Album Review: Dimwind - The Carrion Waltz (2026)
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Written: 8th April 2026
Dimwind are a Swedish post‑metal band formed in 2019 by guitarist Andreas Hansen and drummer Jonas Eriksson. Originally an instrumental duo, they released two albums and a split EP before deciding the project needed a vocal presence. While writing and searching for a vocalist, events took a serious turn when Jonas’s wife was diagnosed with cancer. The work slowed, with the band using the creative process as both shelter and a means of processing the emotional strain. The arrival of vocalist Misha Sedini completed the band, bringing a stark parallel - himself a survivor of aggressive blood cancer whose wife was later diagnosed with the same illness as Eriksson’s partner. Through these shared experiences, the new album’s focus became clear. The Carrion Waltz confronts pain and resilience in the uneasy space between life and death, resulting in the band’s heaviest and most personal record to date.
Opening track The Chime sets the scene for the entire album - beginning with haunting distant guitar before dark, harmonised vocals begin. No time lost / No time lost / My chime’s soft / No time lost. From the outset, there is a thoughtful but solemn aura to the music and as the post-metal main riff begins, Dimwind are able to express their emotions with an ominous depth. Nevertheless, there is use of melody here and these balance well with some tectonic guitar. Not bludgeoning but stomping with precision. Across its nine minutes, Dimwind shape the track through shifts in momentum and weight, never losing sight of their instrumental roots. Extended passages – which vary from almost ambient to sludge metal - allow space for moments of real beauty and quiet devastation, even as a persistent sense of sombreness hangs over everything.
The Uninvited Host is a more oppressive and insistent track which mirrors its harrowing theme of living with illness or trauma. The lyrics express anger, exhaustion and the rejection of being controlled by something remorseless. And now you're both slowly killing me / My uninvited host and my antidote / If I treat you as stasis, I will go under / But if I gnaw at you basis, we will asunder. Through the suffering that the track so clearly illustrates, Dimwind ensure glimmers of hope remain. A central melodic section seems to offer some respite but Jonas Eriksson’s drums rumble ceaselessly in the background as if to say that even on better days, cancer lurks in waiting.
Third track The Antagonist’s Speech continues to show the inventiveness that Dimwind so clearly posses. It begins with one of the more straightforward riffs on The Carrion Waltz but with Misha Sedini’s vocals sitting in slight juxtaposition and not always following familiar patterns, the feeling of uneasiness remains. As the rhythms grow more complex and the lyrics become more dense, there is a great deal to take in. However, the trio ensure the track never becomes so overloaded that it loses meaning. Three and a half minutes in, a gorgeous instrumental passage emerges, led by exquisite guitar work from Andreas Hansen, carrying some sense of resistance. Nevertheless, the antagonist is written as a dominating force that feeds on fear and submission. War is the hell that I force you feel / Feeling this hell is what drives you to kneel / I’m bleeding your knees to amuse the ordeal / Peeling your fears ‘til you’re free and can heal.
Counterglow, which focuses on fighting through uncertainty, offers something quite different to the listener. Slow-burning and cavernous, it features some truly colossal riffs with the vocals occasionally tipping towards growling. The band’s post-metal roots come to life here, the bass rumbling while the drums pound with an almost ritualistic certainty. Powerful and defiant, in some ways the slower tempo makes the song even heavier.
Exit Talon Grasp starts with more sparkling guitar and for a moment, we feel as if something lighter and melodic will begin. However, this is shattered by dread-soaked guitar and abrasive percussion. As the track progresses, the glimmers of light hinted at earlier in the song seem to finally break through the portentous clouds as an introspective passage – complete with a spoken word section – unfold. It explores dealing with a maelstrom of double-edged emotions, reflecting on surviving a close encounter with death only to be left with guilt and shame.
Absorbing The Infinite Impermanence unites the various strands of Dimwind’s music. Blending alternative post‑metal and progressive sludge with some of the finest guitar work on the album, it stands as the most cathartic moment here; its closing passage ranking among the strongest sections across the entire record. It shifts from scarred intensity to moments of unyielding resolve, letting emotion spill out in self‑examination before revealing the cost of survival and the need to accept impermanence as a natural, if often devastating, human reality. It finishes the record on uncompromising terms
The Carrion Waltz delivers exactly what Dimwind claim. “Our musical vision is to create emotionally charged music that captivates through constant motion. With a melodic and melancholic core, we shift between stillness and crushing intensity - delivering a dynamic, unpredictable and engaging experience.” They also indicate that fans of The Ocean, Baroness, Isis, Dvne and Cobra the Impaler will find clear points of connection and I would agree with all of those references while also pointing towards moments that edge closer to Mastodon when the band dig deeper into sludge, even if they never fully commit to it.
Misha Sedini is a strong addition to the band. While his vocal style will not be for everyone, if it finds favour with listeners – as it did with me – the album becomes far more cohesive . Much of the material requires patience, both musically and lyrically, but that density is part of its intent rather than a flaw. For those seeking an easy listen, The Carrion Waltz is not an album for you. It repays the commitment you bring to it, leaving a lasting impression rather than offering quick satisfaction. Demanding. Devastating. Life-affirming.
The Carrion Waltz is released on 10th April 2026
Dimwind online
