As another year approaches, it’s time to look back at what’s been accomplished and what to look forward to next year.

First and foremost, a new Shadowforge album has been announced, titled “Reforged”. As previously mentioned, it is a remastering and reworking of the debut Shadowforge EP. While not available yet, Reforged is expected to be released before the end of the year since it’s in its “finishing touches” stage. Check out this little preview video I put together.

Aside from Reforged, there have been some small bits of progress made on other projects behind the scenes. These releases aren’t ready to be detailed just yet, but I’ve made significant progress on one album in particular. It’s an ambitious one, and my plans for it are growing the more I flesh it out.

On the social media front, I started a TikTok account a few months ago. Content is still a bit sparse, but I expect there will be more frequent updates as I build up my brand. There is a lot I’ve been considering these last few months, and lots of restructuring around my online presence is likely to take place over the course of 2024. My Twitter/X accounts were one reflection of that – I deleted the Ebon Arcanum and Shadowforge accounts and switched the Northsong account to a personal one. I also came up with a new logo, and made an effort to drop “Music” from the brand name (although social media handles and this site’s domain name will keep it in.) Even my YouTube channel got a little love this year, receiving a couple of guitar cover videos.

Up until this point, I’ve only put out music when a full album is ready – and if you’ve been following me for a while, that takes significant time. I’ll announce an album to generate a little buzz, release it, and that buzz dies down a couple weeks later as everyone moves onto the next thing and I go back to obscurity for the next year or two. I’ve never put more effort into my music than I am right now, and yet I have the smallest audience I’ve ever had. With each passing year, it feels like I’m increasingly putting in a lot of time and effort toward something that practically no one is paying attention to. Heck, I’m not even sure these blog posts are read by anyone but me.

Moving forward, I’m trying to go the “content creator” route. I want to more effectively utilize social media to keep people engaged longer. Instead of only releasing new music every 2-3 years, I want to release singles more often and do fun social media posts in between them. To add to that, I’m not even sure if I want to continue my named solo projects (Northsong, Ebon Arcanum, and Shadowforge), opting instead to just use my own name. Think Ola Englund or Bernth, just with more focus on my original music and music production, and less on my skill with an instrument.

Another decision that comes from this change directly affects the next Ebon Arcanum release. I had a whole concept album planned with a dark story and deep lore. Now I’m thinking of scrapping the whole narrative idea, rewriting the lyrics, and just releasing the songs as I go. One drawback to this is that there are some great cinematic songs in this album that just wouldn’t make sense if they were standalone! Ultimately, a lot is still under consideration, and my artistic plans change faster than the weather, so we’ll see where this all goes.

In any case, that’s all I’ve got for now. Many changes planned, but I’m excited to see where it leads me next year. In the meantime, stay on the lookout for more news on Shadowforge’s Reforged!