BJØRN RIIS – FIMBULVINTER (Karisma/ Bandcamp) (Ltd LP. LP/ CD/ DL) (2025)

Named after the legendary long winter that heralds Ragnarok, a time of both destruction and rebirth. Bjørn Riis of Airbag’s new album "Fimbulvinter" is “a profound and deeply personal work. Drawing from his own experiences with anxiety, Bjørn explores themes of hopelessness, paranoia, and despair, ultimately finding a spark of hope and gratitude in the darkness”. “Bjørn explains, “I wanted to share parts of my own journey and address a subject that I feel is both deeply important and still somewhat taboo.”

As a fellow sufferer this album really struck a chord with me, especially the infectious driving rock of ‘Gone’ with the lyric about running away from oneself and looking for oneself again. The 11 minutes of ‘Panic Attack’ begins introspectively then bursts into life before quietening down again- I loved the use of ‘light’ and ‘shade’ on this album – an intoxicating guitar riff is once again used to drive the message home. ‘She’ is a touching acoustic exposition of the ones who support us through our suffering. The title track has a distinct touch of Black Sabbath about it in the doom-laden chords of the early part then an apocryphal choir effect before a more optimistic guitar led movement appears like the emergence of the Sun; the guitar playing here is especially wondrous. ‘Fear of Abandonment’ could stylistically easily pass for a Steven Wilson/ Porcupine track in a confessionary revelation of pain and guilt as the protagonist walks the streets trying to figure things out.

A thematic extravaganza of sound and passion “Fimbulvinter” succeeds in its mission of atmospherically delivering a highly charged and intensely personal sonic evocation of what Bjørn calls “a dynamic journey through darkness and light.”