Despite being labelled as a power metal band, Tungsten are actually much more versatile than that. The power, speed and melodic passages are all there, but an important part of their sound, and what makes them stand out from their contemporaries, is the industrial element they bring to the genre.
Even if you aren’t familiar with the band themselves, you may well recognise a couple of the members. Tungsten were founded in 2016 by Anders Johansson and his two sons, Karl and Nick. Anders is best known as the former drummer of Swedish power metal royalty HammerFall and Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force. He is also the brother of Jens, keyboard player of Finnish power metal giants Stratovarius. It’s fair to say that the Johanssons are a very musically gifted family, and the two youngest members are carrying on that tradition. Completing the line-up is Cloudscape vocalist Mike Andersson.
The new album, Ashes, kicks off where you’d least expect it to… with yodelling.
Does it work? Absolutely it works.
‘Joker’ perfectly sets up what you’re in for: crunching guitar riffs, techno-inspired keyboards and huge, singalong choruses. ‘Bite My Tongue’ is all about juxtaposition. It’s heavy, dark and there’s growling, but then it softens to reveal its more passive side. Tungsten can do both, and both they do well.
‘Fuego Del Sol’ is where things get a little different. It incorporates Latin American rhythms and is sung partly in Spanish. For those hoping to catch the band live, expect this party anthem to be a strong contender for the setlist. ‘Happy’, meanwhile, doesn’t sound happy at all. Instead, it sounds menacing, driven by relentless riffing throughout the verses.
Arguably the best song on the album comes in the form of ‘The North Will Rise’, a Scandinavian and Nordic call to arms and unity. It features another hero of the power metal world, Sonata Arctica’s Tony Kakko, effectively making Tungsten a supergroup for this track. Kakko sounds brilliant here, and fans of early Sonata Arctica particularly are in for a treat. The album closes with the brutally heavy ‘The Forge’, a track that seems to emanate from the darkest depths, combining thunderous riffs with symphonic energy.
If this album doesn’t grab you straight away, give it a few listens. There is a lot to digest in just under 40 minutes, and the combination of different influences means there’s plenty going on beneath the surface. The musicianship and production are both top notch, too.
It’s also worth checking out some of their music videos. They’re great fun, and it’s clear that the band have a lot of fun making them as well.
Overall, Ashes is a fun, energetic and varied album that demonstrates there is considerably more to Tungsten than a straightforward power metal formula. It’s a worthwhile addition to their growing discography and, if nothing else, proves that sometimes an album really can start with yodelling and still end up somewhere rather good indeed.
Last year, Peaches returned with No Lube So Rude, her first album in over a decade, which was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Now, the pop icon is giving her timeless 2000 hit “Fuck The Pain Away” its first remix for the new Hellraiser game.
After headline runs through Europe and the United States in 2026, EIHWAR will return to the road next February for the “Witches & Vikings” European Tour. The 15-date trek will take the French duo through eight countries, with Swedish pagan folk band HINDARFJÄLL joining as special guests. The tour continues the cycle surrounding Hugrheim, released […]
It can be depressing being a power metal fan in the UK sometimes. For some reason the most stirring and magnificent subgenre of metal routinely gets overlooked by the bigger venues and festivals. As Power Metal bands at Bloodstock have been getting fewer and fewer, where else in the midlands is one supposed to go to experience the joy of majestic heavy metal? Well Quest Fest returns to Wolverhampton on October 10th to answer the call. To say this festival is strictly power metal would be a lie. Instead Quest Fest calls itself an ‘all day fantasy festival’ with power metal, prog, symphonic and all the epic forms of metal in between. But make no mistake this isn’t just for fans of nerdy music, it’s for fans of all things nerdy in the best possible way. Not feeling a band at any particular time on the main stage? Then head on down to the Dungeon for a table top RPG game or show off on guitar hero. It really is a wonderful atmosphere where everyone is encouraged to be unashamedly geeky for the day and there isn’t a festival like it in this country.
But this is a music outlet after all, so as tempting as it might be to roll some dice in the dungeon all day with the best people here is a run down of all the bands playing this year at Quest Fest!
If you are available the day before the main event kicks off, The Giffard Arms just up the road from KK’s Steel Mill has three great up and coming acts to warm you up. Grimgotts are for fans of the majestic and fast guitar style of power metal, very much in the vein of something like Twilight Force. There really isn’t a better rising UK power metal band to kick off this magical festival. The exceptional Vanitas follow with their monolithic djenty symphonic prog. Their EP Journey To The Sun is flawless from start to end so here’s hoping we get a good chunk of that. They were one of the highlights of this year’s Bloodstock festival and are showing no signs of slowing down, make sure you don’t miss this one.
