PURPLE SKIES, the one from Bergen and not the one from North Carolina, has been self-described as Proto Doom though most reviews of their debut album, A Million Years, have appeared in Prog 'zines. And they do, indeed, have a bit of a prog feel, mostly due to their mid-tempo, moderately complex compositions . . . but, yeah, they're more doom than anything else. In fact, they remind me of Sweden's WITCHCRAFT, though not in a derivative way.

A Million Years was released on April 10, 2026 via Apollon Records. It comprises nine tracks for a runtime of about 41 minutes. It's extremely even keeled, never dipping into extreme metal territory but also not getting eclectic or avant-garde. Even the song "Bitchcraft," a track you'd figure might get a little, well, bitchwild, stays fairly composed. There are some nice heavy riffs, but it all stays within the lines.

As you might have guessed, the vocals are clean. They're even in English, which is a bit a plus for folks like me. The dual guitar approach of Marius and Henrik make for some heavy tunage when they stack and nice pairing when they weave. Robert (bass) and Jøran (drums), for their part, combine for a solid rhythm section.

I didn't sense any overarching theme for the album. This doesn't seem to be any kind of concept endeavor or exploration of some niche topic. Instead, each song is its own story, its own investigation of a person or of a feeling. As far as standout tracks, I lean to the heavier, faster tempo tracks. That would include the opening track, "Haven," which serves as a bit of an instrumental intro which wades deep into the doom swamp. I also really enjoyed the aforementioned "Bitchcraft," which is arguably the heaviest track on the album. Arguably.

Altogether A Million Years is a very consistent undertaking from PURPLE SKIES. Doomy, bluesy, and moderately complex is my verdict. A band worth keeping an eye on. Perhaps could use a bit more urgency and passion to push it beyond that, but still a very good debut.