Doomed Confessionary: Ørjan (Tectonic Shifts)
Tectonic Shifts is a stoner/doom metal trio from Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 2020 as an outlet for the members’ loud leanings, downtuned dreams and fuzzed-out fantasies. They play epic stoner doom with massive riffs and jammy, psychedelic sections.
»High Ground«, released on February 28th, 2025, is Tectonic Shifts’ second release, and the first as a traditional power trio. Conceptually, it’s about contemporary humanity gaining the upper hand in the struggle against nature. From the high ground we watch as our actions become ever less justifiable to ourselves.
Musically, »High Ground« is about figuring out how to be a trio. Jams are smoother to pull off, while the heavy parts have been aided with the addition of multiple amplifiers and layers of dirt. The quest continues, but we think we gave it a decent effort.
Tectonic Shifts are Ørjan (bass, vocals), Otto (guitar) and Niklas (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Tectonic Shifts is a Finnish-Norwegian stoner doom trio located in Helsinki. We formed around 2020 to explore making what we call the ‘fuzz bubble’ the guiding principle for our songwriting. This choice was heavily influenced by the experience of seeing Sleep live in Helsinki in April 2019.
‘Fuzz bubble’ is of course the effect achieved by many heavier bands when layers of dirt and compressed bass frequencies come together to create a kind of denser, physical-audial field around their audio sources. Being within the bubble is almost as much of a tactile experience as a purely audial one. The whole “o)))”-thing, I guess…
We dropped our second self-released record earlier this spring, the EP »High Ground«. Everything production wise (besides mastering) was handled within the band, with our guitarist Otto as technician/producer. He really put in a solid effort with this one. Diy or die.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Everyone in the band has become a parent once or twice since we started out. Everyone has a full time job. The hardest part is keeping up the flow of practices and song writing when there is a million more important things going on all the time. There are other bands and projects we’re involved in as well. Patience is our virtue, even if it can be frustrating sometimes.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Being able to release decent sounding stuff on more or less zero budget is pretty awesome, actually. Diy or die.
What was your biggest regret?
No time for regrets, things are always somehow just moving forward.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We made a trip to Tartu, Estonia, last year that was pretty epic. Shout out to the peeps in Fhtagn and Diäb Soulé for hooking us up! Both are working on new material right now, so check them out and stay tuned.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
I’ve been in bands more or less since I was 14, so nothing really surprises me. It’s amazing to see how the trends mutate and develop over the years and how people stick with it even in difficult circumstances.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Speaking now only for myself, I have recently discovered local Helsinki sludge band Kettlehead, and their latest record »Life Is Hell«. They really do respect the fuzz bubble, and they throw in some crusty hard core in their mix. Really awesome band.
Fuzz bubble wise, I have loved delving into the Eremit discography lately. It is one of the most overwhelming soundscapes in doom, and I love how hypnotic it is.
Lastly, I want to mention Holy Watts, an epic, instrumental, super dirty doom band from Moscow. I only discovered them the other week, but they really got something special going on, bringing old folkloric narratives to life in the form of instrumental proggy stoner doom. Very exciting.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
I guess that you should play only to satisfy your own passion, and measure your results only by your own standards. If you lose focus and start comparing yourself to others, the meaning quickly hemorrhages out of the project. For us, this means we try to recreate the immersive feeling of being swept away by the music at practices, and enjoy the process at least as much as the anticipated the end goal. Stick with what you love and what keeps you going.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Again, speaking only for myself, raising young kids in Finland you inevitably get introduced the band Hevisaurus, which is this quite bizarre Gwar-like heavy metal band, in these enormous dinosaur costumes, playing live shows and releasing records for children in the Finnish language. Real power metal stuff, super catchy. Going to shows, i’ve found the parents are often just as engaged in the music as their kids. They introduce kids to metal soundscapes and jargon, making it accessible in this cartoonish way. Finland is a crazy place.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Helsinki?
I feel like we haven’t really succeeded making our way into the heavy underground scene here, insofar as there really is one. There are some really good bands around, and a couple of venues and festivals. People are generally really awesome, but in the end it’s really hard these days playing and releasing niche music like we are doing. I only came to Helsinki in 2019, but I heard that after the economic downturn with covid, a bunch of smaller venues went down, and it’s now generally more difficult to organize shows. This makes it really hard for independent or smaller level bands like ourselves without much time or resources for promotion. It makes the whole mood more competitive in a way. Because everyone is so hard pressed for time and money, there is this stress factor around everything that I don’t recognize from when I was younger. Takes a toll on the playfulness and spontaneity.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Hopefully we’ll get around to play more shows in Finland later this year. Some wheels are in motion but we’re not in a position to really rush things along. Another child is on its way as well. Patience is our virtue.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We want to record and release another full-length when we get all the material in order. We are putting stuff together already, but we want to make more of an effort this time making the material more conceptually and compositionally cohesive.
How can people best support your band?
Listen to and download the records from our Bandcamp. Share it and spread the word. Book us to your venue or festival. Buy us a beer.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thanks so much for engaging with our releases, it means a lot to us! Seek out the fuzz bubble whenever possible, and nurture the curiosity for new bands in the undergrowth thicket. There’s always so much amazing stuff that flies under most people’s radars.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well