Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 3:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
In case you somehow still don’t know, Skeletonwitch and Kvelertak co-headlined the totally awesome CMJ showcase we did with and a couple of weeks back with Metal Injection and 1000 Knives. Metal Injection has already provided you with footage of the three support bands — Barn Burner, Turbid North, and Battlecross — fucking shit up; now they have footage of Skeletonwitch making mince meat out of the crowd, too. Check out some clips below, and then head over to Metal Injection for even more!!!
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Earlier this week, you got to check out some sweet live footage of the three support bands (Barn Burner, Turbid North, and Battlecross) from the CMJ showcase we did with Metal Injection and 1000 Knives last Friday night; the MI Junkies tell me they’ll have even sweeter footage of co-headliners Skeletonwitch and Kvelertak sometime in the not-too-distant future. And while you wait for that, we have a good, old-fashioned, not-at-all-glossy audio bootleg of the event from Mr. 1000 Knives himself, Rich Hall. I don’t think I even realized they played for damn near an hour until I saw the running time on this baby. Wow. It honestly felt like ten minutes. I mean, I could have watched them again almost right away. In fact, we did watch them again almost right away — they played at the nearby St. Vitus just a few hours later, and, yes, we did go to see them for the second time that night. Metal Injection has some footage of that gig, including a BRAND NEW SONG!!!, here.
Alas, we don’t have audio of Skeletonwitch, but I promise, they absolutely murdered the joint, too, and if they’d been playing again a few hours later, we surely would have spiked our booze with coffee and gone to see them, too. Lucky for all you cats, the MetalSucks-presented Skeletonwitch/Kvelertak headlining tour is still ongoing, so you, too, can snap your neck rocking out to both bands! Get remaining dates here. Support comes from Zoroaster.
And now, enjoy some livelertak…
1000 KNIVES PRESENTS KVELERTAK 10.21.2011 by 1000-KNIVES
There’s a major dance party happening right now in the Vince Division of the MetalSucks Mansion! Yeah, it’s cool and all that Metal Injection posted video of the three opening bands from this past Friday’s CMJ showcase, but those motherfuckers interrupted the electro dance grooves of the brand new Justice album. Assholes. I know Rob knows what’s I’m talkin’ about — dude showed off his sick dance moves at the Chromeo jam this past SXSW!
The MetalSucks / Metal Injection / 1000 Knives CMJ Showcase was a fucking blast, though: I headbanged so furiously during Skeletonwitch’s scorching set that I still have a bangover four days later, and I actually stepped up into the pit for Kvelertak, whose riffs are absolutely irresistible. Barn Burner, Turbid North and Battlecross rounded out the ridiculously good bill, and all three bands absolutely killed it. Today we’ve got multi-camera footage of all three, courtesy of Metal Injection. Check out Barn Burner below, and Turbid North and Battlecross after the jump.
Friday, October 21st, 2011 at 10:00am by MetalSucks
While we’re always game for a crazy Friday night of partying, we are ESPECIALLY excited for tonight. ‘Cause tonight we’re teaming up with our friends at Metal Injection and 1000 Knives for a totally kick-ass CMJ Music Marathon showcase, featuring Skeletonwitch, Kvelertak, Barn Burner, Turbid North, and Battle Cross. Not only is the show guaranteed to be beyond insane, but there’s gonna be FREE BEER between 6 and 7pm courtesy of our friends at eOne Entertainment. Which means we will be totally fershnickered by 7:01 pm.
Friday, October 14th, 2011 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
In case you somehow forgot, the totally kick-ass MetalSucks/ Metal Injection/1000 KnivesCMJ Music Marathon showcase at the always-fun Club Europa in Brooklyn will take place one week from tonight, on Friday, October 21. It’s being co-headlined by Kvelertak and Skeletonwitch, a duo whose presence should be more than enough to get you to buy a ticket, but there’s also three young, up-and-coming bands on the bill that are totally worth your time: Barn Burner, Battlecross, and Turbid North.
And in case you don’t believe us when we promise you that those bands may very well comprise a large portion of metal’s future, well, you should check out this awesome Turbid North live footage which recently popped up online. It’s so good it made me aroused and now I need to call my shrink and have some serious discussions about my sexuality.
Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at 4:00pm by MetalSucks
For the second year in a row, MetalSucks is proud to be teaming up with our friends at Metal Injection and 1000 Knives for a totally kick-ass CMJ Music Marathon showcase at the always-fun Club Europa in Brooklyn. This year’s edition will take place on Friday, October 21, and will be co-headlined by the unfuckwithable one-two punch of Kvelertak and Skeletonwitch, as part of their MetalSucks-presented U.S. tour with Zoroaster (full itineraryhere, although Zoroaster will not appear at the CMJ showcase). Support will be provided by three up n’ coming bands that we absolutely love and think have big, big, big things in their future: Barn Burner, Turbid North, and Battlecross.
It is going to be a totally fucknuts crazy show and wild-ass party — and now you can win free tickets AND a silk-screened copy of the awesome show poster you see above. Pretty sweet, right?
Head over to the show’s official Facebook page for details on how to win. Of course, if you don’t wanna risk not winning and getting shut of this sure-to-be-unforgettable night, you can always buy tickets here.
Monday, September 26th, 2011 at 4:00pm by MetalSucks
That’s right, kids! For the second year in a row, MetalSucks is proud to be teaming up with our friends at Metal Injection and 1000 Knives for a totally kick-ass CMJ Music Marathon showcase at the always-fun Club Europa in Brooklyn. This year’s edition will take place on Friday, October 21, and will be co-headlined by the unfuckwithable one-two punch of Kvelertak and Skeletonwitch, as part of their MetalSucks-presented U.S. tour with Zoroaster (full itinerary here, although Zoroaster will not appear at the CMJ showcase). Support will be provided by three up n’ coming bands that we absolutely love and think have big, big, big things in their future: Barn Burner, Turbid North, and Battlecross. It is going to be a totally fucknuts crazy show and wild-ass party, so if you live within walking, driving, or swimming distance, please join us!!!
Again, the concert is on Friday, October 21, at Club Europa in Brooklyn, and you can get more details on the show via its Facebook page. Tickets are on sale now for the so-cheap-it’s-silly price of fifteen bucks. Buy ‘em here!
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 at 12:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Kvelertak’s rise has been the very definition of “meteoric.” In 2009, no one knew who they were; then they released what was, in my opinion, the best album of 2010, and suddenly they were the topic of a million water cooler conversations, and now they’re friggin’ headliners. And you know what? They 110% deserve all their success, ’cause they really are that good.
And now, I’m thrilled to say, they have a video deserving of the music therein. The animation in the clip for “Blodtorst” feel unique in its style, and is certainly entertaining. It’s also chock-full of imagery that might best be described with the old adage, “metal as fuck.” And, of course, it never hurts that the song is great.
In case you missed the news yesterday, MetalSucks is proudly presenting Kvelertak’s upcoming co-headlining U.S. tour with Skeletonwitch, another band we totally love who are currently enjoying the well-earned fruits of its labors. And as though you needed another excuse to buy a ticket, Zoroaster is playing support! Get dates here.
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 at 11:30am by MetalSucks
(click here for a hi-res version of the tour admat)
Add it to the slate of awesome tours criss-crossing the U.S. this tour: Kvelertak and Skeletonwitch are teaming up for a co-headline run of the Eastern and Midwest U.S. this October with Zoroaster in support, and MetalSucks is bringing it to ya!
Kvelertak rocked the socks off of SXSW when they last visited the U.S. back in March; they were the buzz band of this year’s festival, and anyone who saw them couldn’t stop talking about their electric performances. Check out live footage of their headline show at the MetalSucks “South by South Death” showcase for a taste of what you’re in for. Skeletonwitch are perennial MetalSucks faves and their new album Forever Abomination comes out in October, so the timing is perfect for them to rip through some of their new tunes live and in the flesh. And for a special treat full of stoney, drony, weed- and beer-fueled psychedelic jams make sure you arrive early to catch Zoroaster.
The October 21st stop in Brooklyn also happens to be a a very special show: it’s the second annual Metal Sucks / Metal Injection / 1000 Knives CMJ showcase! Kvelertak and Skeletonwitch will co-headline while Zoroaster have the night off, and 3 more bands will be announced shortly.
