KONGH - Dissolved In Time (Album Review)

Release Date: September 25th 2026. Record Label: Trust No One Recordings!. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Dissolved In Time - Tracklist

1.Staining the Ether

2.Guided to the End 

3.Dissolved in Time

Members

David Johansson – vocals, guitar, bass, electronics

Christian Augustin – drums

Jörgen Sandström – backing vocals

Review

Doom/Sludge Metal heavyweights KONGH return after a decade long silence and their first album in thirteen years. The main creative force of the band (David Johansson) is still leading the band but this time round David has called upon the talents of Christian Augustin and Jörgen Sandström who are well known names within the Swedish Heavy Metal scene in their own right.

Dissolved In Time is a different kind of record from KONGH as it aligns itself more closely to the Psychedelic Doom movement with crushing Sludge Metal destruction. The whole sound is helped along by that classic Post-Metal delivery with intense Atmospheric Metal melodies forging a great progressive Doom Metal sound that reminds me of YOB in places. The vocals from David Johansson are superbly inventive which is quite different to KONGH’s early records as David feels more aware of the musical environment around him.

Sometimes David is helped along by Jörgen Sandström who provides excellent backing vocals along the way where the mood does become quite violent and ferocious as KONGH level the playing field with haunting COSMIC DOOM surroundings especially within the mindblowing opening epic track Staining The Ether.

Staining The Ether runs for almost nineteen minutes which is classic KONGH through and through with the music changing from Sludge Metal, Post-Metal, Doom Metal and Heavy Psych soundscapes which is made more technical and highly efficient by the clever use of electronic passages. The lyrics are quite grounded and slightly fantastical at the same time with KONGH developing a cool sounding Post-Doom and Post-Rock aspect into their musical on the later stages of the song.

Second track Guided To The End is a more riff driven affair with KONGH bringing a brooding and pounding style of Doom/Sludge Metal that has a distorted Stoner Metal aspect forming which gives the band a more urgent drive to their music. The FUZZED OUT exterior is quite aggressive with a low-key Doom Metal flow behind David’s vocals. Sometimes the music has a certain Industrial Metal feel which allows KONGH once more to expand their musical horizons once more. Sometimes the record has a disjointed approach but the music is always thrilling and this track has some of heaviest, meanest and thickest grooves on the whole record.

The third and final track Dissolved In Time blends eerie Space Rock sounds to a destructive Post-Rock and Post-Metal playing field which slowly takes time to form that fully branches out into KONGH’s trademark style of Progressive Sludge Metal. The song does have a wicked slow-to-mid delivery where the different flavours of Psych, Space, Fuzz and Post Doom generate some interesting musical and creative choices being made on the track. This is a track where KONGH let their music do their talking and allowing Dissolved In Time to end on a highly aggressive flourish.

Dissolved In Time is expertly created from top to bottom with great work by everyone who helped behind the scenes with the making of the album. This is a breathtaking album from KONGH who have delivered the goods yet again. This is a masterclass of modern Doom/Sludge Metal that is meant to be truly delivered.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to All Noir PR for the promo.

Dissolved In Time is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Trust No One Recordings!

Links

https://www.facebook.com/KonghDoom
https://www.instagram.com/kongh_official
https://www.kongh.net
https://www.facebook.com/tnorec/
https://www.tnor.se/

Swedish Sludge/Doom Outfit KONGH Unleashes "Guided to the End" Off Upcoming Album

Photo by Malin Helenius

 

Following the release of "Staining the Ether", Swedish sludge/doom metal heavyweights KONGH now unveil "Guided to the End", the second single taken from their long-awaited fourth full-length album, "Dissolved in Time", due for release on September 25 via Trust No One Recordings.

Described by founding member David Johansson as "the most direct and rock-oriented song on the album", the track takes a more straightforward approach than much of KONGH’s previous material, as Johansson explains:

"'Guided to the End' is the most direct and rock-oriented song on the album. It’s perhaps the most straightforward song I’ve ever written for Kongh. Perhaps it’s also one of my most direct songs lyrically, as the lyrics deal with humanity’s endless attempts to create meaning and permanence in a world that ultimately forgets everything. They also touch on our tendency to conform, and the common fear of stepping outside of norms and expectations, whether they are social, cultural or otherwise. The human need to find significance in things, to leave something behind, and to believe that it might somehow transcend our own existence is both fascinating and kind of absurd. I think the song captures that tension between wanting to find meaning and realizing how temporary everything really is. The fact that life is temporary is, I think, one of the greatest struggles for people to come to terms with. Finding acceptance in the fact that things are not permanent is, at least in my opinion, a way towards fulfillment rather than the opposite."

The release is accompanied by a lyric video, which you can watch here:

Stream "Guided to the End" HERE

Tracklist

01. Staining the Ether (18:51 min)

02. Guided to The End (07:02 min)

03. Dissolved in Time (13:21 min)

Between 2007 and 2013, KONGH released three critically acclaimed albums that established the band as one of Sweden’s most distinctive voices in heavy music. Extensive touring alongside acts such as Meshuggah and YOB earned the band a devoted international following before entering an extended hiatus.

Now, KONGH re-emerge with a record that does not seek to recreate the past, but rather continues and sharpens it. Written from ideas accumulated over the last decade and developed during six months of intensive work, "Dissolved in Time" expands upon the band’s trademark blend of crushing heaviness, vast atmosphere and hypnotic repetition, while incorporating electronics, layered textures and some of the most ambitious compositions in the band’s history.

The album was written and recorded under the direction of founding member David Johansson, who performed guitars, bass, electronics, and lead vocals, while also handling the mixing process. Drawing on years of experience gained both within Kongh and through his time as a touring guitarist for Cult of Luna between 2013 and 2019, Johansson shaped a record that is both deeply personal and structurally expansive.

