Kobus! (or K.O.B.U.S!) is an

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band formed in 2000 by ex-

Springbok Nude Girls The Springbok Nude Girls (a.k.a. the Nudies, or the Nude Girls) is a rock band from Cape Town, South Africa. An alternative rock band, the Nude Girls introduced punk rock, ska, acid jazz and heavy metal into their songs, introducing a new worl ...

guitarist Theo Crous and ex-Voice of Destruction vocalist Francois Breytenbach Blom. They performed as a duo until 2004 when they were joined by Rob Nel on bass and Paul André Blom on drums. In 2007 Rob Nel was replaced on bass by Pierre Tredoux and in 2008 drummer Paul Andre Blom was replaced by Werner Von Waltsleben. The band has released three albums: The self-titled debut ''Kobus!'' in 2002, '' 100% Skuldgevoelvry'' in 2004, and '' Swaar Metaal'' in 2007. The first two releases contained an eclectic mix of styles, crossing genres from track to track. The album ''Swaar Metaal'', which won the 'Best Afrikaans Rock Album' award at the 2008 South African Music Awards, is sonically more uniform than its predecessors, an Afrikaans-language heavy metal album, regarded as a first in Afrikaans music. Theo-crous-2010

Background

Initially formed as an experimental

-language project in 2000 by vocalist Francois Breytenbach Blom and guitarist Theo Crous,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n band K.O.B.U.S! first release, '' Kobus!'' in 2002, through ENT Entertainment displayed a flagrant disregard for uniformity. Straying from the respective styles of their previous bands, the album mix an array of moods, blending surreal comedy with dark ballads and Afrikaans rock psychedelia on 12 tracks of

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

. The song "Hoenderman" was a fan favorite. Their sophomore release, '' 100% Skuldgevoelvry'' in 2004 again disregards uniformity, a bold companion piece to their debut. Almost twice the running time of the debut album and comprising 16 tracks, the album includes a number of heavier songs as with their next album. In 2006 K.O.B.U.S! joined the independent South African label Rhythm Records. '' Swaar Metaal'' (heavy metal), Kobus!'s third full-length album, stands apart from previous releases as a heavy metal album. The lyrics, dark in theme, deal with topical South African issues. Tracks like "Witman", which describe frustrations from some

white South African White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original colonists, known as Afr ...

's perspective, "Kinderhel", a song about child abuse, and "Doodstraf", which calls for the implementation of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, deliver very unapologetic political commentaries and deal with decaying moral standards in society. Other lyrical themes include the

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

. K.O.B.U.S! was invited to perform at the gargantuan

Magic Circle Festival Magic Circle Festival is an annual heavy metal festival organized by Magic Circle Music and founded by Joey DeMaio of the band Manowar. The festival was first held on 6 and 7 July 2007 in Bad Arolsen, Germany. The success of the 2007 festival ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

during July 2008. Headlined by

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as n ...

, it featured the likes of

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, Stormwarrior and W.A.S.P. The festival ran over four days in

Bad Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and then un ...

, Germany. ''Swaar Metaal'' won in the category for Best Afrikaans Rock Album at the 14th annual

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...

in 2008. In March 2008 Werner Von Waltsleben replaced Paul Andre Blom on drums. In 2024 they released a single called "Drankduiwel" (alcohol devil) after 16 years of unofficial hiatus. Released on Spotify, YouTube, etc. Link directs to their Facebook announceme

Discography

*''Kobus!'' (2002) *'' 100% Skuldgevoelvry'' (2004) *'' Swaar Metaal'' (2007) *"Drankduiwel" (2024) (single)

References

* *

External links

*
Litnet article on Afrikaans metal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobus South African heavy metal musical groups Afrikaans-language musical groups from South Africa Musical groups established in 2000 South African political music groups