Guess who’s back? Kvelertak. Kvelertak, tell a friend! (worked better in my head) Kvelertak had found themselves sailing to the unknown. Their last release ‘Nattesferd’ was a fine advancement in their sound, moving away from shorter bursts of fright, to a progressive, aggressive lengthier song run. Was great but didn’t quite catch on like previous albums. A few years of touring and major slots supporting Metallica and Ghost, sounds ideal. However, vocalist Erlend Hjelvik left the band, but a replacement was quickly announced. So, fast forward and new frontman Ivar Nikolasien is on board, they’ve got a few live shows done, introducing the new man live, so now it’s time for the new Kvelertak album.
Album four ‘Splid’ (which translates to discord) is good. My favourite thing is, it feels like it knows its good. It’s a controlled whirlwind, it’s dropping the biggest water balloon knowing there will be no splashback. This sound has been deemed ‘blackened’ rock n roll by some. But could it just be a band that can kick your head off and make the body continue to groove? Genre splitting aside, ‘Splid’ comes in two shades. The first foray is the intro song ‘Rogaland’, which sonically asks “What will this album be?” to the listener. Then, you’re hit with three furious moves on heavy duty goods, giving the feel of the first album by the band. Interesting factor is this is first time the band have had the English language sung on their records. With ‘Crack of Doom’ (featuring appearance by Mr Troy Sanders of Mastodon) ‘Necrosoft’ and ‘Discord’ (Album title, in English) and that’s when it turns. When you think you have the answer, it changes the question. ‘Bratebrann’, a near 7-minute anthem changes the tone for the remainder of the listen, and an album is on the money if it can double the length of a track, and you never notice. ‘Tevling’ and ‘Delirium Tremens’ offer up the same fury but differ. In same way from pain inflicted, to when pain aches, this album was made to feel like a comeback, yet they never went away. To sum this album in one song. ‘Franden ta dette hull!’ It’s so damn heavy, it should be illegal, this song went on repeat before I proceeded with the rest of the album.
‘Splid’ is the very frantic chaos heavy music needs, thank you Kvelertak.
Kvelertak – Splid: Out Now
