Fedrespor – Fra en Vugge i Fjellet


Folk music has a pretty difficult time of it in the modern music scene. Despite being the foundation for almost all popular music genres, it is often considered cliche and archaic when held up against contemporary music, even though elements of the genre resonate throughout popular music. Whether it’s acoustic instrumentation or song structures which are the very backbone of popular music itself, the influence and fundamental importance of Folk music is downplayed or outright neglected.Continue reading


Lord Of Chaos Film About Norwegian Black Metal Scene To Hit Theaters Soon


Long in the making film Lords of Chaos, based on the popular book about the early history of the original Black Metal scene in Norway will finally hit theaters and On Demand on February 8th 2019. Directed by Swedish filmmaker and one-time Bathory drummer Jonas Åkerlund, also known for videos by Metallica and Rammstein spearheaded the project along with Gunpowder and Sky, and is co-produced by VICE Studios, 20th Century Fox, Scott Free Productions and Insurgent Media. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and currently holds a 91% fresh rating over on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the trailer below. Continue reading


Watch The Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad Perform “Stripped, Raped And Strangled” On Stage With Cannibal Corpse In Oslo, Norway


Cannibal Corpse and The Black Dahlia Murder are currently demolishing venues across Europe, and they had a special surprise in store for their fans in Norway. Continue reading


IEatHeartAttacks – Please Just Dance Death


This Norwegian trio blast through 9 songs of screamy post-punk hardcore that will make you want to break your mom’s China set. IEatHeartAttacks seems to have a ton of EPs under their belt and Please Just Dance Death (Fysisk Format) contains some of their older tracks revisited on it.Continue reading


Fight The Fight – Fight The Fight


At first glance, you would be forgiven if you expect Norway’s Fight The Fight to lean toward a certain Satanic style born in Oslo, judging by their guitarists names Amok and Lord and considering the band’s hometown, which also happens to be the birthplace of that blackest of metal.Continue reading


Man The Machetes – Av Nag


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With bright, trebly intent ‘De Sier Nie!’ brashly hurtles out of the speakers before Christopher Iversen’s raspy shouts pick up the intensity, kicking off Av Nag (Indie Recordings), Man The Machete’s second enthusiastic blast of slapping you round the face with blackened punk n’ roll.

While their debut Ideokrati (Indie) drew accurate comparisons to fellow countrymen Kvelertak, it was nonetheless a well-received bundle of energy and brattishness. In terms of their continued similarity to the Stavanger sextet, differences are starting to emerge, though this is more due to the ‘tak’s own progression and development than any deviation on the part of Man The Machetes, whose open chord attack and full-throat abrasiveness continues unabated and in similar vein.

And Av Nag is certainly a vibrant and vigorous beast, with the Machetes aware that to maintain interest on an album where most songs do sound remarkably similar that they have to pump the six-strings with diesel powered strumming arms, keep the energy and belligerence high, and each hell-for-denim magic carpet ride short and not-so-sweet.

The triple axe attack of Morten Dischington Carlsson, Erlend Sætren and Markus Lind Aase provide plenty of melody, with leads and licks swirling in and out of the maelstrom molten chord battery that powers tracks like ‘Mennesketrapp’, while the rhythm section of Per Christian Holm (drums) and Erik Fossmo (bass) bring a nautical swing to standout tune ‘Tung Luft’ and a stoner fuzz and bounce to ‘Ørkenmarsj’.

Av Nag is an album that abounds with melodic aggression; short and sharp, but providing no shock as it competently rides the Kvelertak coat-tail train. A capable, proficient and enjoyable roll in the knives.

 

6.5/10

STEVE TOVEY


Arabrot – You Bunch Of Idiots EP


Arabrot

Norwegian noise rockers Arabrot have never been ones to work to convention; from their ever-changing sound and air of experimentation to their lyrical content which has time and again hit on the most taboo of subjects, often combined with a sense of mischief. Even in their artwork they often convey a shock value, at least to the less jaded. Latest EP (and the last in the recent trilogy of EPs) You Bunch Of Idiots is graced with an especially provocative cover art, which kind of brings an even more twisted and OTT version of ‘Springtime For Hitler’ to mind. It also aptly conveys the EP’s sense of dark humour and misleading simplicity.

