NATTESFERD

The third studio long-player from the Norwegian black metal scene's most accessible and unapologetically fun-loving purveyors of sonic brawn, Nattesferd finds Kvelertak flexing their greasepaint-lined NWOBHM muscles via a savage nine-track set of Valhallic party anthems. Like 2013's nearly flawless Meir, the punk-infused Nattesferd has more in common with hardcore than traditional death metal, but Kvelertak are astute scholars of the dark arts, and their love for the genre is apparent in every larynx-dissolving howl, double-kick drum volley, and AOR hard rock pick slide. It's blood, booze, and sweat-soaked concrete floors, high five-worthy rock & roll that takes itself just seriously enough to be flat-out legit, but never forgets that inclusiveness is the metal community's most vital commodity -- the band has its own brand of beer. Simultaneously caustic, catchy, and mystic, proggy opener "Dendrofil for Yggdrasil" sets the tone, using the hammer of the gods to carve out a mountain pass that's soon filled with equally epic, campfire apocalypse yarns like "Heksebrann" and "Ondskapens Galakse." However, the album's most compelling moments go straight for the jugular, with taut, riff-tastic beasts of might and melody like "Berserkr," "1985," and the outstanding title track displaying a mastery of craft that suggests that the Stavenger sextet is at, or at least very near, both its creative and technical apex. Here's hoping that it's the latter. ~ James Christopher Monger