Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Punk + Black Metal = Kvelertak

In the 1980’s, punks and metal heads had a pure hatred toward each other. It was unadulterated animosity that was seen every time shows were put together that had bands of both genres. Fights would break out, shows would end prematurely, people would get hurt; it was simply something that was bound to happen at those shows. These days fans of either genre are generally fans of both genres or at least several bands from either genre. And once bands like Agnostic Front, Madball, and Suicidal Tendencies started melding both sounds into one incredible sound the trend started to take off. These days we still see the intermingling of genres in other forms besides crossover/thrash bands, although that is still prevalent. One of the newer bands to start creating punk and black metal mixtures is Norway’s Kvelertak. Their self-titled album has been creating a huge stir within the underground for about a year now and more people are taking a good long look at their black metal/punk take on music.

And they are doing something different from the majority of bands out there in that they are not singing in English but rather their native Norwegian. For this writer, it makes it more fun to have a few beers and try to sing along with the songs. Black metal is pretty much always a very serious subgenre, one where the artists take their playing and lyrical content to such an extreme that they will do such ridiculous things as burn down churches. With a band like Kvelertak, this level of seriousness is not as prevalent. They seem to be regular dudes who simply love heavy and extreme music. A new band of party metal has come to the forefront of the underground and this is definitely a band that more people need to get into. Listen to more of these guys and rock your fuckin asses off!!!!!




(Fun fact, cover art is done by none other than Baroness’ John Baizley)

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