Style: Progressive Metal, Power Metal (Clean Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Lost Horizon, Symphony X, Angra
Country: Norway
Release date: 20 May 2026

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As we grow older and pass through phases of our lives, even some truths that used to feel self-evident shift. I joined this blog with a singular passion for progressive metal and its various offshoots, but I’ve since discovered that other music styles are good. Since I started reviewing in 2022, I’ve only been enamored by a handful of prog metal albums a year—even fewer that were only clean vocals. My relationship with prog metal was forgotten, at times thought to be dead, a thought that makes me genuinely sad. After a long seven-year wait, however, the fraternal duo Dimhav return with the weight of Atlas on their shoulders; after all, 2019’s The Boreal Flame is the last masterpiece power/prog album.¹ Ondine has helped me rediscover the once-self evident truth that prog metal is the best genre to ever exist. 

Ondine covers a Homeric range of emotions—triumph, rage, honor, curiosity, apprehension—and Dimhav take influence from Symphony X’s timeless and perfect “The Odyssey.” Incredibly, Ondine is more tonally mature than “The Odyssey”; Dimhav still orchestrate their songs as Symphony X did, but the regal oboe leads (“Tides Immemorial,” “Call of the Deep”) and subtler use of strings and horns sound less like they’re out of a Disney movie than the overture of “The Odyssey” does. What Dimhav do best is capture that same sense of adventure. Each song traverses a wide range of sections, but because of thoughtful transitions and clever reprisals/choruses—even with very nonlinear song structures—all the songs are self-contained, overflowing with massive climaxes. Taken as a whole, Ondine is grandiose beyond imagination. There are endless highs on this odyssey.

The most obvious peaks are Daniel Heiman’s² vocals, belting notes at a register nobody should be able to hit with a tone as strong as he does—his voice has an indescribable quality that is absolutely perfect for power metal. Ondine has plenty of Heiman’s signature crazy high screams (including one of the craziest moments in his entire career with a magical twenty-six second note in “Tides Immemorial”), but it’s easy to forget how consistently fantastic he is because of the immense peaks he hits. The chorus-like bits fit into nasty little groove pockets (“Windward Bound,” “The Sunken Star”) created by drummer Olle Lindroth; Heiman adds in gruffer moments on occasion (“Pilgrimage,” “Call of the Deep”); and the a cappella moment he sings on the final chorus of “A Clarion Soul” is sublime. I’d also be remiss not to mention the creative way he does backing vocals with himself (all over), with some of his highest notes helping to support his main belting. 

The adventure starts with “Tides Immemorial,” where Daniel Heiman quietly sings “sail away / dressed in ashes with the wind / forlorn my love will remain” to open the album in the most enchanting call to adventure I can recall—it’s the clear beginning to something grand. The track navigates the high seas, riding swells—like in the gentle oboe solo that ups the intrigue before a jazzy, almost late-era Opeth section—and weathering storms—like in the extended solo section with unpredictable turns as keys and guitars exchange leads in their awe-inspiring dance. And once they’ve survived the treacherous navigation, the next chapter of the story, “Windward Bound” uses the most meta of songwriting techniques, word-painting,³ with Heiman passionately singing “GLOOOOORIOOOUUUUS” as a part of one of the best, most epic power metal melodies ever composed. Moreover, that same cry of “GLOOOOORIOOOUUUUS” is brought back twice during “The Sunken Star,” contributing to Ondine’s cohesion despite the vast breadth of what Dimhav cover. Throughout Ondine, too, the music always matches the lyrical tone. Other tracks sometimes get more serious, providing us with advice on our journey (“Call of the Deep” lets us know “the void is not your enemy” with a slower, heavy metal vibe à la Triumpher) or detailing the violence on the journey (“A Clarion Soul” starts with “out of chaos and anger, cast ashore by the maelstrom”). 

On my first listen, I thought that Ondine might be too dense, a power metal album that passed the threshold of how proggy power metal should be. I was wrong. Despite the myriad guitar and keyboard solos from Olle and Staffan Lindroth that would have your average prog band jealous of the virtuosity, fluttering flutes (“Windward Bound,” “Call of the Deep”), oboe, horns (“Pilgrimage”), and intensely varied song structures, I internalized every note in only a few spins. The music is complex, but the Lindroth brothers write extremely earwormy hooks; Heiman’s vocal delivery, that of a deathless god, is the cherry on top of the brothers’ penchant for melding technicality and memorability. I haven’t even mentioned that Dimhav write power metal with blast beats, which is a divine pairing that should be the norm—the lightning quick drumming contributes a lot to the maximalist climaxes, and keeps Ondine rhythmically dynamic and full of life. The only cliched criticism I can level at Ondine is “prog metal needs more bass”—some things never change, and we love prog metal for that. The bass is at least audible throughout the album, and the highlight is its rich presence at the start of “Embraced.”

Ondine is the best power/prog album in who knows how long. The album takes the listener on an epic fantasy journey; that musical story extends to a personal one, though, as I am led on a quest of rediscovering the glorious personal truth that prog metal is still my favorite music style. Beyond that, Ondine has helped break a habit I’ve developed since reviewing: moving restlessly from release to release. With Ondine, I’ve stopped to smell the roses, listening to this on repeat to an extent that I haven’t with any other album in years. I’ve even started to listen to other albums I love more because of Dimhav‘s glorious new achievement—Ondine completes the story of my musical homecoming.

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Recommended tracks: Tides Immemorial, Windward Bound, Pilgrimage, The Sunken Star
You may also like: Warrior Path, Sacred Outcry, Tanagra, Adagio, Seventh Wonder, Triumpher, Eternity’s End
Final verdict: 10/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: independent

Dimhav is:
– Staffan Lindroth (Guitars, Bass, Keyboard Leads)
– Olle Lindroth (Drums, Keyboard Arrangements)
– Daniel Heiman (Vocals)
With guests:
– Malin Klingborg (Oboe, tracks 1-6)

1. I would have said in January, but with the release of Sealed into None by Exxûl, I’d be lying. But I’m keeping the slightly untruthful statement for dramatic effect. And maybe Exxûl doesn’t even count because it’s proggy epic doom with heavy USPM influence? Does it matter? ↩︎
2. He’s surely the most accomplished singer in the history of power metal now. Dimhav, Warrior Path, Lost Horizon, Sacred Outcry… the dude doesn’t miss. ↩︎
3. Word painting is the compositional technique where the words say what’s happening in the music concurrently. For a simple example, to use a grand pause when the singer says “stop.” A more complex one would be to use dissonance when the lyrics describe a chaotic situation. ↩︎