Posted in Whathaveyou on October 29th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
You know, it’s been six years since Norway’s The Devil and the Almighty Blues put out their third record, Tre (review here), and between the length of that span of time and the fact of their signing to Ripple Musicthis July after a spring and early summer of fests — I got to see them at Freak Valley (review here) and be reminded of their formidable stage presence; note that this tour finishes in Siegen, Germany, near where that festival is held — I don’t think you’d be out of line asking if the advent of a Spring 2026 European tour like the below ‘Tour of the Season’ might coincide with the release of their awaited next LP. Actually, by the time they get there, the next album is supposed to have been out already.
When word of the Ripple pickup came through, it was stated that their previously-announced appearance for Planet Desert Rock Weekend next January would be the album’s far-from-home release show. That’s about three months out from now, end of January, and so one would expect word pretty much any day with some concrete information about the offering to come. I haven’t seen anything, and not to toot my own horn, but I probably would between the PR wire and the social media algorithm that put these tour dates in front of my eyes, but there’s still time for the promo cycle to rev up. Until then, some things are worth being impatient over.
To the tour dates:
The Devil and the Almighty Blues – Tour of the Season 2026
This will be a wild one! Poster artwork by Subterranean Prints
Norway’s Kal-El begin their tour of the US East Coast and Midwest tomorrow, Oct. 16. Today, they’re premiering their video for the new track “Juggernaut,” which heralds the coming in 2026 of their next full-length, Astral Voyager Vol. 2. If you’re not auto-stoked on that prospect by seeing the words alone, just hit up the video. Really. The best argument that anyone has ever made in favor of Kal-El has always been Kal-El songs. I could sit here for the next three hours trying to capture some aspect of the intangible righteousness of what the band does, and on a decent day, I might say something that someone hearing the song could relate to. Hypothetical cookie for me.
But even if that were to happen, there’s nothing I could say that’s going to convey the largesse of the roll that starts “Juggernaut,” or the way the five-piece seem to ‘go-big’ just as much on melody as impact. There is no revolution happening in Kal-El‘s music, and there never has been, and it’s never been about that. “Juggernaut,” in being the first audio from the follow-up to this year’s correspondingly banger Astral Voyager Vol. 1 (review here), is exciting regardless. It’s a celebration of heavy rock itself, of riffs, of volume, of the power of music to move you. I didn’t understand this about the band at first. But they’re songwriters, as they’ve proven over and again, and they prove once more with “Juggernaut.” I look forward to the next record and the many more steamroller grooves to follow.
Astral Voyager Vol. 2 will be out next year on Blues Funeral Recordings and Majestic Mountain Records. Some words on the single and the tour dates follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:
Kal-El, “Juggernaut” video premiere
Kal-El on “Juggernaut”:
“We are thrilled to finally unleash our next album “Astral Voyager Vol. 2” upon the world. “Vol. 2” is perhaps somewhat darker than Vol. 1, but everything is wrapped up in our style of playing and sound: expect heavy riffs, melodic vocals, and thunderous drums. “Juggernaut” is the first single, and it’s just that: a merciless juggernaut pounding every inch of your body with heavy, oh so heavy drums and riffs wrapped up in a wall of sound with the typical melodic KAL-EL vocals.”
Juggernaut is the lead single from the upcoming album ‘Astral Voyager Vol 2,’ set for release in February 2026. ‘Astral Voyager Vol 2 is a co-release by Majestic Mountain Records and Blues Funeral Recordings!
Kal-el will tour the US in October. Catch them on these dates October 16: The Odditorium – Asheville, NC October 17: The Pour House Music Hall – Raleigh, NC October 18: TV Eye – Queens, NY October 19: Sonia – Cambridge, MA October 21: MilkBoy Philly – Philadelphia, PA October 22: The Metro Gallery – Baltimore, MD October 23: Westside Bowl – Youngstown, OH October 24: The Sanctuary Detroit – Hamtramck, MI October 25: Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL October 26: X-Ray Arcade – Cudahy, WI October 28: Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS October 29: The Vanguard – Tulsa, OK October 30: The Lost Well – Austin, TX
Enjoy, and may the fuzz be with you!
