This Forever Comes to an End, Bjorn Riis's second album from 2017, is excellent.
Let's dwell on the title for a moment: eternity comes to an end. A beautiful oxymoron that makes me think a lot, at least to me.
We've often spoken about Bjorn Riis, the Norwegian musician, recently, both for his album released in 2025 and for his debut, both of which are wonderful.
This Forever Comes to an End was considered his masterpiece upon its release, but as we know, Riis has managed to outdo himself several times, always growing, album after album, with greater awareness and producing increasingly mature and solid albums. Melody is never lacking, nor is prog in mood and intention, nor is that dark melancholy that, like the Norwegian sky, overwhelms everything, typical of what I call Northern Prog, expressed in music.
Airbag bandmates Henrik Fossum (drums) and Asle Tostrup (programming) collaborate on the seven tracks.
- This album starts right away with an excellent track, the beautiful title track, "Forever Comes to an End," with a nice, decisive rock sound and a driving guitar riff that fades into a ballad-like mood. Riis delivers a beautiful performance on vocals and, as always, guitar, both in the main themes and solos.
- "Absence" is literally the sound of absence, in its few minutes of ambient sounds and atmospheres. A suspended and interlocutory song, like absence itself.
- "The Waves" truly begins like a wave breaking gently and slowly on the sand... the melody follows the movement, with touches of guitar and sounds, even when the drums come in, they do so with a light rhythm. The vocals and electric piano are beautiful. The guitar solo is amazing. Very structured composition. A very beautiful and moving song. Engaging, it never loses the steady pace of the waves, even when the sea is stormy or calms down. TOP!
- Getaway convinces with a continuous electric piano riff and drums with a very fast and subtle rock tempo, reminiscent of old-school Kosmische Musik (Krautrock), completely instrumental, with snatches of electric guitar drowned out by gliding and revving synths. A truly multi-instrumental atmosphere. It's a beautiful piece even when the percussion takes a more acoustic direction, slowing down and lengthening the sounds... the guitar solo is as if coming from another world... it continues, regaining its initial thrust and chorally giving way to a heavy metal guitar riff, carried by the drums, then the bass riff, deep and intense, with the keyboard building the tension until a clean, old-style rock conclusion. Great composition!
- Calm, another short, atmospheric instrumental, not on the same level as Gaweay, given the very calm mood, but with a very intense piano riff that leads to a very long guitar solo, during which Riis experiments with many of his technical tricks. Very beautiful.
- Winter is a romantic ballad, Riis's voice continues to grow with each song and each album. It's well known that he's self-referential on the guitar, but he's not the only one in this world of prog; many do it and do it well. A beautiful song with backing vocals by Sichelle McMeo that greatly enrich the piece. After the vocals, a long instrumental section begins, ranging from psychedelic to soft jazz, the drums always precise and rich in nuance, the guitar moving from jazzy overtones to the sustain-filled ones that are Riis's signature style. This is a true masterpiece. Beautiful!
- Where Are You Now closes the album. The question is in the music. Imagine sitting there thinking about your lost love. Absorbed in your thoughts. In silence. That silence would be the melody of this song. The words in your mind, Riis's voice repeating your thoughts with melancholic passion. The piano is beautiful. 7 minutes to remember and listen to again and again.
Every album only confirms what I think, every time I listen to it: Riis is a rising star in Progressive Rock, and has been for over 10 years with his solo work. Discreet, serious, without excess, very professional and committed, he doesn't need to dare because he has a natural talent both in his mastery of the instrument and in composition.
His second album, his second excellent work, highly recommended! See you soon with the next albums!
Tracklist
1. Forever Comes to an End (8:18)
2. Absence (2:42)
3. The Waves (7:24)
4. Getaway (7:53)
5. Calm (3:51)
6.Winter (10:17)
7. Where Are You Now (7:32)
Duration 47:57
Line-Up
- Bjørn Riis - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, composer and producer
With:
- Sichelle McMeo Aksum - vocals (6)
- Simen Valldal Johannessen - piano (2,3)
- Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes - Solina String Ensemble (3.7)
- Henrik Fossum - drums
- Anders Møller - percussion (3,4,6,7)
- Asle Tostrup - loops & Fx (4)
