Tomorrow’s Outlook are a heavy/power metal band from Norway formed in 2007 releasing three albums to date – ‘34613’ (2012), ‘A Voice Unheard’ (2018) and ‘Black Waves’ (2026).
Referring to their style of metal as “Arctic Heavy Metal”, Tomorrow’s Outlook have a clear vision to “merge classic eighties metal with modern production and a distinct, individual expression with inspiration drawn from the Arctic and majestic landscapes of northern Norway to shape both the atmosphere and identity of the bands music”. And honestly – vision, mission and outlook well and truly conquered! There’s just something about the bands music that doesn’t sit them solely in either the power or traditional metal genres, there’s something bigger, bolder and possibly indescribable – an x-factor or a uniqueness that doesn’t exist anywhere else! And believe me readers, you’ll wholeheartedly agree after listening to ‘Black Waves’ ten songs across fifty five fabulous minutes – the band’s line-up consisting of vocalist Tony Johannessen, guitarists Oystein Kvile Hanssen and Valentino Francavilla, bass player Andreas Stenseth, drummer Owe Lingvall, and co-songwriter/manager Trond Nicolaisen. Opening with ‘Eventide’, Tomorrow’s Outlook are majestic right from the off, the sound of melodic metal a fucking glorious one as the Norwegian metallers progress to roar through the gears to adopt the iconic traditional metal gallop – a gallop that I’ve loved for the past err, forty-five years! Has it really been that long since the likes of Angel Witch, Iron Maiden and Saxon turned my world upside down!
Or should that be turned me on to heavy metal – either way, I love metal music just as much, if not more now than I ever have, Tomorrow’s Outlook strolling into view with a mellow meander courtesy of ‘Oceans Of Sadness’. For all of the song’s first fifty seconds or so, and then a mighty foot stomping attitude pours forth as the band shudder the ground with immense force, the sheer oomph oozing outta the album right now sending shockwaves rippling all around the world! I swear I just felt the ground tremble beneath my feet, the exotically titled ‘Black Hearts And Roses In Snow’ bringing a more hustle and bustle feel to ‘Black Waves’, the band standing tall and proud right in the heart of heavy metal territory for this one! And to be honest, the first three songs have been tremendous, Tomorrow’s Outlook turning every listener’s head in the direction of a small village on the island of Hinnoya in Norway to see, or rather hear where the fabulous music is coming from! From (the small village of) Sörvik that’s where, the album’s title song ‘Black Waves’ maintaining the incredible intensity of the album up to this point – and with a bouncier feel than everything heard so far! I tell ya readers, the heavy hitting elegant nature is ‘Maiden, Dio, Sabaton and the band’s very own secret ingredient – and similar to Colonel Sanders’ “original recipe of eleven herbs and spices”, no-one knows what the exact ingredient is! But boy do the band have plenty of it, the album marching on with ‘Silver Ghost’.
Norway is over twelve hundred miles away from the UK, yet the guitar tone as ‘Silver Ghost’ gets underway is pure NWOBHM sounding, the band nodding their collective heads back forty years to when heavy metal was forged right here in the UK, Tomorrow’s Outlook‘s brand of melodic traditional heavy/power metal mouth-watering to say the least! And as ‘Silver Ghost’ surges forth, the infectious level rises off the charts as every listener, fan and follower smiles from ear to ear with sheer delight, this listener right here beginning to twitch with excitement! Can this album get any better? You bet your bottom (Norwegian) krone it can, ‘Wait For The Sun’ returning the classic metal gallop to the fore! And this right here is a prime example of just how fucking great melodic metal is, Tomorrow’s Outlook maintaining their tight grip on everyone’s attentions – and by everyone, I mean all eight billion people in all one hundred and ninety five (as of 2026) countries in the world! Yes readers, the bands music is that far reaching, so far reaching in fact it’s gonna boldly go where no metal music has gone before, the plaudits ‘Black Waves’ (the album) is gonna receive are gonna be too many for me, or even the band to count! ‘Lament Of The Damned’ roars outta the blocks like a sprinter to become the fastest song heard so far, the mix of power and traditional metal with the bands secret ingredient at its most magical as ‘Lament Of The Damned’ trots by to excite and delight everyone! And when I say excite, I think we all know exactly what I mean!
Dripping with a dash of hard rock, ‘When Falls The Axe’ is gonna attract rockers as well as metallers to the bands soundscape, Tomorrow’s Outlook oozing an eighties metal and rock mix – the kinda mix I grew up with as a teenager during the era of heavy metal evolution! Or revolution as some call it, the eighties an era the likes of which we’ll never see again! But what we will see, is the constant progression and innovation from bands willing to push the boundaries of the classic heavy metal sound – and in the monumental shape of Tomorrow’s Outlook, we have one! And with two songs still to come, have the Norwegian metallers surged into contention for the Album Of The Year award? You bet your sweet ass they have, ‘The Monument’ accelerating hard to become the new fastest song on offer – every mosher, metaller and metalhead vigorously rocking their heads back and forth! I tell ya readers, this is the kinda heavy metal I could easily listen to twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for the rest of my life! And let’s be honest, why change my habit of a lifetime – after all, I have been listening to metal music for over forty five years and I’m very unlikely to stop anytime soon! And bringing ‘Black Waves’ (the album) to a close, ‘The Still’ does “exactly what it says on the tin” by smouldering with an air of calm serenity as Tomorrow’s Outlook deliver a cover version of ‘Sthil’ by legendary Russian metallers Aria (off the bands 2001 album ‘Chimera’). Adopting a hymn-like swagger, the band are spot-on with the pace, feel and vibe of the original (unlike the atrocious cover by German industrial metal band Rammstein). The elegance level pouring outta the albums final song rises to new and uncharted heights as one of my favourite releases of the year comes to an end – vi ses senere my friends!
Overall, a sensational array of infectious and spellbinding melodic heavy metal, ‘Black Waves’ is stacked full of majesty and elegance.
TRACKLIST
Eventide
Oceans Of Sadness
Black Hearts And Roses In Snow
Black Waves
Silver Ghost
Wait For The Sun
Lament Of The Damned
When Falls The Axe
The Monument
The Still (Aria cover)
Tomorrow’s Outlook: Facebook
Release Year: 2026
Label: Battlegod Productions
Category: Album
Country: Norway
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