Credits Video by Drain Hope ( / drainhope ) Written and performed by Kal-El Recorded at Bridge Burner Recording Engineered by Ørjan Kristoffersen Lund Produced by Kal-El Co-produced by Ørjan Kristoffersen Lund Mixed and mastered by Ruben Willem Copyright to Darkspace Music
Posted in Reviews on October 10th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
This isn’t the end of the Quarterly Review — it wraps up on Monday — but it is the end of the week, and I’m ready for it. The music’s been good though and that’s something of a salvation for times where it seems like the strange and terrifying are in competition with each other to make life more awful. That doesn’t end on the weekend, of course, but at least I’ll have two days to put together the last post of this QR, and when you’ve been writing 10 reviews a day all week, half that counts as respite. Something like it, anyhow.
So before we wrap up the week with whatever on earth I’ll actually pick to close it out (any requests?), here’s one more batch, with my thanks for your valuable time and attention. Hope you find something cool.
Quarterly Review #51-60:
P+A+G+E+S, No More Can Be Done
No More Can Be Done is the debut album from South Africa’s P+A+G+E+S, but the Cape Town trio spent five years in the 2010s together as Morning Pages, so that their first record would hold so much intention behind it shouldn’t necessarily be a shocker. The reason behind the name change? An apparent change in their project, which is to say the band got way, way darker, way, way heavier and nasty in that sharp-toothed-thing-you-can’t-see-but-you-know-is-there-also-there-are-no-lights kind of way. The 15-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “The Passage” leads the way down into the bleak, extreme sludge that follows, but as the careful linear build of “Shine On” later demonstrates, P+A+G+E+S are more methodical than the noise and outwardly chaotic feel would seem to indicate. Atmosphere plays a central role in what they do, and that’s consistent from their run as Morning Pages, but No More Can Be Done is about what’s lurking and lurching in the bleakness.
Following the intro “Chasm,” Bask launch their fourth album, The Turning, with minor-key mystique and subsequent crush via “In the Heat of the Dying Sun” and “The Traveler,” piling triumph upon triumph in a way that is indicative of the progressive songwriting at work. “The Cloth” is slower, but neither less weighted nor less gorgeous for that, and as “Dig My Heels” works in some of the Southern/Americana pastoralism the Asheville, North Carolina, outfit have always been known for, the melody proves a standout, setting up another life-affirming payoff in the seven-minute “Unwound,” the mellower turn for the build of “Long Lost Light” and the somewhat wistfully twanging undertones of the title-track, which closes with grace and poise rare enough in heavy anything. Clearly a band who have worked to and been successful in transcending their root influences, and an identity that’s been hard-forged over their decade-plus. The Turning sees them actively bring their approach to another level.
A 15-minute two-songer from Lima, Peru’s Matus, as the psychedelic weirdo sometimes-cultists of long standing offer “El Aullido” (8:45) and “Planetario” (6:55) as their first outing since 2021’s Espejismos II (review here). Both processions — and they are that — feel built out from jams, but the recordings have guitarist Manolo Garfias and keyboardist Richard Nossar (both also alternate bass duties) at their core, along with Roberto Soto‘s drumming, Veronik‘s theremin in the deep-freakout section of “Planetario,” Úrsula Inga‘s vocals on “El Aullido,” and so on with other guests (including Camilo Uriarte, who co-produced and mixed, along solo artist Chino Burga on guitar, and Cristóbal Pérez on sax for “Planetario”) adding to the movement. “El Aullido” pairs shoegaze with a roll informed by South American folk, perfect for Inga‘s vocals, while “Planetario” carries more of its melody in the keyboards and surrounding ambience. It’s a welcome check-in from Matus as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band.
Where New England bizarropsych rockers November’s Fire‘s 2024 album, Through a Mournful Song, took an approach to its material like some of earliest Monster Magnet‘s underproduced kitchen-sink quirk, the two-song EP 2025 presents two different faces, and that turns out to be because the songs included are over 30 years old. “2025” and “Somnia” — the latter which brings in original guitarist Greg Brosseau for a guest spot that includes clean lead vocals — were allegedly written in the early 1990s, and if you told me the root of the title-track was a teenaged thrash riff, they make that easy enough to believe in the modernized, thickened chug of the song as it stands now. That is to say, they’ve brought it into the sludgy experimentalist context of the work now, but it remains dark. As it inevitably would. “Somnia” is shorter, has some backing chants, and feels meditative even as the guitar holds to its restlessness. Weird band staying weird, screwing around with their old stuff and getting something out of it. Sometimes an experiment works.
