Rockfreaks.net

support Cancer Bats
author AP date 17/10/23 venue Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DEN

The eclectic Norwegian rousers of Kvelertak are back in Denmark for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to all touring activities, and their Danish fans have turned up in droves for what is almost certain to be an explosive performance by not only the headliners, but also their support band, the always energetic Cancer Bats. It is a Tuesday evening, yet the air is thick with anticipation, which suggests that the sold out crowd is probably unfazed by the prospect of needing to work or study the day after, and ready to participate in the impending shows with all their spirit. Let’s find out, shall we?

Cancer Bats

Cancer Bats enter the stage just as the last notes of Metallica’s 1984 classic “For Whom the Bell Tolls” ring out, and unceremoniously kick things off with the stomping “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair” off their 2008 album “Hail Destroyer”. Vocalist Liam Cormier and his three compatriots are seething with energy, hellbent on igniting the audience by their own example, with bassist Jaye R. Schwarzer and touring guitarist Jackson Landry both jumping and doing spins at their stations on the right and left, thrusting their instruments high into the air, whilst Cormier thrashes around the stage like a menace, pausing only to bend back and spew a mist of water over the top of his head. The crowd’s response remains meagre in comparison — that is, until Cormier decides he’s had enough of it and demands that people get rowdy for the fourth song “Pneumonia Hawk” from the band’s 2006 offering “Birthing the Giant”. A sizeable portion of the audience heeds his call, generating the first moshpit of the evening and thus transforming the track into a turning point as far as midweek restraint goes. “Oh yeah! Now we’ve got the boogie juice flowing”, Cormier remarks, before he leads his outfit into a performance verging on violence in the following “Sorceress” and “Gatekeeper” — the latter taken from 2019’s “The Spark that Moves” album. During a guitar solo by Landry in the first track, the frontman’s head is banging with such vigour he looks possessed, and when the latter gets going, he comes completely unhinged and starts punching one of drummer Mike Peters’ cymbals in tandem with the rhythm.

A sense of camaraderie has formed between the ‘Bats and their audience, and Cormier continues to nurture is throughout the rest of the set. Before “Road Sick” off 2012’s “Dead Set on Living”, he enthusiastically shares his thoughts on similarities between Denmark and the group’s native Canada much to the crowd’s glee, while in the standout “Radiate” from the band’s 2022 outing “Psychic Jailbreak”, he successfully commands a mass bounce- and singalong in tandem with his own fuming antics on stage. It is the perfect live track, featuring a rhythm that is nigh irresistible and a simple, one-liner chorus that everyone is able to join in on. Another standout moment arrives with the unexpected entrance of the Canadian indie folk artist Brooklyn Doran for a faithful take on the slow and gloomy doom ballad that is “Hammering On”. Just like on the aforementioned “Psychic Jailbreak” album, the vocal duties are shared by Cormier and Doran in this one, and their chemistry on stage, facing each other as their voices weave together, helps to render it into an even more intense experience in the live setting. Still, it is the usual suspects — the band’s legendary cover of the Beastie Boys’ classic “Sabotage” and the incendiary title track from “Hail Destroyer” — that deliver the ultimate climax, the moshpit exploding in cacophony as the rumble of Schwarzer’s bass riffs resonates through the venue. This has been another tempestuous performance by one of the best live bands in hardcore, and at 17 tracks in total, it could just as well have been the headlining set.

