Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 08:45 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Black ‘n’ Roll
Country: Norway
Label: Roadrunner
Year: 2016
The long-awaited return of these specific Norsemen is a reality, three years after the much-discussed “Meir”. Much-discussed mainly because most people (especially the die-hard fans) expected/hoped for a sequel similar to the explosive debut. Personally, I would say that the “Kvelertak” album was indeed a thunderbolt in clear skies, but then again I was anything but disappointed with “Meir”. It displayed what was detected from the beginning, the fact that Kvelertak are here to have fun and to pay homage drinking beer to the music they like and they grew up with.
Cutting to the chase, I will clearly say that this is exactly what is still happening and the band takes it one step further, maybe disappointing more those who hoped that Kvelertak would stay within the limits of extreme metal, something that was going on in their debut. Don’t get me wrong, this is a rich and beautiful album, and this time Kvelertak decided to dive even more deep into the history of hard rock and heavy metal, mainly from the 80’s. From the opener “Dendrofil for Yggdrasil“ which enters with the trademarked blackmetal blastbeat, to the Sabbath mid-tempo closer “Nekrodamus“, Kvelertak touch almost everything in the way. From the Van Halen guitars in “1985” to the shy almost-post-rock explorations in “Heksebrann“, and from the power ballad “Ondskapens Galakse“ to the rock ‘n’ roll outburst of “Bronsegud“, as you can gather there is something for everyone here, and above all for all the metal fans who are not confined within very certain things in order to be satisfied. Even the fans of the first album need not complain, as the homomymous track is the one that mainly comes from back there, with the lead riff bringing the legendary “Blodtørst“ to mind. Lyrically nothing has changed, as the lyrics remain in their mother language, while thematically they have to do mainly with the norse mythology.
As a drawback (to my ears at least), I could mention the production, which, deliberately / obviously set this way in order to have a more vintage rock sound, it sounds a bit too “bass” for my tastes, especially in comparison to the clear Kvelertak sound we were used to. But this is something entirely subjective, and it in no way compromises the incredible songwriting.
To sum it up, here we have a record with the word “fun” written all over it. Despite what any of us would expect, this all is entirely in harmony with what Kvelertak clearly intended since their beginning. The best we have to do then is open one more beer and push “play” again.
5/6
