EINHERJER – Lifeblood

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://einherjer.com/ For more than three decades, Einherjer have stood as one of the most steadfast acts within Norwegian Viking metal, proven by their faithful audience and great feedback received by their live presence and releases. The Haugesund veterans have consistently found ways to evolve without losing sight of their roots. If the…

RED KITE – This Too Shall Pass

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://thisisredkite.bandcamp.com/album/this-too-shall-pass Formed back in 2013 and having released a couple of strong and robust-sounding records fueled by unfiltered enthusiasm and memorable riffs, Red Kite’s 3rd opus titled This Too Shall Pass, which will be out via Is It Jazz? Records in June, marks a high point in the group’s career and sees…

RAM-ZET – Sapien

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://ram-zet.com/ After thirteen years of silence, many wondered whether RAM-ZET would ever return with new material and the answer arrives in the form of Sapien, an album that not only reawakens one of Norway’s most eccentric and adventurous metal acts, but also proves that time has done little to dull their creative…

GOATMILKER & DUNE SEA – 05.06.2026 – Bergen, Norway

VENUE: HulenDATE: 05.06.2026ORGANIZER: HulenPHOTOGRAPHER: Sander Lindholm AndersenPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. Two superb Norwegian acts from Bergen and Trondheim respectively, more specifically Goatmilker and Dune Sea, paid the excellent venue that is Hulen a visit last Friday, and…

EINAR SOLBERG – Vox Occulta

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://einarsolberg.com/ If has become increasingly clear over the last decade, it’s that Einar Solberg has long since outgrown the role of merely being the frontman of Leprous. And from my side that is a nice surprise as I struggled to get into a good deal of the band’s releases since…what feels like…

FÄLAREN – Ljora

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://falaren.bandcamp.com/album/ljora What a delightful surprise this was! Not being familiar with this intriguing and explorative outfit beforehand, I had no idea what to expect but suffice to say that I was blown away by the gripping soundscapes that constitute Ljora. Fälaren inhabit a space located somewhere between jazz rock, folk music, psychedelic…

THE SMITHS LTD. – 23.05.2026 – Aberdeen, Scotland

VENUE: Lemon TreeDATE: 23.05.2026ORGANIZER: Aberdeen Performing ArtsPHOTOGRAPHER: C. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. How often does one come across a tribute band as good as this? The answer is “rarely”, and the highly talented constellation of musicians collectively…

BJØRN RIIS – Lifandi

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://bjornriis.bandcamp.com/album/lifandi While many prog fans might associate the talented guitarist Bjørn Riis with the amazing outfit Airbag, the fact of the matter is that Riis has been quite prolific outside his main band these past few years and carved out an equally interesting solo career. The man has never denied where much…

DIMMU BORGIR – Grand Serpent Rising

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.dimmu-borgir.com/ Norwegian legends Dimmu Borgir have returned with a new studio offering, and the good news is that it has been worth the eight-year wait. What immediately becomes obvious upon spinning the disc and digesting the whole of the splendid Grand Serpent Rising is how much thought and creative energy these chaps…

BJØRN BERGE – Morphine

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://bjrnberge.bandcamp.com/album/morphine Renowned Norwegian blues rocker Bjørn Berge released his latest record just a couple of weeks ago via the lovely and eclectic Apollon Records, and it is a gritty-sounding and emotionally charged yet charming affair that offers an interesting take on the blues. More than that though, it offers a highly creative…

HEX A.D. – Surgical Cuts in the Cosmos

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://hexad.bandcamp.com/album/surgical-cuts-in-the-cosmos Three years on from the near-flawless LP titled Delightful Sharp Edges comes a new output by the magnificent Norwegian doomsters Hex A.D., and that is cause for celebration if you are as much into the band’s potent mixture of prog rock, classic heavy metal, stoner rock, and old-school doom metal as…

DESERTFEST OSLO 2026 – Day 2 review

Photo galleries by photographer Jonathan Mazin can be seen here First band of the day was The Big Rip, a young Norwegian stoner/doom act from Porsgrunn and their performance on the backyard stage of Revolver. As there were too many people gathered at the entrance to the yard, I couldn’t really swim through and see…

LONELY CROWD – By the Time You Read This

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://lonelycrowdn.bandcamp.com/album/not-on-my-watch-single-feat-wholy-martin Something along the lines of fourteen years have passed since the brilliant purveyors of melancholy art rock known as Lonely Crowd released their previous effort titled The-Not-So-Great-Britain, but judging by both the quality and longevity of By the Time You Read This and its eleven magnificent compositions, the wait has been…

ROY KHAN – live in Trondheim

ROY KHAN Anmeldt av Roger Hagerupsen TAPPERIET 2/5 – 2026 TRONDHEIM Når selveste ROY KHAN gjør sin entre’ i byen er det oppmøteplikt for alle som er glad i både progrock og powermetal av den melodiske typen. Selv om det er minst 15 år siden KHAN var her med sitt gamle band KAMELOT (hvor han…

AGUSA – Panacea

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://agusaband.bandcamp.com/album/panacea Captured for posterity back in September of 2024 in Malmö and sporting a magnificent line-up that is truly gelling and capable of delivering some wonderful surprises, the live LP titled Panacea by the Swedish vintage-sounding prog rock ensemble Agusa is a masterclass in real warmth, genuine excitement, and skill. The group’s…

DESERTFEST OSLO 2026 – Day 1 Review

Desertfest Oslo 2026 — The Tundra Burns Again While this is only the second year I get to attend this festival, I am convinced there is something beautifully stubborn about Desertfest Oslo. While larger festivals continue chasing trends and algorithm-approved lineups, Desertfest remains entirely devoted to the riff. The slow and heavy one. The 2026…

35 TAPES – Veil on Life

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://35tapes.bandcamp.com/album/veil-on-life The experimental Norwegian prog rockers 35 Tapes have garnered a good and solid reputation on the back of their well-received offerings from these past few years, namely Lost & Found (2020), Home (2021), and Fabric of Time (2023). Their latest opus titled Veil on Life, which came out a couple of…

Takahashi & Lynch – Resonant Duality

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://takahashilynch.bandcamp.com/album/resonant-duality What a magnificent gem this uniquely composed and highly atmospheric record is! Leave it to the ever-eclectic and positively weird Gymnocal Industries to uncover and unearth something as gripping and trance-inducing as this. Resonant Duality by Takahashi & Lynch falls somewhere between electronica, ambient soundscapes, and classical-inspired music in which the…

EVERETT TRUE – Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! The Story of the Ramones

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/hey-ho-lets-go-the-st0ry-of-the-ramones?srsltid=AfmBOop-OBwnFd-WxDMgsGKZPCGxPIUdLtnY2SPVSRjLK4NUQf37u6R0 Few bands are as influential and important as the Ramones are in wider musical and cultural context, and their classic and much-loved song material remains as fresh-sounding and innovative now as it did when it first blared out of the speakers in 1976. Spreading from the New York underground scene like…

KAASIN – The Underworld

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/kaasinmusic/?locale=nb_NO Norwegian hard rockers Kaasin, which is the brainchild of Come Taste the Band guitarist Jo Henning Kaasin, impressed yours truly quite a bit a few years ago when they released the melodically strong and impeccably crafted Fired Up. Said album was a superb mixture of eighties classic heavy metal and late…

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