Rock

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Eivør - Tungl (2026)

    Eivør - Tungl (2026)
    Eivør - Tungl (2026)

    Creating a very interesting mixture of Nordic folk/electronica/rock/experimental music, today we Faroese act Eivør, and her latest release “Tungl”. Having transitioned into more layered and experimental territories, Eivør continues to release captivating music, unleashing ten tracks and over 42-minutes in her 11th solo album. While there is little to no Metal in this release, we can recommend this album to fans of Chelsea Wolf, Emma Ruth Rundle, and even Björk to some extent.

    Opening with the hypnotic “Og mánin græt”, Eivør’s charismatic vocals create a very magical atmosphere alongside the sultry electronics. While the vocal layering and diverse styles are the signature element of Eivør, the musical explorations offered by songs like “Drekafljóð”, “Verjugarðar”, and “Spøkilsir” give a certain lounge feeling as they are catchy, somber, and yet intoxicatingly captivating. While other Nordic acts overly rely on their folky elements, this release masterfully blends them in seamlessly.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Jess By The Lake - Human (2026)

    Jess By The Lake - Human (2026)
    Jess By The Lake - Human (2026)

    Filling that Psychedelic Rock/Metal void left by bands like Jex Thoth, Sabbath Assembly and Jess and the Ancient Ones, we have Jasmin Lempinen returning with her sophomore release under the moniker Jess By The Lake. Delivering nine tracks and nearly 43-minutes of sultry, warm, and fuzzy music, this outfit unleashes a very organic and crafty release that is both playful and mysterious. For fans of more mellow and atmospheric Psychedelic music, this release is the perfect soundtrack for the upcoming fall and winter months.

    Opening with the playful retroness of “Jaleihou”, get the warm and fuzzy guitars, a lively bass guitar line, alongside sultry vocals. The band’s style is not overly complex, but rather highly engaging and melodic, filled with engaging songwriting, as tracks like “Waderin Kind” and “Lovely Boy”, deliver twangy melodies. Other songs like the dreamy “Sister” and “Falling Under” while having a different pace, are still magical as the vocal melodies are haunting while the instrumentation leads the way with Jazzy passages.

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    Wailin Storms - The Arsonist (2026)

    Wailin Storms - The Arsonist (2026)
    Wailin Storms - The Arsonist (2026)

    Featuring a very fuzzy and twangy sound, today we have Wailin Storms and their Season of Mist first release: “The Arsonist”. Mixing elements from outfits like King Dude, Beast Milk/Grave Pleasures and Årabrot, this outfit delivers nine crafty tracks, clocking in at over 46 minutes. For those that like hard to define but yet rewarding music, the band will immerse you in their Southerny sound from the first minute.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sleeping Pulse - Dreams & Limitations (2026)

    Sleeping Pulse - Dreams & Limitations (2026)
    Sleeping Pulse - Dreams & Limitations (2026)

    Twelve years after their debut release, Sleeping Pulse finally returns to deliver waves of melancholy, similar to bands like Antimatter, Anathema, and Porcupine Tree. Featuring Mick Moss of Antimatter and Luís Fazendeiro of Painted Black, this duo focuses on creating emotionally charged songs, filled with intricate details and tons of subtle atmospherics. While Anathema is the most direct comparison, the band has their own unique voice and style, creating magical melodies.

    After setting a very ominous vibe with the instrumental album title track, the band’s sound explodes in melancholy with the crafty guitars of “Rise”, and the scene is fully set with Mick’s vocals coming front and center. With Fazendeiro handling all the music, we can hear his very minimalist and yet effective style immediately on tracks like “Illuminate”, “The Butterfly Collector” and “Two Wreaths”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Gus G - Steel Burner (2026)

    Gus G - Steel Burner (2026)
    Gus G - Steel Burner (2026)

    After a busy few years of touring with Firewind, multi instrumentalist and shredder-extraordinaire Gus G returns with his fifth solo album, titled “Steel Burner . Featuring ten tracks and nearly 40 minutes of music, we get a very solid balance of virtuosity, composition skills, and guest vocal appearances. This makes up for a very engaging release that is a varied and highly energetic album that will have people headbanging and singing along.

