Get Into Slægt Before Everyone Else Does

Part of being a semi-full time blogger at MetalSucks is getting a million promos today. Most are for the usual black metal and post-hardcore bands; occasionally, we get an amusing one that opens with something like, “Greetings, fellow pro-lifer!” or, “Are you as tired of typical afrobeat as I am?”

But every so often, we find a gem, a band we’ve never heard of making music that’s really fucking good. Such is the case with Slægt, a Danish black-thrash band whose new album recently showed up in my Inbox. These guys are entertaining as Hell, their music full of interesting melodies and uncommon rhythms. Sure, there are pretty obvious genre elements present in their material, but they’re arranged and utilized in such a way as to make them more original than those of the average kvlt ice warriors. It reminds me of Vreid if that band were a little more spacey and didn’t have the vocals so far up-front.

Slægt’s new album, Beautiful and Damned, comes out in January on Iron Bonehead. And while that’s some months away, I figured I’d do you guys a favor of letting you know about them, so that you could catch up on their material and be ready when the album comes out. That way, when everyone starts talking about how Beautiful and Damned is, you can fold your arms and shrug and talk about how you’ve been into Slægt forever, if you’re the kind of person who considers that horseshit as cultural currency (and let’s face it, you’re a metalhead, so you’re at least sort of that kind of person).

Anyway, here’s “Her Vil Jeg Dø” from Slægt’s last album, Ildsvanger. Check out their Facebook here. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.