Kvelertak: We Ride At The Crack Of Doom

Few bands have captured the imagination of the alternative music scene quite like KVELERTAK. The crazy Norwegian punks forged a sound that felt like a patchwork quilt of everything from rock n’ roll, black metal, crustpunk, hardcore, and even a smidgen of classic rock thrown in for good measure, and with their volatile and insane live shows they hammered home the message that they are the undisputed kings of Norwegian noise, at least for the last decade anyway.

It is highly likely you have seen some form of imagery from the band even if you haven’t directly heard anything from the band themselves. The owl head that used to be worn by ex-vocalist Erlend Hjelvik became synonymous with the band’s far reaching and impossible to pigeonhole sound and also became a huge draw for the band’s live shows. With all of this, the announcement of Erlend leaving came as a shock for everyone bar the band themselves.

With Ivar Nikolaisen being the handpicked replacement for the impending departure, guitarist Vidar Landa explains how the different flavours Ivar brought to the table influenced the new sound even with the music being written before he joined. “You can hear it on the record, he has a clearer voice, it’s a bit more punky, and there’s a different energy, both him in the rehearsal room and him on stage.” Whilst never shying away from doing something different or challenging, Vidar admits that the new vocal tones offered more avenues for the band to explore that were previously unavailable due to sound constraints.

As a result Splid is full of blistering and diverse energy that retains the classic KVELERTAK sound whilst still separating itself from the pack as one of their most creatively concise and down-right fun records. With features from Troy Sanders featuring on one of the first English sung songs the band have done, Splid also feels like the band taking the chance to use this fresh momentum to take them even further than they have gone previously. “I think we’ve always felt like we can do whatever we want to do, but this is just a natural continuation of what we’ve always done,” Vidar comes off as immensely proud of the album as well, as he says, “I think it’s a very inspired album, full of creative ideas and introducing some new stuff, which I find after being a band for 13 years to be really cool that we can put out an album that sounds so diverse and fresh.”

It’s always infectious when you hear a creator talk about how proud and excited they are by what they’ve produced, and it is tenfold with a band as wildly unpredictable as KVELERTAK. As the conversation continues, it makes sense as to why Vidar is so proud of the work as he opens up about how the band refuse to sit still. When they’re midway through tracking the record they want to be on tour, and half way through tour they want to be in the studio crafting new ideas and forging new pathways for themselves. There is even a volatile sense of uncertainty, with Vidar mentioning how intense the band can be as he says, “there’s no way to tell with this band. We want to take this all around the world and do it forever but we also might break up next month.”

We can all hope to avoid that last bit, as a world without KVELERTAK would genuinely be one far less exciting. And more so because KVELERTAK are touring later this year and we always need to see more of them live. With music so complex and multi-faceted as theirs, the question of how KVELERTAK are even able to play a lot of these songs live is a interesting train of thought in amongst itself. Vidar explains how playing live feeds into everything band are, and contributes massively to the energy found on record. Even if the band have no clue how to play certain songs in a live environment, the chances of them being played is still pretty high. With Vidar threatening quite a lot of material from Splid to be played live, it doubles down on the excitement that he has for the current era of KVELERTAK. With music he finds truly inspiring, combined with the love and intensity of a KVELERTAK live set, the possibilities for how far this band can still go are pretty endless at this point.

Having a band as creatively vibrant as they are, and also as willing to tear up the rule book as KVELERTAK are, is essential to pushing forward the general quality and progression of alternative music. Norway has had a history of bands of carving their own path and forgoing the norm, and whilst certainly with less fire and violence, KVELERTAK continue that tradition excellently. With the self professed inspiration and pride from Vidar as he discusses the band’s work this time round, it paints a future nearly as colourful as the band’s album covers. Here’s to another 10 years of KVELERTAK, and hopefully many more albums as fearlessly brilliant as Splid is.

Splid is out now via Rise Records.

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