Bergen, Norway, four-piece Goatmilker don’t really leave you with much choice other than to call them progressive, though that hardly says boo about the reach of their self-titled debut, which is as much psychedelic punk as it is black metal in its rhythms, but remains a work of heavy rock and roll nonetheless, grooving, catchy on “Devils on My Tail,” aggro-weird on “Time… Tearing Apart,” all-in on tonal overwhelm for “Mountains” and cheekily grandiose in the finale “Storm” only after they’ve seen fit to take on Journey‘s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” which given the goes-where-it-wants succession leading up to it hardly feels out of place at all. While at no risk of overstaying its welcome at eight songs and 34 minutes, Goatmilker does make for a challenging listen at times, but the rewards for actually paying attention to what they’re doing are worth whatever effort is required. That is to say, engage actively for best results.
If Grin sound a little different on Incantation, a two-track 7″ with a digital bonus cut in the flatteningly heavy “Echoes in the Static,” that might be because the duo of drummer/vocalist Jan Oberg and bassist Sabine Oberg didn’t record themselves as usual, but instead tracked live at Wave Akademie in their native Berlin with Anton Urban (Jan Oberg co-produced, mixed and mastered, so still had a hand for sure). So, rather than the studio leftovers one might expect mere months after the band’s last full-length, Acid Gods (review here), the songs may have their origins as such but arise from different circumstances. There’s some more of a wash to “Incantation” and “The Color of Ghosts,” and “Echoes in the Static” is consumed by its titular noise toward its finish, but “The Color of Ghosts” dares some melodic vocals amid all that bombast, and as usual, Grin forge their own take on metal, sludge and intense atmospheric heavy.
A collection of bangers on the second LP through Glory or Death Records from San Diego rockers Mezzoa, TON 618 plays out over the course of a taut 13 songs and 39 minutes, careening desert style in “Hard to Hear,” punking up the groove in “Chump” before basking in Sabbath worship for “Wasted Universe” (think “Symptom” thereof), building crunching tension in “Uncle Cho” only to release it in the second half of the song with a grunge melody, carrying that melody into “Smiles for Everyone,” and then slamming all that momentum into the fuzzed radness of the lead tone and Alice in Chainsy vocal of “How You Been.” That’s not the end, I’m just less efficient than the band and so I’m running out of space. “Blessing” attains inner Nirvana while “Desert Snakes” sounds like it’s ready for a John Garcia guest spot, “Chachi Liberachi” echoes the sharper corners of “Wasted Universe,” “Goin’ Down” has that riff that every New York hardcore song ever (yes, all of them. don’t @ me.) has but goes somewhere completely different with it, and closer “How Are We” highlights the craft that’s let them do it all in the first place. Hey kid, you like rock music? Well get a load of this.
Beginning with its longest track in the nine-minute “Biting In,” Orsak:Oslo‘s Silt and Static finds the Norwegian/Swedish outfit somewhat outgrown from their dronier foundations, harnessing a psychedelia that moves with krautrocking purposes, while retaining the band’s previously-established ambient instrumentalist approach. “Days Adrift” is an even thicker roll, with ebbs and flows that give precedent to the shove that results in “Salt Stains,” which follows, while “Petals” dips momentarily into minimalism. But the story here is the fullness of sound, with pieces like the subdued-but-building “Resonance in Ash” or “Petals” in conversation with Pelican/Russian Circles-style heavy, while “The Onward Stride” and “Time Leak” bring prog more to the forefront and “Bread and Sink” lets the rumble bring it all together. In these ways, Silt and Static rewrites the story of Orsak:Oslo as a band, and their reach has never seemed so broad.
