Khold

Hundre ar Gammal

Candlelight Records 2008

Consistency is a key factor when approaching Norway's black n roll monstrosity, Khold.  They are one of the most consistent acts to exist within the cesspit we know as the underground.  Finally after an extended break they return with their 5th full length album.  Groove laden with a heavy dose of bass guitar and low end melded into their sound, each Khold album is a crushing surge of tectonic plates as they grind against each other.  The album opens in typical Khold fashion with a bouncy midtempo groove and fist-pounding drum work.  Following in a similar template, the title track plods along like a determined wooly mammoth crushing any resistance underfoot but then the song drifts off in an unexpected direction with some subtle dissonant notes lending an almost dreamlike effect to the middle of the track.  The tempo increases to a fiery crescendo on Mester Og Trell as the drums are savagely brutalized while Gard spews forth his contemptuous bile like a misanthropic troll.  Whereas these musicians wield Straff like a primitive cudgel, battering the listener until their skull is a bloody pulp.  On Hundre ar Gammal (means: Hundred Years Old) the guitars are bottom heavy and thick as tree trunks.  Hundre ar Gammal is typical Khold.  It is exactly what you expect from Khold though in my opinion it is a slight step backwards from Krek.  The album could benefit from slightly more variation from track to track though this certainly imbues a sense of continuity of theme throughout the 11 tracks here.  However it is comforting to see these scene stalwarts return with a strong album.  I missed Khold, but luckily their dark shadow is once again blotting out the sun.