Style: stoner rock, punk, melodic hardcore (mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Social Distortion, early AFI, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtracks, blast beats
Country: Norway
Release date: 21 November 2025

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We all grow out of certain genres, or maybe it’s that those genres don’t grow with us. Sure, I have that one friend who hasn’t stopped listening to Blink 182 since the ‘90s—looking at you, Lance—but, like many, I’ve left pop-punk and skate punk in my youth. Aside from the occasional early-AFI nostalgia trip, a series of quickly strummed chords and whoa-ohs just doesn’t do it like it used to. Or so I thought. 

Welcome to the Coven, the sophomore release from Norwegian rockers Suncraft, is like a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack, elevated—to meet the taste I’ve refined in my adult years (pretentiously swirls a glass of red). Of their sound, the band says it best: “One foot [is] firmly planted in stoner rock, while the other foot is mindlessly kicking down the many doors of various rock subgenres.” Atop a foundation of heavy fuzz, Suncraft supply hits of pop-punk accessibility, skate punk and melodic hardcore energy, and, unexpectedly enough, the trem-picked riffs and blast beats native to Norway. The result? A shockingly cohesive release that’s sure to shake up my year-end list.

Simply put, Welcome to the Coven is an absolute blast. Opening with the Queens of the Stone Age-turned-hardcore “Ragebait,” and then heading right into “Love’s Underrated”—a singable, pop-punky cut augmented by blast beats and blistering guitar leads—it’s clear we’re in for a hell of a ride. Suncraft’s sound is steeped in stoner rock, and “Greed Battalion” and the title track stick closest to the style, grounding the album in familiar terrain. But for the most part, thick, distorted riffs and growling bass merely underpin a genre-wandering tendency, serving as a sonic throughline as the band toss in bits from all over the rock universe. The infectious “Wizards of the Anger Magic” channels ‘90s skate punk into the perfect four-minute romper, while “Charlatan Killer” and standout closer “Forgotten Goddess” feature lengthy, adrenaline-filled instrumental passages fueled by a three-guitar attack. “High on Silence” is rooted in melodic alt-rock, but it finds its way into a bridge that’s not far from blackgaze. The whole album is organized chaos—each track has a distinct personality, offering something exciting and unexpected without feeling out of place. It seems that whichever style Suncraft break into, they do it with pure class. 

Surely making this eclecticism possible is the fact that these boys can play. From the opening sprinkles on the ride cymbal to the same ones closing out the album forty minutes later, Tobias Paulsen puts together one of the slickest drum performances in recent memory. Whether he’s laying down a tasty rhythmic change-up at the end of “Ragebait,” ripping fills dead in the center of the otherwise radio-friendly chorus in “High on Silence,” or somehow shifting seamlessly from a basic pop-punk beat to blasts in “Love’s Underrated,” I’m hanging onto every hit. Meanwhile, Rasmus Skage Jensen’s bass is always present and active, and his vocals carry a raw energy and thin layer of melodic polish that fits the band’s style to a tee. And rounding things out, Suncraft’s three guitarists riff, solo, and harmonize all over the album in a way almost reminiscent of Iron Maiden’s livelier tunes. On Welcome to the Coven, broad appeal meets instrumental heft, and it’s a beautiful match. 

The record is the sonic equivalent of being on summer break during my teenage years, running amok in my Southern California hometown. The songs are punchy, gritty, and have an aura of rowdy abandon. But nostalgia isn’t what makes Welcome to the Coven stick—musically, it’s right up there with the rest of my current rotation. Suncraft offer something that’s familiar yet just as fresh as anything I’ve heard this year. If the music of my youth had grown up with me, it’d sound something like this.

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Recommended tracks: Love’s Underrated, Wizards of the Anger Magic, Charlatan Killer, Forgotten Goddess
You may also like: Howling Giant, Bask, Dune Aurora
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Facebook | Instagram

Label: All Good Clean Records

Suncraft is:
– Rasmus Skage Jensen (bass, vocals)
– Tobias Paulsen (drums)
– Vebjørn Rindal Krogstad (guitars)
– Sigurd Grøtan (guitars)
– Jens Henrik Kverndal (guitars)