Norwegian rockers KVELERTAK will release their new album, “Endling”, on September 8 via Rise Records/Petroleum Records.
The official music video for the LP’s first single, “Krøterveg Te Helvete”, can be seen below.
“‘Krøterveg Te Helvete’ is a celebration of the intolerable levels of hardships of being in a popular rock band in 2023,” says KVELERTAK.
Thematically, “Endling” continues on the path of 2020’s critically acclaimed “Splid” — which received press accolades from Stereogum, MetalSucks, Kerrang!, Revolver, Invisible Oranges, BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Guitar World, and more — by delving further into local lore and legend, though guitarist Vidar Landa summed it up best. “On ‘Endling’, we tell the stories of the extinct and dying men and women of Norway. Old and new myths, culture, and rituals come to life — the folklore that doesn’t fit a TV series concept. Vikings and trolls are for television. This is the real deal.”
“As the sun fell, at the time when oxen are unyoked, following the trail cut by the footsteps of Rasmus Vardal, the marauders of rock came riding again, screaming Kielland is dead, long live Kielland!,” exclaims the band.
“Endling” track listing:
01. Krøterveg Te Helvete
02. Fedrekult
03. Likvoke
04. Motsols
05. Døgeniktens Kvad
06. Endling
07. Skoggangr
08. Paranoia 297
09. Svart September
10. Morild
The follow-up to 2016’s “Nattesferd”, “Splid” marked KVELERTAK‘s first release since the departure of longtime frontman Erlend Hjelvik and addition of Ivar Nikolaisen.
Landa told Ireland’s Overdrive that the singer switch “was seamless in a way. We knew that Erlend wanted to quit and do other stuff,” he said. “We were lucky that we had that close connection with Ivar. He’s been part of KVELERTAK for a long time and has sung on a few tracks for us in the past, doing backing vocals. We’ve toured together in the past also so he was really the only one that we were thinking of to replace him when Erlend was first talking about leaving. Luckily, Ivar wanted to do it and it’s all just fit really well, thankfully. It would have been much harder to go through the audition process and undergo that process of looking for a new vocalist. We were very lucky for the way it all happened.”
Nikolaisen made his live debut with KVELERTAK in July 2018 at the Fjellparkfestivalen in Flekkefjord, Norway.