Vanaheim - Roede voor de Borst Vanaheim

Vanaheim, an international storytelling caravan, has its roots in the land of the far sight, namely the Netherlands, in the city of Tilburg. Since their founding in 2015, the quintet has been on an everlasting journey through foreign lands to spread folktales of their own.

Since their first two self-released releases—The House Spirit EP (2017) and Een Verloren Verhaal (2022)—all eyes and ears in the scene have been directed towards Vanaheim. Hailed as the band to bring back the golden era of folk metal and return the genre to its former glory, Een Verloren Verhaal struck the scene like a meteor and was frequently highlighted by the metal press as one of the albums of the year in 2022.

In September 2026, Vanaheim will release their highly anticipated follow-up concept album, Roede voor de Borst, alongside a new band design and lyrics that tell a tragic, emotional, yet engaging story. The album features guest performances from Coen Janssen of Epica and Nils Fischer of Eluveitie, who enhance the band's sound across all of the new tracks. Dutch symphonic and melodic metal luminary Joost van den Broek produced, recorded, and mixed the album before it was mastered by Finnish mastering legend Mika Jussila in Helsinki.

Roede voor de Borst draws the listener into an immersive storyline of regret, despair, hope, and salvation. It is a musical journey full of surprises, set against a 19th-century Dutch backdrop that pulls listeners deep into a book of untold legends. The Dutch-language vocals give these songs an emotional honesty that carries every word straight to the heart. With a rousing mix of symphonic heaviness, elegant folk-inspired melodies, and grounding death metal riffs, Roede voor de Borst represents the next level of Vanaheim and a new pinnacle of epic folk metal.