AVKRVST is a Norwegian progressive rock band founded by Martin Utby and Simon Bergseth, two childhood friends who made a pact at the age of seven to one day form a band together, a project realized over twenty years later. In addition to Utby (drums, synthesizers) and Bergseth (vocals, guitars, bass), the band includes Øystein Aadland (bass, keyboards), Edvard Seim (guitars) and Auver Gaaren (keyboards). Their music, written in an isolated cabin in the forest of Alvdal (Norway), draws inspiration from their British and Norwegian predecessors, from King Crimson to Opeth. Supported by the InsideOutMusic/Sony label, the band released their debut album The Approbation in June 2023, an immersive conceptual work depicting the loneliness of an isolated soul on the edge of civilization, with ambiences oscillating between atmospheric melancholy and heavy intensity. They then explore new heights with their second album, " Waving at the Sky " (June 2025), a dark and powerful tale inspired by a traumatic family tragedy, combining percussive grooves, expansive folk-rock and ethereal atmospheres, including a collaboration with Ross Jennings (Haken) on the track "The Malevolent".