    Right after opening with masterfully crafted futuristic instrumental opener, Doro Pesch lends her signature vocals to the powerful Heavy Metal anthem “Nothing Can Break Me”. On tracks like “Dancing with Death”, we get an excellent interplay between Gus’s guitars and composition skills with the guest vocalist, which in turn is Matt Barlow of Ashes of Ares/Iced Earth fame. For those of us looking for the instrumental stuff, “Advent” and “What If” are some killer tracks.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Årabrot - Rite of Dionysus (2025)

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    Creating a very weird and hypnotic Dark/Noise Rock atmosphere with tons of pastoral elements, Norway’s Årabrot returns with the magical “Rite of Dionysus”. Featuring ten tracks and over 43 minutes of music, Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park take the listener on a very unique aural journey, through moody atmospherics and catchy madness. As one of the most unique sounding bands we enjoy, Årabrot always proposes something different and with teeth, providing a unique listening experience to any Rock fan.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lux Interna - New Wilderness Gospel (2025)

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    Creating a truly haunting and intoxicating dark folk release with tons of influences from post-punk to gothic americana, Lux Interna is finally back with the immersive “New Wilderness Gospel”, full length release. Featuring nine tracks of fully immersive music, this release is full of crafty instrumentation and captivating compositions that need more than a few spins to fully unravel themselves to the listener. If you liked any of the band’s previous releases and/or outfits like Rome, Amber Asylum, King Dude, etc. you can’t miss out on this album.

    Opening with the somberness of “Dark Fire Revelator”, the band comes back after ten years in full force, unleashing a very lush onslaught. The richness of the band’s instrumentation creates very unique and engaging soundscapes that are fun to digest and very powerful, as tracks like “Over the Timberlines”, “Brittle”, and one of our favorites “Like Wolves”. There early vibe in this release is a mixture of King Dude with Tenhi, Nest, and even some non-Metal Empyrium hints, We love how Kris T. Force infuses melancholy to “Like Wolves”, creating a very mellow and yet sublime atmosphere alongside Joshua Levi Ian’s vocals and guitars.

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    Messa - The Spin (2025)

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    Facing the herculean task of following up to their ground-breaking release “Close”, Messa returns with “The Spin” and manages to shake things up enough to create awe and excitement. After heavily touring the world after their previous release, the band took a different approach when recording this album, and managed to deliver another Doomy/Jazzy/Proggy offering with a few interesting surprises.

    Quickly turning heads, the release opens with “Void Meridian”, a mysterious track that while having some of the band’s signature elements, it also introduces some intense Darkwave/Goth Rock vibes. With an eerie The Sisters of Mercy meets Tribulation meets Soror Dolorosa, the opener and “At Races”, and “Fire on the Roof” showcase the band’s on a different light, making them more dynamic and perfectly complementing their already hypnotic style. Sara Bianchin’s vocals are a perfect fit for such a style and are as haunting as ever, particularly on the solemn “Immolation”.

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    Jonathan Hultén - Eyes of the Living Night (2025)

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    Creating a very unique and ethereal release, today we have Jonathan Hultén (ex-Tribulation) and his sophomore release “Eyes of the Living Night”. Perfectly blending dreamy pop and grunge elements with dark rock and ambient passages, this release creates a very engaging and playful atmosphere that while has not much to do with his early Metal days, it does deliver some excellent guitar work and crafty arrangements.

    Setting a very dystopian vibe with the opener “The Saga And The Storm” and its lush atmospherics, we get a certain Hexvessel-meets-Chelsea Wolfe vibe. This opener leads to more ethereal pieces like “Afterlife” with its pastoral/synth pop elements and the dark folkness of “Falling Mirages” and its lush acoustic guitars. The baritone vocals are always front and center and in pieces like “Riverflame” they deliver raw and unfiltered emotion, perfectly paired with subtle catchiness.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the catchiest and most engaging releases of 2024, today we have Gothic Rock supergroup Cemetery Skyline and their debut release “Nordic Gothic”. Featuring a line-up with Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), Markus Vanhala (Omnium Gatherum), Santeri Kallio (Amorphis), Victor Brandt (Dimmu Borgir) and Vesa Ranta (Sentenced), this outfit delivers a very refreshing synthwave-infused 80’s/90’s music unlike anything you have ever heard before. For fans of Depeche Mode, Lacrimas Profundere, End of Green, etc. this release features ten bangers that will be stuck in your head for days.

    The release starts with the bombastic “Torn Away” and its dramatic synths that create a very dynamic and engaging atmosphere. Mikael Stanne’s deeper clean vocals have a certain Ville Valo-esque undertones, but as soon as the chorus section hits, Stanne’s trademark sound appears. Keeping things super lively, “In Darkness” delivers some crunchy Markus Vanhala riffs alongside crafty drumming from Vesa Ranta, the band is showcased having endless fun creating some superbly catchy melodies, and some epic vocal arrangements.

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