Listen: New Kampfar Jam Isn’t “Mylder” Than Anything

There’s a customer review of Kampfar’s 2011 ripper Mare in which this brilliant statement is buried: “Sometimes it just has to jam.” Fuck yeah, for to listen to Kampfar’s snappy big-budget BM is to kinda consider its proximity to melodic death metal and black metal’s fancier strains. And this is an obstacle to fans who yawn at that stagnant stuff (the former) and who roll their eyes epically at overblown symphonics and/or vile folkisms (the latter).

But it’s easy to stop thinking about the “whats” of Kampfar, cuz the “hows” take over: how heavy its riffs, how racing its pulse, how tightly the quartet cages its grooves — then liberates them to spray chaotically from a mountain top. See “Mylder” (below) from the upcoming Djevelmakt (“Devil Power”): Sure, its spellbinding march stumbles over the world’s fruitiest flute riff, but only in the middle of stomping and thrashing its way up and down a skyscraping pillar of rock. Crank it up and pre-order here!

Kampfar’s Djevelmakt is out January 27 on Indie Recordings. Pre-order here.