"We have been 'prog-wizards' but now it's time to show our ability to write pop choruses and catchy rock anthems": Von Hertzen Brothers to release ninth studio album In Murmuration in October

Finnish prog rock trio Von Hertzen Brothers have announced the release of a brand new studio album, In Murmuration, through their DoingBeingMusic label on October 25.

The new album, the band's ninth studio release, is the follow-up to 2022's acclaimed Red Alert In The Blue Forest and sees the band (including drummer Sami Kuoppamäki) joined by multi-instrumentalist Markus Pajakkala, who performed with the brothers on their acoustic tour in 2023, notably playing a saxophone solo on 2022's Peace Patrol, as well as a gospel ensemble and the Budapest Art Orchestra.

"The shapes and the overall tone of the musical content on this album could be a bit surprising to some of our newer followers," say the band, "but not to those who have been listening to us from the beginning. Musically speaking, we have proudly carried the cloaks of ‘prog-wizards’ for the last two albums, but what has not been so widely discussed lately is our ability to write good pop choruses and great catchy rock anthems with good vibes. We felt like it was now time to bring forth that side of us once again.

"The lyrical themes still deal with the everyday struggles of being humans in this fucked up world, it’s a source that keeps on giving, but we wanted to step out of the forest and into the sunlight to mingle, discuss and celebrate. We live in an age of constant change where everyone is trying to find a secure footing in life, sometimes full of joy and sometimes filled with utter disappointment. Amid all that, the trick is to stay alert and lean to one another. Like starlings in murmuration.

"After the pandemic, and now as the world has once again opened, we have somehow felt lighter in our everyday lives. We acknowledge the contradiction of course, since the world with its horrors hasn’t changed much… It would have been easy to drown in those doomsday moods, but writing these songs we felt the need to tackle these problems from a more forgiving and positive standpoint."

The band will play four launch shows in Finland and the UK at the end of 2024 before returning to the UK, Europe and the US, including Cruise to the Edge in spring 2025.

Von Hertzen Brothers UK shows
Nov 28: Troon Winter Storm Festival
Nov 29: Buckley The Tivoli
Nov 30: Trecco Bay Planet Rockstock
Dec 02: London The Garage

In Murmuration will be released on limited-edition crystal-clear vinyl gatefold LP, CD and digital. Merch bundles will be available from the band’s website. Pre-orders will be available from August 1.

Von Hertzen Brothers: In Murmuration tracklist

1. The Relapse
2. A Good Life
3. Starlings
4. Ascension Day
5. Beneath the Silver Stars
6. Tightrope Walker
7. The Change
8. Separation
9. Snowstorm
10. Wait for Me

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.