Norwegian band MAKTKAMP offer up a hard-hitting blend of rock, hardcore punk and metal with the aim to fight injustice, idiocy and inhuman behaviour with a sound they describe as “piercing, persistent and playful.”
The Oslo-based band’s members hail from the chilling north of Norway and some of the mysterious inland forests just outside the country’s capital. A few of them knew each other before the band started with the aim of, in frontman Kjetil Elverum’s words: “What united us was the yearning to create a band playing the music and conveying the messages we wanted to hear ourselves. As a result, MAKTKAMP has become a funnel for all and everything we want to direct attention towards.”
MAKTKAMP have honed an intriguing riff-heavy sound that toes the line between melodic punk, hardcore, rock and metal with vicious Norwegian vocals but also moments of melody. As Kjetil tells us: “Prepare for menacing guitar melodies and solos, cold Norwegian screams to summon political engagement, bass frequencies that will rattle your core and drumming so intense your mouth will water. Aside from this artsy depiction, MAKTKAMP is a hard rock band, very much riff-based, loaded with hooks and we aspire to make every structural part of our songs interesting to listen to – vocals or not.”
Our latest taste of this is the band’s second album Caps Lock Woke Rock, which was released in April. And on the album as a whole, Kjetil says: “(The reception has been) generally quite good, both from fans and reviewers home and abroad. People seem to like the tad more rocky approach this time around, whereas the former record was slightly more hardcore genre-wise. Still, I think most people should find the sound similar, given that we’ve recorded using the same gear, studio and technician (hats off to our guitarist for being an audio wizard piloting the mixing desk), but the songs are somewhat straighter and perhaps easier to digest. More clean vocals and more harmonies in general. However, the energy has not declined.”
Kjetil picks out the album’s opening track Splitt / Hersk (Divide / Conquer) as an interesting one, as it invites the listener into the rest of the album. The track opens up with driving drums over a little riff that build in intensity and are soon joined by throaty vocals. That feeds into a big chorus then a spinning guitar lick supports heavy vocals as it continues into a heavier second verse that flows straight into another chorus. A delicious little guitar solo takes over and sets up a final blast of the chorus.
Kjetil also tells us he has a thing for closing tracks that offer an epic finale, which in this case is the nine-minute-long Etterverden (The Afterlife). The track gets off to a sombre start that feeds into chunky guitars under their trademark guttural vocals. It picks up pace as we drive into a lively chorus “Til etterverden rir vi nå, I rustinger av gull” (To the afterlife we ride now, In armour of gold.”) The pace drops around 3:30 in, then intense drums support delicious high-pitched guitars that develop into an enticing instrumental section. Deep choral vocals appear out of nowhere as it develops a more doomy edge before the pace drops again. Heavy cymbals and a busy bassline set up a heavy outro with chunky chords and a searing high-pitched guitar bringing the track to the epic conclusion that Kjetil was seeking.
There’s plenty more rock and metal goodness to enjoy between the first and final songs on the album. Second track Alko (Alcohol), which opens up with a cool guitar lick that drops into pounding drums and intense vocals. Mid-way through, the pace drops then builds back up again with a cheeky stabbing guitar line and driving drums, which sets up a lively outro.
The more melodic side of the band comes across in third track Reptilens Høyborg (The Reptilian Stronghold). It starts out heavy but feeds into lighter guitars and a delicious instrumental section before the vicious vocals take over again. And if you love their riff-driven approach, you’ll really enjoy tracks like Tastaturkriger (an amazing word that means Keyboard Warrior), the superb Autosapiens, which is close to being a personal favourite and you can check out in the stream below, and the short and sweet instrumental track De Ulærde Strides (The Unlearned Strides).
The MAKTKAMP sound draws influence from a wide range of genres and artists. As Kjetil explains: “For riffs and melodies, our songwriting collectively bears resemblance to the giants out there. Everything from Foo Fighters, to Mastodon and fellow Norwegians Kvelertak. As many of the members of MAKTKAMP write music, we try to shape and sculpt ideas to sound like us, even though some influences might be more apparent than others. Lately though, we’ve been listening a lot to Rammstein, Slayer, King Gizzard and Meshuggah, so who knows what direction MAKTKAMP will take going forward.
“If it is not clear yet, we mostly write lyrics based around social or political issues of the times that we think deserve the critical limelight, or we pick up on larger topics and join the artistic movement in combating wrongdoings. Simplified, you could say we’re pointing fingers at idiots and dumb phenomena.”
The band is busy promoting Caps Lock Woke Rock and has plenty of gigs coming up across Norway with plans to expand into Sweden shortly – check out their upcoming shows here. They’re also getting to work writing their third album, beginning the process of planning studio time and bringing collaborators into the MAKTKAMP extended family.
You can follow MAKTKAMP on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.
Listen to MAKTKAMP on our Spotify playlists
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