Tungsten

Tungsten came together in 2016 as a Swedish power-and-progressive metal quartet assembled by Anders Johansson, the veteran session drummer formerly of Hammerfall and Yngwie Malmsteen, together with his sons Nick Johansson on guitar and Karl Johansson on bass and unclean vocals, plus lead singer Mike Andersson. Impressed by the heavy-metal material his children had written, Anders pressed the family to launch a band and commit the songs to tape. Their music blends classic European power-metal traits—sweeping melodies, near-operatic vocals, and occasional folk instruments—with thick layers of amplified guitars and sweeping, stadium-ready arrangements.

The project began life under the name STROKKUR and produced numerous demo recordings before adopting the Tungsten moniker and inking a deal with Arising Empire. That label issued the band’s first full-length album, We Will Rise, in 2019. Tungsten subsequently spent time on the road across Europe and appeared at several festivals in the United States. Work on a second album was finished just prior to global pandemic lockdowns, resulting in the November 2020 release of Tundra. International touring resumed by 2021. The group achieved wider recognition in Europe with their 2022 album Bliss, their last project for Arising Empire. After completing the supporting tour they moved to Reigning Phoenix Music, issued the 2024 singles “Blood of the Kings” and “Vantablack,” and unveiled their fourth studio album, The Grand Inferno, that November.