Norwegian progressive rock group, Avkrvst, recently announced that their debut album, The Approbation, will be released on June 16. You can pre-order the album here.

Today, the band are pleased to release the track “Arcane Clouds”, the second single taken from the upcoming album. Listen here, and below.

Says the band: "'Arcane Clouds' is the second single off the concept debut album The Approbation, and the anthem of forsaken hope. An inner voice trying to convince you to fight back and keep your head above water, while the ghosts are hunting you down.”

The Approbation is a concept album about a bleak soul who is left solely with his thoughts, isolated on a cabin deep into the dark forests, far away from civilization. The 49 minute long concept album contains 7 songs, which take the listener though the thoughts of a man struggling towards the acceptance of death, being hauled into the abyss.

The whole album is written and recorded at a cabin in Alvdal (Norway) during a rainy, cold fall and winter. Throughout the album, the sounds of rain and train horns from afar can be heard, which are actual sounds recorded outside the cabin at night under the stars.

Sonically, The Approbation is a massive sounding piece of music. It’s everything from lush, melancholy moods to heavy, more aggressive atmospheres. It tries to capture the feeling of a cold, gloomy fall - a dark sky, filled with gazing stars above the mist.

Tracklisting:

"Østerdalen"
"The Pale Moon"
"Isolation"
"The Great White River"
"Arcane Clouds"
"Anodyne"
"The Approbation"

"The Pale Moon" video:

At the young age of 7 years old, Martin Utby and Simon Bergseth made a pact that they would form a band when they got older. Now, 22 years later they’ve done just that. An album is ready - 55 minutes of music inspired by everything they grew up listening to - everything from Mew, Anekdoten and Porcupine Tree to Opeth, Neal Morse and King Crimson.

All the music has been written at a small cabin, deep into the Norwegian forests (Alvdal, Nor- way). Simon (composer, guitars, bass and vocals) and Martin (composer, drummer and synths) have later been joined by Øystein Aadland on bass/keys, Edvard Seim on guitars and Auver Gaaren on keys.

(Photo - Kristian Rangnes)