RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://glasblume.bandcamp.com/album/city-in-rain Oslo’s Glasblume is something quite out of the ordinary and a wonderful addition to the alternative music scene, which is evident in every nook and cranny of the eleven deftly executed compositions that their deeply atmospheric debut LP appropriately titled City in Rain is comprised of. Honestly, I could not think…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://papercrownmusic.bandcamp.com/album/letters What a lovely and heartwarming gem Letters is, and what a fantastic and memorable encounter Paper Crown is for that matter. Not being familiar with the entity beforehand, I had no idea what to expect from this eclectic duo, but what we have here is a superbly crafted and deeply evocative…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://viadoloris.bandcamp.com/album/guerre-et-paix Conceived, meticulously crafted, and perfectly nursed in solitude, this majestic and heartfelt opus by Via Doloris, which is the brainchild of former Satyricon live guitarist Gildas Le Pape, is a most welcome surprise. Across seven inspired compositions and forty-eight thrilling minutes, Le Pape and renowned drummer Frost (1349, Satyricon) guide us…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://edgedcircleproductions.bandcamp.com/album/psychodelic-darkness What we have here is a most interesting musical proposition. Hailing from Chile and nursed in oppressive gloom by mastermind (and multi-instrumentalist) Witchfucker and drummer Thoth, this short and concise slab of hellish black metal infused with speed metal influences titled Psychodelic Darkness is nothing short of a perverted musical feast…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.blackstonecherry.com/ Kentucky rockers Black Stone Cherry have released some impressive albums and EPs in the past, and on top of that of all that, they are also a killer live act and know perfectly well how to work the stage and the audience. Their upcoming offering titled Celebrate is nothing short of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/JoelHoekstra13 Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Revolution Saints, Cher) is not only one of the hardest working musicians out there but also one of the most talented and productive that I can think of, and a brief glance at his impressive resume should tell you all you need to know about this…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://pymlicomusic.bandcamp.com/ The classy Norwegian outfit Pymlico never fail to stir the senses and tick all the right jazz prog boxes whenever they gift us with new music, and the upcoming album titled No More, No Less is a perfect example of how to bring inspired and forward-thinking sounds to life in a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://primalucerock.bandcamp.com/album/way-of-perfection The French prog metal act known as Primaluce released the impressive Dark Mirrors LP last year, which generated quite a lot of well-deserved praise, and it is therefore a thrill to see and hear that they have maintained their momentum and crafted an equally worthwhile offering in the shape of the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://ihxhi.bandcamp.com/album/unheeding-sun The talented multi-instrumentalist L.R. Måløy (If Nothing Is, Dødheimsgard) teamed up with drummer Jens Noteng and vocalist Kjersti Marie Seiersten a while back, which resulted in the intriguing and musically adventurous prospect known as IHXHI. They released a self-titled EP last year, and just a few days ago the mysterious entity…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://koldbrann.bandcamp.com/album/den-klandestine-kjerne-eons-in-oblivion I hardly ever review singles as life is just too short for that kind of thing, but once in a while one has to make an exception to the rule – a case in point being this split 7-inch vinyl featuring two brand-new and deeply unnverving tracks by two of my…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RobinTrower/ The legendary Robin Trower (ex-Procol Harum) has been impressively productive not to mention highly creative these past many years as evidenced by a string of robust and enjoyable solo offerings. As solid as many of those outputs are, the stage is where Trower truly shines and also where his songs pack…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://toyweather.bandcamp.com/album/feathers-in-a-strange-wind What a treat it is to see this musically adventurous and superbly arranged piece of work being released on CD and vinyl; it deserved a proper physical release as opposed to merely existing in the digital sphere. Main man Svein Hovland’s knack for crafting uniquely atmospheric compositions that seamlessly move back…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.megadeth.com/ How to sum up the vital importance and pioneering spirit of thrash metal titans Megadeth? To many of us, Dave Mustaine and his supremely talented cohorts delivered a string of flawless soundtracks to our youths that still resonate with us to this day, and which will undoubtedly continue to inspire and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.electrichighband.com/ The debut album by these hard rocking Norwegians impressed this writer greatly and was a vigorous, vibrant, and riveting tour de force of groove, hooks, crunchy riffs, and 70s vibes. All of that is very much present throughout this sophomore effort of theirs too, but what sets the latter slightly apart…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.gymnocal.com/products/ljungblut-the-other-side-of-all-things-ltd-lp-blue This musically eclectic and experimental gem by the talented Kim Ljung (Zeromancer, Seigmen) from 2005 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and what better way to mark that than by having the brilliant people over at Gymnocal Industries release a gorgeous-looking blue vinyl edition of it. If you missed out…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://orcd.co/enthronedashspawn The Belgian black metal trailblazers known as Enthroned have been rather prolific since the band’s inception back in 1993, and the remarkable thing about this most unholy and impenetrably dark outfit is that they are getting better and better with time. With that in mind, let us take a closer look…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://zebulondoom.bandcamp.com/album/come-day-of-reckoning-2 The splendid Norwegian doom metal outfit known as Zebulon unleashed this musically dynamic force of nature just a couple of weeks ago, and there is an exciting and emotive edge as well as heaps of gloom to the 6-track effort, which sports the evocative title Come Day of Reckoning, reflecting its…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://doublemute.bandcamp.com/album/corporate-culture-final-v2 One of the most unique entities out there today is undoubtedly the deeply intriguing Double Mute and their highly eclectic and delightfully twisted on all things progressive. Also, for the sake of clarity, let there be no doubt that main man Jake Rosenberg is a musical genius whose ideas and visions…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://patriarchy.bandcamp.com/album/manual-for-dying-2 Hot on the heels of their wicked live album (namely Suffer with Me) released earlier this year comes this riveting new studio offering, which sports the brilliant title Manual for Dying, and the disc is nothing if not consistent, cohesive, and mesmeric. Its ten sharp and memorable tracks represent the very…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://lnk.to/theaphoticvortex Spawned in Austria nearly twenty years ago and having undergone quite the interesting musical evolution since then, Asphagor recently unleashed their fifth full-length onslaught via Immortal Frost Productions, and it just so happens that The Aphotic Vortex ticks pretty much all the right black/death metal boxes and delivers plenty of chills…
