Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
Date: October 18th, 2024
Tungsten is a very well known name to me and I believe to all HammerFall fans all over the world. Famous Johansson family establishes itself as one of the most virtuoso and talented families. Nick and Karl Johansson are following the steps of their grandfather Jan Johansson, jazz pianist; their father Anders (drums, former Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, ex HF) and uncle Jan (keyboards of Stratovarius and Rainbow, former Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Rising Force”). The idea of the band was born in 2016, after Anders listened to the music his sons were composing. Mike Andersson (Silent Memorial, former Cloudscape, Fullforce) joined father and sons, and Tungsten was born (actually, the band was formed under the name of Strokkur which they kept until 2019, when the band decided to change it to Tungsten). Three years later, “We Will Rise” was released. “Tundra” followed in 2020. Like many bands, Tungsten’s career was interrupted by Corona. They were supposed to perform at Sabaton Open Air, but for obvious reasons everything was postponed. In 2022, Tungsten released “Bliss” and now in 2024, the band has signed with new born label Reigning Phoenix Music and released “The Grand Inferno”. As Anders said:
“Reigning Phoenix Music may be a new label, but the people at RPM are some of the most experienced in the industry. We are really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.“
So, let’s see what they accomplished together on “The Grand Inferno”.
Whoever knows Anders Johansson’s musical heritage and Mike Andersson’s singing style, knows that it is impossible to put their music in drawers. All albums, including “The Grand Inferno”, are very diverse. If we would guess based on Anders’s and Mike’s experience, their comfort zone might be traditional heavy / power metal. But when you add fresh blood (read Karl and Nick) that might be more modern metal with an accent on industrial metal. Mix it and you will get the impression of Tungsten’s music style if you never heard of them before.
To sum up, above everything, that diversity stands out. Hand by hand, with diversity comes the surprise factor. At the same time music is melodic and aggressive, vocals go from gentle and clean over scream to growl. And when we speak about clean vocals, I must note that of all the bands that come from outside the American speaking area, Swedish vocalists are easily distinguishable, without accent, well articulated and so natural.
The album begins with a dramatic introduction of “Anger”. The melody will immediately buy you and there is no way that you do not memorize the chorus after the first listening. And since the accent is on diversity, here you have clean, scream and growl vocals, pure heavy metal mixed with industrial metal, collision of melody and aggression. Back vocals add a special note and the solo shows what a badass guitar player Nick is.
Next one, “Blood of the Kings” is released as a single on May 31st, 2024. The video was filmed by obviously multi talented Nick, but as the band works as a compact unit, everyone came up with their own ideas, and the result is a great video. But to tell you the truth, when you have damn good music, great lyrics and above everything great melodies, it is hard to focus on video when Mike starts singing especially:
“We are Vikings, from the blood in our veins
Hear Valhalla calling, no one stands in our way
We are Vikings, where the spirits remain
In our family legacy, carrying the blood of the kings!”
Actually, this chorus, as Karl says, came from his dream. But the idea actually came from his father’s research, who had discovered that the family actually has Viking genes, so the whole song is about the Johansson’s heritage.
This is only the second song, and it will make you jump off the chair, bed, wherever you were sitting and make you to mayhem. If you thought that the video you will see angry, tall, blond hair and beard, with helmets, shields and swords, cloaks or coats or however you imagine Vikings looked like, you would be surprised by the, I would say, comical video. Pay attention to Mike’s face after he sees Anders, the janitor, in the light suit dancing on stage. Priceless!
“Lullaby” is the song that most of us were learning in English classes, and by the definition, a lullaby supposed to help little children to fall asleep. Somehow, I have always connected this one with horror movies, and despite a lot of versions (jazz, pop, rap…) “Hush Little Baby” in Tungsten’s version will cause only nightmares. Although the music is cheerful, melodic, repetitive, the creepy lyrics won’t let you sleep tight.
Title song is a slow piece again with great melody and vocal interpretation. Orchestral chorus:
“Grand nferno show me who I am
In my shadow I can still pretend…”
is made for live shows where you’ll sway in the rhythm with I guess cell phones in your hands (in my time it was lighter). Guitar solo draws sadness, the drums emphasize the atmosphere, and the piano… Outstanding.
“Falling Apart” may be considered a powerful ballad. Here that industrial influence maybe is the most present, Mike’s vocal deliverance once again proves my theory that him alongside Henning Basse is the metal vocalist who is unfairly neglected and unrecognizable to a wide audience.
“Walborg” is a song that describes a holiday that originates from Germany (Walpurgisnacht) and was popularized in Sweden back in the Middle Ages. Naturally, folk elements are included, Mike’s bit harsh vocals are combined by his recital, the song has great rhythm, infectious again, while the chorus is earworm. Listening to the chorus somehow I can easily imagine a ritual dance around the bonfire somewhere in the deep, dark forest…
“Vantablack” is the next single released on July 19th, 2024. Although the majority might say they are influenced by Rammstein, I would disagree. The way they combine industrial and classic / power metal, at least in my ears, goes more in the direction of Mono Inc. when it comes to melody and Lord of the Lost when it comes to industrial parts. As Nick Johansson said:
“Vantablack is actually our oldest song. It was originally written in 2016 under the moniker “Strokkur” (the band name we had before changing to Tungsten). A slightly different demo version of the song was recorded but never released. We wrote so many new songs for our debut album We Will Rise so the song was simply forgotten until now.”
And I am glad that the song finally saw the day of light. All the credits go to the president of Tungsten’s fan club – Tungsten Fans Worldwide.
Mike Andersson explains:
“We decided to do so as an homage to our friend who started the Tungsten fan site. Thanks to him lots of Tungsten friends have found each other around the world and started various Tungsten fan sites in lots of different countries.”
I guess that the fans are honoured by this gesture.
“Me, Myself, My Enemy” for me is the biggest surprise on the album, layered, with totally unexpected elements which old school metal fans might hardly digest, but I advise you to give it a chance, after a couple of listens you will realize it is a pure pearl.
“Chaos” is, as its name says, a bit chaotic, but I am glad that finally in metal we have some progress and experiments, not a flat line. It pushes the boundaries, steps away from the comfort zone and from my perspective that is a necessary nowadays in metal.
Violin’s sound is so gentle, sweet, expressive, but in this context it actually is a scary element. So nothing less you can expect in the song “Sound of a Violin”. Mike tells the legend of the water spirits as an experienced theater actor. I would like to see the video for this song. Same as with “Lullaby”, Tungsten transformed and packed up something that should be innocent to really creepy. And I must notice and add something that is really important for me as a listener. Those are the lyrics that are awakening my imagination, opening a realm of fantasy creativity.
“Angel Eyes” is the song that subtly closes the album, and here the chorus stands out.
If you try to listen to this album sitting in the chair, on the couch or whatever, I will tell you- mission impossible! You will headbang, you will play air guitar, you will jump, you will dance… Possibilities are huge, just if you are open minded to dive into the diversity that Tungsten serves on the metal plate. This is a unique mix of power and industrial metal, this is the clash of generations, this is something fresh, this is something new, this is innovative, this is creative, this is fun… Feel free to continue and enjoy!
