White Tundra – Stories From The Dark

 

 

White Tundra – Stories From The Dark
Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records – 2026
Metal, Stoner, Sludge, Doom, Prog
Rated: ****

It’s sludgy, it’s got razor sharp teeth, its menacing, it has style up the wazoo and we are honored to have the new White Tundra album Stories From The Dark as a Full Album Premiere for you all this Wednesday! That’s right, the Norwegian four are back! We mentioned their Honningfella release back in 2021 but should have mentioned their 2023 self-titled album as well. Both have that special edge to it, making you bit scared as well as very excited to be listening to it! Well, be sure to come back on Wednesday, if you dare, cause you will be hearing the full Stories From The Dark album here first! 

Stories From The Dark kicks open a frozen door with the single Healer and drags you into the storm that blasts across the tundra. Which is followed by Huset, riffs heralded by the drums, immediately become as thick as molasses, fuzz-soaked and all of it rumbles like thunder closing in fast. And then it opens up, everything stretches outwards, and turns into a swirling expanse, where time feels optional and the sweat will be running down your back. One moment you’re locked into a swaggering, groove-heavy stomp, the next, you’re drifting through cosmic haze, guitars spiraling and bending as if pulled by some unseen gravity and a momentum that will surely send you whirling back towards that groove.

It’s what they do best, White Tundra craft a dense, riff-driven sound that fuses the weight of doom and stoner metal with the color and sprawl of psychedelic and progressive rock. Their music leans heavily on fuzz-drenched and sludge guitar tones. But there are always those groove-centric rhythms, and a raw, unpolished edge that keeps everything feeling immediate, visceral and slightly menacing. 

Like a wolf grinning from the dark, there’s a wildness to it all. Vocals snarl, chant, grunt and beg to be howled along with. Beneath the noise, though, rising from the dark, there’s craft: hooks buried in distortion, melodies glowing through the murk, and a deep-rooted love for heavy rock tradition and a progressive edge that gives the right amount of atmospheric story telling. Just listen to the opening section of third track Riderless Horse for instance. Elements of classic heavy rock and Nordic atmosphere seep through, giving their sound a windswept, ghostly quality. Fitting for that track, but bleeding through on more moment throughout this magical album.

Vocals in both Norwegian and English, vocalized by a duo of voices, implore you to shout along or sound like a shadowy ritual. The gravel voiced prophets know exactly how to hit the right moments as they shell out their sermons across all the thunderous tones and grooves. It’s all walking a tightrope between hypnotic communion and creeping deception, dark Nordic woods are conjured and all those magical whispers will linger, like ominous echoes that both entice and unsettle. Do you dare to wander through all these Stories From The Dark?

(Written by JK)

It’s out, April 24th on Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records, but you can hear the Stories From The Dark album this Wednesday, the 22nd, right here on Stoner HiVe! 

Or check out White Tundra’s chosen opening track Healer right now! 



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White Tundra – Honningfella

Argonauta Records

Grand Sounds PR