Tag Archives: METAL MONDAY

Jan 16 2012
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Album Reviews, METAL MONDAY

METAL MONDAY: Spooky-ass Ghost

Sweden is the land of ROCK my friends.  All the best bands seem to be coming from Sweden these days, I guess there’s something in the water over there.  Anyway, I’d been hearing a LOT about Sweden’s Ghost for a while.  Usually these buzz-bands disappoint, but Ghost proved to be a rare exception.  What I’d heard was Ghost was a “classic” metal band, like Black Sabbath.  I’d heard they were “dark” and very theatrical and, unlike most metal bands today, they actually sang.  Intrigued, I put Ghost’s debut record OPUS EPONYMOUS on my to-do list.  Some time passed, and then on New Year’s Eve I noticed that the band was listed on iTunes 2011 End-of-Year Rewind as “Best Metal Album.”

So long story short I used an iTunes giftcard I’d received for X-mas to download the album.  Everything about this album kicks so much ass. First, let’s talk about the album cover:

Scooby Doo where are you?

My good friend, Dr. Michael Wense, has dubbed the spooky character on the album cover “Ghost Pope.”  On first glace what you see is something that’s supposed to be scary but clearly looks like Count Chocula. Well this cover is a pretty good representation for Ghost as a band.  There is NO WAY that this band is serious.  I’m sorry, I know there’s dudes out there on the message boards saying bullshit like “these guys really are Satanists” or “this band isn’t a joke” but let me tell you: this band is a hilarious joke.  In fact, I’d say this is the greatest non-cartoon, cartoon metal band of all time.  I should be repulsed by this band, after all the satanic/evil/devil bullshit is pretty fucking stupid and the epitome of everything I hate about a lot of metal….

And yet, Ghost as a whole seems to almost be a parody of (what I think is) the worst of metal.

Okay, so what about the music? Well that’s the weird thing, I heard all these Sabbath comparisons going-in to the record…but honestly this band does not sound like Black Sabbath.  This band is a basically an tongue-in-cheekier version of Blue Oyster Cult.   The vocals and guitars sound just like BOC.   The songs are ridiculously awesome.  There are so many melty-velveeta moments,it’s hard to just pick one.  How about on “Stand By Him” where they sing “A Temptress smitten by the Blackest Force/A Vicar Bitten Blind in intercourse.” Or the second track, “Con Clavi Con Dio” which opens with a chugging, menacing  riff that is broken by the lead singer shrilly summoning “Lucifer!”  like his balls are in a vice.  It’s anti-scary and cracks me up every time I hear it.

The chocolate-loving father of "Ghost Pope"?

Now that’s not to say that this isn’t a good band, or that the album is a pointless novelty, cos it’s not…not completely.  The song “Prime Mover,” for example is a ballsy, super-melodic rocker.  These guys have the chops and regardless what you think of their shtick, you can’t deny them that. The fact that they wear costumes (I saw the lead singer on YouTube playing a concert in full “Ghost Pope” regalia) leads me to believe that Ghost really is more joke than some of the numbskulls online would have you think.  I would say that if, like me, you’re a fan of classic hard rock and/or early metal you owe it to yourself to give OPUS EPONYMOUS a listen.

Take a listen:

And what the hell, how about a freaky-ass Beatles cover?

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Jan 02 2012
2 Comments
Videos

“Blodtorst” by Kvelertak

This song is awesome and the animated viking cartoon video is amazing.  You are all WELCOME:

 

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Jan 02 2012
5 Comments
Album Reviews, Ramblings

METAL MONDAY: Kvelertak, badass Viking music that’s good for punching stuff

Welcome to what I hope to be a (semi) recurring feature here at Defending Axl Rose: METAL MONDAY! I’m really excited to talk about Kvelertak, whose name is Norwegian for “Stranglehold.”  I gotta say, I love over-the-top metal.  In fact, I pretty much despise metal that takes itself too seriously.  Kvelertak is a six-piece Norwegian black metal band that are just the right amounts awesome and goofy as shit.  Their songs are all sung in Norwegian and from what I can decipher deal with Norse/Viking themes. I guess they could be saying anything and I wouldn’t know it, but honestly metal this powerful is pretty universal.

That owl is a pimp.

Kvelertak are most definitely a metal band but they have a lot of punk and hard rock sensibilities.  I really like their rich, diverse sound they have.  The band makes good use acoustic guitar and piano in some of their songs, without making them feel gimmicky or forced.  Aggressive (or high energy if you prefer) while at the same time very melodic, Kvelertak is great for working out or just punching stuff. These guys are damn fine musicians and their guitar riffs/hooks are pretty memorable.

My favorite tracks are  “Blodtorst,” “Mjod,”  “Liktorn,” and “Nekroskop.”  All of which are loud, complex, and in your face awesome.  All of the album tracks hit hard and fast and always leave you wanting more.  That last part is most important to me because unlike a lot of metal bands, Kvelertak tend to keep their songs right around the 3 1/2 to 4 minute mark. I find that by arranging their songs like more traditional rock/pop songs, Kvelertak keeps me from getting bored.  The usual metal tropes like stupidly long intros or overly lengthy solos pretty much absent from KVELERTAK.  Don’t get me wrong, I like a good solo but sometimes it’s best to be left wanting more. And Kvelertak definitely leave me wanting more.

Their first album, KVELERTAK came out this year in the US, but was originally released back in 2010.  I first heard about the band from Metalsucks (a pretty righteous metal website) who sang their praises.  After hearing a few of their songs I illegally downloaded the album and enjoyed it for an entire year. When they finally came to iTunes in America this year I instantly snapped it up (it came with 4 extra live tracks and 2 demos, but honestly it was so damn good I just wanted to give them my money).

And let me just say, I haven’t seen such an awesome album cover in quite a while, metal or otherwise.  It’s hypnotic and sexy.  I know it’s wrong to judge a book by it’s cover, but that cover art was one of the reasons I decided to give Kvelertak a listen in the first place.  Metal bands take note: sometimes a big bloody skull is not the best way to attract knew fans.

I was also impressed to see Kvelertak listed as “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” in the metal category on iTunes End-of-the-Year Rewind. Clearly they’ve made a big impact on the American metal scene, I hope they grow into a major metal act in the years to come.  If like me, you got some iTunes gift cards this holiday season you should pop over to iTunes and download KVELERTAK, if you like thundering Viking music you won’t be disappointed.

KVELERTAK gets an “A” for thundering through my brain for over a year and half. 

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