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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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 — 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://centurymedia.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghost-of-a-future-dead-24-bit-hd-audio The renowned and legendary Swedish constellation known as At the Gates surely need no introduction as they have been at the vanguard of melodic death metal for decades now and helped shape and pioneer the very genre. Admired and cherished by both fans and critics alike, their unique take on the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://drakentheband.bandcamp.com/album/here-be-draken From the fertile Norwegian underground comes an excellent new outfit named Draken whose eleven-track recent offering charmingly titled Here Be Draken, which will be released via the ever-dependable Dark Essence Records, is guaranteed to melt brains and tear faces clean off. Consisting of members of such fabulous and musically forward-thinking constellations…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026 BAND URL: https://kreator.bandcamp.com/album/krushers-of-the-world With Gods Of Violence2018, Kreator, an ANTIFAscist German band who, having attempted formation as Tyrant and Metal Militia in 1982 and Tormentor until 1984, finally had settled on Kreator as Miland “Mille” Petrozza (vocals, guitars), Jürgen “Ventor” Reil (vocals-1987, drums-1994) and Roberto Fioretti (bass-1992), seemed to have lyrically tried…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025 BAND URL: https://testament.bandcamp.com/album/para-bellum The great Roman General Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus once said “if you want peace prepare for war” and that latter sentiment, in Latin “para bellum”, is the driving force behind the legendary Oakland Californian thrash metallers Testament’s 13th full length. After a very good but creatively staggering Titans Of Creation2020,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://paradiselostofficial.bandcamp.com/ Paradise Lost’s Ascension2025 (Nuclear Blast) is a towering return that finds the Halifax, UK legends operating at a level few bands their age could dream of. Clocking in at 51:02 with 10 tracks as their 17th studio album, Ascension stands as their strongest and most satisfying full-length since the untouchable Icon1993,…
– VENUE: Kulturhuset i Bergen – DATE: 27.03.2026 – ORGANIZER: Kulturhuset i Bergen, Ottorpedo med Venner Photo by J. Nepper Last Friday night offered something vastly different and delightfully quirky to the usual concert fare in that none other than local legend Ottorpedo and his merry men of musical talent were set to perform at…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/beggarsbliss What a lovely little treat this self-titled effort by the Derby-based hard rockers Beggars Bliss is. Immediately accessible and full of meaty motifs and bluesy riffs, this disc is an effective slab of vintage rock with staying power and depth to it. The song arrangements often impress and the compositional skill…
PRIMAL FEAR Anmeldt av Roger Hagerupsen BYSCENEN 20/3 – 2026 TRONDHEIM Jeg er normalt ikke den som tar på meg skinnjakka for å gå på en power metal konsert, men jeg gjør ett unntak når PRIMAL FEAR kommer til byen på sin “Domination” turne (naturlig nok oppkalt etter bandets siste plate Domination som kom…
