W
hat do Michael Jackson,
Tony Hawk, and the Eagles
have in common? Believe it
or not, these three seemingly disparate
entities are linked within the musical
DNA of Norway’s Kvelertak.
In a world overrun with cookie-cutter
knockoffs, Kvelertak is possibly the most
authentically innovative rock band to
come around in years. They were lumped
into black metal when they first appeared
almost a decade ago, but on their
latest album, Nattesferd (Roadrunner),
Kvelertak crafts a truly cohesive sound
that may require adding yet another
subgenre to the metal canon. The verdict
is out on what that subgenre would
be. But the band’s ability to effortlessly
combine death-metal blast beats with
’80s hair-metal riffs on the album’s
opener, “Dendrofil for Yggdrasil,” and
blend growling, Cookie Monster vocals
with fist-pumping, anthemic melodies
on the first single, “1985,” is breaking
premierguitar.com
new ground and making the metal
community prick up its ears.
They also buck convention by playing in
standard tuning, which is unusual in this era
of drop-tuned metal guitar, and frontman
Erlend Hjelvik sings in his native tongue,
demonstrating that impassioned music can
most certainly transcend language barriers.
The band’s three guitarists, Bjarte
Lund Rolland, Maciek Ofstad, and
Vidar Landa, balance brutally heavy riffs
with instantly hummable harmonies
reminiscent of icons like Thin Lizzy,
Iron Maiden, and the aforementioned
Eagles. But they’re not overly derivative.
“Heksebrann” features fingerpicking
that could easily fit on a country track,
and it’s such moments of unexpected
color that reveal the guitarists’ breadth of
musical knowledge. All three manage to
complement one another stylistically and
sonically, with a massive wall of guitar
tones that is equal parts punk and power.
Metal power, that is.
Kvelertak, which translates to
“stranglehold” in English, formed in
Stavanger, Norway, in 2007. The sextet
released a demo called Westcoast Holocaust
that same year, before being picked up
by End Records for their eponymous
debut, which was released in 2010. Meir,
the follow-up, came out in 2013 on
Roadrunner and was named Rolling Stone’s
No. 2 metal album of the year. They’ve
also been playing live … a lot. So much so
that with Nattesferd they set out to push
their boundaries by recording live without
a click track. The result is a refreshingly
real album that captures the vibe of a band
reveling in the moment, rather than some
carefully orchestrated slice of perfection.
PG caught up with Rolland and Ofstad
on a two-week break during a rigorous
summer touring schedule. Rolland was at
home in Norway; Ofstad was vacationing
in Croatia. We talked about their crushing
aesthetic, their gear, their influences, and
making the roaring and beautiful Nattesferd.
The Norwegian
band’s lineup includes,
from left to
right, bassist
Marvin Nygaard,
guitarist
Maciek Ofstad,
drummer Kjetil
Gjermundrød,
vocalist Erlend
Hjelvik, guitarist
Vidar Landa, and
guitarist Bjarte
Lund Rolland.
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