VANAHEIM Release New Album “Roede Voor De Borst” with Visualizer for ‘Kroos en Slijk’

Today is the release of the highly acclaimed new album “Roede voor de Borst” by the Dutch quintet VANAHEIM. This album represents the next level of VANAHEIM and a new level of epic folk metal.

“It’s an international-calibre release“, tells White Room Reviews (NL), adding: “There are moments in music when you can win people over to a genre. This can be achieved simply through a great piece of music, a great production and a compelling theme. With ‘Roede Voor De Borst’, Vanaheim effortlessly ticks all of those boxes.”

Metalhead New Stuff (GER) say: “Vanaheim have created an exceptionally mature, narratively cohesive folk/melodic death metal album that cements their position among the top folk metal bands.” ROCK TRIBUNE (BE) sums it up: “A must-have for pagan/folk metal fans!”

Order “Roede voor de Borst” here: https://save-it.cc/fireflash/roede-voor-de-borst
Get the album incl. Merch Bundles on Bandcamp: https://ff-vanaheim.bandcamp.com/album/roede-voor-de-borst

To celebrate the album release, VANAHEIM created a very special video visualizer for the song “Kroos en Slijk”.

“”Kroos en Slijk” (English: Duckweed and Muck) tells the haunting tale of a person dealing with a sudden, agonizing loss. The death of a good, old friend, though inexplicable, aligns with the eerie events plaguing the village. Lured by a will-o’-the-wisp, the loved one was drawn into the lake and drowned by spirits. As the miller struggles to bear the weight of these escalating horrors, grief begins to warp his reality. His friend, consumed by the depths, is reshaped into a flickering flame. It’s a grim warning to the living: do not follow the lights. Burdened by death, alluring whispers and sinister phenomena in and around the mill, he starts questioning if he isn’t drowning in his own delusions. Faced with a choice between hollow isolation and a lethal hunt for the truth, the miller’s decision is easily made: since no one is born to live forever, he refuses to wait for death’s embrace”, explains the band and adds:

“”Kroos en Slijk” is special to us because it brings together a lot of what we’ve learned on stage over the years. While performing “Een Verloren Verhaal”, we discovered our love for slower, heavier tracks, but also grew attached to high energy party songs like “The Dwarven Chant” and “Onbevangen”. This song feels like the place where those worlds meet. With this combination, we aim to move rooms and festival crowds in a way we haven’t before. The contrast between dark lyrics and melodic music feels natural to us, a reminder that light and shadow move together. Even in heaviness there is joy, and in chaos there is rhythm. This song is an invitation to let everything go and move as one.”

Check out the previous singles & videos:

“Roede voor de Borst”.
Stream/Download: https://save-it.cc/fireflash/roede
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/NrXDZiXMJms

“De Overtocht”
Stream/Download: https://save-it.cc/fireflash/de-overtocht
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/8L_9-T8PPJY

“Eendracht Maakt Macht”
Stream/Download: https://save-it.cc/fireflash/eendracht-maakt-macht
Watch the lyric video: https://youtu.be/jdBsVZW5Xxk

Vanaheim, an international storytelling caravan, has its roots in the land of the far sight, namely the Netherlands, in the city of Tilburg. Since their founding in 2015, the quintet has been on an everlasting journey through foreign lands, to spread folktales of their own.

Already, since the first two self-released outputs, an EP in 2017 (“The House Spirit“) and an LP in 2022 (“Een Verloren Verhaal”), all eyes and ears of the scene were directed on Vanaheim. Counting as the candidate for bringing back the golden era of folk metal and for returning the genre to the glory that it once had. “Een Verloren Verhaal” struck the scene like a meteor and was often highlighted by the metal press as album of the year 2022.

2023 to 2025, the hype around the band lifted them onto stages of major festivals in Europe, like Graspop Metal Meeting (BE), Wacken Open Air (DE), Wave Gotik Treffen (DE), Milagre Metaleiro (PT) and enabled them to widen their audience while touring with genre veterans like Manntra, Heidevolk, Ensiferum and playing support shows for Alestorm and Equilibrium.

Vanaheim paved their way into the heart of the scene and are ready to take the next big step. In the continuation of their success, the band signed a record deal with Fireflash Records, teamed up with MasterMoldMusic as their management team and found a trustful partner in RTN Touring for booking endeavors.

In September 2026, Vanaheim will release their highly anticipated follow-up concept album, which carries the name “Roede voor de Borst” together with a new band design and lyrics that tell a tragic, emotional but engaging story. The new album features top musicians like Coen Janssen of Epica and Nils Fischer of Eluveitie, who enhanced the band’s sound with their performances on all new tracks. The Dutch luminary of all things symphonic and melodic metal, aka Joost van den Broek produced, recorded and mixed the album before it was mastered by Finnish mastering legend Mika Jussila in Helsinki.

“Roede voor de Borst” involves the listener in an immersive storyline about regrets, despair, hope and salvation. A musical journey full of surprises coated by a Dutch 19th century setting that pulls you deep into a book of untold legends. The Dutch vocals award these songs with an emotional honesty which leads every sung word directly under your skin. With a rousing mix of symphonic heaviness, elegant folk-inspired melodies and grounding death metal riffs, “Roede voor de Borst” represents the next level of Vanaheim and a new level of epic folk metal.