The Viking in the Wilderness - reviews and news

(36:56; Echozone) Track list: 1. The Hills Have Eyes 4:21 2. Miss Demoness 3:38 3. Blood Orgy 4:36 4. German Zombie Attack 3:59 5. Supersonic Vampire Pussy 3:58 6. Eternal Love 2:47 7. Summoned Them From Their Graves 4:57 8. 1000 Ways To Die 4:17 9. Carnivore 4:23 Line-up: Postel - vocals Holly - guitars Marple - bass Ole - drums   German band Lords of Salem have been around since 2015 or thereabouts from what I can see, and released an initial EP back in 2018. The band have released a small handful of single releases since then, and then signed with German label Echozone for the release of the album "Supersonic Vampire Pussy", which was issued in the spring of 2026. It is the industrial corner of the metal universe that is the chosen habitat of this foursome. The guitar riffs are hard and repetitive, the vocals alternate between being more rough and aggressive and more melodic and controlled, and a wide array of synthesizer sounds and electronic sounds flavor the landscapes ...

(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...