Of the three EP’s, You Bunch of Idiots, on the surface, is the more straightforward after Murder As Art’s dissident nature and the following I Modi (all Fysisk Format) more exploratory direction. Here the song structures fit the more formulaic durations and are laden with more hooks, but still possess that fuzzy, abrasive tone. Coupled with Kjetil Nernes’s gravelly drawl; which seemingly flits between pure venom and a sense of sarcasm and antagonism and you have, of the three, perhaps the closest to a blueprint of the band if even possible.

As one of the world’s most challenging acts for a number of reasons, in You Bunch of Idiots Arabrot have released one of their more simplistic sounding albums, which is still holds up with their confrontational side. Musically it is up there as one of the easiest of theirs to latch on to. Just don’t go showing the artwork to your mum.

 

7.0/10

Arabrot on Facebook

CHRIS TIPPELL


Spitfire – Fuel To Burn


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Norwegian rockers Spitfire are back with their second full-length album, entitled Fuel to Burn (Indie Distro). Describing themselves as “high power and performance, just like the famous fighter”, this album definitely proves that statement wrong. If you were expecting fast-paced and furious riffs then you were definitely misinformed as Spitfire are another so-called ‘70s’ classic rock band, with more innuendos than you can… shake a stick at. Sigh.

Opening track ‘Fuel to Burn’ starts off with an impressive bassline which you think may lead into something exciting, however, once the lyrics kick in it is easy to see that it is not going to go anywhere. The repetition of ‘come on baby, light my fire’ is easily reminiscent of a Take That song, and it is safe to say that whoever writes the lyrics is definitely obsessed with cheesy sex references; ‘Friday night in my home town, looking for a girl. Got a rocket in my pocket, welcome to my world’ and ‘Let me see those long legs honey, wrapped around the stick’. It’s enough to make any girl, feminist or not, shudder, but if you are into Steel Panther style innuendos and cheesy rock music then you would definitely love this song.

‘Dogfight’ sounds almost like an early Bullet For My Valentine song, with added sexual innuendos. It’s hard to take a band serious when they talk about ‘jerking back’ their ‘stick’. Spitfire are an extremely confusing band to listen to, as you are unsure whether they are deliberately trying to be a comical band or if it is just coincidental.

Haunting riffs and lyrics greet you in ‘Far Away’, which is possibly one of the most interesting tracks on the album. Steering clear from the cheesiness, Spitfire prove that they can actually create a catchy and exciting song, rather than sticking to immature and silly innuendos. The vocals are impressive and the guitar solos are both technical and unique.

Final track ‘Down’ is hard-hitting and heavy, definitely making an instant impression on you.

It’s difficult to understand why they did not open the album with this track, as it is much more exciting and well-written than the sexually charged nonsense at the beginning. There are some definite hits merged in amongst the comedic songs, however, if you have never listened to Spitfire before then you will not know whether they are deliberately trying to be comical or not… Even after several listens I still have no idea.

 

3.0/10

Spitfire on Facebook

JULIA CONOPO


Corrosion – Corrosion EP


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Having suffered the ignominy of being asked to leave modern metal behemoths Trivium mid-tour, drummer Nick Augusto has wasted little time in pulling together a new project with old school friend Christopher Cussell, Corrosion, who within 12 months of forming, and despite the logistical difference of living in different continents (vocalist/bassist Tommy Hjelm and second guitarist Martin Rygge, both formerly of Intense, being based in Norway), have released their debut EP.

Yet, as the phrase goes, “marry in haste, repent at leisure”, and Augusto’s gusto may be a mis-step, as rushing out a debut release before developing a cohesive style and sound is a sure fire way to put people off and to bury your band. You only get one chance to create a first impression, and all that.

For while Corrosion (Mas Kina) may only be 3 songs, it’s a mess; hopping from Scandinavian based extremity, to ‘core, to chug, to groove, to Tech Metal, but forgetting to bring the songs with them. If it hasn’t been made clear, this is swimming in a different pool to Trivium, and possessing a progressive Thrash bent, but with the jarring juxtaposing sections and Hjelm’s vocals falling short of the standards you’d expect, slipping off key and losing bite in some of his barks, this trans-Atlantic proposition needs to head back to the drawing board and put some hard yards in, not just in terms of working out a style and what they’re trying to do, but also in how to bring their myriad ideas together while raising the overall standard of their output.

5.0/10

Corrosion on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY