Album Review: Kvelertak - Splid

A wipeout-style drum fill, an emphatic “ooooommmmph!” courtesy of Mastodon’s Troy Sanders, and the mother of all half-time grooves. If you’re raving about any or all of the above to anyone who will listen, then you're showing symptoms of having heard Crack Of Doom, the lead single off Norwegian blackened punk outfit Kvelertak’s fourth LP Splid and one of the most exciting songs of the year so far.

The track hints at a band reaching the heights that they seemed destined for since they first burst onto the scene in 2010, and one listen through the rest of the explosive record is enough to convince even the casual listener that this is a group carving themselves a place in the new decade.

From channeling Queens Of The Stone Age on speed with a dose of Rolling Stones swagger (Necrosoft) to kicking out the old school thrash operas (Fanden Ta Dette Hull!), Splid is a blistering ride. Best listened to in small doses for endurance purposes, it’s impossible not to be swept up by the passion injected into this album.