For many years, the great Norwegian destroyers Kvelertak have combined seething underground metal ferocity with fists-up classic rock hooks. Kvelertak are a huge deal in their homeland, and they’ve got a sterling reputation among sick-riff appreciators the world over. A few years ago years ago, Kvelertak pulled off something very difficult. The band’s longtime singer Erlend Hjelvik had left the band. Kvelertak replaced him with a new singer, Ivar Nikolaisen, and they didn’t miss a beat. Splid, the band’s first album with Nikolaisen, was awesome. (Hjelvik also released a very good solo album in 2020.) Now, Kvelertak are doing it again.
The triple-guitar-stoked Norwegian metalists forge Splid, inspired by a vibe-changing new vocalist, a more melodic approach, and monster sounds from the vault of heavy-duty gear plus bongos owned by producer/Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou.
Well I’d be loathe to call 2020 a great year, because it was genuinely horrible, but at least it was enlivened by some fantastic music. The tragedy is that, in a year that afforded artists the freedom to write and record at their leisure, the very industry upon which their art relies (concerts, tours, festivals and dance floors) ground to a halt. Legendary venues, bars and nightclubs have closed across the globe and a host of promising musicians, have had to return to their day jobs (presuming that they still exist).
So while it is worth celebrating the outpouring of creativity that the Covid-19 pandemic unleashed, the incredible cost in lives and mental well being should not be forgotten – and nor should the cost to the music industry at large. 2020 might end up being a great year for Spotify and Apple Music, but a terrible one for the flesh and blood musicians behind the algorithms.