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Liklukt: Bay of kings

12/10/13 || Ironpants

Did you know?

Back in the 60´s, in Svalbard, Norway, there was three major mining accidents where 71 employees were killed or buried alive. At that time all mines were owned and operated by Kings Bay AS, an enterprise owned by the Norwegian government. A commission found several issues around the security and the management of the mine, and the industrial minister at the time was pointed at as incompetent. The ruling party was dismissed in a no-confidence voting and there was a change of government from socialists to liberals and… the… zZzZZ… drool… zZzz…”

Well, that is a little too much info about shit you don’t care about when you are trying to get a hold of some decent death metal. But you know me? I´m a sucker for history and factoids, so the concept idea behind this album got me interested and I could not oversee this opportunity to present a little extra info about “The Kings Bay affair”. Only at Global Domination folks.

Liklukt, which literally means “corpse smell”… is a duo from Norway, and you hangarounds in our forum know the drummer, Tapir/Floodhorse. Ahhh… another one of those “we-are-friends-and-clap-our-cocks-‘til-we-cum-on-each-other” reviews you might think? No way, in the eyes of the almighty Global Domination we are all alike, and I consider myself as a newbie still, so I can say whatever I want. When push comes to shove, it’s only the music that remains.

A few more words about the concept around this album. A couple of mining accidents? Really? Well, why not? Think about it, it has all the attributes that you need. Death, claustrophobic environment, being forever entombed, crushed, mangled, the anguish of being buried alive. And… the surrounding matters after the accidents with anger, sorrow, and lies when everybody tries to save their own skin in the political aftermath. It’s perfect really, it’s a gold mine (ohh) of writing material. And, to spice it up further, it’s a local happening from Liklukt´s point of view, as far as I know, they could maybe even have had relatives or people they know being part of this affair, this I don’t know, but the thought appeals to me. It adds a bit of “politics” and weight to the album. Also, I’ve been to several mines, and even if you are not claustrophobic by nature, and when you are over 800 meters deep underground, the thought has crossed my mind many times how it would feel if there was a collapse of some kind. So… I clap my hands for the lyrical theme and concept!

What’s up in the music department then? Well, at first, when the first two songs (Intro “Kongsfjord” and “The bloodline”) has passed, I didn’t feel anything special really, pretty decent death metal, but then the album starts for real. The rest of the songs is a showcase of death metal that is just my style. It’s not too fast and sterile and it’s not too slow and mind numbing, the riffs are pretty melodic and also diverse and semi groovy. It is apparent that these guys know how to build songs and letting the song structure win over speed and brutality. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no Scandinavian melo-death here, but melodic death metal. Think American death metal around year 2000 with sprinkles from Hypocrisy and Carcass and you are pretty close.

I must send compliments to Tapir on the drumming, he is really in the zone here. Tighter than a choir boy and delivering quality bashing on ze skinz. There’s pretty much going on, but still clean and well executed, the man knows his shit. The drum sound is just as you remember it a few years back, and I really like it. Same goes for the other half, guitar player Cigar (also bass… they are a duo – remember?). He hands out riff after riff for your pleasure, and they are all good, ranging from bee swarms, heavy chugga riffs and even thrashy riffs. The vocals is handled by Tapir also, and maybe it’s not the best voice around, but it gets the job done.

There are several songs that stands out on this album, and provides diversity when you journey through the dark mine shafts that are “Bay of Kings”. “Coal” and “Encased in darkness” are worth mentioning and the thrashy “You never forgot” is a gem. It’s a pretty broad mixture, but kept together without straying too far from Liklukt’s path and all the songs have an identity of their own.

This is a very consistent album, with maybe not groundbreaking death metal, but sure as hell very solid stuff, and there is not really any downers found here. If you don’t believe me, just check out this teaser before you go straight to the store/online and buy it. I know that I will return to this album many times when I just want to listen to no bullshit death metal! Buy or die!

Information
Released: 2013
Label: Funeral Industries
Website: www.liklukt.com
Band
Cigar: guitars, bass
Tapir: vocals, drums

Tracklist
01. Kongsfjord
02. The bloodline
03. Coal
04. Ester 1
05. Encased in darkness
06. The endless tomb
07. Coffins
08. Usurper
09. You never forgot
10. Bay of kings
11. Into the deep (bonus track)

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