“These songs slot neatly into the catalogue – but this is a very different record from its predecessors, if only in sonic terms”: Airbag’s The Century Of The Self

Norse notables expand their sonic environment with an effective sideways step

Airbag - The Century Of The Self
(Image: © Karisma)

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Leading lights of the Norwegian progressive rock scene for more than 15 years, Airbag have always had a clear identity. Across their five studio albums to date, their subtly unique strain of post-Floyd melancholy has certainly proved itself to be a malleable thing.

Their 2013 album The Greatest Show On Earth saw them perfect their sound. Every subsequent release has brought new dimensions and textures to the tearful party, while also retaining the essence of their trademark dreamy drift. 

In the darkly digital paranoia-fest of 2016’s Disconnected and the back-to-basics sumptuousness of 2020’s A Day At The Beach, there’s a sense that Airbag could tinker at the edges of their sound forever and a day without ever sacrificing the unfussy, humble power that lies at its heart.

Airbag - Awakening (Official Video) - YouTube Airbag - Awakening (Official Video) - YouTube
Watch On

That remains largely true here. The Century Of The Self offers no radical departures or jarring detours, and with the disarming vocal presence of frontman Asle Tostrup dominating the foreground, these songs should slot neatly into the catalogue. Nonetheless, this is a very different record from its predecessors – if only in sonic terms.

The background is a masterclass in minimalist elegance

Blurring the lines between traditional prog, its modern equivalent and, more surprisingly, mind-expanding space rock, opening epic Dysphoria highlights the new dynamic sensibilities that inform this record. Built on a languid groove, it has much in common with the somnambulant stoner ritualism of bands like King Buffalo and OM, quasi-dub bass line included; but with the expected, bittersweet melodic thrust of the modern prog set, and a slight edge of post-punk grubbiness thrown in.

Where previous albums favoured a more conservative quiet-to-loud aesthetic, here Airbag sound liberated by the sheer enormity of space that their songs have wandered into. 

Airbag - Erase (Official Video) - YouTube Airbag - Erase (Official Video) - YouTube
Watch On

On the tense but tumultuous Tyrants And Kings, the backdrop for Tostrup’s pleas for mercy echoes the kohl-eyed vastness of The Cure’s Disintegration, elevating an otherwise straightforward song to a higher level of atmospheric potency.

On the gently heart-breaking Awakening, as Tostrup sings, ‘Don’t look down/Keep your head up...’ the background is a masterclass in minimalist elegance, with only drums and strummed acoustic providing an anchor to reality, as Riis wrings slender shards of bluesy wistfulness from his instrument.

The closing Tear It Down embraces Airbag’s newly expansive sonic environs, veering from stripped-down finesse to churning, angular alt rock, and spiralling towards massive, post-rock crescendos. The Century Of The Self is a subtle but effective sideways step.

The Century Of The Self is on sale now via Karisma.

Dom Lawson
Writer

Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s. 

Read more
Seven Impale – City Of The Sun 10th Anniversary
“Plenty have paddled in the same murky waters, but few have done it with such eye-popping vigour”: Seven Impale’s City Of The Sun: 10th anniversary edition
The cover of Steven Wilson’s The Overview album
“A return to full-fat prog from the man who gave the genre a good name in recent years”: Prog fans rejoice! Steven Wilson has come home with cosmic modern classic The Overview
Dream Theater – Parasomnia
“Most is more than familiar… but there’s a sense of excitement in having this chemistry back in place”: Dream Theater’s Parasomnia largely lives up to the hype
Wardruna – birna
“They could have trod some of the more aggressive ritualistic paths that endear them to metal, prog and folk fans… instead there’s an airier touch on a record of extraordinary scope”: Wardruna explore the nature of the bear on Birna
Steven Wilson – The Overview
“Nothing overshadows the totality of the concept… The Overview is very prog indeed”: Steven Wilson fully embraces the genre again, in a modern manner that will attract new listeners
Mogwai – The Bad Fire
“Some bands would think such an unlikely chart-topping feat would require them to lurch into a new chapter. Instead, Mogwai retreat to their discomfort zone”: The Bad Fire is reassuringly blurry
Latest in
Queen posing for a photograph in 1978
"Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different, and we tended to encourage them, but sometimes they were not brilliant.” Queen's Brian May reveals one of Freddie Mercury's grand ideas that got vetoed by the rest of the band
Mogwai
“The concept of cool and uncool is completely gone, which is good and bad… people are unashamedly listening to Rick Astley. You’ve got to draw a line somewhere!” Mogwai and the making of prog-curious album The Bad Fire
Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden in 2024
Adrian Smith names his favourite Iron Maiden song, even though it’s “awkward” to play
Robert Smith, Lauren Mayberry, Bono
How your purchase of albums by The Cure, U2, Chvrches and more on Record Store Day can help benefit children living in war zones worldwide
Cradle Of Filth performing in 2021 and Ed Sheeran in 2024
Cradle Of Filth’s singer claims Ed Sheeran tried to turn a Toys R Us into a live music venue
The Beatles in 1962
"The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have?" Record shop owner finds 1962 Beatles' audition tape that a British label famously decided wasn't good enough to earn Lennon and McCartney's band a record deal
Latest in Review
/news/the-darkness-i-hate-myself
"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town
Sex Pistols at the RAH
"Open the dance floor, you’ll never get to do it again." Forget John Lydon's bitter and boring "karaoke" jibes, with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world's greatest punk band once more
Arch Enemy posing in an alleyway
Arch Enemy promised they'd throw out the rule book for Blood Dynasty. They didn't go quite that far, but this is the boldest album of the Alissa White-Gluz era - and it kicks ass
The Darkness press shot
"Not just one of the best British rock albums of all time, but one of the best debut albums ever made": That time The Darkness added a riot of colour to a grey musical landscape
Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux Deluxe Box Set
“The live recording sees the piece come to life… amid the sepulchral gloom there are moments of real beauty”: Roger Waters' Super Deluxe Box Set of his Dark Side Of The Moon Redux
Cradle Of Filth Press Shot 2025
Twiddly Iron Maiden harmonies, thrash riffs, horror, rapping (kind of) and sexy goth allure: The Screaming Of The Valkyries is peak Cradle Of Filth