Kvelertak Live In London: Owl Party

This man has an owl on his head. It’s clearly time to party.

Whores’ drawers, I fucking LOVE Kvelertak.

A little green of gill and somewhat gig-jaded, there was notable anti-anticipation around these parts as the clock ticked down towards time-to-get-off-my-arse o’clock.

You see the sour taste of The Sword remained and while High on Fire wobbled my jowls pleasingly with their vibrating air, the crowd carried the faintest whiff of dickhead.

Combine that with my suspicions around the unfamiliar venue – everything in Camden inherently veers towards shithole-status – and the stoke levels were minimal.

Kvelertak – Live at The Borderline, London 16/08/12

Kvelertak is Norwegian for FUN

Just four short months ago, I had seen a grand total of zero metal bands in the previous 20 years.

Now, I’m still nursing creaking bones and a sore neck from a fourth amazing show in as many months.

Stumbling out of Kvelertak at The Borderline on Thursday night, drenched in sweat, ears ringing and grinning to myself like a lunatic at what I’ve just experienced, I’m on a high.

I’m hooked.

Kvelertak and Baroness Live in London 2012

Will bits of me get caught in JBD’s beard? One hopes not…

Long time readers of Monkey Defies Gravity will know how much of a collective man-crush I have on Baroness. I have long thought that I might explode with excitement should I ever get to see them.

Well, I shall be able to test my hypothesis on July 12 at tiny London club, Barfly – that’s just five days before the UK release of Yellow & Green. Let’s hope the staff don’t have to scrape me off the walls and ceiling. It could be messy.

I can’t believe a band of this stature is playing a 200-capacity venue in the UK capital in 2012. I also can’t believe I managed to snag a ticket. Thank you Songkick.

Top 10 Emerging Classic Albums

This is a bit of a suspense killer but hey, I needed a pic

Over on Sawtooth Wave, hhbrady poses the following excellent question: what albums are you still listening to at least once month from the past few years?

Nothing from 2011 is allowed onto the list. Essentially, it’s a challenge to name your top 10 emerging classic albums. Which recent records will be hailed in the same breath as Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets or Number of the Beast in another decade?

Okkultokrati – No Light for Mass

Hoe down - Okkultokrati style

It was searching for more blackened hardcore like Kvelertak that led me to Okkultokrati. Some kvlt nong on last.fm was shouting about how Kvelertak were childish amateurs compared to the might of Okkultokrati. Sounds promising, thought I.

Unfortunately, this expectation for debut No Light for Mass to sound like Kvelertak +1 hobbled my appreciation for some time. The two bands may mix punk and black metal but the results couldn’t be more different.

Much as I have finally fallen for this record, it’s by no means “fun”. Rather than mead, wenches and Norse mythology, Okkultokrati have crafted a record of “necro spirituals” exploring the dark side of atheist metaphysics. Not that I care particularly – they could wail and growl about cute kittens or the finer points of auto-repair as long as the music is good. Which it is.