Sweden’s Nephila have emerged from the shadows with HULDRA, their long-awaited second album, due out August 28 via Majestic Mountain Records. Alongside the announcement, the band have just shared a mesmerizing music video for the album’s title track, offering another glimpse into their most ambitious and atmospheric work to date. Watch the video for HULDRA here. Three years in the making, HULDRA sees the Arvika collective pushing far beyond the 70s-inspired heavy rock that earned their debut album a P3 Guld Award nomination for Rock/Metal Album of the Year. The grooves remain, but they’re now wrapped in darker textures, towering riffs, haunting vocal harmonies, and an unmistakable sense of cinematic grandeur. Inspired by the legend of the skogsrå, the mysterious forest spirit of Nordic folklore, HULDRA is a concept album where every song forms another chapter in a larger story. Moving through themes of transformation, identity, power, and humanity’s connection to nature, the record blends myth with contemporary reflection, exploring our fascination with the unknown and the tension between freedom and fear. “It’s not just about mythology,” explain vocalists Josephine Asker and Linn Edlund. “It’s about what the forest spirit represents, our fascination with the unknown and the tension between being drawn to it and fearing it.” Recorded between guitarist Jacob Hellenrud‘s studio and a remote former orphanage in Lappnäs, the album captures the eerie beauty and untamed spirit of the Scandinavian wilderness, while marking a significant evolution in Nephila’s songwriting and sonic identity. The newly released title track, “HULDRA,” perfectly encapsulates this transformation, balancing hypnotic grooves with soaring melodies, crushing guitars, and an atmosphere that feels both mystical and deeply haunting. Fans of Graveyard, Lucifer, Blues Pills, and classic 70s heavy rock with a darker edge won’t want to miss this one. HULDRA will be released digitally on August 28 via Majestic Mountain Records, with the vinyl edition following later in the autumn. | 
