Airbag are one of the most atmospheric and emotionally resonant bands in modern progressive rock — a Norwegian group from Oslo whose lush, melancholic sound wears its love of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree with pride. Here is our fellow fan’s ranking of their albums.

The short version

For the heart of Airbag, start with All Rights Removed, Disconnected and The Century of the Self — the album where they found themselves, their darkest emotional peak and a recent triumph. The full ranking is below.

Floyd’s heirs from the north

Formed in Oslo in 2004 by a pair of Pink Floyd-loving high school friends, Airbag make lush, melancholic, beautifully spacious progressive rock that wears its influences — Floyd, Porcupine Tree and Radiohead — with pride. At the heart of their sound is Bjørn Riis’s soaring, Gilmour-esque guitar and Asle Tostrup’s haunting, less-is-more vocals. Over six albums they have become one of the most important bands of the Norwegian prog scene. These six records are their complete studio discography.

How we ranked them

This is one fan’s order, weighing songwriting, atmosphere and emotional impact across their whole catalogue. The facts are accurate; the order is a starting point for the debate.

The essential three

At the top sits All Rights Removed (2011), the confident, fully realised album where the band truly found themselves — mature, melancholic and quietly devastating. Beside it stands Disconnected (2016), their darkest and most emotionally resonant record, built around themes of alienation, and The Century of the Self (2024), an utterly captivating recent triumph that confirmed they are still at the peak of their powers.

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Reliably great

The next tier is excellent too. The Greatest Show on Earth (2013) is a darker, heavier album with some of Riis’s most dramatic guitar work, while A Day at the Beach (2020) takes an atmospheric detour into 1980s electronica and film-score textures.

For completists

One more album completes the picture. Their debut Identity (2009), which gathered and reworked songs from their early EPs, is where the Airbag sound first took shape — an essential listen once you know the records above.

Every album, in order

Airbag’s complete studio discography, in chronological order. Click through to the full write-up on any record.

Where to start

Begin with All Rights Removed — the album where everything clicked, and the best introduction to their lush, melancholic sound. From there, Disconnected and The Century of the Self show just how powerful they can be.

The players

Airbag are built around two high school friends who founded the band in 2004: vocalist Asle Tostrup, whose restrained, haunting delivery gives the music its emotional weight, and guitarist Bjørn Riis, the band’s main composer and a renowned, Gilmour-influenced player with a thriving solo career of his own. Drummer Henrik Bergan Fossum has anchored the band since 2011, and in recent years that core trio has been the beating heart of Airbag.

Why they still matter

In a modern progressive scene full of Floyd disciples, few wear the influence as gracefully — or as movingly — as Airbag. Alongside their heroes in Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, and fellow atmosphere-merchants like Gazpacho and Riverside, they have built a sound that is unmistakably their own: patient, spacious and deeply felt. For anyone who loves emotional, guitar-led prog, they are essential.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: read about the best Airbag songs. You can also place them in the bigger picture with our list of the best progressive rock albums of all time.

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