Families devoting their lives to Black Metal is hardly new. Quorthon and Boss, Mika and Kimmo Luttinen, LRH and Spellgoth: just a few examples of fathers/sons or siblings ending up in the same band or scene together. The Kråbøl family can be added to that category as well, with perhaps a little less limelight but certainly some major contributions. Followers of the Terratur Possessions label will be familiar with B. Kråbøl, the vocalist of Misotheist and sole member of Enevelde. His talent and passion for Black Metal literally flows through his veins, as his father Terje Kråbøl is the current drummer for Katechon and previously played amongst others in Sarke. Most notably however, he played the drums on the highly influential Thorns demo ‘Trøndertun’. In turn, Terje’s brother Stian Kråbøl has a history in Khold and Sarke and is a current member of Tulus. Together, the Kråbøl family have been a part of Norwegian Black Metal from the early nineties until today.
And thus, the band Kråbøl is a rather unique entity in which the family members come together to share their passion for Black Metal. Not only that, but they’ve also added a third generation of the family in grandfather M. Kråbøl on trumpet. Now before you might fear that M. stands for Miles Davis, the contribution of the patriarch of the family is rather modest, but it certainly gives the project that extra twist.
With the contributions of the family so rooted in Norwegian Black Metal, the debut album ’Never’ truly is a musical story of the evolution of Norwegian Black Metal through the eyes of the Kråbøl family. The foundation is Terje Kråbøl’s classic Black Metal drum style, rock solid, dynamic and without unnecessary frivolity. The bass sound is clearly audible and adds the pulse to the album, not in the least because of a well-balanced mix. Despite being the youngest of the family, the guitar work of B. Kråbøl is clearly influenced by the history of the genre, with the typical tremolo picking, chords progressions and clear influences from for example 90’s Mayhem, Tulus and early Thorns. But those that follow his other bands know that the strength of B. Kråbøl is in songwriting that avoids the trodden paths and adds a fresh interpretation of classic elements.
The music on ’Never’ may be the most minimal, and in a sense bareboned of B. Kråbøl’s collected works, but the power lies in subtle variations. Opener ‘Talisman’ is an example of a more classic sound, fierce in its more ancestral form with commanding vocals, yet beautiful when a melodic layer surfaces and background keyboards hum. The sharp tone of the guitar flourishes in ‘Perish’, a song in which shifting riffs demonstrate the highly effective style of B. Kråbøl in a deceptive simplicity. The song takes a more skincrawling turn and comes close to Enevelde in its oppressing darkness, where background choirs send shivers down your spine. The sinister spirit lingers on in ‘Nattsvarte Brunn’, a song based on a sense of monotony but driven by ever-changing drums and entrancing accentuating bass. With ‘The Blacken’d Waterd Sleep’ the album continuous in almost militant manner, with ice-cold and pitchblack old school Norwegian riffs, gnarly pull-up riffs and a bleak background hum driving the song towards a tempo escalation. ‘Fundaments’ is a more chugging song that touches upon the realm of Doom Metal, where the shift between a more groove-based section and uptempo outbursts keep the song intriguing throughout. In closer ‘Armodsgrå’ the background trumpets are most audible, initially resulting in the more open sounding and almost epic track that then takes a darker and almost bombastic twist.
Despite their many contributions to the scene, ‘Never’ manages to find a place of its own alongside the other work of the band members, paying homage to the past, but not without connecting firmly to the present. Those that have taken interest in what the Kråbøl family members have offered to Norwegian Black Metal will certainly want to hear this result of their combined decades of experience.