Modder, Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun
The hypnotic drone finish of “Type 27” that ends side A of Modder‘s second album, Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun, is just one way the band incorporate ambience as a key element in their trades between loud and quiet, tense and open, and crushing and spacious. These different sides come together in various combinations across the six cuts on the Belgian instrumentalist five-piece’s 41-minute run, which sets out in oppressive and blasting fashion with “Stone Eternal,” as heavy as whatever doom you want to put it next to and still able to hit with the precision of Gojira. The shorter “Mather” is more angular, glitchy and mirrored by “Chaoism” on the album’s second half, and though they lead off with their longest track (immediate points) in “Stone Eternal,” the heavy djenty chug that comes to fruition on “In the Sun” is unmistakable as anything but the closer, building, receding, tossing in what sure sounds like a human voice chanting and surging in intensity to round out with a keyboard-overlaid bludgeoning. By then you’re pretty much pulp anyway.
Past Warnings of Present Futures tells you a lot about its point of view in the title, but electronic experimentalists Futuredrugs push the meaning deeper still, opening with a barely recognizable take on “What a Wonderful World” with “Skies of Blue” and revamping Tom Waits‘ “Dirt in the Ground” on “…And the Gallows Groaned.” The cinematic, dark synth/programmed backdrop of these and the sampled “No Home” blur the line between originality and reinterpretation/manipulation, and I won’t claim to know whether pieces like “Ice Age Coming” or “When the Last Tree Falls” are similarly sourced, but maybe. In any case, in a time when remembering things like “nothing matters anyway” is a comfort, there is space for the open-minded listener to dwell among these seven tracks, which when taken as a whole succeed in embodying the apocalyptic hellscape of recent years. I don’t know if they’re offering sanctuary so much as a snapshot, but as that, it sure feels like an accurate depiction.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 3rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I hear nothing so much as a fresh take in the self-titled debut from Bergen, Norway’s Goatmilker. Not to be confused with the Dutch death metallers of the same name, the newcomer four-piece will issue their first long-player Sept. 16 (hey that’s what the headline said!), and their Bandcamp has four songs from it up already, if you’d like to get some semblance of an idea as to a “fresh take” on what. My answer to that question is doom rock. You can hear cultistry in their riffing, and that might honestly be a black-metal-via-osmosis influence — so far as I know, they haven’t worked with Iver Sandøy yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out — running coincidental to an intermittent punker push (that’s you, “Time… Tearing Apart”) as guitarist Vegard Lindtveit and bassist Mathias Lieberknecht share vocals to make an early cut like “Devils on My Tail” a dangerously-purposeful-sounding melodic highlight.
And yes, as you get down past the immersively churning progressive thrashrock of “Mountains,” that indeed is a cover of Journey‘s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” that greets you, and much to the band’s credit, they balance loyalty to the original with shifting the tones and atmosphere of the song so that it’s consistent en route to the all-in drama and charge of the closer, “Storm.” I’m just getting to know the album and its songs, but their untraditional traditionalism stands them out immediately, and so far as I’ve yet heard, there’s a definite focus on craft that speaks to me of intention toward growth.
I’ve held a slot in my next Quarterly Review for the album, but think of this as an early heads up. Opening track “Mission Log 1601” is streaming at the bottom of this post along with the latest single “Time… Tearing Apart.” If you dig what you hear there, I would advise you to hit their Bandcamp for further complexity.
And enjoy:
GOATMILKER – Goatmilker – Sept. 16
After two years of brewing in rain-soaked Bergen, Norway, GOATMILKER is finally ready to unleash their self-titled debut album – a raw and heavy mix of crushing riffs, layered vocals, and soaring atmospheres. Drawing inspiration from Mastodon, Black Sabbath and Voivod, this is no glossy take on modern prog-metal. Instead, it’s a collision of cosmic chaos, dystopian moods, and primal energy – packaged in a surprisingly accessible form.
From the cold endless space of Mission Log 1601, through the epic storm of riffs in Mountains, to the hook-driven force of Black Grass – every track lands like a punch to the face.
The final single, Time… Tearing Apart, arrives September 2. It’s the most intense outing from GOATMILKER yet – lyrically exploring helplessness as life’s hourglass runs dry, musically hammering down with riff after riff in the spirit of Slayer, Kvelertak, and Megadeth. This one guarantees a MOSHPIT at every GOATMILKER show.
The debut album GOATMILKER drops worldwide on September 16, 2025!