Finally LN close off the night with their unique take on Pagan Viking Metal. While Vikings and metal have existed hand in hand for a while now, Ellen Hirst and co have made it their own with an infectiously entertaining live show and plenty of crowd chanting anthems to round off the night.
Kicking off the main event at KK Steel Mill on Saturday is the ethereal Crown Solace. The best description for these guys would probably be, think Nightwish but heavier. Sweeping orchestration with massive choruses and powerhouse falsetto vocals they are mindblowing to see live. There will be lots of impressive vocalists today, but Crown Solace are going to set that bar damn high by the end of their set without a doubt.
Despite only appearing on the scene recently, Fortune Teller have made quite the impact already. With only four singles out so far they have managed to explode onto the uk symphonic metal scene with impressive viewing figures, a major festival appearance and a European tour. All four tracks are excellent of course, the commanding and epic debut title song is astonishing for a first song from a band, and with the promise of details on a debut album on the horizon now is the time to get familiar with Fortune Teller if you haven’t already.
In case the day wasn’t geeky enough for you, BattleBorn will bring us songs all about the province of Skyrim. This band has been around for a few years now, getting better with every release. Their 2023 debut album still stands as one of the UK’s best underground power metal albums this decade that any metal fan who also dabbles in video games should know by heart at this point. When the always epic ‘Bring the Metal Back’ gets played it could, and should, have the loudest audience chant of the day. If for some reason you consider yourself a fan of UK power metal and you haven’t come across this band you owe it to yourself to check them out at Quest Fest.
We’ve had plenty of rising bands so far. Now it’s time for some metal royalty. Serious Black is a supergroup that goes back to 2014. Originally consisting of former members of legendary acts such as Helloween and Blind Guardian the project has had a few lineup changes over the years yet their output of classic power metal has remained incredibly consistent throughout. Their latest album Rise of Akhenaton is a demonstration of veteran musicians showing everyone how it’s done and it’s going to be such a treat to see it live.
Going from one legendary band to another, following on from Serious Black we have the iconic Masterplan. Coincidentally also featuring members formally of Helloween, Masterplan’s return has been highly anticipated. Their last album was all the way back in 2017 and even then, that was a covers album (and a pretty controversial one at that). If we go back to their last album of original music it was an agonising thirteen years ago! Their new album this year Metalmorphosis is a fun power metal jaunt that has more than a few whiffs of Judas Priest about it. It doesn’t match the Jorn era of the band but it’s still damn good so here’s hoping we get a career spanning set at Quest Fest.
Now for something a little different. The epic Myrath performing at Quest Fest is going to be a sight to behold. Formed in Tunisia, and now residing in France, Myrath are a very integral band to the rising oriental metal scene. Their combination of middle eastern instrumentation and prog metal is hypnotic on album, with their album Wilderness of Mirrors being a highlight of the year thus far. Live expect epic soundscapes, huge scope and something truly original. Anyone who caught them passing through the UK earlier this year will be able to attest to that. Throughout all the epic, larger than life bands to witness this year, it will likely be Myrath who make your hairs stand on end.
And conversely rounding us off into the night is the ridiculous but awesome All For Metal. Exploding onto the scene only a couple of years ago this is your simple yet effective horns in the air power metal. They may not be the most sophisticated band on the bill at the Quest fest, but for no nonsense feel good tunes there isn’t really another band that compares this year making it the perfect choice to round off the epic day. What could be better than after spending a whole day nerding out to the coolest genres of metal, standing with your metal brethren and declaring that “it’s all for metal! And Metal for all!”
So whether you are heading to Quest Fest to roll some dice, do some card trading or get merry after a few beers singing your heart out it promises to be the most fun night of the metal year.
Quest Fest is on Saturday 10th October at KK Steel Mill.
It’s time for another LCD Soundsystem residency. James Murphy and co. have announced a string of NYC shows slated for the holiday season at Queens’ Knockdown Center and Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Steel. It includes their 100th NYC residency show.
Girl groups, like boy bands, have a limited lifespan: Their dissolution is all but inevitable, and they go through hell to get there. It’s one of those realities about pop music that we pretend isn’t going to happen this time, until it does, and then all of a sudden we always noticed the cracks in the facade, the outages in the girl power.
Weezy caught up with Mike Hranica from The Devil Wears Prada ahead of the band’s return to the EU/UK for their 2026 headline tour! More than 20 years and nine albums into their career, The Devil Wears Prada are still finding new ways to evolve. We chat about their latest album Flowers, why the record … Continue reading Video Interview: The Devil Wears Prada
