I was scrolling though my FB feed recently (it is an awful habit, I know) and came across a band saying they had just been given access to the promo of their new album, and would anyone be interested in reviewing it? As far as I was aware, I knew nothing about them so said I would go for it and was soon listening to a real throwback in time, something which reminded me just why I keeping doing this writing lark after so many years. It came as quite a shock to realise I had actually reviewed these guys previously, when I said nice things about their 2019 release ‘Nattfolien’, but having heard this one I am now determined to keep more on track with what they are doing as this is nothing short of incredible.
The line-up is still Håkon Oftung (vocals, guitars, keyboards, flute) and Kristian Frøland (drums) plus some guests in the form of Jon Henriksen from Black Magic, Kristian Valbo from Obliteration/Aura Noir, and Andreas Prestmo and Lars Fredrik Frøislie from Wobbler, and although their ninth album is just 36 minutes long it feels much bigger than that. This is an album out of time, something which belongs in a time 50 years ago when I was a teenager reading Tolkein and listening to the wide breadth of progressive rock. This is classic progressive rock as a genre as opposed to a direction, bringing in elements of Gentle Giant (in particular), Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Rush, Genesis, Camel and more. It has a warm analogue feeling as opposed to digital, and the world disappears when listening to this as they move between acoustic and heavy, with influences from Steve Howe and Yes never too far away.
As I said before, one could easily imagine this album is all about Oftung given he provides everything apart from drums, but it is Frøland who keeps it all together, turning the drums very much into an instrument in their own right, being very reminiscent of the likes of Bruford and Peart. This does not feel like an album from 2026 but instead is a lost masterpiece from 50 years ago. I am glad it is not too long as this keeps it short and sweet, just like the albums were back then, when they happily sat on one side of a TDK D90. This is classic symphonic progressive rock with elements of hard rock and folk, all brought into a 1970’s pot and stirred with love. It is the type of album which makes the listener fall in love with the genre all over again.
