Na 500 kouskách různobarevného vinylu naleznete další a tentokrát zbrusu nové album těhlech veteránů a zakladatelů žánru.On 500 pieces of multi-colored vinyl you will find another, and this time a brand new, album by these veterans and founders of the genre. There are ten songs in total, 9 of which are in Swedish (Ge Fan Aldrig Upp – Never Give Up, Sindre & Brokk, Frihet – Freedom, Blod Och Is – Blood and Ice, Nog är Nog – Enough is Enough, Moder Svea Och Folket – Mother Svea and the People, Parasiter – Parasites, Jorden Talar – The Land Speaks, Vid Nordens Hjärta – In the Heart of the North and the last one Roots of Steel which is in English. The album was traditionally released by Dim Records and surprisingly you will find a large paper with lyrics and a thank you note. People who like Ultima Thule will be excited from the first note of Ge fan aldrig upp, because it has everything you love about them – a melodic chorus and playful guitars. On the songs Sindre & Brokk and Moder Svea och Folket the band was helped by their colleagues from Mjölner and where you can hear, for example, harmonica and female vocals. In Parasiter the bassist from the metal band Crashdiet and the rock band Bedårande Barn Peter London helped. Frihet starts, for example, as semi-acoustic thing and after about a minute the other instruments join in. The songs tell, for example, about freedom that needs to be defended, about people from the north who live in difficult conditions, but their nature and nature drive them back, about how everyone should open their eyes and look the truth in the eyes and realize that their country is burning, Similar is the case with Moder Svea of Folket, where the text is a fictional dialogue between Mother Svea and her people who have turned away for days, Jorden talar is also a semi-acoustic thing about the natural cycle of life, when people are born and die, but their legacy lives on, whether in the blood of their children or in the landscape they inhabited. By the way, it is one of the best things on the album, along with the following Vid Nordens hjärta. Excellent thing!

The second album by Wouter's three-piece metal band is released on CD, LP (250 copies on black asphalt) and cassette (50 copies on Zwaertgevegt Records). The album contains a total of eight songs, seven of which are in English and the last Heathen Peace 476 (the end of the Western Roman Empire) is a slower instrumental. Otherwise, the band introduced the album via two singles on the flexi EP, Total Fucking War and Heath Dweller, which are reviewed here. Henke Forss from Dawn helped with vocals on Heath Dweller. You can also hear him on the song Apollyon. Most of the songs are faster-paced (like Apollyon, Rise of Suebian Warlords or Ides of March with devilishly fast drums) but there are also slower, more drawn-out songs (Spells of Ishtar and the last Heathen Peace 476). Lyrically, it's about ancient wars and warriors who destroyed the Roman Empire (Rise of Suebian Warlords), about the war goddess Ishtar and their magic, about the king of the locust army and the destroyer (Apollyon) or perhaps about the Ides of March (The Ides of March), which were the days when Caesar was killed. The cover of the album features the Snartemo sword, which dates back to the 6th century AD and is a symbol of this era when barbarian tribes roamed Europe and when even a long-serving ruler fell. The album will be physically released on May 8, 2026, but according to the labels, both the CD and LP will include a deluxe booklet (8 pages on the CD and a four-panel gatefold cover on the LP). For me, a great thing that breaks down the boundaries of subcultures!

Heath Dweller is another single from Heathen Peace, which will be released on a flexidisk along with another instrumental song. It is also a taster song from the upcoming album. Besides, this is what Christians used to call other people who did not accept their faith in the past. The song features a guest appearance (or rather a great roar) by Henke from the Swedish band Dawn, with whom this collaboration was baked when Cosmic Key Creations released a reissue of their album. While Wouter has more of a deep hoarseness vocal, Henke has more of a yelled/screamed vocal and they complement each other nicely at the end. The song is about three and a half minutes long and it hits you with a great riff from the beginning. The break comes at about 1:41, where there is a solo, but right after it Henke and Wouter came and will knock you out of that break again. Check the song here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp33JCRM81A. If you like harder music with black metal influences and lyrics that relate to the ancient history of Europe, this is exactly for you.

The fourth album of this Brno punk rock band is called Zpověď (Confession), it is again self-published and you will find ten songs on it. Zpověď is probably because singer and guitarist Rorýsek had an accident years ago and took a long time to get back together... you can hear all that right away in the first song. On two songs (Zpověď and Vzpomínej - Remember) Ketty makes a guest appearance as a great complementary female vocalist. Compared to previous albums, I praise the greater use of acoustic guitar and more songs in a slower tempo, for example the almost ballad Vzpomínej, which is about the emptiness after a breakup, or the very first Zpověď, which is truly brilliant thanks to the solo guitar and singalong. The CD contains some great ultra-melodic songs at random, such as the anti-war Prach a Dým (Dust and Smoke) with a great bass solo (which also has a video clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dtDB0BZZZI), Švihák lázeňský (Spa Dandy which tells about Rory's convalescence in baths :)) or Pes (Dog). Other interesting things are Omerta, which is dedicated to American mafiosi, Železnej hotel (Iron Hotel), for friends who are behind the bars (again with a great guitar/bass) or the harder Co se za všim skryvá? (What is hidden behind everything?) with a booming steel-sounding bass. The booklet is nice, with lyrics, thematic photos for them and a photo of the band with greetings on the back. This is simply great, great music and lyrics that are both funny and serious and personal and it is clear that the band has matured like wine/beer/spirits. In addition, there is also a best-off LP that maps the band's work since 2013, which will be reviewed later. You'll definitely be hooked after that.

The VeeBees are an Australian punk rock band that has been playing for about 25 years and has five albums and a whole series of EPs, split EPs and singles. This EP contains two songs, Third in Line for the Throne and Yeah Orright and is limited to 150 copies on silver vinyl. Take Toy Dolls, give them a bit of a rougher sound and more booze and you have roughly the sound of The Vee Bees (which is an Australian beer brand, by the way). Try to check them on YouTube and you will see that they are great bunch of lads who don´t spoil any joke. The first song has a great drive, a super boosted guitar and bass sound and is about how you stand in front of a public toilet and what you don't learn from the walls where great wisdom is written. The second track Yeah Orright is a slower song, both lyrically and musically, in the style of classic rock. Otherwise, the band plays in a standard four-piece line-up. Inside you will find a paper with lyrics, a promo photo of the band, where the singer is sitting on a porcelain throne :) and a beer coaster, a patch and a badge. A great music for letting off steam.