Tracklisting: 1. Mission Log 1601 2. Devils on My Tail 3. Time… Drawing Near 4. Time… Tearing Apart 5. Black Grass 6. Mountains 7. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) 8. Storm
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 1st, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Below you’ll find the final announcement from this year’s Høstsabbat in Oslo. The full lineup isn’t below, which includes the likes of YOB, Gnome, Ahab, Domkraft and Hippotraktor, among others on a cross-genre bill that’s only bolstered by LLNN, Kanaan og Ævestaden, Redwood Temple and the others listed here. It’s funny because when they say below that, watching LLNN, “your spine and your knees will have trouble standing upright through this set,” they mean it because the band are so oppressively heavy — fair enough; they are that — but I first read and just thought they were saying you’re old. And again, fair enough; I am that.
This festival has a life and a persona of its own at this point and I’m lucky to have been a handful of times and attended its Springtime sister fest — Desertfest Oslo — earlier this year. If you get to attend Høstsabbat in October and you’ve never been, just know you’re in for something special.
From socials:
⛪️LAST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT⛪️
Autumn is growing near and the church bells will soon ring for the sabbath to commence! We’re super stoked and proud to announce the last batch of bands for this year’s festival.
🪦 𝕷𝕷𝕹𝕹 If you mix an 80s space-horror movie soundtrack, with crushing hardcore vocals, and a thundering omnipresent bass, rumbling through your very human core, you get something close to LLNN. Your spine and knees will have trouble standing upright through this set.
🪦 𝕯𝖆𝖚𝖋ø𝖉𝖙 Experimental noise and punk outfit, with extra weight on mental. Daufødt always delivers extraordinary live shows, with frontwoman Annika never holding back.
🪦 𝕶𝖆𝖓𝖆𝖆𝖓 𝖔𝖌 𝕬𝕰𝖛𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖓 When psych-rock and jazz collides with wooly sweaters, fiddles and Norwegian cultural historic aesthetics, you get something like this. A cozy, soulful, one-of-a-kind musical phenomenon.
🪦 𝕾:𝖙 𝕰𝖗𝖎𝖐 The angst driven psychedelic doom outfit from Uppsala has risen from the permafrost to perform their swan songs echoing from the brink of outer space!
🪦 𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖉𝖐𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖙 Raw, primal and loud. Blodkvalt mixes all things extreme, from the shrill piercing vocals, to the tenacious and intense wall of musical prowess.
🪦 𝕽𝖊𝖉𝖜𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝕿𝖊𝖒𝖕𝖑𝖊 Dynamic, raw, and sludgy. Having re-invented their sound, and come out harder, faster and punchier, the Temple is now filled with relentless, in-your-face metal!
🪦 𝖄𝖛𝖗𝖎𝖘 New outfit Yvris, brings their chugging, dark and melancholic take on humanity’s decay. Expect harsh vocals tied together by a gnarly band with sludge flair.
🪦 𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖗č𝖆𝖑𝖒𝖒𝖎𝖎𝖉 An exceptionally hard duo, delving into the Sámi religious and shamanistic themes, dragging us down to the abyss that is Rohttuáibmu, Rohttu’s kingdom of death and sickness.
The fact of the matter is there aren’t a lot of bands out there right now in the heavy rock underground who could or would inspire this kind of creativity. “Monomann” featured on Slomosa‘s 2024 sophomore LP, Tundra Rock (review here), and the animatic below is by director Frank Marino, who’s had an enviable career in animation — bro worked in Curious George and Futurama both! — and fueled by nothing more than his passion for the music. Which is amazing. Thank you for sharing.
You can tell he’s a fan watching, whether it’s a subtle reference to Fu Manchu or the careful, slightly down-tilted angle drummer Jard Hole holds his head. This video is an animatic, which is why it looks choppier than flash animation from 2003 — not that I was looking at Homestar Runner memes yesterday or anything, but if you’re of a certain age, you’ll have an easier time piecing the frames together in your head — but all drawn out by Marino and manifesting the vision for a story he wanted to tell about the band.
I’ll say it again for emphasis — this is rare. Not that there isn’t ‘fan art’ out there, but not at this level, and not with the obvious dedication to the purpose that Marino put into making this “Monomann” clip, even to this point, let alone a finished work of animation to come from what he’s already got. It’s something pretty special.
