is a Norwegian heavy metal band from

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, formed in 2007. The group comprises vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen, guitarists Vidar Landa and Maciek Ofstad, bassist Marvin Nygaard and drummer Håvard Takle Ohr. Founding member and lead singer Erlend Hjelvik left the group in 2018, being replaced by Ivar Nikolaisen. Most of Kvelertak's songs have Norwegian lyrics, and their main influences are

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 2010 and sold more than 15,000 copies in Norway. The second album, ''

Meir Meir () is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer. Alfred J. Kolatch, ''T ...

'', was released in 2013, followed by '' Nattesferd'' in 2016 and ''

Splid ''Splid'' (Norwegian for "discord") is the fourth studio album by Norwegian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Kvelertak, released on 14 February 2020. The album was recorded in GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. It is the ba ...

'' in 2020. ''Splid'' was the band's first album with Ivar Nikolaisen on lead vocals.

History

Formation and debut album (2007–2011)

Kvelertak - Erlend Hjelvik - Vocals - Singer

Kvelertak were formed in

, Norway, in 2007. A demo, ''Westcoast Holocaust'', was self-released that year. The band released their debut album, ''

Kvelertak is a Norwegian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Stavanger, formed in 2007. The group comprises vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen, guitarists Vidar Landa and Maciek Ofstad, bassist Marvin Nygaard and drummer Håvard Takle Ohr. Founding member and ...

'', on 21 June 2010 via the Norwegian record label Indie Recordings, and on 15 March via

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specialized in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. History Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of ...

in North America. The album was certified gold by

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

in Norway for selling over 15,000 copies. In March 2011, Kvelertak were presented with two

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

Awards, a prestigious Norwegian music award similar to the American

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

—for Best Newcomer and Best Rock Band. The Kvelertak song "Mjød" was used as the end music for the film The Troll Hunter.

''Meir'' and ''Nattesferd'' (2012–2017)

The second album, ''

'', was released on 25 March 2013 (26 March in the US) via Sony Music Scandinavia in Scandinavia,

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

in the rest of the world, and by Indie Recordings on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

. Kvelertak has also attracted a following from renowned artists such as

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

front man

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...

who, along with the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, watched the band perform in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Hetfield also posted a video on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account of him watching the band and describing the front man Hjelvik as a "savage" frontman. Marvin Nygaard was voted sexiest man in Norway in 2013 The band's third studio album, titled '' Nattesferd'', was released on 13 May 2016. They opened for

on their WorldWired Tour between September 2017 and May 2018 in Europe, and was also the opening act for

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

on their Popestar Tour in 2017.

Lineup change and ''Splid'' (2018–present)

In July 2018, Erlend Hjelvik announced that he had left the band. His replacement, Ivar Nikolaisen (of Silver and The Good, The Bad and The Zugly), was announced on 20 July at their show in Fjellparkfestivalen, Flekkefjord – he had previously featured as a guest vocalist on 'Blodtørst'. Kvelertak released their fourth studio album, ''

'', on 14 February 2020. Hjelvik released his solo album, ''Welcome to Hel'', on 20 November 2020. Kvelertak released their fifth studio album, ''

Endling An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal ''Nature''. Usage The 4 April 1996 issue of ''Nature'' p ...

'', on 8 September 2023. Guitarist Bjarte Lund Rolland left the band in October 2024, after his right index finger was worn out from years of playing guitar without a pick.

Awards

*2010: Two times

in the categories best Rock band and this years Newcomer, for the self-titled album ''Kvelertak''

Band members

Current members *Vidar Landa – guitar (2007–present) *Marvin Nygaard – bass, backing vocals (2007–present) *Maciek Ofstad – guitar, backing vocals (2009–present) *Ivar Nikolaisen – lead vocals (2018–present) *Håvard Takle Ohr – drums (2019–present) Past members *Bjarte Lund Rolland – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2007–2024) *Erlend Hjelvik – lead vocals (2007–2018) *Anders Mosness – guitar (2007–2009), drums (2007–2008) *Kjetil Gjermundrød – drums (2008–2019) Others * Jay Weinberg – drums (live) (2013) *Eirik Melstrøm – guitar (live) (2023)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2010) * ''

'' (2013) * '' Nattesferd'' (2016) * ''

'' (2020) * ''

'' (2023)

EPs

*''Gojira/Kvelertak Live'' (2013, split with Gojira)

Singles

*"Mjød" (2010) *"Blodtørst" (2010) *" Bruane brenn" (2013) *"Kvelertak" (2013) *"1985" (2016) *"Berserkr" (2016) *"Bråtebrann" (2019) *"Crack of Doom" (feat. Troy Sanders) (2020) *"Fanden ta dette hull!" (2020) *"Krøterveg Te Helvete" (2023)

Demos

*''Westcoast Holocaust'' (2007)

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Spellemannprisen winners Norwegian hard rock musical groups Norwegian hardcore punk groups Norwegian black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Stavanger Norwegian heavy metal musical groups Roadrunner Records artists