Knogjärn “BLY”
Metalcore sung in Swedish? Yeah, Knogjärn makes it work and it is catchy as hell.
It’s neither trendy nor hip. It’s not “proper” metal. Knogjärn ignores all the genre’s self-imposed rules. But slap me with a wet fish from Klarälven, this is bloody good. Knogjärn from Karlstad, Sweden gives us hard-hitting modern metal on its new album “BLY”. Their catchy-yet-heavy music mainly lives in Metalcore Valley, a place they ended up in by taking a wrong turn somewhere in the Värmland countryside.
They debuted a decade ago with the album “Våldet i ditt paradis”. Knogjärn’s take on metalcore sung in their native Swedish immediately won them fans and attention. “BLY” is the band’s sixth full-length studio album. The band keeps evolving and the new album is quite heavy but still with plenty of catchiness. They manage to squeeze in quite a lot of variety in twelve songs and 37 minutes. The album somewhat unexpectedly includes a cover of “Kärleken väntar”, originally by Swedish emo pop band Kent. It is the album’s only weak spot. “Smörbultad” is my immediate favourite track. 44 seconds of sheer brutality and brilliance. Wow! “Bly eller pengar” and “Inget lever länge här” are other excellent tracks on this terrific album.
This band, consisting of Kim Eriksson on vocals, Markus Hurtig on guitar, Rasmus Sörbom on bass and Johan Hidén on drums, is on a roll. They are ready for the big leagues. Färjestad, one of the world’s best ice hockey teams, is from Karlstad. I sincerely hope that the club plays Knogjärn’s anthems in the arena before the games as it would give both the team and the fans the energy needed to succeed.
Knogjärn’s new album “BLY” is out now via Indie Recordings.
