OAK – First single from new album revealed

Photo: Anne-Marie Forker

Karisma Records announced earlier the release of the highly anticipated fourth album from OAK, The Third Sleep, which will be out on April 25, 2025. An album that contrasts light and darkness, both thematically and musically, seamlessly blending folk-inspired acoustic passages with the raw intensity of progressive metal, evoking echoes of Opeth and beyond.

The first single from The Third Sleep is the track Shimmer which is out today. It can be streamed following this link: https://orcd.co/oak-shimmer

About Shimmer, the band has this to say: “Those who have listened to OAK‘s previous releases will probably notice the clear nods, both harmonically and lyrically, to Stars Under Water from the album Lighthouse. 

The themes of conformity and condemnation are treated in a gloomy soundscape that can send the mind to dark film music. Both harmonically and lyrically, Shimmer builds a bridge from the band’s first release to the latest, before towards the end you are led into a suggestive, ostinato-like coda that gives room to process and to move on both concretely and metaphorically.”

With a rich musical foundation that spans classical piano, electronica, progressive and hard rock, OAK has carved out a distinctive sound—both captivating and challenging in equal measure.

Recorded in Ljugekroken (Oslo), the album was mixed by David Castillo (Katatonia, Leprous, Opeth) and mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, Donner) at Dude Ranch Studio, Sandøya.

Prepare to experience The Third Sleep, a thought-provoking journey through sound and emotion.

The Third Sleep will be available CD, Digital and Blue/ Purple Smash Vinyl LP formats, and can now be pre-ordered at:

Webshop: https://www.karismarecords.no/kar288-oak-the-third-sleep

Bandcamp: https://oakinoslo.bandcamp.com/album/the-third-sleep

OAK originated as a duo, which expanded into today’s line-up of Simen Valldal Johannessen on vocals, piano and keys, Øystein Sootholtet on bass, acoustic and electric guitars and Sigbjørn Reiakvam on drums, percussion, programming, keys and guitars. The fact that OAK‘s members come from diverse backgrounds, which range from classical piano, to electronica, to prog and hard rock, with references to both the alternative scene as well as the progressive rock scene, has allowed OAK to create a unique sound.

Bandcamp: https://oakinoslo.bandcamp.com/album/the-third-sleep
Facebook: https://facebook.com/oakinoslo
Label: https://karismarecords.no