Album Reviews

Name a Norwegian band that mixes metal and hardcore, sings in their mother tongue and injects their songs with healthy doses of melody? Up until recently the logical answer to that question would have been Kvelertak. But on their debut album “Finnmark” (the region in Norway these dudes call home), new kids on the block Ondt Blod show that all of the above applies to them as well.

Don’t simply dismiss them as a clone though. Ondt Blod tears through ten songs in just under half an hour and come at you with the intensity of say, Gallows. And don’t let the Norwegian lyrics scare you off either. Sure, vocalist Aslak Heika Hætta Bjørnit could very well be screaming his grocery list out loud, but after a couple of beers you’ll be surprised at how well you can sing along in fluent Norwegian at one of the band’s shows.

“Finnmark” might not be an instant classic, but there’s a lot to be said for the way these dudes switch seamlessly from downright brutal dissonant hardcore to melodic gang vocals in a tune like “Symbola” or how they spruce things up with the addition of female vocals in “Brent Jord”. Pretty solid debut!