With Down in Flames, Glasgow Kiss delivers a debut album built on contrasts. The Norwegian five-piece pair hard-driving, power-rock grooves with lyrics rooted in grief, desire, and disillusion, crafting songs that carry vulnerability without losing force.
Charlotte Marlen Midtun is the anchor and her voice shifts from soaring highs to raw grit to fragile whispers. The production keeps her right at the center, while the guitars of Daniel Anker-Goli and Sveinung Sveen, bass by John Erik Soltvedt, and drums by Frode Andreassen surge around her in waves of precision and drive.
The band is muscular yet nimble with guitars locked into riffs that punch forward and a rhythm section that provides both weight and movement. It’s a framework that allows the band to balance intensity with surprising turns.
The record wastes no time with opener “Destiny” before title track “Down in Flames” rides in on slick basslines and an infectious chorus. Its grit and swagger make it an instant highlight of the album.
“One Last Time” pulls everything inward with a piano-led ballad that is surprisingly vulnerable yet has a quiet strength. It is the moment of Down in Flames to breathe before “Forsaken” comes in on a wave of nostalgia that takes me back to the 80s metal heyday. Charlotte’s vocals have the kind of fire that makes me think of Lita Ford and the music has the spirit and sound of an era where music felt unrestrained, loose, and fun.
Produced by the band and mixed by Peter Michelsen, Down in Flames thrives on duality of weight and release but also shadow and light. It’s not simply a debut, but a declaration that Glasgow Kiss are here to push both power and vulnerability as far as they can go.
It’s a debut that doesn’t just introduce Glasgow Kiss but positions them as a band willing to embrace extremes and make them collide in ways that feel vital.