Slomosa are at SonicBlast Fest in Portugal this weekend and on from there with their doing-a-professional-album-cycle touring with an expanding reach. Many, many dates follow the video clip below, as seen on social media. Underneath that are the album stream for Tundra Rock and the full ‘Live at Verftet’ set that was recently posted, in case you’d like to make an afternoon of it. You wouldn’t be wrong.
Enjoy:
Slomosa, “Monomann” animatic video
Director Frank Marino on “Monomann”:
Celebrating the fantastic music by Norway’s Slomosa and showcasing the imagination of a lifelong artist and career Animation Director. This is an animatic, meaning it’s an edited storyboard with lots of poses, but not fully animated. This is a personal project that I worked on for nearly a full year on the side whenever I could. A true labor of love started as an effort to display a fuller range of my creative abilities beyond those listed on my IMDB page. Though I am super proud of those credits, including Futurama, Transformers, Curious George, Disenchantment and Supervising Director of all three seasons of FOX’s Duncanville. All of the art is mine and I put everything I had into it. I used Toonboom Storyboard Pro, which is widely used in the animation industry.
Slomosa’s Tundra Rock was my favorite album of 2024 and you should all go listen to it if you haven’t yet! I’m happy to share this original short story with everyone, especially fans of the Desert/ Stoner Rock genre. It’s my love letter to the music that has always been a part of my artistic journey. Be on the lookout for nods to a few of my personal favorites.
SLOMOSA 2025 Touring Schedule 07 Aug – Sonic Blast (PT) + 08 Aug – Alcatraz (BE) + 10 Aug – Rocklette (CH) + 12 Aug – Cologne, DE • Carlswerk Victoria x 13 Aug – Frankfurt, DE • Batschkapp x 15 Aug – Alta Live (NO) + 22 Aug – Vangen Festival (NO) + 24 Aug – Furiosfest (FR) + 12 Sep – TK Deathfest (NO) + 20 Sep – Høst Rock (NO)+ 02 Oct – Florø, NO • Vesle Kinn 04 Oct – Tundra & Lightning Fest (NO) + 09 Oct – Krakow, PL • Klub Kwadrat ^ 10 Oct – Warszawa, PL • Niebo ^ 11 Oct – Berlin, DE • Columbiahalle ^ 12 Oct – Frankfurt, DE • Zoom ^ 13 Oct – Lille, FR • L’AÉronef ^ 15 Oct – Bordeaux, FR • Rock School Barbey ^ 16 Oct – Madrid, ES • Mon Madrid ^ 17 Oct – Barcelona, ES • Sala Apolo ^ 18 Oct – Lyon, FR • Le Transbordeur ^ 19 Oct – Paris, FR • L’Élysée Montmartre^ 21 Oct – Stuttgart, DE • Im Wizemann ^ 22 Oct – Salzhaus, CH • Winterthur ^ 23 Oct – Vienna, AT • ARENA ^ 24 Oct – München, DE • Theaterfabrik ^ 25 Oct – Leipzig, DE • Felsenkeller ^ 26 Oct – Hamburg, DE • GF36 ^ 28 Oct – Köln, DE • Live Music Hall ^ 29 Oct – Groningen, NL • De Oosterpoort ^ 30 Oct – Nijmegen, NL • Doomroosje ^ 31 Oct – Utrecht, NL • Tivolivredenburg ^ 01 Nov – Antwerp, BE • Trix ^ 04 Nov – Copenhagen, DK • Vega 05 Nov – Malmö, SE • Plan B (Garage Stage) 06 Nov – Göteborg, SE • Monument 031 07 Nov – Stockholm, SE • Bar Brooklyn 08 Nov – Borlänge, SE • Broken Dreams* 05 Dec – Stavanger, NO • Folken 06 Dec – Kristiansand, NO • Kick Kulturhus 11 Dec – Trondheim, NO • Byscenen 12 Dec -Bodø, NO • Sinus 13 Dec – Mo I Rana, NO • Bråk 17 Dec – Lillehammer, NO • Wiese 18 Dec – Oslo, NO • Rockefeller 19 Dec – Moss, NO • Verket Scene 20 Dec – Skien, NO • Parkbiografen
+Festival ^Support For Kadavar *With Greenleaf & Lowrider xSupporting Mastodon
Slomosa features: Ben Berdous – vocals/guitar Marie Moe – vocals/bass Tor Erik Bye – guitar Jard Hole – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 5th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Trondheim, Norway’s White Tundra ingratiated themselves with their 2023 self-titled debut (review here), fostering a sound that reached into heavy progressivism without being subsumed by the modernity of it all when it came to digging in on a densely-toned groove. Their second album, it just so happens, is being worked on now — right now, while we speak, no matter what time it is where you live — and will see release through Argonauta Records‘ imprint Octopus Rising, the roster of which continues to expand.
