When you usually put the words Norwegian and metal in the same sentence- most of us get a vision of church burnings and Gaahl from Gorgoroth discussing his allegiances to Satan. Not every metal band in Norway is corpse paint and wannabe evil- take Oslos Madder Mortem.
The band, formerly known as Mystery Tribe, has been enchanting northern Europe since 1993. The band is out with a new record entitled Eight Ways, which was released back in May. The soaring and ethereal vocals of Agnete M. Kirkevaag make Eight Ways worth the time. Sure, plenty of bands from Europe have female fronted hard rock bands- everybody from Lacuna Coil to Within Temptation. But on songs like A Different Kind of Hell and The Little Things, the band switches back between operatics and melodic metal. The band also dabbles in a jazzy type of sound as well, with tracks like The Flesh, the Blood, The Man sounding unlike too many other metal bands out there.
Eight Ways is the follow up to the 2006 record Desiderata which was the bands move into the more melodic direction and Eight Ways shows that they are leaps and bounds different than some of their Norwegian contemporaries. The band has been playing Europe this summer, but hopefully with any luck- the band will make their way to the U.S. sometime really soon.
Eight Ways is out now on Peaceville Records. Additional dates and band info can be found at www.maddermortem.com.
