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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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://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,…
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…
