Wagenius release ‘Fragment’ with a line-up drawn from Dimmu Borgir and Apoptygma Berzerk
Wagenius released the single “Fragment” with a video on 28 August 2026. Fredrik Nordström mixed it, and the band features Geir Bratland of Apoptygma Berzerk.
Wagenius, the Norwegian heavy rock band assembled by vocalist Ole Aleksander Wagenius, released the single Fragment on 28 August 2026 with a video, and put the track on the digital platforms the same day. It runs 5:01 and is self-released through the band’s own Wagenius Music imprint. Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström mixed and mastered it at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg.
Who plays on the Wagenius single
The interest for readers of this site sits in the line-up. On keyboards is Geir Bratland, who spent fourteen years in Apoptygma Berzerk from 1995 to 2009, playing keyboards and singing backing vocals across the band’s Kathy’s Song era and beyond, and who has played keyboards with Dimmu Borgir since 2010. He has also worked with The Kovenant, God Seed, Satyricon and Emperor.
Kjell Åge “Damage” Karlsen plays guitar. He has been Dimmu Borgir’s live lead guitarist since 2025 and played guest lead guitar on their 2026 album “Grand Serpent Rising”; he also plays in Chrome Division and Gromth. On bass is the Finnish player Jari Kainulainen, who was in Stratovarius from 1993 to 2005, in Evergrey from 2007 to 2010, and has been in Masterplan since 2012. Stian Kristoffersen, drummer with the Norwegian progressive metal band Pagan’s Mind since 2000 and with Firewind from 2003 to 2005, completes the line-up. Ole Aleksander Wagenius sang in the progressive metal band Withem from 2011 and in Secret Chapter in 2019.
Wagenius has said his own reference point is 1980s-rooted heavy rock rather than the extreme metal his players are better known for. “Fragment” is credited to Wagenius and Stian Stensrud, with the music credited to the band. Madsen Visuals shot the video.
About Wagenius
Wagenius is the band Ole Aleksander Wagenius started under his own surname, drawing players from several corners of the Scandinavian scene rather than from one shared history. It has released only singles so far, all self-released, and no album has been announced.
The first three, “Headless Cross” on 3 June 2022, “Girl from Lebanon” on 2 December 2022 and “Soulburn” on 25 January 2023, were covers. “Mystic Ally”, released on 2 May 2025 and running 5:10, was the first original song under the name. “Fragment” is the second original and the fifth release overall.
Wagenius himself came up through Norwegian progressive metal, recording “The Point of You” in 2013 and “The Unforgiving Road” in 2016 with Withem for Frontiers Records, and “Chapter One” with Secret Chapter in 2019. He has also sung live with Pagan’s Mind and contributed backing and choir vocals to that band’s “God’s Equation” in 2007 and “Heavenly Ecstasy” in 2011, which is where the connection with Kristoffersen comes from. Fredrik Nordström, who mixed and mastered “Fragment”, has run Studio Fredman in Gothenburg since 1990 and worked on records by In Flames, At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, Soilwork, Opeth and Dimmu Borgir.
For almost 15 years I’ve been writing about music, interviewing artists and reviewing releases for Peek-A-Boo Magazine. Recently, I also launched my own WordPress website, where I continue to share interviews, reviews and news from the underground scene. The darker side of music has been part of my life for more than 30 years, with a passion for everything from ’80s synthpop and New Wave to EBM, Futurepop and dark electronic music in general. Also Metal and Rock is part of my world. Away from the scene, I work in a public library, where books are part of my everyday life. I enjoy both fiction and non-fiction, especially books on politics, religion, health and travel. I’m also a fan of thrillers and horror films. When I’m not listening to music or reading, you’ll usually find me exploring nature, enjoying a good sauna, experimenting with vegan cooking, or travelling to my second home, Finland. I’ve always believed the underground has the best stories. My job is simply to help tell them
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