockshots Records, the record is available digitally worldwide and as a physical CD in dozens of countries. Vinyl versions are also on the way.
Creating this album was a years-long journey for us—producer and multi-instrumentalist Panu and vocalist Pete. When we first started, we had no clear blueprint for the final result; we simply created the music that felt right to us at the time. As months turned into years, we realized we had a collection of songs we genuinely loved, which deserved to be packaged together into one coherent release. Along the way, we released a couple of EPs that hinted at what was to come—and now, that future is finally here.
The End of Times – The Album Story
”Since 2017, we’ve been building this band piece by piece. Along the way, we’ve hit bumps in the road and gone through lineup changes, but we’ve always kept moving forward with determination. Our first EP, Monsters, came out in 2022, but we eventually took it down from streaming platforms because it no longer felt on par with our newer material. Our second EP, White Noise, was released in 2023 through Inverse Records and showed much more clearly where Darkness Is My Canvas was heading.
We’ve never stuck to a single genre, and that’s very evident on this debut album. Our philosophy has always been that, as musicians, our job is to serve the song. Yes, we can get quite progressive at times, but we also love writing shamelessly melodic pop-rock songs. The lyrical themes vary deeply, touching upon the treatment of minorities, mental health struggles, and the anguish caused by war. Releasing this album in collaboration with Rockshots Records and seeing the physical CD hit stores worldwide is both incredibly exciting and humbling.”
– Pete Erkintalo, vocals
”We’ve grown enormously in terms of production throughout this journey. Even though I’ve produced hundreds of bands and worked on sound engineering professionally, you still learn a surprising amount when you approach your own music from an outside perspective. Our method is simple: the subject of each song gives us a vision, which Pete and I then develop together in the studio. We take most demos to a point where they can already be played live, and then we polish them through rehearsals and live shows—sometimes making changes, sometimes even shelving a track. Since we both play multiple instruments, I performed almost everything on the album myself. Pete provides a lot of direction and insight. The only exception is the drums; we know our limits, so we used fantastic session drummers on the album, including Mikko Kaakkuriniemi, Kai Jokiahonen, and Juuso. Sometimes a song comes together in one evening, sometimes it takes years to finalize. We’re never in a rush.”
– Panu, producer & guitarist
”As a vocalist, I’ve always focused on making sure the message of the song feels genuine—whatever the topic. A more experienced singer once told me that a vocalist’s most important skill isn’t technique, it’s making the listener believe every single word. That’s probably where I’ve grown the most as a singer.”
– Pete
”My principle has always been: if I don’t believe what Pete is singing, we re-record it.”
– Panu
”Panu can be a bit of a taskmaster in the studio, but sometimes the first take ends up almost untouched on the record. We do small fixes, sure, but when a song starts to come together, it often just… works.”
– Pete
”This album was basically made twice. We had a few other songs included at first, but in the end, they didn’t fit thematically with the core tracks. We tested them live, but they didn’t work in the set—they felt too detached. Even though we’re not allergic to genres, those songs just weren’t Darkness Is My Canvas. ’Kill your darlings’ is a harsh but important rule: if something doesn’t serve the bigger picture, it has to go.”
– Panu
TRACK BY TRACK
1. Wash
”The lyrics reflect my concern over the current state of nature. Having spent time traveling around the world, I’ve noticed these changes everywhere. This song is a way to express that anxiety—without preaching or pointing fingers, even though the track is quite direct.”
– Pete
”Melodically straightforward and easy to grasp. It’s the perfect opener: short, uptempo, and catchy. We often open our live sets with this one.”
– Panu
2. Rejected
”A punch to the face from start to finish, made even heavier by Juuso’s driving drums. The melodic chorus adds great contrast, and the number of hooks in this one is just ridiculous. Live, it usually works perfectly as the second-to-last track.”
– Panu
”One of our more abstract lyrics, meaning it can represent different things to different listeners. It turned out surprisingly heavy, and our love for Muse and Nightwish definitely shines through here.”
– Pete
3. Bleed
”One of the most personal songs for me. I’ve long been deeply concerned about self-harm among young people. I spoke with many who have lived through it because I wanted to give them a voice. This track has been with us since the very beginning.”
– Pete
”Bleed sounds almost like a James Bond theme—the strings, the melodies, and the dramatic atmosphere make it one of my absolute favorites. I even slipped in a couple of odd time signatures just to entertain myself.”
– Panu
4. Ink in the Water
”This one started from a pure pop-punk jam, and the core of the song came together in minutes. Pete sang ‘Like ink in the water the colors fade away’, which immediately inspired the background response: ‘don’t go, don’t go!’ That combination gave us a ridiculously catchy chorus. It’s fast—like Green Day’s Basket Case fast. We usually write slower songs, maybe because playing fast is tough if your fingers are cold before a show! Slower songs hide the fact I haven’t practiced technical drills in a while… Anyway, I love this track because it turned out to be a perfect example of its genre.”
