Europe – Come This Madness: A Veteran Rock Band With Plenty Left To Say

By Glen Parkes

There are some bands whose names are so firmly planted in rock history that a new album can feel like a trip back through the past. Europe, however, have never been content to live entirely on nostalgia. With Come This Madness, their twelfth studio album and first in nine years, the Swedish giants sound focused on the present, using everything they have learned across a remarkable career to create a record that is heavier, darker and more thoughtful than the casual listener might expect.

Released on 25 September 2026 via Silver Lining Music, Come This Madness arrives with plenty of expectation. This is the band that gave the world The Final Countdown, but this album is not an attempt to recreate that moment. Instead, Joey Tempest, John Norum, John Levén, Mic Michaeli and Ian Haugland take the familiar ingredients of classic Europe – huge riffs, dramatic keyboards, melodic hooks and powerful vocals – and put them into a more contemporary frame.

The opening One on One immediately establishes that approach. It has the punch of hard rock Europe have always handled so well, but there is a sense of urgency running underneath it. Rather than sounding like musicians going through the motions, the band attack the material with purpose. Norum’s guitar work is central to that identity, while Michaeli’s keyboards add colour and atmosphere without ever softening the harder edge.

Then comes The Cult of Ignorance, a track that pushes the record further into darker territory. Its subject matter fits the album’s wider examination of a world increasingly shaped by division, misinformation and uncertainty. Europe do not need to preach; the weight comes from the music itself. The riffs hit hard, the rhythm section is locked in, and Tempest delivers the words with the authority of a singer who knows exactly what he wants to say.

The title track, Come This Madness, continues that feeling of tension. There is a cinematic quality to the arrangement, but it never becomes overblown. Known for work with Ghost, Rammstein, The Cult and Opeth, Dalgety was deeply involved in the writing and recording process, and the result is a sound that gives each part of the band room to breathe while retaining the weight required for modern rock.

The album was recorded at Stockholm’s RMV Studio, founded by Benny Andersson and Ludvig Andersson, and Mike Fraser, whose credits include AC/DC, Metallica, Van Halen and The Cult, handled the mix. That pedigree is reflected in the album’s muscular, detailed presentation.

Across This Time of Year, In a Different World and Scandinavian Eyes, Europe keep shifting the mood without losing the thread. There are melodic passages, heavier sections and moments where the keyboards give the songs a more expansive feel. Takin’ It Back has the sort of direct rock energy that could translate particularly well to the live stage, while In the Absence of Grace and The Angels Must Have Flown add further depth to the second half.

The Devil’s Back brings another darker turn before Nothing Can Follow This closes the album. The sequencing works because Europe avoid making every song compete for the same kind of impact. It feels ambitious without becoming self-indulgent, and that balance keeps the record moving.

Guest appearances from Ghost’s Tobias Forge and Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt add further intrigue, but they do not overshadow the core identity of the band. Come This Madness remains unmistakably Europe. More than four decades into their career, this is a group comfortable enough with its legacy to look forward rather than backwards.

The album arrives as the band preparing an extensive run of live dates and The Final Countdown 40th Anniversary Tour, beginning in Glasgow on 30 September. That gives Come This Madness a useful position between history and the present: the old songs will celebrate where Europe came from, while this record demonstrates where they are now.

What makes Come This Madness work is its combination of experience and hunger. Europe sound like musicians who still have something to prove, but without needing to shout about it. The guitars have bite, the keyboards remain crucial, the rhythm section drives hard and Tempest remains a commanding frontman.

Europe have delivered an album that respects their past without being trapped by it. Come This Madness is classic rock with a modern pulse, carrying enough melody for the longtime fans while giving the band space to explore darker and more challenging themes. For a group approaching its fifth decade, that is quite an achievement.

Come This Madness is not simply another Europe album. It is a statement that this band still has plenty left in the tank. one of the best albums i have heard this year