New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Roadrunner Records is pleased to announce the signing of Norwegian adrenaline-pushers of heavy rock and roll, Kvelertak. The band will release their highly anticipated sophomore album, Meir(which means "more" in Norwegian), produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, on March 26, 2013. Their first single, "Bruane Brenn," has early critical acclaim from several tastemaker outlets including Stereogum, who raves, "It's a total blast of riffs, adrenaline, football chants, and guitar solos, and in its four minutes, you get five decades of rock 'n' roll, compressed into one massive speedball hit." The single will be available on iTunes beginning February 5, 2013 and will be available as an instant download when you pre-order the album. An exclusive CD/T-shirt bundle will also be available that day at the Roadrunner Records webstore.
Dave Rath, Senior Vice President of A&R at Roadrunner Records says of the signing, "Every decade or so, hard rock and heavy metal gets a well-deserved kick in the ass. Kvelertak is the band to do just that. These guys remind us that rock music should truly affect us. Roadrunner is proud to deliver Kvelertak to a world waiting for a musical awakening. If this band doesn't get your heart racing, then you don't have one."
Kvelertak's euphorically-received self-titled debut got them named iTunes' 2011 US Metal Breakthrough Artist of The Year. Pitchfork described their sound as having "monolithic walls of adrenal-gland-strangling sound" while LA Weekly named frontman Erland Hjelvik #2 on their list of top ten metal frontmen (and women) under 30.
Overseas the band has racked up numerous accolades. Kvelertak was called "the best Norwegian debut of all time" by Norwegian rock authority Asbjørn Slettemark, named "Best Debut Album" by Metal Hammer Germany, "Best New Artist" and "Best Rock Album" at the Spellemannprisen (Norway's Grammy equivalent) and has received additional critical acclaim from Metal Hammer UK and Kerrang!, who called them "the most exciting new band on the planet."
From storming 2011's SXSW festival to being personally invited by Mastodon to support them in Bergen, Norway, to Dave Grohl presenting them with their first gold discs at a sold-out show at Telenor Arena, Norway's largest indoor venue, Kvelertak, or "chokehold" in English, are only getting started.
With the explosive first single "Bruane Brenn," the slowed-down guitar crunching of "Evig Vandrar," the brutally chaotic "Nekrokosmos" and much more, Meir is an album that certainly lives up to its claim of giving the listener "more." With tight rhythms, inventive guitar hooks and melodies that seep into your consciousness, this is an album that constantly surprises.
"It is both catchy and heavy; we're pushing our limits in both ends of that spectre. It's very varied and there are a lot of surprises in store. I mean, it's unlike anything I myself have heard before, so we even managed to surprise ourselves," said lead singer Erlend Hjelvik.
Look for North American tour dates to be announced soon.
