Holissstik - Chapter 1: This Endless Solitude (2026)

From mastermind Tor-Helge Skei (Manes, Lethe, Manii, etc.) today we have Holissstik, a highly experimental Avant-garde/tons-of-other-things collective and their debut release “Chapter 1: This Endless Solitude”. In a similar vein, but in a whole weirder and more expansive concept, than Manes and Lethe, this release features eight tracks and over 45-minutes of very emotive and highly expansive music that while hard to describe, it has a very cohesive and engaging vibe.

Opening with the dreamy “The Rhythm of Silence”, the release kicks off with an experimental piece featuring captivating electronics, and a wide variety of vocal contributions from people like Marita Hellem, Martyna Halas and Pierre Ripka. This song masterfully frames the band’s unique style, sometimes sounding like Lethe, other times like Manes, but also with some hints of bands like (experimental phase) The Gathering and similar outfits. As tracks like “My Salvation” and “Projections” further expand and showcase the amalgamation of elements, guest musicians, and styles, Holissstik’s true nature and core ideas start to become more evident.

As one of our favorite tracks in this release, “Obsession Six” also features co-conspirator in Lethe, Anna Murphy, creating a very sultry and yet chaotic piece, with a hefty level of bleakness alongside crafty electronics and soaring vocal arrangements. It is quite impressive how immersive each song is, with pieces like “Reoccurring Dreams” and “Behind Me” having their own unique aural palettes, that are haunting and harrowing at times.

Closing with the album title track, “This Endless Solitude”, Holissstik showcases even more creativity and uniqueness from Tor-Helge Skei. While many musicians stay in their comfort zone forever, Skei has never shied away from experimenting and composing plain weird, but very cohesive music. This release further expands his experimentation and is greatly enhanced by all the different guests that have already featured in the band in Manes, Atrox, and semi-adjacent bands and projects. If you like dreamy experimental music that is hard to define, but accessible to enjoy, do not miss out on this release.

Rating: 97/100