Review: Rozario – Northern Crusaders

Pride & Joy Music (February 20^th, 2026)

Reviewer – Jason Hopper

New to the scene Norwegian rockers Rozario return after releasing their debut album ‘To The Gods We Swear‘ in 2023. That album came across my radar due to the involvement of their producer, Trond Holter. For those not in the know, Trond is the guitarist of Wig Wam, a band I consider to be one of the premier hard rock acts of this century. His production and guitar tone from that band was utilized to terrific effect for Rozario’s debut. If I played guitar, the sound Trond produces is exactly how I would want to sound.

Trond is back at the production helm for album #2, ‘Northern Crusaders‘. Once again, the production sounds like a million bucks. A blow you to the back of the room sonic assault!  Anyone who listens to this album on iPhone speakers alone is committing auditory desecration.  Get your best speakers out for this one.

Production is important, but it’s meaningless if the music doesn’t have the chutzpah to back it up. Rozario showed they were worthy with their debut, and they double down here. This album is fantastic!

Man…the riffage on this album is tremendous! Think of your favorite riffs that fire you up mentally and physically and you get that here with songs like ‘Until The Gods Are Calling’ and ‘Haunted By The Past’, two of my personal favorites. Even the numbers where the pace slows and the groove exudes heaviness got my blood pumping. The guitar chugging on ‘Down Low’ is fierce and powerful. The nightmare laden words on ‘Sleepless’ are effectively conveyed by the distinctness of the varied verse/bridge/chorus structure.

That leads me to another strong point of the album, the ordering. There are no ballads found on the album, but the various melodies are structured perfectly. You have slower, groove-bases tracks spaced between the faster, more melodic ones, for an ebb and flow that does not make you want to skip around to different portions of the album. You can play this album from start to finish and never feel the desire to skip over tracks.  Everything is laid out here in a perfect order.

For those who bought the first album, you already can anticipate the sound. If you are unfamiliar with the band, I would encourage you to check out first single, opener ‘Fire and Ice’ and recently released ‘We Are One’. Each song has a distinct style that encapsulates the overall sound you get from the band. 

Pre-order this one or add it to your playlist the day it comes out.  This is an album you’ll love to listen to all year long.

Tracklisting:

1. Fire and Ice
2. We Are One
3. Down Low
4. Free Forever
5. Crusader
6. Coming Home
7. Die Like Warriors
8. Until The Gods Are Calling
9. Sleepless
10. The Warning
11. Haunted By The Past
12. Betrayed

Line-up:

David Rosario (vocals)

Stein Hjertholm (guitar)

Taran Lister (guitar)

Anders Halsan Engum (bass)

Per Helge Bruvoll (drums)

Web Links:

Official Website

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