Heralded by the likes of Dave Grohl and James Hetfield, Norwegian rock & roll animals Kvelertak are gearing up to release Splid, their fourth album overall and their first with new singer new singer Ivar Nikolaisen. So far, they've unleashed two singles from the LP, last year's "Brätebann" and January "Crack of Doom," the latter featuring guest vocals by another famous fan, Mastodon's Troy Sanders. Today, February 10th, they've offered up "Fanden Ta Dette Hull," a cool, strutting new cut that pulls from Norway's history.
"In Stavanger city museum, there used to be a exhibition in the basement called 'Crooked Animals and Smiling Skeletons,'" the band commented. "The story behind this name is pretty simple. Most of the skeletons are as old as the museum. They had, after so many years, become crooked and it looked like they were smiling. The first thing you could see was a skeleton of 'Homo Sapiens' and it was a real skeleton of a man who grew up in my neighborhood in the 19th century. This guy was buried last year, in 2019. 'Fanden Ta Dette Hull' is the story of his life. And what a life!"
Splid is due out February 14th via Rise Records — you can pre-order/save the LP here. The album was recorded at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts, with Converge's Kurt Ballou, who also manned the boards for their first two LPs, 2010's self-titled offering and 2013's Meir. "Working with Kurt again has been amazing and we're extremely happy with the production," they enthused of the new record. "We've pushed ourselves to the edge this last year — musically, physically, and mentally. The result is one hour of catchy riffs, punk rock, and heavy metal influenced by a world in discord to accompany our way towards Ragnarok."
