Northern Oak's REFORGED Is Here
23rd May 2026 was a momentous day for Femetalism, as the mighty Northern Oak took to the stage for the first time in over ten years.
We've followed Northern Oak since the very early days of this blog. When we first heard them play, we were instantly blown away by the music, the lyrics, and the genuinely brilliant people who made up the band. We followed them to Bloodstock in 2011, Craig photographed them in the Peak District, and we've kept in touch over the years through their subsequent music and projects.
So watching them return to the stage after a decade away was phenomenal. Genuinely fantastic people, and we won't lie, we've missed hearing that music live. It was a huge dose of nostalgia, and one of the highlights of our year so far.
Now, that reunion has led to something even bigger: REFORGED, a new album landing on Bandcamp and all major streaming services tomorrow, 7th August, at 10am BST, fittingly, on Bandcamp Friday.
The album is a re-recorded, re-mixed, re-mastered collection of some of Northern Oak's finest tracks from across their discography, brought together in one release. Mastering was handled by Dan Swanö at Unisound in Sweden, the name behind records for Opeth, Katatonia, and Borknagar, among many others - a serious stamp of quality for a hometown band.
They recently released the first track - “In These Hills” as a little teaser for what was to come. Wow.
The cover art deserves a mention too: "Sheffield from Crookesmoor" by William Ibbitt, on display at Weston Park Museum's Gordon Bridge Gallery. It's a lovely, fitting choice for a record so rooted in the city and the surrounding landscape that shaped the band's sound.
There's a listening party on Bandcamp tomorrow at 7.30pm BST, where the band will stream the album in full and take questions from fans. Sadly, we won't be able to join live as we'll be at Bloodstock, but we'll be following along in spirit and streaming REFORGED the moment we're back.
A brilliant reunion, a brilliant record in the making, and brilliant band who we genuinely miss seeing live. We can't wait to give REFORGED a proper listen and here's hoping we get to see Northern Oak on stage again soon.
Get your copy here:
