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: 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…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://mesaverde.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-well I thoroughly enjoyed the debut offering by the eclectic Oslo-based ensemble known as MesaVerde, namely the engrossing KY album that came out in October 2022, and I was very much looking forward to this sophomore effort of theirs. In simple terms, All is Well surpasses its predecessor in every conceivable…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.robbenford.com/ The legendary guitar-slinger Robben Ford is a true master of his craft as evidenced by the quality of his recorded works and live performances be that as a solo artist or a member of various bands such as Yellowjackets and L.A. Express. Also, the number of renowned artists and musicians…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://jordsjo.bandcamp.com/album/salighet Adorned by wonderfully evocative artwork and sporting a most intriguing title, the uniquely skilled Norwegian prog rockers known as Jordsjø are back with a new masterpiece. Just when I thought that it would be impossible for them to top the outstanding and flawless Pastoralia LP (2021), they have in fact…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://erlanddahlen.bandcamp.com/album/racoons Talk about being overwhelmingly surprised by something that turns out to be so much cooler and more captivating than anticipated – yes, that is exactly what this original and uniquely crafted LP by legendary drummer Erland Dahlen (Madrugada, Stian Westerhus, Nils Petter Molvær Group) is. How to describe this evocative…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://bushmansrevenge.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-better-for-seeing-you What a magnificent piece of work this cleverly written opus by jazz rockers Bushman’s Revenge is. Six beguiling compositions that add something fresh and vital to the genre are what lie in store for you, and there is atmosphere and dynamics in spades throughout not to mention that it is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://www.augustburnsred.com/ Believe it or not, progressive metalcore bands are hardly a dime a dozen these days, especially those worth listening to twice. Arguably Between The Buried And Me were the first band to marry hardcore to progressive metal, what with their chaotic but still quite original self-titled debut²⁰⁰² followed by…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://heatwavesbergen.bandcamp.com/album/kappa Released in late June by the ever-reliable Apollon Records and containing some of the coolest vibes and most inviting atmospheres that I have come across lately, this eclectic disc is a strangely beguiling affair that weaves indie pop, psychedelic rock, and jazz-like elements together to great effect. Actually, that description…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://gorodmetal.bandcamp.com/ Did I not just review a French technical death metal album? I sure did (Catalyst’s “A Different Painting For The New World”, 5.5) and here we go with another one, this time from a long running act Gorod whose roots (previously as Gorgasm) go all the way back to…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://sevenimpale.bandcamp.com/album/summit Yes, it has finally arrived! Seven years was a long time to wait for a new musical treat by inventive Norwegian rockers Seven Impale, but how exhilarating it is when it turns out that it was all worth it and that Summit stands tall and proud as a well-written and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://leagus.bandcamp.com/ This exquisitely crafted stroke of musical excellence is undoubtedly one of the most unique and deeply emotive albums that I have come across in quite a while. With its shimmering beauty and seemingly endless musical textures, the talented duo from Tromsø have joined forces with the North Norwegian Jazz Ensemble…
VENUE: Apollon PlatebarDATE: 23.02.2023 ORGANIZER: Apollon Platebar/Is It Jazz? Records Being a huge fan of Datadyr’s two outputs on Is it Jazz? Records, it goes without saying that yours truly could not miss out on the ridiculously skilled trio’s mini-concert at the awesome and always attractive Apollon Platebar in the city center yesterday. With…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://datadyr.bandcamp.com/album/keymaster A sparkling and brand-new digital EP by the immensely talented Datadyr is a most welcome thing to these ears, and those of you who enjoy the jazzier aspects of prog rock, blues, and Americana will undoubtedly find something worth celebrating and cherishing here. Bursting with energy and filled to the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://isitjazzrecords.no/ With Do You Dream in Colours? we are quite far removed, musically and stylistically speaking, from what you are probably accustomed to reading on the Eternal Terror Live website, but I would feel like a complete tit if I did not write a few short lines about this stellar offering…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://falsegods1.bandcamp.com/ “Suffering is all that really ever was” (Your Thoughts Are Void*) It’s been about 2 years since the post-hardcore/sludge+ metal New York quintet False Gods released their explosive fruit of the three preceding independently released EPs: “Wasteland” (2016), “Reports From Oblivion” (2017) and “The Serpent And The Ladder” (2019),…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Datadyr – Startside | Facebook The Norwegian trio known as Datadyr is a musically enticing one, and this dynamic group shows impeccable skill here with respect to delivering powerful tunes that are rooted in jazz but where prog, blues, and traces of Americana are expertly woven into the mix. What amazes…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/tronosonic/ How on earth this one snuck right by me back in March is beyond me, but the most important thing is that I recently got my hands on this psychedelic-looking digipak by the Norwegian jazz/prog/avant-garde noisemakers The Tronosonic Experience. Let me tell you right here and now that “The Shadow…