– Panu
”The lyrics were already floating in my head, and they just poured out during the demo recording. We captured them exactly as they were.”
– Pete
“I can confirm that. Pete just sang them on the spot. I later asked if he could copy-paste the lyrics for me, and he replied, ‘I actually need to listen back to the track to figure out what I even sang!’”
– Panu
5. The Maze
”This track deals with the early days of Russia’s war of aggression and the atrocities committed in Bucha. Midway through, the lyrics switch from English to Finnish—English simply wasn’t enough to express the weight of what we wanted to say. Musically, it’s a full-on progressive track with strong Kingston Wall vibes. It is packed with guitar solos; there’s maybe a minute and a half of vocals, and the rest of this 9-minute piece is me soloing. I actually recorded one of those solos to a click track while running a 39.6°C fever with pneumonia, just before collapsing. When I recovered and listened back, I sent it to Pete, who replied: ‘Holy s**t, this is epic!!!’ That’s when I knew this track was turning into something much bigger. It’s one of our most ambitious pieces ever, and I love improvising the solos live based on the mood.”
– Panu
”The suffering of Ukrainians makes me so angry and sad that I don’t even want to say anything more.”
– Pete
6. The End of Times
”A direct tribute to the 70s prog tradition. We actually played this live for a couple of years before recording it. The opening chord progression—Gm, F, Eb, Dsus, D—has that classic descending bass movement that allows for rich melodic layering. Pete nailed the mood perfectly. The song splits into two parts: halfway through, it shifts into a heavy blend of Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep (think July Morning), and Kingston Wall influences, without copying any of them. As an easter egg, there’s even a little Iron Maiden moment in there.”
– Panu
”There’s a clear dramatic arc—first the story, then the full-out jam. It’s a perfect title track complete with horns, layered guitars, and a slide solo. We love to challenge each other musically, and this track is full of little secrets.”
– Pete
7. Day Zero
”A love song, plain and simple.”
– Pete
”For the guitar solos, I focused on whistle-able melodies—sometimes what you don’t play is more important. The synth textures were inspired by HIM’s Join Me, but the defining sound became the ethereal Oberheim pad in the verses. And, just for fun, I added a 15/16 guitar solo in the bridge—because life shouldn’t be too easy.”
– Panu
8. Subliminal
”This serves as an instrumental prelude to the final tracks. It’s been with us a long time, and at one point it actually had vocals, but we decided it worked best as an instrumental piece. I thought about making it longer, but Pete and I felt one minute was just right. If you want to hear more, there’s always the repeat button.”
– Panu
9. These Times
”Pete sees it as a love song—though, as with many of his lyrics, the love here feels lost, unreachable, or broken. Live, this song stands out because the arrangement differs quite a bit from our usual style. On the album, it works as a seamless transition into the grand finale.”
– Panu
10. Skin & Bones
”I’ve been writing a conceptual story about a future world, and this is the first chapter of that narrative. By the time this album drops, we’ll already be deep into pre-production for the next record, and these lyrics hint at what’s to come. It’s one of my favorites.”
– Pete
”Pete’s absolutely manic about this storyline, in the best possible way. The first time I heard the chorus lyric ‘it wasn’t sudden’, I yelled ‘NO! IT WAS GRADUAL!!!’—and of course, that’s exactly what Pete sings. It’s one of the coolest, most unique chorus lines I’ve heard in a long time. Those kinds of organic, artistic thoughts are something generative AI could never write.”
– Panu
The Origins of the Band
Once upon a time, there was Panu—guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer. He ran his own studio in Helsinki, recording and producing rock, heavy, and metal music—the kinds of rich, gritty sounds that have always been strong in Finland.
In the early 2010s, a singer-songwriter named Pete appeared, looking for the right producer and studio to record a solo project. Around that time, Pete had just heard a record by a band called Die Schwarzen Ladas and thought, “This is some wild stuff—wait, is that a Jump riff? No way, this was produced by Panu!” Recognizing the distinct production style, Pete called Panu up:
– “Hey! I want to make a solo record and I want you to produce it!”
– “What time do we start?”
– “Yes.”
And so the journey began. Initially, it was about re-recording Pete’s acoustic demos, but it soon became clear that the creative chemistry between them demanded something more:
– “Look Pete, doing this as a solo client project is going to get too expensive. Let’s just start a real band. I’ll produce the music.”
– Pete: *laughs* “Let’s do it.”
And thus, the foundation of Darkness Is My Canvas was laid. From the very beginning, their core principle has been clear: ”in the studio, the band is the two of us—the live lineup is a separate entity.”
While they use talented session musicians for studio drums, the core division of labor remains simple: Pete commands the lead vocals, and Panu handles nearly all the instrumentation and production. This tight-knit collaboration forms the core of the band’s distinctive sound, groove, and character. Toward the end of the album sessions, they officially brought live band members Juza (drums) and Fellu (bass) into the fold—excellent musicians who have fully embraced and embodied the Darkness Is My Canvas identity both on stage and in the studio.
