KVELERTAK Frontman: 'I Think We're Bringing Something New To The Table'

U.K.'s The Journal recently conducted an interview with vocalist Erlend Hjelvik of Norwegian rockers KVELERTAK. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On KVELERTAK's status as one of the genre's buzz bands:

Erlend: "I try not to think too much about that kind of stuff. We just write the music we want to write and try not to believe the hype. We do the best we can and never take ourselves too seriously. Of course, the buzz right now is interesting. But I'd like to think it comes back to the quality of the songs. I think we're bringing something new to the table and hopefully it sounds fresh. It's still metal — which has been around for decades — but it's metal with a twist."

On the role of Norse mythology in KVELERTAK's music:

Erlend: "On the new album we've stayed clear of that sort of stuff. I don't want to be writing about the same subject all of the time. It was just what I was reading about at the time we were putting together the first record and it rubbed off on the songs.

"I don't have a set formula for a song that I write — I just pick things that inspire a good lyric. You can boil it down into something effective — the new album's all about a doomsday scenario. I just write about what's in my head right now."

On KVELERTAK's musical influences:

Erlend: "I like VENOM and they were definitely one of the building blocks for this band. They created black metal and were instrumental in terms of influencing the Norwegian scene.

"In my teenage years, I was mostly listening to METALLICA, and I'm still into older metal now. Of course, I got into black metal as a kid growing up in Norway, and until a few years ago, I was still very much into that scene and listened to as much music as possible."

Read the entire article from The Journal.