Music Review: Holissstik to Release Debut Album August 14

Emily Jean
10 hours ago
2 min read

Some albums ask to be heard, some demand to be heard and then there are records that seem determined to swallow the listener whole.

Holissstik’s debut album, Chapter 1: This Endless Solutude is one of those albums. Releasing 14 August, 2026, this album serves as the first installment in a multi album project courtesy of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and producer, Tor-Helge Skei.

Skei is hardly a newcomer to the music industry. As the creative force behind Manes, he helped push Norwegian black metal beyond its expected borders. He has also been involved in projects including Lethe, Høstol, Atrox, Manii and Kkoagulaa.

“The inspiration for Holissstik comes from the Greek word Hólos, which is the root for the English word ‘whole’”, Skei explains. “Collaboration is the heart and soul of this project. The idea is that each part cannot exist or be understood when separated from the whole. The sum is greater than its parts.”

Roughly twenty collaborators were invited to be involved in the project and were encouraged to take the material and interpret it to their own instincts. There was no blueprint or instructions for each contributor.

“After sketching these songs, I asked my collaborators to do their own thing with them. The only hint that I gave was that the music would use minor chords, be melancholic and introspective and that the lyrics would be concerned with the darker side of life and death. But I gave them no rules, no limitations or restrictions,” Skei said.

This could have easily resulted in an incoherent mess. However, it ended up being the album’s greatest strength. Each contribution retained its own identity without diminishing the larger atmosphere. The music constantly changes shape, but rarely feels fragmented. Skei’s genius shows as he reconstructs each contribution into something unified, balancing radically different voices, instruments, languages and ideas until the album flows beautifully. Bringing together pieces of rock, metal, electronics, trip hop, jass and more, Skei proves there is purpose behind the chaos.

The project’s philosophy is best captured by longtime Skei collaborator Torstein Parelius, who urges listeners to “turn away from the boundaries you create.” For listeners who are willing to be open minded to the different sounds and textures throughout the album, the rewards are great.

And this is only Chapter 1.

Skei has planned for Holissstik to be a trilogy.

The invitation is simple. Step inside, surrender the genre labels and let the album do what it's built to do.