RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://wizrd.bandcamp.com/album/elements The musically gifted and delightfully adventurous Norwegian rockers named Wizrd released a stunning debut album titled Seasons back in 2022, and ever since then I have been looking forward to its follow- up. Elements will arrive in early December and let me tell you straight up that this could very…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://the–verge.bandcamp.com/album/the-verge The latest release on the lovable Is It Jazz? Records is a proper tour de force in every conceivable way and a dizzying yet incredibly cohesive output that harbors a raw, authentic power unlike anything else that I have come across. This musically tasty and elegant yet highly explosive…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://whitewillow.bandcamp.com/album/sacrament-remaster The third album by renowned prog rockers White willow, namely the one entitled Sacrament, was recently given an all-analogue boost and remastered by main-man (and musical mastermind) Jacob Holm Lupo, and new life has definitely been breathed into this already evocative creation. Originally released back in 2000 to great acclaim…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://yobrepus.bandcamp.com/album/a-rhizome-revolution-part-1-2 I was thoroughly taken with A Rhizome Revolution Part 1 when that came out roughly seven months ago as it was an emotionally demanding yet perfectly accessible and rewarding listen that managed to transport the listener elsewhere and leave a lasting impression. The textures and motifs the band so effortlessly…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://electrichigh.bandcamp.com/album/colorful-white-lies Apollon Records were kind enough to hand me a copy of this raw and raunchy debut offering by the Bergen-based hard rockers known as Electric High, and I am eternally grateful to them for that as this groove-laden, catchy, and energetic record ticks a lot of the boxes for me…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://tobyjepsonofficial.com/ Renowned songwriter, screenwriter, record producer, and radio host Toby Jepson is as talented as they come, but as much as I admire his work with Wayward Sons, it is rather refreshing to once again hear same brand-new solo compositions of his. “Look Out!” marks the first musical chapter of a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/0yLSPVbADe1jMVUWjebilM?si=1jfRgj-NROe6ddzsqJwGaw Unfortunately, there is just no stopping the annoyingly productive purveyors of all things dark and melancholy known as Picture Ann, i.e. the exponents of lo-fi post-rock and dark ambient drones of the rather dense variety. The latest output titled Promising Oddities is essentially an odds-and-sods collection of tracks and ideas…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/inadreamband/ Inadream, which is a German outfit dabbling in 80s inspired post-punk, released this energetic record of theirs via Echozone just a few days ago, and it certainly has its merits and some catchy and cool moments to it without being a decidedly great or noteworthy slab of raunchy rock. The…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: http://lnk.to/thelurkingshadowofdeath Ars Veneficium is about as trustworthy as a dark roast coffee on an early Sunday morning, which means fucking excellent, solid, and massively potent in every sense of the word. While I have enjoyed their previous albums and outputs immensely, their latest offering is undoubtedly their most remarkable and accomplished…
VENUE: Forum SceneDATE: 17.10.2024 ORGANIZER: Bergen Live PHOTOGRAPHER: J. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. It had been five years since I had the great pleasure of witnessing the inimitable Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in a live setting,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://starforce.bandcamp.com/album/age-of-nano-ep Thanks to the good people over at Darkhan Music we can now look forward to a glorious vinyl edition of the deftly executed Age of Nano by the gifted Finnish entity known as Starforce, and what could possibly be cooler than that? Stylistically speaking, we are talking synthwave of the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://utflod.bandcamp.com/album/efterd-nn I absolutely love and cherish pretty much everything about this band and their latest pummeling effort. Not only is Utflod one (if not the) hardest hitting thing since the first Rocky movie and as devastatingly fierce as they come; they have also shaped and perfected a unique sound and a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://lnk.to/laubedesanathemes The French black metal horde known as Ende is not one that I had encountered prior to this, but they have been quite prolific ever since the band’s inception in 2010, and I must say that this seven-track opus of theirs is oftentimes rather spellbinding and a perfectly melancholy listen.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://lnk.to/martyrium The delightfully brooding and utterly compelling act known as Gurthang rarely fails to disappoint this scribe, and it just so happens that Martyrium is their most accomplished and impressive musical feat to date. Thoroughly drenched in a thick and impenetrably dark atmosphere that swallows you whole, these five addictive compositions merge somber…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://thanateros.bandcamp.com/ I distinctly recall reviewing the previous two offerings by Thanateros, namely Insomnia (2020) and On Fragile Wings (2022), and back then I was of the opinion that the German outfit had a lot of good ideas and that their records contained promise and potential. In other words, the albums had their noteworthy and enjoyable…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://gerseydeoful.bandcamp.com/album/reign-ov-hoof-and-wing I could not have been happier (nor more excited for that matter) when I saw that the New Jersey-based black metal outfit known as Gersey Deoful had unleashed a fresh new torrent of tunes collectively titled Reign ov Hoof and Wing. Their previous offerings have been a most welcome addition…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://theflyingnorsemen.bandcamp.com/album/the-flying-norsemen With a few original members of renowned prog rockers Arabs in Aspic in tow and a brilliantly designed album artwork, this is exactly the kind of thing that immediately caught my attention and let me tell you straight off the bat that I was not disappointed in the slightest by…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://trojkabergen.bandcamp.com/album/strobem-rke Norwegian prog-pop rockers Trojka is a rather engaging and entertaining musical experience and an entity that brings a certain warmth and humor to its eclectic brand of music. Quirky is certainly one word that comes into play here, and the great thing about this Bergen-based outfit is that these chaps…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ritual.se/ Swedish prog rockers Ritual are back on the musical radar following a painfully long hiatus, but judging by the quality of the sprawling epics that constitute this grand-sounding opus of theirs, they have spent their time between albums wisely as The Story of Mr. Bogd – Part 1 displays great…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/product-page/arild-br%C3%B8ter-a-spectre-of-sounds-james-bond-music-reimagined This staggeringly creative and hugely enjoyable album by Arild Brøter (who is primarily known for his work with Norwegian prog rockers Pymlico) totally swept me off my feet and instantly made me pay close attention. Arild is apparently a humongous James Bond fan, and rightly so, if you ask me.…