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at 11:00am by Axl Rosenberg
I remember reading an interview with Howard Jones around the time The End of Heartache came out in which he said something to the effect of, “You could play Slayer songs on acoustic guitars and they would still sound good.” His point being, of course, that a good song will always sound like a good song, period.
And the below video, of a couple of dudes doing an instrumental acoustic cover of Kvelertak’s “Blodtorst,” certainly bolsters Jones’ assertion. It would probably never even occur to me to want to hear an acoustic version of Kvelertak, because I think of them as a loud, obnoxious party band (I mean that as a compliment, by the way). But this works pretty well! And apparently, the band digs it, too.
Thursday, June 30th, 2011 at 3:20pm by Axl Rosenberg
Alright, so not to sound like a total dick, but people send us link to a lot of other metal blogs — and I do mean a LOT of other metal blogs — and, frankly, the vast majority of them are fucking terrible. I mean, I often can’t even make it through an entire single article, either because the writing is so bland, or because calling the writing “writing” is like calling lettuce “steak,” or both.
So I do not mean it as small praise to say that I am in-fucking-love with The Angry Black Metal Elitist (Slogan: “FUCK YOUR MALLCORE MUSICAL TASTES!”).
Regular MetalSucks readers already know that we think the world of Emmure, the finest band in metal or hardcore today. And so we’re only too happy to see that another band we love, Kvelertak, also thinks that Emmure are the greatest thing since the electric guitar. Just check out this recent exchange with a fan on their Facebook page:
So, clearly, these two bands are now the best of friends, and we should expect Kvelertak to be added to The Farm League Tour any second now. Maybe they can even collaborate on a new song about Street Fighter together? They have Street Fighter in Norway, right?
A rip-roaring good time was had at our inaugural South by South Death show in Austin, TX this past March; Kvelertak, Havok, Red Fang, Wormot and Meek is Murder packed Headhunters on Red River St. and kept the energy level high throughout the afternoon. We posted Roxwel.com-filmed video footage of Red Fang, Havok and Wormrot’s sets here, and now, for your viewing pleasure, we give you Kvelertak and Meek is Murder. You can also check out an interview segment with all five bands here.
They came, they rocked, they conquered: Kvelertak, Havok, Red Fang, Wormrot and Meek is Murder played our inaugural South by South Death show at this year’s SXSW and a jolly old time was had. On Tuesday we showed you a wrap video featuring clips of performances and interviews with all five bands, and today we give you several songs each of the performances by Red Fang, Havok and Wormrot (tomorrow: Kvelertak and Meek is Murder). All of this fine multi-camera /soundboard footage was provided by sponsor Roxwel.com, consistent purveyors of excellent live metal videos; thanks dudes!
No longer do you have to take our written word for it; thanks to South By South Death 2011 sponsors Roxwel.com you can now see first-hand just how much fun we had at our inaugural SXSW showcase with Kvelertak, Red Fang, Havok, Wormrot and Meek is Murder. Roxwel did an incredible job capturing all the madness with multiple cameras, soundboard audio and interviews with all the bands, and now we relay said madness to you, oh faithful MetalSucks reader.
The first installment is a wrap-up video featuring clips of performances and interviews with every band on the bill; it sets the stage nicely for all the full songs Roxwel filmed from each band, which we’ll post in the coming days.
Kvelertak just premiered their new video, for the song “Ordsmedar Av Rang,” on Noisecreep. And I’m watching it and I’m thinking, “Amazing fucking song, good enough live video… wait, didn’t Kvelertak just release a ‘good-enough’ live video?” I was so sure of this fact that I ran a search on MetalSucks, because I saw sure I’d see such a video, and sure I’d posted it, fairly recently. But nothing came up. No such video exists.
Conclusion: I am psychic. I knew there was a new Kvelertak video coming, I knew it would be a live video that was good but not great, and I knew that I kinda wouldn’t care because I love Kvelertak so damn much.
I CAN SEE THE FUTURE.
For everyone who can’t see the future, check out the video below, because it will be brand new to you.
