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Release Date: March 15th, 2011
Record Label: Indie/The End
My rating:
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After receiving glowing reviews in the European press, including verdicts like "the best Norwegian debut of all time", the self-titled debut release by Norwegian black metal new-comers Kvelertak is finally available in North America, and as soon as I received it, I was more than pleased to give it a few spins.
"Ulevtid" gives the album an intense start. The black metal influence is evident right from the outset, and I reminisce bands like Satyricon as I listen to this tune. The range of music this band seems to have drawn inspiration from is truly incredible to me, because almost every track is a different experience in itself. "Mjod" proves this very aspect as it seems to draw from industrial music by the likes of Rammstein, but of course with a degree of their own black metal flavor that's a common factor among all of these tunes. "Fossegrim" follows, this is my favorite track at least up to this point wherein I've listened to the album about 10 times. What makes it stand out is the presence of blues-based guitar riffs and solos interspersed throughout the song combined excellently with the black and death metal elements.
"Blodtorst" is another interesting tune that has snippets of garage rock, alternative, and even grunge thrown in there for good measure. The Them Crooked Vultures tune "Dead End Friends" comes to mind straightaway. "Offenatt" is more of a straight up rock 'n roll, guitar driven tune, keeping the variety going from track to track. The next couple of tracks are along similar lines as well, although "Sultans Of Satan" is easily the most progressive track on the album, and offers some delightful slow segments. "Nekroshop" is a down-tuned, mid-tempo song that features some sweetly crafted guitar harmonies and gets slightly psychedelic in effect as it draws to a close. "Liktorn" is yet another track on which you can trace influences from across the board, and in a way this song represents the album for what it offers. Following that, the last two tracks provide a fitting ending to a tremendous album, specially the final track "Utrydd Dei Svake" which starts out as being similar to quite a few of the other songs on the album but ends up as one that's totally different from the rest.
In addition to the 11 original tracks, they've thrown in four live versions from their BBC sessions last year, along with demo versions of two of the 11 songs. These bonus tracks are exclusive to the North American release.
Boasting of such a wide range of musical styles blended brilliantly with their own touch of Nordic black metal, Kvelertak might have succeeded in creating a whole new genre all on their own, something I would call "blackened rock 'n roll". The fact that all the lyrics are in Norwegian makes the music even more exotic than it already is, and enhances its impact further. Listeners often lock themselves into a particular sub-genre of metal and don't give much of a chance to anything else, but this band has enough to appeal to listeners of almost all kinds of music, be it blues rock, industrial metal, death metal, black metal, grunge, or even hardcore punk.
Kvelertak have emphatically announced their arrival with what I think is the best European debut, and one of the richest, most varied and endlessly enjoyable albums I've ever come across.
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