From out of the underground comes again one of the most consistent and creative collectives, known to the wider world as Vreid. A band from Sogndal, Norway, representing the foundation bones of seminal black metal act Windir, Vreid pivoted swiftly into one of the premier ‘Black-n-Roll’ acts of the new millennium. On March 5, 2026, they will release their tenth studio album entitled The Skies Turn Black, via Indie Recordings.
From blistering thrash-edged speed to concept albums to molten, guitar-riff-laden Blackened Metal with a Traditional Metal heart, Vreid never rests on the legacy of the beloved Windir. Guitarists Strom and Sture, along with razor-throated Vocalist/Bassist Hvall and Drummer Steingrim, continue to be criminally underrated despite their pedigree.
The title track for this new album bleeds pure Heavy Metal, augmented by some clean vocals, rich guitar melodies, and solos. Twin guitar harmonies? Vreid shows the Iron Maiden/Judas Priest side of their repertoire. “A Second Death” demonstrates that extremity is still running through their veins, with its martial rhythm and Seasons in the Abyss – era Slayer feel. “Kraken” conjures a psychedelic atmosphere, a rare instrumental with strange keys underpinning a slow, supple melody.
By the time the loyal reader imbibes this article, “From These Woods” and “Loving the Dead” will have made the rounds, with the former track feeling like early Vreid or something that could have been on a Windir album. The clean vocals and piano give it a stunning majesty reminiscent of the Sogndal region of mountainous Norway. It is the latter track where the extreme music fan will be asked to open their minds the most.
Furthermore, Vreid collaborates with vocalist Agnete Kjolsrud, aka Djerv, to make a very poppy song that maintains a bit of dark atmosphere. Kjolsrud got extremely popular making music for a video game while also fronting the Norwegian Rock band Djerv. At just over eight minutes in length, “Loving the Dead” is a clear departure and as such, requires the listener to depart along with it. Kjolsrud’s ultra-processed, squeaky-clean voice comes from an entirely different universe. The moody instrumental bits of the song work well, as do the climactic final minutes, but those pop vocals simply do not fit into what Vreid has built in their career. As if aware of the stretch, Kjolsrud shows us the shrieking aspect of her admittedly wide range just before the song ends. Astute underground fans will recall her jarring performance on Norron Livskunst by countrymen Solefald from 2009.
Vreid continues their robust Black-n-Roll on “Build & Destroy” and the commanding “Chaos.” Creative guitar sections abound, whereas Vreid is a band that lives and dies by the riff. Superb bottom end provides the foundation, with Hvall’s thick bass lines and Steingrim’s magnificent percussion vaunts these songs into unforgettable territory. A keyboard accompaniment in “Chaos” in no way detracts from the sheer “Metalness” of it all.
Meanwhile, the Thrash feel on “Smile of Hate” and the epic soloing on album closer “The Earth Rumbles” show a band that has the same vintage as many of the Thrash titans competing for our attention. Vreid has eclipsed their prior couple of studio albums here, with the last time an impact like this has been felt throughout the album being 2015’s stunning Solverv.
While the albums in between were high quality, and even more than that at points on 2021’s Wild North West, with The Skies Turn Black, Vreid has conjured a powerful jolt of energy by simply exalting the things that make heavy metal music the best music on Earth. They never forgot where they came from, but they are still looking forward. For these reasons, CrypticRock gives The Skies Turn Black 4.5 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment