ELD VARG

 

NEW ALBUM “DESTROYER” ANNOUNCED — A HEAVY METAL ONSLAUGHT FROM SCOTLAND’S RISING TITANS

Scottish heavy metal power trio, ELD VARG, return with their thunderous sophomore album, Destroyer, set for release on Friday 14th November. Ahead of the album, the band have offered a blistering taste of what’s to come in the shape of their crushing new single and video, Black Starlight, out now -  Check out the band over at - https://open.spotify.com/artist/3lsbNSWBZ3ozjrJDm14W8K .
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hailing from Glasgow, ELD VARG have carved a ferocious path through the Scottish underground metal scene, delivering riff-laden, groove-heavy, and melodically rich metal steeped in Norse mythology, epic battles, and triumph. Originally launched as a solo project by frontman Ollie Noakes, ELD VARG burst into life with the 2023 debut One Man Army, which quickly transitioned from opening slots to headliners.

Now fully armed with their devastating three-piece lineup — Ollie Noakes (Guitar & Lead Vocals), Andy Hedges (Drums & Backing Vocals), and Micah Snow (Bass & Backing Vocals) — ELD VARG’s high-energy live performances have become a staple of Scotland’s metal circuit. To date, ELD VARG, have shared stages with Florence Black (at a sold-out Glasgow show), Anvil, Ye Banished Privateers, Tytan, Brave the Seas, and Tailgunner on multiple UK tours. They’ve also wooed crowds at a slew of prominent festival appearances, including Wildfire, Call of the Wild, and a headline slot at Winter Warmer Festival, earning accolades such as “discovery of the weekend” and “favourite band of the festival.”

The next chapter begins with Destroyer, which aptly builds upon the foundations of One Man Army, delving deeper into themes of adversity, transformation, and rising through the ashes of the past. Heavier, more anthemic, and more cohesive, the album marks a powerful evolution in the band’s sound. “It was written during a period of uncertainty,” says frontman Ollie Noakes. “It delves into moving through hardship and moving forward with no clear route to follow. With layered meanings coated in Viking imagery, the album forges a stronger sound and path for the band.”

A UK tour to support Destroyer will launch in late November and December, bringing ELD VARG’s crushing new material to stages across the country and promising an unrelenting live experience for new audiences and long-time fans alike.

Album track listing: 1. Achamán; 2. Destroyer; 3. The Hell Of Mirrors; 4. Black Starlight; 5. VI Kings; 6. Darkest Waves; 7. Crestfallen.

 

                                                      Interview  04/08/2025

MM:Massive congratulations on "Destroyer!—it’s a killer album How proud are you of this beast of an album?

 

Thanks, we’re more proud than you could imagine! Destroyer has really been one of those moments where everything has come together at the right time. I’ll forever be proud of what was achieved on our previous album, One Man Army, but this album is a massive step up on all fronts. The song writing, performances and overall sonic impact of the album, everything is really showing the strength of the band just now. We can’t wait for the full album to be released in November!

MM:Have you had much feedback or reviews yet on the tracks you’ve released?

 

We’ve one single out just now, Black Starlight, and the reviews and feedback have been incredible. Everything seems to be saying exactly what we were feeling about it before release, and more. Its head banging nature and addictive chorus has also translated really well live on our recent tour. This will definitely end up being a live staple.

MM:What’s your current favourite track on the album, and why?

 

I think for me it’ll be The Hell of Mirrors. It’s got the Eld Varg stamp on it, but it has a very different sound from anything else on both of our albums. It was inspired by the story of the same name by Edogawa Ranpo, and has a slightly darker edge, alongside the heavier sections and big chorus. For those that have heard the album upfront, it seems to resonate with them too. We’ll see what the fans think when the album releases!
 

MM:Tell us about the formats the album will be released in. And how crucial is the artwork to the band’s vision?

The album will be available on Streaming, Digital, CD and for the first time for us, Vinyl, which is really cool.

Artwork is really important to me. It’s usually the first thing that people will experience when they explore an album for the first time. It’s key piece of information that gives the listener an idea of the style and direction that the album is taking. It took us a while to find the right artist and design for the album, but we’re really happy with the cover, it is a great visual representation of the ideas, themes and music.

MM:What tours or festivals are next on your radar?

We’re in the middle of booking shows to celebrate the release of the album that we’re hoping to have ready to announce shortly. Into 2026, we’re planning on a more expansive tour, with festivals through the summer. We’re locking in some festivals just now, nothing to confirm as of yet, but you’ll definitely see us on the road and on the festival circuit!
 

 MM:Road life can be intense—who’s got the most annoying habit in the van? And who keeps the peace?

So far we’ve not come across much in that way, although I’m sure the other guys find my ability to sleep anywhere and catch-up on missed sleep rather annoying! We’ve also never really needed a peace keeper! There are only 3 of us, and we all get on well, plenty of space in the van on the road, plenty of space on stage, and we all get the vision and where we’re going.

 

MM:What are the biggest challenges you face today as a metal band trying to cut through the noise?

It’s great that there’s a platform for everybody to get their music out there for people to listen to, obviously we have taken advantage of this. But as everybody is able to record in their bedroom and release worldwide, the sheer amount of music out there is overwhelming, as an artist and music listener. We’re staying true to ourselves and our music, writing the best music we can and performing the best shows we can.

MM:Your top 3 albums of all time?

From a listener’s point of view, Time 1 by Wintersun, Ain’t That a Bitch by Johnny Guitar Watson & of course, The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. They’re all albums that can be put on, start to finish, without a skip.

From an inspiration standpoint, Kiss’s Revenge got me into rock in the first place, Metallica’s Master of Puppets sent me down the metal path, and when I found Hammer of the North by Grand Magus, it really solidified everything for me. Grand Magus continue to be an influence to this day.

MM:If you could jam with any 3 musicians—alive or dead—who’d make the list?

 

I’d love to have a jam and chat with Shinji Wajima “Wajimachine” from Ningen Isu, assuming I could speak Japanese of course! I love the mix between traditional heavy metal, and the Japanese influences, Shinji comes up with all sorts of parts that I would never think about in my whole life, I’d learn a mountain of things from him.

David Gilmour would be on the list. I don’t think there’s any introduction needed for this titan of guitar. The boy can play.

I think James Hetfield would be last. A monster of rhythm guitar!

MM:Your 3 essential items for surviving a tour?

Some form of entertainment, whether it be a Switch, Steam Deck, Book, anything to pass the time. There can be a lot of waiting around, so any of those would do the trick.

A functioning sound system in the van, or noise cancelling headphones. Something to distract from the monotony of road noise

And as with my sleep answer before, an eye mask! Not exactly Rock N Roll, but being able to catch-up on much needed sleep is key to keeping the train running!

MM:Top 3 countries you’d love to tour but haven’t yet?

We’re hoping to tour more extensively through the UK in 2026, but in terms of dream locations, Spain and especially the Canary Islands would be great. The opening track of the album is from old Guanche mythology from the Canary Island, so that would be cool.

Japan would be incredible, especially the Edogawa Ranpo, The Hell of Mirrors song on the new album. Not to mention Japan is an incredible country, it would be great to visit and tour at the same time. Maybe an Eld Varg/Ningen Isu tour in the future?!

I know Europe isn’t a country, but it would be great to travel across Europe on tour and through festivals. There’s so much to see, it would be a great experience.

MM:24-hour road trip—what musician’s riding shotgun with you?

I didn’t bring back anybody in the previous question, so I’m picking Ozzy for this one. Apart from being an absolute legend of rock, Ozzy came across as a totally solid guy, and he is going to have more than enough stories for a 24 hour road trip. There’s a massive hole in music now.

MM:If your personality were a song, what would its title be?

To keep in on brand “Forged in the Flames of Yesterday”. We’re a small band, and we do as much ourselves as we can. Over the years I’ve tried a lot of things, got some right, some not so right, but I’ve looked back and learned from that. I’ve had to figure out pretty much every aspect of the band myself, graphic design, video editing, band image, and I’ve ended up producing the 2 Eld Varg records too. Life is a journey, I’m just trying to be better than I was yesterday!

MM:Vinyl or digital—where do you spin?

Digital is great for discovering music, but Vinyl is where it’s at. Streaming feels like consuming music, Vinyl feels like listening to music to me. It’s all too easy to skip when there are an infinite number of options lined up, but when you chose an album to stick on for the next hour or so, as soon as the needle hits, you’re going to experience the album as the artist intended.  

MM:Festival chaos or an intimate sweat-soaked gig?

We’ve become well versed in the intimate sweaty gigs, being that close to the fans singing back the words and banging their heads is great, but we’re definitely looking to get into more festival chaos. We’ve a lot of interaction with the crowd, chants and singing, etc at our shows, and we’d love to hear that with 1000’s of people!

MM:Sum up your music in one word.

A journey. I’ve always thought when writing the music and the lyrics that it’s always felt like taking the listener on a journey. A lot of our songs are 6 minutes plus, but they don’t feel that way. They cover a lot of ground musically, sonically and lyrically, so I’ll go with that!

MM:If your band had a mascot—what would it be, and what chaos would it cause?

The easy answer is a Fire Wolf! Our band name translates from Swedish as fire wolf, as honour to all the bands that inspired Eld Varg’s creation. I’ve never thought too much into the lore of the band name, and what our fire wolf would be like. I’ll assume it has a mane of fire, but can’t breathe fire, so it’ll likely burn anybody that tries to pet it, and set fire to everything when it sits down. I think we’d be leaving him at home!

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