Label: Karisma Records
Genre: Prog Rock
Links: https://karismarecords.bandcamp.com/artists
Line Up:
Bjørn Riis (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards)
Henrik Bergan Fossum (drums)
Arild Brøter (drums)
Kai Christoffersen (drums)
Tracklist:
Illhug
Gone
Panic Attack
She
Fimbulvinter
Fear of Abandonment
In the Progressive Rock world, there are a couple of genius multi-instrumentalists/musicians/singers/songwriters who keep on delivering high-quality albums under their own name and in their regular band or (even) a side-project. STEVEN WILSON and PORCUPINE TREE, KALLE WALLNER and RPWL/BLIND EGO are perfect examples, but you might as well also put Norwegian BJØRN RIIS’s name on this list, because he delivers superb material with his band AIRBAG, but also solo he does some interesting things, such as can be heard on his new solo album Fimbulvinter. Bjørn sings, plays guitars, bass, keys and percussion, while he also produced the 6 included songs. He does get some help on the drums by HENRIK BERGAN FOSSUM (AIRBAG), ARLID BRØTER (PYMLICO) and KAI CHRISTOFFERSON, while VEGARD KLEFTAS SLEIPNES also plays keys here.
After the short instrumental intro Illhug, the song Gone really opens the new album of Bjørn, and this is a superb, exciting, catchy uptempo rocker that blends modern progressive rock with melodic rock/AOR influences. It has a superb catchy chorus (à la 80s RUSS BALLARD) and some serious 80s-ish guitarwork straight out of the classic rock book from the decade that brought soaring guitars in each and every song. It is definitely different than AIRBAG, but for yours truly perhaps the best song Bjørn has ever recorded! The songs are quite lengthy, with an average playing time of 9 minutes. Panic Attack is a slow, somewhat dark song with a heavy BLACK SABBATH-ish doom/stoner rock guitar sound when it rocks, while it nevertheless is a very melodic tune as well during the chorus, and there are several calmer breaks during the song that will please the prog fans. It’s also the longest song on the album, almost 11 minutes in length, and without a doubt, a lovely song that has a lot to offer.
So far so good, Bjørn is definitely showing his diverse influences and skills on this CD, which continues with She, a beautiful calmer prog/pop masterpiece that is slow and haunting, with a sort of STEVEN WILSON kind of vibe. The following song is the title track Fimbulvinter, an instrumental proggy rock piece. The closing track of the CD is Fear Of Abandonment, another beautiful melancholic progressive rock masterpiece in the PORCUPINE TREE/PINK FLOYD style.
In conclusion, this solo album of BJØRN RIIS is as good as any AIRBAG album, and the fact that it introduces other influences makes it even more challenging to listen to the record over and over again. Without a doubt, it can still be filed under progressive rock, and perhaps at the end of the year this album will still be the finest prog album of 2025, because so far it’s one of the best albums released this year!
Written by: Gabor Kleinbloesem
Ratings: Gabor 8/10
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