Review: AUDREY HORNE – Achilles

Massacre Records – September 4^th, 2026

Reviewer – Chris O’Connor 

There has always been something wonderfully unlikely about Norway’s AUDREY HORNE. On paper, a band containing musicians whose collective CVs reach deep into the Scandinavian extreme-metal scene might reasonably be expected to produce something suitably dark, brutal and frostbitten. Instead, AUDREY HORNE have spent more than two decades producing gloriously melodic, enormously infectious heavy rock, and their eighth studio album, ‘Achilles‘, may well be one of their finest collections yet.

The line-up of Toschie on vocals, Ice Dale (Enslaved) and Thomas Tofthagen (ex-Sahg) on guitars, Espen Lien on bass and Kjetil Greve behind the drums is an extraordinarily accomplished one, and throughout ‘Achilles‘ there is the unmistakable sound of musicians who know precisely what they’re doing. More importantly, though, they sound as though they’re having a tremendous amount of fun doing it.

Musically, AUDREY HORNE occupy that wonderful hinterland somewhere between classic rock, traditional Heavy Metal, progressive rock and, occasionally, the surging energy of punk. There are obvious nods towards Thin Lizzy, particularly in the magnificent twin-guitar harmonies, while Iron Maiden frequently spring to mind when the band slip effortlessly into a gallop. Yet these influences never overwhelm AUDREY HORNE‘s own identity.

The opening title track immediately demonstrates the band’s slightly more progressive side. At over five-and-a-half minutes, ‘Achilles‘ twists and turns through muscular riffs, atmospheric passages and soaring melodies, while lyrically addressing the increasingly fractured and polarised world around us. From there, ‘In The Eye Of The Hurricane‘ heads towards wonderfully traditional late-’70s/early-’80s Heavy Rock territory, complete with an enormous chorus.

‘Vampires‘ is simply glorious, pairing a darker atmosphere with huge vocal harmonies and some sublime guitar work, while ‘God Damn Beautiful‘ changes direction again. Bassist Espen Lien takes over lead vocals for a swaggering slice of melodic Hard Rock, with those Thin Lizzy influences proudly displayed.

The short, atmospheric ‘Prodrome‘ provides the gateway into one of the album’s real highlights, ‘Insanity‘. Here the Maiden influence becomes impossible to ignore: galloping rhythms, harmonised guitars and an epic sense of drama combine brilliantly. Intriguingly, the song was conceived as something of a prequel to Iron Maiden‘s ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name‘, but rather than simply mimicking their heroes, AUDREY HORNE take the inspiration and run enthusiastically away with it.

‘Hell Is Eternity‘ continues the full-throttle approach with another fists-in-the-air chorus, while ‘Six Feet In The Ground‘ adds yet another huge melody. ‘Running Through The Night‘ could almost have escaped from the glory days of the NWOBHM, before ‘New Star Falling‘ closes proceedings in suitably expansive and melodic fashion.

What impresses me most about ‘Achilles‘ is its consistency. There really isn’t a moment where it feels as though something has been included simply to fill another four minutes. The band write remarkably high-quality songs and appear perfectly happy to favour quality over quantity.

AUDREY HORNE aren’t reinventing Heavy Rock, nor are they pretending that their influences don’t exist. Instead, they take everything wonderful about classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal — huge melodies, harmonised guitars, memorable choruses and sheer exuberance — and make it sound remarkably fresh.

Eight albums into their career, these Norwegian heroes remain inexplicably overlooked by far too many people. ‘Achilles‘ deserves to change that. This is powerful, melodic Heavy Rock played by five musicians at the absolute top of their game — and it is absolutely bloody marvellous.

Track List:

1. Achilles
2. In The Eye Of The Hurricane
3. Vampires
4. God Damn Beautiful
5. Pretty Little Lies
6. Prodrome
7. Insanity
8. Hell Is Eternity
9. Six Feet In The Ground
10. Running Through The Night
11. New Star Falling

Line-up:

Toschie – Vocals
Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal – Guitar
Thomas Tofthagen – Guitar
Espen Lien – Drums
Kjetil Greve – Bass

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