"Bruane Brenn", the new video from Norwegian adrenaline-pushers of heavy rock and roll,
KVELERTAK, can be seen at
Stereogum. It is also available below.
"Bruane Brenn" is the first single from
KVELERTAK's highly anticipated sophomore album,
"Meir" (which means "more" in English), due on March 26 via
Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced by
CONVERGE's
Kurt Ballou and features cover artwork by
John Dyer Baizley.
"Bruane Brenn" has early critical acclaim from several tastemaker outlets including
Stereogum, which raves, "It's a total blast of riffs, adrenaline, football chants, and guitar solos, and in its four minutes, you get five decades of rock ‘n' roll, compressed into one massive speedball hit."
KVELERTAK's euphorically-received self-titled 2011 debut was
iTunes 2011's U.S. Metal Breakthrough Artist of The Year.
Pitchfork described their sound as having "monolithic walls of adrenal-gland-strangling sound" while
LA Weekly named frontman
Erland Hjelvik #2 on their list of top ten metal frontmen (and women) under 30.
Overseas the band has racked up numerous accolades.
KVELERTAK was called "the best Norwegian debut of all time" by Norwegian rock authority
Asbjørn Slettemark, named "Best Debut Album" by
Metal Hammer Germany, "Best New Artist" and "Best Rock Album" at the
Spellemannprisen (Norway's
Grammy equivalent) and has received countless additional critical acclaim from
Metal Hammer U.K. and
Kerrang! who called them "the most exciting new band on the planet."
From storming 2011's
SXSW festival to being personally invited by
MASTODON to support them in Bergen, Norway, to
Dave Grohl presenting them with their first gold discs at a sold-out show at Telenor Arena, Norway's largest indoor venue,
KVELERTAK, or "chokehold" in English, are only getting started.
With the explosive first single
"Bruane Brenn" to the slowed down guitar crunching of
"Evig Vandrar" to the brutally chaotic
"Nekrokosmos",
"Meir" is an album that certainly lives up to the hype of giving the listener "more." Tight rhythms, inventive guitar hooks and melodies that seep into your consciousness, this is an album that constantly surprises.
"It is both catchy and heavy; we're pushing our limits in both ends of that spectre. It's very varied and there are a lot of surprises in store. I mean, it's unlike anything I myself have heard before, so we even managed to surprise ourselves," said lead singer
Erlend Hjelvik.
KVELERTAK is
Erlend Hjelvik (vocals),
Vidar Landa (guitars),
Bjarte Lund Rolland (guitars),
Maciek Ofstad (guitars),
Marvin Nygaard (bass) and
Kjetil Gjermundrød (drums).
"Meir" track listing:
01.
Åpenbaring02.
Spring Fra Livet03.
Trepan04.
Bruane Brenn05.
Evig Vandrar 06.
Snilepisk07.
Månelyst08.
Nekrokosmos09.
Undertro10.
Tordenbrak11.
Kvelertak