Furthermore, "Dissolved in Time" features contributions from several key figures in the Scandinavian heavy music scene, including three of Johansson’s former bandmates from Cult of Luna. Christian Augustin performed drums and engineered the vocal sessions, while Kristian Karlsson engineered and mixed the drum recordings. The album was mastered by Magnus Lindberg, who also worked on KONGH’s 2013 release, reinforcing a sense of continuity in sound and vision. Additional backing vocals are provided by Jörgen Sandström, known for his work with Grave, Entombed, and many other seminal acts.

"Dissolved in Time" will be released September 25 via Trust No One Recordings on CD, LP + digital formats and is available for pre-order here: PHYSICAL | DIGITAL

In addition, KONGH have announced their very first show in ten years, taking place on January 30 in Stockholm, Sweden. Joining for the evening are label-mates and old-time friends Switchblade and Speglas. Tickets are on sale HERE

Line-up:

David Johansson - guitar, vocals, bass, electronics
Christian Augustin - drums
Jörgen Sandström - backing vocals

For more info visit:

https://www.facebook.com/KonghDoom
https://www.instagram.com/kongh_official
https://www.kongh.net
https://www.facebook.com/tnorec/
https://www.tnor.se/

Thanks to All Noir PR for the details.

Sweden’s KONGH Return with New Album "Dissolved in Time" and First Single "Staining the Ether"!

Photo by Malin Helenius

After nearly a decade of silence, Swedish sludge/doom metal heavyweights KONGH return with "Staining the Ether", the first single and lyric video taken from their long-awaited fourth full-length album, "Dissolved in Time", due for release on September 25 via Trust No One Recordings.

Between 2007 and 2013, KONGH released three critically acclaimed albums that established the band as one of Sweden’s most distinctive voices in heavy music. Extensive touring alongside acts such as Meshuggah and YOB earned the band a devoted international following before entering an extended hiatus.

Now, KONGH re-emerge with a record that does not seek to recreate the past, but rather continues and sharpens it. Written from ideas accumulated over the last decade and developed during six months of intensive work, "Dissolved in Time" expands upon the band’s trademark blend of crushing heaviness, vast atmosphere and hypnotic repetition, while incorporating electronics, layered textures and some of the most ambitious compositions in the band’s history.

The album was written and recorded under the direction of founding member David Johansson, who performed guitars, bass, electronics, and lead vocals, while also handling the mixing process. Drawing on years of experience gained both within Kongh and through his time as a touring guitarist for Cult of Luna between 2013 and 2019, Johansson shaped a record that is both deeply personal and structurally expansive.

The first glimpse into this new era comes with "Staining the Ether", presented here as a specially edited ten-minute single version, while the full album version unfolds across nineteen minutes. The track moves through overwhelming weight, expansive sonic space, and moments of fragile and eerie restraint, offering a condensed entry point into the broader world of the album.

Watch the lyric video here:

Speaking about the song, David Johansson comments:

"During the years when the band was on hiatus, with no plans in sight of bringing it back, this song slowly and silently developed in the back of my mind. It began with that eerie opening riff and gradually expanded into what it is today. I think it’s a very complex yet organic composition. Not the kind of song I would sit down and write over a weekend. It evolved over several years and through different phases of my life. It’s a 20-minute journey through heaviness, complexity, and existential themes. In my opinion, it is the ultimate Kongh song."

Tracklist:

01. Staining the Ether (18:51 min)

02. Guided to The End (07:02 min)

03. Dissolved in Time (13:21 min)

Furthermore, "Dissolved in Time" features contributions from several key figures in the Scandinavian heavy music scene, including three of Johansson’s former bandmates from Cult of Luna. Christian Augustin performed drums and engineered the vocal sessions, while Kristian Karlsson engineered and mixed the drum recordings. The album was mastered by Magnus Lindberg, who also worked on KONGH’s 2013 release, reinforcing a sense of continuity in sound and vision. Additional backing vocals are provided by Jörgen Sandström, known for his work with Grave, Entombed, and many other seminal acts.

David Johansson on the new album:
 "After 'Sole Creation', it felt as though Kongh had fulfilled the artistic vision that inspired its creation in the first place. There was no reason to continue simply because another album was expected. Music needs to come from a genuine creative necessity. For many years, Kongh remained dormant while life moved in other directions. Eventually, new ideas began to emerge, and over time they became too strong to ignore. During those years, I also immersed myself in audio engineering and music production, which ultimately allowed me to take on the role of the album’s main producer. That became a way of bringing the music even closer to the vision that has always defined Kongh. This album exists not because of nostalgia, but because there was once again something that needed to be expressed."

Tim Bertilsson of Trust No One Recordings comments:
 "Having worked together almost two decades ago, releasing the band’s debut album 'Counting Heartbeats' and the follow up, 'Shadows of The Shapeless', I’m stoked to welcome David and Kongh back to the label. Kongh has always been in a league of their own and 'Dissolved in Time' is a further proof of that."

Rather than functioning as a reunion in the nostalgic sense, KONGH’s fourth album stands as a continuation - a record shaped by absence, persistence, and renewal. It reconnects with the foundations of the band while presenting its most focused and fully realized expression to date.

"Dissolved in Time" will be released September 25 via Trust No One Recordings on CD, LP + digital formats and is now available for pre-order here: PHYSICAL | DIGITAL

Line-up:

David Johansson - guitar, vocals, bass, electronics
Christian Augustin - drums
Jörgen Sandström - backing vocals

For more info visit:

https://www.facebook.com/KonghDoom
https://www.instagram.com/kongh_official
https://www.kongh.net
https://www.facebook.com/tnorec/
https://www.tnor.se/

Thanks to All Noir PR for the details.