Progressive death metal band Iotunn release a set from their 2023 performance at the Copenhell Festival in Denmark demonstrating the strength of their epic songs.
Progressive and death metal are two genres rarely combined or at least combined well but Iotunn have mastered the pairing.Forming in 2015, the band signed with Metal Blade in 2020 and released their debut album Access All Worlds in 2021 to critical acclaim. The blend of powerful music and complex arrangements is complemented by soaring, mournful vocals and deep growls from Jón Aldará (Barren Earth and the Faroese band Hamferð). The band has played a wide variety of festivals ranging from Prog Power and Brainstorm Fest in the Netherlands to the Copenhell Festival this album is taken from.
I have to admit that Kinship (2024) was my first exposure to Iotunn and that wasn’t even until 2025, but I was hooked. I simply had never encountered an album with a number of songs over 10 minutes in length where you didn’t get bored. The combination of Jón Aldará’s vocals both clean and growled combined with the complex arrangements and power behind the performance kept me listening. Waves over Copenhell goes back to a live performance before Kinship but musically there is no difference. Expect long songs that take you on a journey fed by soaring and growled vocals and powerful music with intricate arrangements. What is even better than the album, is that the live videos of all the songs have been released as well, so you can get a fuller experience of the band in their element.
The album opens up with “Waves Below”, which is a 12 minute long rager that starts out with a long quiet opening building anticipation before the band explodes into a roaring wall of sound. The verse section gallops along a faster pace driven by a fast riff and Bjørn Wind Andersen pounding out the drums. The power and emotion of Jón Aldará’s vocals translate well live and at this point, I quickly convinced their music would translate well into a live setting. As you would hope, the song twists and turns throughout the 12 minutes with tempo changes and guitarists trading solo sections keeping the listener involved and interested.
“The Tower of Cosmic Nihility” is next and at a little over 8 minutes is the shortest song on the album. LIke “Waves Below”, there is a long, quiet intro before a wall of guitars come in and are joined by the drums and bass. Aldará’s vocals here are clean and powerful at the beginning with that melancholy tone that veers almost toward goth at times. Riffs and drums are powerful and the song does well to highlight the quality of the production. Aldará’s vocals take a darker turn later on and shift to dark, deep, and growled, before returning to the clean found earlier in the song.
“Access All Worlds” is probably my favorite track on the album and wastes no time, starting out with an ominous guitar chord before the second guitar joins in with a higher, near droning riff that is accented by the original one. Aldará’s vocals continue to impress as he roars over the music in both clean soaring and growled styles. Later in the song, guitar harmonies take the song into a quieter, calmer place which provides some space for Aldará’s vocals to shine as well as some intricate drum patterns from Bjørn Wind Andersen. The driving, chugging riffs in the second half of the song serve to accent the vocals and provide a good backdrop for an extended guitar solo.
Voyage of the Garganey” closes out the album and has an eerie clean guitar opening with bass lines from Eskil Rask that add an ominous feel before it goes nearly silent, only to explode without warning in a combination of guitars and deep growled vocals. For those seeing it live who know the song, the anticipation for this would be really cool. Aldará’s soaring, melancholy vocals come back in later in the song as he alternates between the growled and clean. Musically the song has a good drive to it and some complex drums throughout. The change in feel of the song between the darker verses and the soaring chorus/refrain sections is a great facet.
While to me Waves Over Copenhell is not as powerful as Kinship, that is a pretty high bar to meet. These songs and performance were also before Kinship, so do show the band in an earlier state and highlight that Kinship was the product of an incredibly talented band maturing their sound. Any skepticism I had as to whether or not a 12 minute song could translate well live were quickly put aside. I have always been a fan of live albums, so having this released while we wait for the follow up to Kinship was a great move and drives anticipation for the next album even higher.
Rating: 9/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Waves Below
- The Tower of Cosmic Nihility
- Access All Worlds
- Mistland
- Voyage of the Gargeney I
Release Date: January 9, 2026
Record Label: Metal Blade Records
Band Members
Jón Aldará – vocals
Jens Nicolai Gräs – guitar
Jesper Gräs – guitar
Eskil Rask – bass
Bjørn Wind Andersen – drums
Video for “Waves Below”
Video for “Access All Worlds”
Video for “Tower of Cosmic Nihility”
Video for “Voyage of the Garganey”
Video for “Mistland”:
Weblinks:
Bandcamp: https://iotunn.bandcamp.com/album/waves-over-copenhell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iotunn