Band:	Kvelertak
Album:	Meir
Style:	Punk, Blackened hardcore
Release date:	March 25, 2013
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Åpenbaring
02. Spring Fra Livet
03. Trepan
04. Bruane Brenn
05. Evig Vandrar
06. Snilepisk
07. Månelyst
08. Nekrokosmos
09. Undertro
10. Tordenbrak
11. Kvelertak

It's pretty amusing when people try labeling black metal bands/fans as elitist, because these days that stereotype of the genre's bands and followers as striving to maintain that "trve and kvlt" attitude falls pretty easily when one just looks at the facts. In the past decade, black metal seems to have been branching out in all possible directions, incorporating seemingly any potential influences into the core of its traditional formula. Further testament to this increasing evolution comes in the form of Norway's Kvelertak, whose sound can best be described as some strange blackened pop punk of sorts. So as a disclaimer: if you're one of those people that think the aesthetics of black metal all boil down to corpsepaint, howling to the moon in ancient forests, and anti-Christianity, you'll probably want to go elsewhere. Otherwise, if you're someone like me who absolutely loves the ever-increasing creativity of the genre, then please continue.

So yeah, Kvelertak are pretty much exactly what I said: blackened pop punk. What's important to take from that label, though, is the "blackened" part. Meir isn't really a black metal album with punk-ish elements as much as it is a punk album with black metal elements. Kvelertak, of course, could understandably be labeled as either, but their 2013 output leans much more towards the punk side of the equation. Really, the only black metal elements present are the vocals ("Trepan," "Evig Vandrar," etc) and the dirty, lo fi guitar tone, on "Nekrokosmos" and "Trepan" in particular. Other than that, it's a bouncy punk kinda vibe, with the employment of very traditional song structures and catchy rhythms. The main riffs to "Åpenbaring, "Evig Vandrar," and "Månelyst" are sure to keep the listener hooked, and to enhance the punk mood even further, every now and then Kvelertak also throw in some punk vocals into the mix, to great effect (see the opening and closing tracks especially).

Meir, as well as the rest of Kvelertak's music, will most likely disappoint the more orthodox black metal fan, who will probably find it far too accessible and close to mainstream music for their likings. And that's all fine and dandy, but the thing to remember with this album is that it isn't just a blind cry for recognition, as expressed by the band's dabbling into some more commonly accepted music such as punk. Nope, it's more like something of a bizarre experiment, and although Kvelertak's musical formula may not be that original in application (the song structures are, admittedly, pretty basic), the theory behind them definitely is. "Blackened punk metal": I'm not going to make the bold claim that it's never been done before (because I know it has), but Meir definitely puts something of its own spin on the style's delivery. If you're into more off-the-wall black metal, and are looking for some sort of guilty pleasure to play for yourself after your friends that worship Darkthrone and Gorgoroth leave the house, then you'll probably want to give both Meir and the rest of Kvelertak's discography a good look-through. It may make you wind up as a Viking with a fondness for mohawks and The Sex Pistols, but hey: it's a necessary tradeoff.