Danish rocker Elias Rønnenfelt, best known as the front-man of Iceage, delivers a haunting and bold solo work with his new album Speak Daggers (released October 17, 2025 via Escho).
With a sound that occupies the uneasy middle ground between post-punk, industrial cloud rap, and ghost-folk, Speak Daggers is a record of tension, decline and emotional clarity. As the reviewer at Pitchfork states:
“If this is a prison, then the world is one.”
This album doesn’t simply run through the motions—Rønnenfelt digs deep. Tracks like “USA Baby” channel the disintegration of empire and relationship simultaneously, while “Crush the Devils Head” and “Mona Lisa” translate destructive devotion into raw, cinematic drama.
The album features standout collaborations—legends like the reggae group The Congo Conga Line (credited as The Congos) on “Not Gonna Follow,” and Danish singer-songwriters like Erika de Casier on “Blunt Force Trauma.”
Musically, the rhythms are slower, the textures more obstructed than his Iceage output. It’s less a blitzkrieg punk record, more a subterranean rumble. According to the review:
“While his vocal delivery on Speak Daggers skews more Lil Peep than Nick Cave… his songwriting remains concerned with violence, corruption and holy turmoil.”
If the sonic palette is murky, the emotional punch is clear. This is Rønnenfelt’s most fearless solo statement yet—and one of the most compelling releases of 2025 so far.
🎧 Listen: Speak Daggers (Spotify)
🎼 Bandcamp: Speak Daggers — Elias Rønnenfelt
Key Tracks:
“Crush the Devils Head” – slow-burn apocalypse
“USA Baby” – apocalyptic love story & critique of empire
“Not Gonna Follow” (feat. The Congos) – reggae-tinged resistance