Norwegian band Kvelertak have been known to jump around, genre wise throughout their ten year career.They have played everything from hardcore to black and roll. But no one could have anticipated the curve ball that they have just thrown with the release of the first single from their upcoming third album Nattesferd.

Check it out below.

The track is very appropriately titled “1985.” It’s basically a hard rock party anthem that would have been right at home in the hair-metal heyday of MTV save for the pseudo death metal vocal. Musically it’s very Van Halen/Cinderella and might just become the sort of rock radio staple to bring the band widespread recognition. Of course, a lot of the metal elitists are already falling over themselves to label Kvelertak the sellouts of the season. Personally, I find it a guilty pleasure though I have my fingers crossed that it’s not indicative of the overall tone of the album.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see when the record drops on May 16th. Until then, crank up the speakers in your Camaro and headbang like it’s 1985!

Audio

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early ’80s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two-hour radio show that came from WOXY, just across the state line in Oxford, Ohio (home of Miami University of Ohio). It was called Massive Metal for the Masses, and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer, and countless others. This Monday weekly column is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it Massive Metal Monday. Every week, I pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metal heads, as well as current artists who are shaping the future of the genre.