Kvelertak’s self-titled debut is out now in Europe via Indie Recordings; here in North America, we have a version with some sweet bonus tracks (including a demo of “Rang”), courtesy The End Records.
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 11:00am by Axl Rosenberg
No, I don’t mean they’re gonna track down MetalSucks commenters and kill them.
What I do mean is that, according to reader Brandon Mickman, the band’s song “Mjød” appears over the closing credits of the new Norwegian horror film, The Troll Hunter, which recently screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. The flick — the latest in the recent trend of horror mockumentaries which profess to use real footage — takes place in a world where trolls are real and there are these people who, y’know, like, hunt them and stuff.
Sooo… what does this mean? Uh, nothing really. I have no idea if this movie is gonna be any good or not — the fact that there’s an awesome song over the closing credits is no guarantee of its quality. (For every Nightmare on Elm Street 3, which was an awesome slasher flick and had an awesome Dokken song on the soundtrack, there are dozens of Saws, Resident Evils, etc., which have some good bands on their soundtracks but otherwise totally blow goats.) I guess hopefully it might expose some new fans to the sexcellence that is Kvelertak? Who the fuck knows. It’s a slow news day so far so it seemed worth mentioning.
ANYWAY, here’s the trailer for the movie, if you’re interested. The movie gets a U.S. theatrical release on June 10, although you’ll be able to watch it as early as May 6 via Video OnDemand.
And on the off chance you somehow have yet to hear/give yourself over to Kvelertak’s “Mjød,” here’s the video for that song, too. The band’s self-titled debut is out now in Europe via Indie Recordings; here in North America, we have a version with some sweet bonus tracks, courtesy The End Records.
Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at 4:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
If you’ve read MetalSucks at all in the past twelve months, you know who Kvelertak are. I named their self-titled release the best album of 2010, and that album found its way onto Kip Wingerschmidt and Leyla Ford’s year-end lists, too. Anso has publicly declared his adoration for the group. And then the band headlined our South by South Death party at SXSW last month.
We love this band. They’re fucking great.
And yet, I knew almost nothing about them beyond their music.
Which made the opportunity to chat with vocalist Erlend Hjelvik all the more exciting. I wasn’t going into this interview trying to find fresh ways to ask the same old questions. I was going into this interview because I legitimately wanted to know: Who the hell are you dudes, and where did you come from?
Get the answers from Mr. Hjelvik himself after the jump. In addition to getting some backstory on the band (Did you know that certain members used to play different instruments within the group? I sure as hell didn’t!), Hjelvik discusses his desire to write lyrics in Norwegian, the band’s first American tour, their plans for the next year and beyond, his black metal side project, and more.
MetalSucks is oh-so-very happy to be teaming up with RED Distribution to bring you, our most beloved readers, the MetalSucks Fan Pack, which will be available exclusively at all FYE stores starting this Tuesday, April 12. Not only does this limited edition box full o’ metal come with a CD featuring twenty brootal tunes by twenty brootal bands (including Kvelertak, Trap Them, Believer, Napalm Death, TesseracT, Thomas Giles, Deicide and a bunch more) but it also comes with that HOLY SHIT THAT IS SO KILLER t-shirt you see above, which was designed by our friend Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 (you might also recognize his work from this sexy t-shirt and this Louvre-worthy poster that he did for us).
How much would you expect to pay for this incredible package? Twenty bucks? Fifteen bucks? Try $9.99. That’s right, gang — twenty songs from twenty bands and that guaranteed-to-get-you-laid t-shirt for under ten bucks.
But wait! There’s more! If you act now and head over to the official MetalSucks Fan Pack web page, you can get a coupon for 30%, which brings the price down to a mere seven dollars. Holy crap, that’s a metsieh if ever there was one.
So go here to get a complete track list of all the bands on the comp, and to use the nifty store-finder to locate the f.y.e. nearest to you. And, oh yeah, you can also enter to win this custom guitar:
Thursday, April 7th, 2011 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
You know we’re huge Kvelertak fans here at MetalSucks. So I was stoked to interview their vocalist, Erlend Hjelvik, yesterday. And one of the cooler things to come out of that chat was the news that Hjelvik now has a second band — Djevel. (The name is Norwegian for — you guessed it — “Devil.”)
