Last year I had the great pleasure of witnessing the hard-hitting Norwegian metal quintet known as Tessia live on stage in Bergen when they were competing in the Wacken Metal Battle semi-finals, and it was a night to remember. Not only was it a hugely memorable performance with the band firing on all cylinders and…
– VENUE: Grieghallen – DATE: 21.02.2025 – ORGANIZER: Stageway The legendary Norwegian hard rockers TNT embarked on their Out from Under the Black Cloud tour roughly a week ago, and last night we had the great pleasure of witnessing the majestic event at one of Bergen’s best-sounding venues, namely the renowned Grieghallen. With very few…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/track/4yfVuKGz6GMOvt2mU4sEap?si=5cc3fbcbf3104db1 The droning 28-minute composition titled This Wretched Shore by experimentalists Picture Ann is out now. The bleak and windswept suite is essentially an exploration of what can only be termed permanent loneliness in various guises, and it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/77WTLOCAmi8iysa1VuxNuX?si=FU3Huoz3TfaFebp8TSdHwA Udenfor, the latest 2-track EP by Danish/Norwegain post-rockers Picture Ann, is out December 18. The title track came about one late afternoon when walking through a wintry cityscape, pondering the impact of Don DeLillo’s The Body Artist on yours truly and how that overlooked literary gem eloquently and elegantly thematizes…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://floodgatemoodsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/disquiet-2024-remaster-2 Although laid to rest many years to go, the murky lo-fi ambient entity known as Vornoff has occasionally made its presence felt in the charcoal-stained underground by means of unearthing various previously songs and recordings from the vault – one of which is the bleak twelve-minute musical odyssey through a…
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://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…
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: 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: 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…
VENUE: StereoDATE: 30.07.2024 ORGANIZER: Dark Essence Records / Beyond the GatesPHOTOGRAPHER: J. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The ever-reliable purveyors of quality music known as Dark Essence Records, one of the world’s premier metal-related labels, are not merely…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://gjenferdbergen.bandcamp.com/album/gjenferd This stunning and ridiculously well-written not to mention infectiously catchy debut effort by the Norwegian outfit named Gjenferd is one of the best things that has happened to me this year. By Odin, this is so fucking awesome and inspired that I lack words, and that rarely happens, mind you.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://bismarck.bandcamp.com/music The opening few bars of the title track leaves no doubt as to who and what this is; a frightening audio onslaught by the Norwegian doom metal freaks known as Bismarck. Vourukasha takes me back to their debut offering (Oneiromancer from 2020) in terms of its thunderously heavy tone and…
The brand-new output by the musically devious post-rockers Picture Ann has just arrived digitally and sees the Danish/Norwegian act conjuring up thick waves of dark ambient and drone music that explore the disruptive power of loss. Thematically speaking, the three compositions that constitute Blind Optimism – Bleak Prophecy all revolve around the postmodernist claim that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/verdande In all honesty, I did not think it possible for the uniquely gifted masterminds behind Vestindien to top or better their flawless debut offering entitled NULL, but by some perverted and wonderful miracle these six twisted souls have conjured up a new work of radiant brilliance that transcends barriers and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://thedredge1.bandcamp.com/album/torches The Norwegian indie rock collective sporting the moniker The Dredge has been around for ages, but it was not until quite recently that this skilled trio finally released its debut offering. Entitled Torches and consisting of eight tunes that are loaded with atmosphere and a subtle sense of melancholy, this…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/ Norwegian art rockers Yobrepus have a knack for crafting richly nuanced songs and albums that are both musically and lyrically absorbing, a prime example being their latest LP entitled A Rhizome Revolution Part 1. Weaving traces and elements of prog, alt. rock, psychedelic folk, and brooding electronica together to stunning…
VENUE: Det Akademiske KvarterDATE: 09.03.2024 ORGANIZER: Propulsion MusicPHOTOGRAPHER: C. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. A concert like no other? You bet! The musically rewarding yet deviant purveyors of dramatic and carnivalesque avantgarde metal (or dark and dynamic…
VENUE: ForumDATE: 16.11.2023 ORGANIZER: Bergen LivePHOTOGRAPHER: C. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. American rockers Rival Sons were back at the Forum in Bergen on a dark and cold Thursday night – and what a night it was!…
VENUE: Stereo DATE: 16.09.2023 ORGANIZER: Stereo/Slaamaskin/Glasgow Kiss PHOTOGRAPHER: J. Nepper Photos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The cozy and somewhat intimate venue known as Stereo, which is situated in a rather vibrant part of Bergen’s city center, had…
