Kvelertak, King Parrot @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (17/09/2013)
Photo by Todd Gingell
After appearances with Gojira and Mastodon, and festival sets during Soundwave 2012, Kvelertak, one of music's best kept secrets, would make their almighty return to Melbourne for a headline show at the Corner Hotel.
Opening act King Parrot, were… well.
I really don't know how to describe them with a genre. Grind core? Thrash metal? A couple of dudes making whatever violent sound effects they could with their instruments? I really don't have a definitive answer. All I know is this. Whatever it was, they did it with brilliance, executing their set masterfully, and unapologetically.
King Parrot almost felt like a violent parody of themselves, but they were as raw and real as it could possibly get. Shit-stirring heckles between the crowd and audience provided the humour for the night, while vocalist Youngy spent the majority of the time piggy backing through the crowd and looking like he was about to burst a vein in his head while screaming out indistinguishable vocals.
"This song's about accidentally killing your dog", the band announces mid way through the set. If that doesn't give you an idea as to what the rest of the performance from King Parrot entailed, then I don't know what will. Honestly, it was just so amazingly satisfying, yet incredibly terrifying at the same time.
I think everybody needs to see King Parrot at least once in their lifetime; and it would be even better if it was by accident, and you weren't completely sober… only to wake up the next morning with the worst hangover, and possibly missing a kidney too.
When Kvelertak's (a Norwegian word for "stranglehold" or "chokehold") performance time arrives, the anticipation in the air is almost as thick as the smell of the sweat and beer amongst the patrons.
As the curtains draw back, Erlend Hjelvik emerges with a large owl mask adorning his head, surround by his brothers in arms. What followed was possibly the most glorious metal show I've ever been witness to.
With Kvelertak performing entirely in Norwegian, unless you knew the lyrics, you would be lost in translation. But that in no way matters; because there is a an undeniable power in the performance. What's the best way to describe it? Well, imagine that the Norse Gods of old possessed the band, and played the entire show themselves. It was exactly that; godlike.
Kvelertak could do no wrong, firing through a frenzied set which set the crowd off like rocks thrown at a hornet's nest. Even after fracturing his leg in Sydney, guitarist Vidar Landa continued to thrash out those glorious riffs, chilling on a makeshift couch, and dodging stage invaders, while his corner of the stage often became a jamming/sparring point for the Kvelertak's instrumentalists to perform at.
With the majority of the band finishing the night in the crowd, and surfing on top, the band's final hurrah sees them burst out a two-pack punch of name-track Kvelertak, and Utrydd dei svake, and our cheers for a second encore sadly go unheeded.
It's days later, and I'm still trying to collect the pieces of mind after it was blown away by Kvelertak's performance. Have you seen them? But in all seriousness, it's a difficult task to try and word my praise for Kvelertak. I honestly believe that even with this review, my words can do them no justice, you need to see their show for yourself to truly comprehend their mastery.
For your mainstream audience, they might just be metal's best kept secret. But it won't last long. Jump on that ship now, because there's no way in hell it's going to wait for you to get on board.
Luke Sutton
@lukesutton
Opening act King Parrot, were… well.
I really don't know how to describe them with a genre. Grind core? Thrash metal? A couple of dudes making whatever violent sound effects they could with their instruments? I really don't have a definitive answer. All I know is this. Whatever it was, they did it with brilliance, executing their set masterfully, and unapologetically.
King Parrot almost felt like a violent parody of themselves, but they were as raw and real as it could possibly get. Shit-stirring heckles between the crowd and audience provided the humour for the night, while vocalist Youngy spent the majority of the time piggy backing through the crowd and looking like he was about to burst a vein in his head while screaming out indistinguishable vocals.
"This song's about accidentally killing your dog", the band announces mid way through the set. If that doesn't give you an idea as to what the rest of the performance from King Parrot entailed, then I don't know what will. Honestly, it was just so amazingly satisfying, yet incredibly terrifying at the same time.
I think everybody needs to see King Parrot at least once in their lifetime; and it would be even better if it was by accident, and you weren't completely sober… only to wake up the next morning with the worst hangover, and possibly missing a kidney too.
When Kvelertak's (a Norwegian word for "stranglehold" or "chokehold") performance time arrives, the anticipation in the air is almost as thick as the smell of the sweat and beer amongst the patrons.
As the curtains draw back, Erlend Hjelvik emerges with a large owl mask adorning his head, surround by his brothers in arms. What followed was possibly the most glorious metal show I've ever been witness to.
With Kvelertak performing entirely in Norwegian, unless you knew the lyrics, you would be lost in translation. But that in no way matters; because there is a an undeniable power in the performance. What's the best way to describe it? Well, imagine that the Norse Gods of old possessed the band, and played the entire show themselves. It was exactly that; godlike.
Kvelertak could do no wrong, firing through a frenzied set which set the crowd off like rocks thrown at a hornet's nest. Even after fracturing his leg in Sydney, guitarist Vidar Landa continued to thrash out those glorious riffs, chilling on a makeshift couch, and dodging stage invaders, while his corner of the stage often became a jamming/sparring point for the Kvelertak's instrumentalists to perform at.
With the majority of the band finishing the night in the crowd, and surfing on top, the band's final hurrah sees them burst out a two-pack punch of name-track Kvelertak, and Utrydd dei svake, and our cheers for a second encore sadly go unheeded.
It's days later, and I'm still trying to collect the pieces of mind after it was blown away by Kvelertak's performance. Have you seen them? But in all seriousness, it's a difficult task to try and word my praise for Kvelertak. I honestly believe that even with this review, my words can do them no justice, you need to see their show for yourself to truly comprehend their mastery.
For your mainstream audience, they might just be metal's best kept secret. But it won't last long. Jump on that ship now, because there's no way in hell it's going to wait for you to get on board.
Luke Sutton
@lukesutton