Time Signature Hour of the wolf...

Genre: punk rock meets hardrock/metal meets black metal

My introduction to this band was their live performance at Copenhell 2011. An incredible live band, they obviously won me over immediately, and being the supporter of rock music that I am, I went out and bought the album (fuck illegal downloads [sorry, I'm stoked on rock 'n' roll now]).

And, of course, I was positively surprised, as the studio album actually captures a lot of the energy that is present in the music at the band's live performances (well, at least the one live performance I have seen). The music is primarily anchored in a blend of hardrock and punk rock with an energy output that corresponds to that of a lightning bolt from a clear blue sky. This is sprinkled with black metal elements, and the band seamlessly change from a rock 'n' roll part into blastbeat-and-tremolo part and back again. The opening track 'Ulvetid' starts out a barrage of black metal mayhem and then morphs into raw punk rock and changes back and forth between the two. In addition, they sometimes insert elements from 70s blues rock and southern rock - again with seamless ease.

A great plus about this album, in my perspective, is that it contains a lot of elements that I love from both hard rock, punk rock, traditional metal, and black metal and combine these into, what I think is a very innovative type of rock 'n' roll from which both aggression and good fun emanate.

The production is a bit retro and has more in common with proto-metal and hard rock than black metal in terms of the guitar production, while the drums have a big, but well-defined sound. Also, the bass is quite audible and contributes importantly to the overall sound of the album.

at the end of the day Kvelertak's debut is a lesson in rock 'n' roll, and with they updated blend of punk rock and heavy metal elements, Kvelertak may well be the next Motörhead.

Coffin Joe ..Black N' Roll Metal..

My first experience with Kvelertak (which translates to stranglehold) was at the Copenhell metal festival in Denmark. I was literally blown backwards from the sheer onstage energy, and I rather enjoyed the no-holds barrel attitude of the band and their music. I feared how well their onstage performance & energy would transfer to the album. That fear was put to shame, as every second of the album is as lively and energetic, as the concert was. They play a mixture of Norwegian Black Metal and pure bred Rock n' Roll with a hint of punk, sounding almost like if Mayhem and Dropkick Murphys where battleling it out. While this may sound abrupt and messy, it never is. The black metal and Rock n' Roll goes great together, and Kvelertak have created a strong contender for the best balls-to-the wall album in a long time. I have never been a big fan of Black Metal, so for me it's great to see an upcoming band toy with the genre-conventions and creating something entirely new, that is sure to get every metalparty fired up. I will no doubt recommend this to Black Metal fans and Rock n' Rollers alike - please enjoy responsible!