Kvelertak: Nattesferd ALBUM REVIEW

Kvelertak is a metal band from Norway, but in my opinion (especially on this album) the labeling of 'metal' is not giving this band enough credit. Because on past material and especially on this new LP, Nattesferd the band melds together the worlds of black metal, punk, and even some Thin Lizzy esque prog and hard rock. Nattesferd is really an interesting first listen, and it also happens to be one that gets better with each visit.

The album opens with a pretty standard, but still awesome black metal tune, with a noodly guitar line and the lead vocalists wretched vocals, it is the kind of stuff you expect from a Norwegian metal band, and it is a very strong opener to boot. But then things go in a direction I personally wasn't expecting with the track "1985" a track that sounds every bit like its title suggests; I'm getting a strong Van Halen mixed with Dokken vibe from this track, and while I think it is one of the catchiest, most ear wormy tunes to come out o metal in a while, I can see where long time fans or metal purists could be turned off a bit. It is a song that isn't afraid to be a little corny, and the harmonized guitar leads and solo toward the end of the track is just pure ear candy.

But the band doesn't rest on their laurels on this album, with the title track bringing to mind contemporaries such as Baroness, with surging guitar lines and a driving rhythm section and the pure punked out bliss of a track like "Bronsegud", or perhaps the hardest track on the entire LP, the appropriately titled "Berserkr". Nattesferd offers a lot of variety, but rarely feels like a disjointed album, and that has a lot to do with the fact that darn near every track here is great.

But there are a couple of weaker points; the first comes midway through the album with the track "Svartmesse" which is just a bit of an energy sapper considering the rush of energy that came before it, and while I do like the track "Ondskapens Galakse", it has a very similar problem to the formerly mentioned track. But those are really the only two spots I could honestly skip on the album, and that would only be if I was in an especially impatient mood, because even the nine-minute "Heksebrann" is worth listening to from start to finish every time, with its multiple movements and seamless transitions, it shows just how talented these guys are.

At only nine tracks, this album won't take much of your time, and it is also a really great metal album. So give it a try, and let the multicolored tapestry of Nattesferd envelope you.

8.4/10