Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

If darkness is the canvas upon which the boldest visions are painted, then Andvake—meaning “Awakened Soul” in Old Norse—marks Afargang’s arrival with a vivid and unrelenting creation. The project’s debut album is released today via By Norse Music.

Listen to the full album here – Order the album via By Norse Music here

At the heart of Afargang is Olav Luksengård Mjelva, the band’s architect and guiding force. A musician whose soul resonates with the echoes of Norway’s past, his mastery of folk music and particularly the Hardanger fiddle, injects a spectral quality into the band’s sonic framework. This is not folk metal as the world has known it, nor is it a simple modernization of ancient sounds. It is a force unto itself, reaching into the marrow of Nordic tradition and twisting it into something new, something untamed.

Olav L. Mjelva comments: “We’re so excited to finally release this album! It’s been a long, but incredibly exciting and creative journey. It took time to find the right people to work with and to figure out how we wanted it to sound—how to incorporate folk elements in a slightly different way than what’s most common. But once we got started, the sound and sonic landscapes came together quite naturally.

We’re really proud of the final result, and it feels like we’ve landed exactly where wedreamed of when we first set out. Now we just hope as many people as possible will listen to the album! We’re looking forward to continuing this musical journey—and album number two is soon in the works!”