Photo credit: Ketil Hardy

Recently unveiled Norwegian Heavy Metal act Avrak was founded in 2023 by guitarists Anders Hegna and Ted Skjellum; himself notable for being half of legendary duo, Darkthrone. The pair had known each other for many years, and with a mutual passion for old, classic rock and metal they finally embarked upon this new journey together under the banner of Avrak.

Ted had declared from the beginning that he would in fact not carry out main vocal duties in the band, and so Anders – with his own voice befitting of the style – took on this task.

Still quite early on within the formative stages, Terje Kråbøl was brought in on the drums and, from there-on, with his percussive presence backing up some thunderous riffing, the creative work accelerated until enough material was produced (and relentlessly refined), culminating in the self-titled, hook-laden and doom-laced rock debut, ‘Avrak’.

Suitably and epically defined as a monumental “Heavy Metal voyage from the peak of the mountains to the depths of the seas”, and delivering themes relating to empowerment in the face of increasingly corrupt times, ‘Avrak’ is a combination of a vast multitude of influences, as the eclectic, deceptively nuanced nine track offering features a classic heavy metal and doom rock backbone, with further experimentation including synth passages, and even some traces of black metal riffing in its DNA.

‘Avrak’ was recorded, mixed and mastered in Mølla Studio by Knut Magne Valle, in February 2026.

Avrak subsequently held its debut show in their local town of Porsgrunn in late April 2026, backed by the brand new bassist & final piece of the puzzle, Steinar Gundersen, with more live shows intended in future to support the release.

Avrak’s self-titled debut album will be released as a limited-edition silver vinyl LP, classic black vinyl LP, CD and digitally.