Kvelertak

A giant, opaque veil adorned with Kvelertak’s logo obscures the stage from view, as pleasant strums of acoustic guitar accompany the emergence of six silhouettes onto it. It feels like the calm before a storm, and it is not long before the curtain drops and “Krøterveg te helvete” from the Norwegian group’s latest studio album “Endling” is unleashed to a ravenous audience. But rather than delivering the entire eight minutes of this track, the band opts for picking it up from the halfway mark and thus skipping its lengthy intro segment. This is the right choice, as it sets the tone for the rest of the concert, in which the primary emphasis is on their most boisterous, driving material. Kvelertak seems to be in the mood for mayhem, with all three guitarists — Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland and Maciek Ofstad — and bassist Marvin Nygaard all pulling their best rock’n’roll moves, and vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen flailing about like a madman. I’m sure I’ve said so before, but Nikolaisen is an outlandishly good frontman, whose unhinged hardcore punk energy is the perfect complement to Kvelertak’s eclectic music in the live setting. Whether he’s on the crowd barrier, sharing his microphone with the rabid fans upfront during the staple “Blodtørst” from the band’s 2010 self-titled début album, swinging his mic stand like a flagstaff in the following “Likvoke”, or diving into the welcoming hands of the audience for one of his many stints of crowd surfing, Nikolaisen embodies the spirit of these songs in a way that his predecessor Erlend Hjelvik never quite managed to. And in leading by example, he takes the crowd into the palm of his hand with immediate effect, resulting in moshpits, singalongs, and indeed also crowd surfers galore. “We have come here to celebrate!”, he roars in Norwegian early on, reflecting the atmosphere of the show thus far succinctly; it is festive, it is rowdy, and it is brimming with attitude.

But while Nikolaisen certainly draws the spotlight onto himself, it is not at the expense of the rest of the band. Songs like “Crack of Doom” off 2020’s “Solid”, for instance, find Rolland delivering an admirable rendition of the clean sung parts by Mastodon’s Troy Sanders, whilst Nygaard is swinging his bass guitar around in wild arcs during the standout “Fossegrim”. And in moodier, progressive pieces such as “Døgeniktens kvad” and “Nattesferd”, it is the instrumentals that make the greatest impression, reminding us that although Kvelertak is perhaps best known for their balls-to-the-wall black metal’n’roll, the six musicians have also written some stunning progressive rock compositions in their time. The zenith of these has to be the slow, dark and eerie “Morild”, the cathartic release of which once again possesses Nikolaisen into making a sudden leap into the audience, from whence he is carried toward the stage, screaming his lyrics over the cheers of his enthralled fans. It is a song with so many different elements and passages to dig into that I wish they’d play it again — but alas, the show is nearing its conclusion far too soon. “This is where we’re from!”, Nikolaisen yells before “Rogaland” is played in tribute to the group’s home region in Norway, earning thunderous chants of “Rooo-gaaa-laaand!" from a crowd who do not seem to be able to get their arms down about this tour de force of black metal, punk, classic rock, and heavy metal amalgams.

If I’m being honest, none of the records Kvelertak has issued since their 2013 sophomore offering “Meir has made that big of an impression on me — yet, as their show tonight once again proves, the six musicians have a unique penchant for bringing their songs to life in a way that transforms every venue they play into a boiling cauldron of energy. There is no question that Kvelertak remains one of the absolute best live bands out there, possessing an ability to turn audiences into thralls that follow their every whim. This phenomenon is on full display during the encore, which sees a dance party erupt for the titular “Endling”, and the floor trembling beneath the weight of 600 bouncing guests in appreciation of the fan favourite “Mjød” right after. And it all concludes in a triumphant manner, with Nikolaisen waving a giant Kvelertak flag over the heads of the audience while Landa decides to follow the vocalist’s example and throws himself into fate’s hands and plays his final riffs amongst dozens of other crowd surfers as well as, of course, Nikolaisen himself. Hands down, an absolutely phenomenal performance by Kvelertak yet again.

Setlist:

• 1. Krøterveg te helvete
• 2. Blodtørst
• 3. Likvoke
• 4. Kvelertak
• 5. Crack of Doom
• 6. Døgeniktens kvad
• 7. Fossegrim
• 8. Evig vandrar
• 9. Skoggangr
• 10. Nattesferd
• 11. Morild
• 12. Rogaland

— Encore —

• 13. Endling
• 14. Mjød
• 15. Bråtebrann