As to when that might happen, let’s presume they want to finish the LP before they put it out, so maybe 2026? I’ll pencil them into the notes for next year and keep an eye to see if maybe they want to be clever and sneak it out in December or somesuch. You never know with these things.
Words from the PR wire in blue:
Mystic Norwegian rockers WHITE TUNDRA join forces with Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records
We are proud to welcome WHITE TUNDRA to the Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records family. These visionary heavy voyagers channel the raw power of nature into their music, blending crushing riffs, groovy rhythms and a deep atmospheric sensibility.
Emerging from the northern marshes, WHITE TUNDRA creates sonic journeys that drift across icy tundras and into shadowy forests. Their sound is a thrilling mix of 70s heavy rock and 90s stoner vibes, enriched by elements of doom, black metal and Nordic folklore. With influences ranging from Red Fang to Witchcraft and Skraeckoedlan, they deliver a truly unique and heavy experience.
After making waves with their self-titled debut album in 2023, which earned a place on the Doom Charts and widespread praise throughout the underground scene, WHITE TUNDRA are now back in the studio. The band is currently working on their second full-length album at AutumnSongs Recording Studio, with producer Rhys Marsh behind the console.
The band states, “We’re stoked to be part of the Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records family. This partnership marks a new chapter for WHITE TUNDRA and we’re excited to share the powerful new material we’ve been creating.”
Formed in 2018, WHITE TUNDRA has already released a 7-inch single, an EP, and a debut album through the local label All Good Clean Records. With a solid and inspired lineup now in place, they are ready to reach new heights and captivate a wider audience.
Stay tuned for more news, sneak peeks and upcoming live shows.
Line-up Steven Kresin – Guitar and vocals Kjell Andres Nilsen – Lead guitar and vocals Øyvind Persvik – Bass Ola Fuglevaag – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 22nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
On Aug. 8, just one day before they appear in the UK at Bloodstock Open Air, Norway’s Zebulon will release “Reap the Fruits of Famine” as the first single from their upcoming, Apollon Records-delivered full-length, the title of which has yet to be revealed. Presumably those details will come with the single’s release, but I guess it depends on the timing. The song in question is called “Reap the Fruits of Famine” and it’s an aggressive take emphasizing both sides of the ‘doom’ and ‘metal’ equation in doom metal. If you’d like a preview, the five-piece’s 2024 two-tracker, Desolation I, is streaming below.
With that, you get two tracks of majestic doom methodology that’s pretty in line with the new single to come, or at very least enough to give you a general idea of where Zebulon are coming from. If you’ll be at Bloodstock, I’m sure your days will be busy enough, but something to keep in mind, and one to watch for as Norway’s stylistically diverse underground continues its rise to prominence in Europe. If you know some of the prog that Apollon Records champions, the vibe here is different, but a commitment to craft should feel plenty familiar.
From the PR wire:
New Apollon signing Zebulon from Rogaland ( Norway) releases first single from upcoming debut album!
Zebulon is Doomy heavy metal from the southwest coast of Norway. Playing at Bloodstock ( UK) Open Air 2025 on the 9th of August.
Zebulon’s debut album delivers slow-burning doom with crushing riffs, dramatic vocals, and haunting melodies. The material explores themes of judgement and faith. Recorded in winter 2025.
Recorded at Katamaran Lydstudio. Engineered by Tollak Kalvatn Friestad Mixed by Iver Sandøy in Solslottet Studio Mastered by Dag Erik Nygaard, Bergen Lydstudio
