Let us consider large calibre for a while, because here is some damn heavy Norwegian timber that beats the drum...
What the hell does svölk means? Even if I'm Swedish (next to Norway) I don't understand a word of it. Anyway, these dudes rock the shit out of any living soul and make a few jumps on the Richter scale without any difficulties! These guys pop out from no(r)w(ay)here and have previously been completely unknown to me, they have simply past my super radar (thanks for the tip Adam!). Well, we all make "mistakes" sometimes;-)
On the self-titled debut album Svölk delivers nine jaw dropping power measurements whose arsenal includes both riff rock (most of it) and old school heavy metal in 42 glowing minutes. Svölk fires their first round '52' and the smell of burning rubber fills the air almost immediately, hold your wig granny and stop banging your walker against the wall, because there is a new bear in town! Imagine that Sunride and Sahg mates with Mannhai and Spiritual Beggars, the outcome would be a little svölkie. This is like 52 times the pain, but it's worth every god damn slap because when these gentlemen hold the stick nothing can go wrong!
The following tracks 'This is it' and Anchor' goes on in the same direction. In other word; you get loads of heaviness and plenty of classy riffs, and the vocals rule! The Norwegian rock armada hammers on with the fourth nugget 'Sweet agony' and once again you get invited to a deafening demonstration which is comparable to bands like Coogan's Bluff, Sasquatch, Gascoine and to some of the heavy southern rock scene. A neat concoction of thrilling riffs and the vocals impresses even here. Simply, Sweet agony is one of the absolute highlights on the album.
After having tasted 52 times the pain on the first gem '52' Svölk are ready to punch you a few times more. On the sixth song '12 times the pain', you get a more "ordinary" rock treatment with less stoner influences and bands like Lamont, Rockzilla and the Glasspack comes to mind. I might "be out hiking in the wrong weather" but that's my definition. Anyway, who cares as long as the amps are burning I am satisfied.
Svölk ends the show with 'Inferno' and 'Dead: 30' which are quite different from the others, here you get the heavy metal flavoured mixture I previously mentioned. These tracks make me think of The Sword and early Iron Maiden. Although I'm not usually into this kind of music the Norwegians still manage to keep my interest alive. The album contains almost no sleeping pills and is mostly a fresh and alert creation of higher rank. Svölk deserve a place among its predecessors Honcho, Pawnshop, El Caco, Sahg etc. and i hope that the journey doesn't end here, and we get the pleasure to hear more from these heavy rock dudes in future... thumbs up Svölk!
by Tobias Beament
Track List
01 52
02 This Is It
03 Anchor
04 Sweet Agony
05 Miss Alcohol
06 12 Times The Pain
07 End Of Days
08 Inferno
09 Dead:30
