The Viking in the Wilderness - reviews and news

(41:09; Act Music) Track list: 1. Window to your World 5:15 2. Helios 4:11 3. Alia's Abandon 4:22 4. Paper Boats 4:11 5. Fallow Tide 2:24 6. Forgotten Friend 4:04 7. A Thread in the Dark 5:23 8. Four Flowers 4:48 9. Submerge 6:31 Line-up: Nick Smart - piano Jordan Smart - saxophone Rob Turner - drums  UK threesome Mammal hands has been a feature in the UK and European music scene for almost 15 years at this point, and following 5 studio albums on the label Gondwana Records the band signed with German label Act Music for their sixth and most recent studio production "Circadia" at the start of 2026. This album is also the first studio production by the band that feature their new drummer Rob Turner. If it is one word that for me defines the compositions we are provided with on this album, then that word is elegant. This isn't a threesome that are all that fond of dramatic displays, but a more subtle, detailed and careful expressive mode of delivery appear to be a key fo...

(34:25; M&O Music) Track list: 1. The Lotus Legacy 1:07 2. Arthefac 4:07 3. Ocean 0:38 4. Les Volontaires 4:26 5. Naga 4:19 6. Purvinituq 0:45 7. Inukshuk 4:10 8. Les Adorateurs du Soleil 4:25 9. Le Silence des Observateurs 1:14 10. Yakushima 4:43 11. Témoins du Déclin 4:31 Line-up: Arianne Fleury - vocals Michel Gagné Bouchard - drums François Kelly - bass Rob Henx - guitars  Canadian band Empire De Mu started out back in 2016, and self released their debut album "Spiritual Demise" 4 years later. With a remastered edition of that album appearing in 2023. Since then the band has signed to French label M&O Music, who released their second album "The Lotus Legacy" It is a tight, firm and hard variety of extreme metal that appear to be the main focus for the landscapes explored on this second full length album by the band. Quick alterations in pace, subtle as well as more overt, is one of the defining aspects of this production, with a sound in general and a gu...

(140:47; Soundologia Records) Track list: 1. Charles Norman Mason: Swagger [for amplified bassoon and fixed media) 10:38 2. Federico Bonacossa: Meta I [for guitar and live electronics] 5:44 3. Federico Bonacossa: Meta II [for guitar and live electronics] 3:36 4. Orlando Jacinto Garcia: Marea Cambiante / Changing Tide [for solo amplified violin] 7:58 5. Daniel Estrada: Life Is [for solo flute] 7:46 6. Dorothy Hindman: Ulterior Motives [for string trio] 2:05 7. Jacob David Sudol: Trefoil Knots / Agemaki [for cello and live electronics] 10:28 8. Russ Spiegel: Circles [for large ensemble] 9:58 9. Atomic Theatre: Within [for vocal, piano, bass, drums, percussion and sampler] 13:07 10. Richard Garet: Residue 10:00 11. Gustavo Matamoros: Anatomia de un Deseo 5:24 12. José Hernández Sánchez: Incantation 8:32 13. Juraj Kojš: Boiling Anew. A Sonic Meditation on Water 7:32 14. Jose Veliz: Do We Control Nature? 5:38 15. Night Foundation: Spirit 8:09 16. Eden Grey: Meditation on a Sequence 10:38 17...

(39:06; From Out There Music) Track list: 1. Frostblad 4:24 2. Good Enough 3:53 3. Tystrup Sø 5:00 4. A Much Simpler Song 5:01 5. And So It Goes 4:46 6. Silent Listener 3:43 7. Chico 3:39 8. Throw It Away 4:43 9. Gratitude 3:57 Line-up: Kasper Tagel - bass Knut Finsrud - drums Søren Bebe - piano Danish composer and musician Søren Bebe is approaching twenty years as a recording and performing artist with Søren Bebe Trio, with nine studio albums to his name and a tenth album set to be released in January 2027. "Gratitude" is the ninth album by him and his trio, and was released in the fall of 2025 on Bandcamp and in early 2026 through Bebe's own label From Out Here Music. It is a delicate affair, this production, where the pace is slow and very deliberately so, and the focus appears to be on creating distinct moods and atmospheres with emotional associations more than anything else. The piano is the clear lead instrument all the way through, delivering both careful and vuln...

(57:18; Rockwall Records) Track list: 1. Light Years From Here 3:50 2. Ridin' 3:51 3. We Will Be Rockin' On 3:47 4. First Nations Rock 3:37 5. Another Treason 3:50 6. Comin' Home 3:39 7. To the Edge of the World 4:37 8. All Through the Night 3:59 9. Fire! 2:44 10. There Comes a Time 5:09 11. The World's on Fire 3:20 12. I Still Can't Say Good-Bye 3:38 13. Back to Back 4:34 14. Shout It Out 6:43 Line-up: Michael Sommerhoff - Vocals, guitars Peter Wagner - vocals, guitars Tom Frerich - keybaords, vocals Jens Heisterhagen - bass Dirk Sengotta - drums with: Peter Koobs - vocals, guitars Stefan Kaufmann - guitars German band Piledriver has been a feature in the European rock and hard rock scene since the middle of the 1990s, initially being a straight up Status Quo cover band but then segueing over to explore their own blend of classic rock and classic era hard rock style and expression. "First Nations Rock" is their most recent studio production, and was relea...

(40:17; Fastball Music) Track list: 1. No Pain No Gain 4:16 2. Welcome to the Doez 3:48 3. 10.000 Days 4:05 4. Dark 4:13 5. Solitude 3:30 6. Lost in Thoughts 3:35 7. The Deep 3:56 8. Join the Party 3:37 9. Independent 3:46 10. Come Fly with Me 3:21 11. Cookie Doe 2:10 Line-up: Chriz Doe - vocals Henny - drums, backing vocals Gerrit - guitars, bass Kevin - keyboards German band Chriz Doe was formed back in 2022, and since then the band have had some live gigs along the way, including some nice support slots for somewhat better known bands. Along the way they have also released a succession of singles. In the late fall season of 2025 they released their debut album "Cookie Doe" through German label Fastball Records. I suspect that the best description to give the music explored on this album is alternative metal. Not because the sounds explored are all that alternative as such, but rather due to a specific type of style combination that is a recurring element throughout this pr...