Black metal and cheerful indie

KEEP OF KALESSIN (N)
LOS CAMPESINOS! (UK)

Two hot names are now confirmed for the first day in the Medieval Park, Wednesday Aug. 6, two bands that represent opposite ends of the scale on today’s rock scene. Keep of Kalessin are out now with the album ‘Kolossus’, one of the best Norwegian metal releases so far this year, while Los Campesinos are the Welsh champions of cheerful indie pop. Next week we’ll release a wicked English rock band that we’re really looking forward to seeing in the Medieval Park.

LOS CAMPESINOS! (UK)
Los Campesinos are from Cardiff and make cheerful indie. The Welsh band has done a lot of stuff since the start a couple of years back. They’ve signed with Wichita (Arts & Crafts in the US), gone on tour with Broken Social Scene, and released both the EP ‘Sticking Fingers into Sockets’ and the album ‘Hold on Now, Youngster’. The latter hit store shelves in February and proves that the seven members are well and truly able to raise a ruckus wherever they might go. They bear a certain resemblance to Architecture in Helsinki, Pavement, Wolf Parade, Yo La Tengo, The Unicorns, The Go! Team, and Beat Happening, but does everything with a twist of their own. Furoreiharare.com were quite beside themselves after they’d heard the album and wrote that: “’Hold on Now, Youngster’ is unusually refreshing. A glowing alarm clock. A winter that warms.” We couldn’t agree more. Look forward to experiencing this great act during the Øya Festival.

Los Campesinos on MySpace

KEEP OF KALESSIN (N)
Keep of Kalessin recently released the album ‘Kolossus’ and thereby confirmed that they’re among the most solid names in Norwegian black metal this year. Keep of Kalessin was founded as early as 1994 and released two albums before they dissolved in 2000. However, after founder Arnt Ove “Obsidian C” Grønbech joined Satyricon as live guitarist, there was an increasing interest among the remaining parties in reviving Keep of Kalessin. This time around, both Kjetil “Frost” Haradlstad (Satyricon and 1349) and Attila Csihar (Mayhem) have joined the band. With the new crew, Keep of Kalessin has released ‘Armada’ (2006) and now also ‘Kolossus’. The new line-up also includes Vyl, Wizziac, and Thebon. Despite their long history, the band has never been fresher and more solid than it is right now. Many predict that ‘Kolossus’ will eventually achieve status as an organic metal masterpiece. The album is teeming with hateful, heavy, and aggressive music that ought to appeal to your darker side. In August they’ll conquer the Medieval Park.

Keep of Kalessin on MySpace