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In a DIY effort, Ask the Slave's debut, Kiss Your Chora, was recorded by the members themselves in their very own Studio Chora and released independently on CDR in a limited amount of 100 copies. Now, some 14 years later, through Norwegian cult label Crime Records, this long-out-of-print oddity will be made available again and this time on international ground. The album has been remixed and remastered, containing two bonus tracks.
Track: | Duration: | |||
1. | Bathtub | 3:19 | ||
2. | Great Garbo | 4:04 | ||
3. | Slave | 3:33 | ||
4. | They Were The Brain Police | 0:50 | ||
5. | Little Red Rooster | 3:06 | ||
6. | Silver Cock | 1:20 | ||
7. | Some Text Missing | 6:53 | ||
8. | Hugging Radiators | 3:33 | ||
9. | Bulldozer | 4:48 | ||
10. | Greta Garbo [Acoustic Live Radio Performance] | 3:25 | ||
11. | Bathtub [Live] | 4:44 |
Elvar Atli Ævarsson | Guitar & Vocals | |
Gunnar Freyr Hilmarsson | Bass | |
Ragnar Ólafsson | Lead Vocals & Yogurt | |
Valur Árni Guðmundsson | Drums & Programming |
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Originally released in 2010 and only ever distributed in their native Iceland, Ask the Slave's sophomore offering, The Order of Things, will finally be available again and now overseas for the first time courtesy of Crime Records from Norway. The album has been remastered for this occasion and contains three bonus tracks, including one studio outtake.
Upon its original release, The Order of Things caused quite a stir in the Icelandic rock and metal scene. Confusing for some but rewarding for those accepting challenges, the album received heaps of praise from reviewers both locally and internationally. In attempting to pin down the album's sound, reviewers mentioned acts as diverse as Tool, Faith No More, Opeth, Pain of Salvation, Sonic Youth, and Frank Zappa, all the while applauding Ask the Slave for developing their own unique way of approaching heavy rock music.
Track: | Duration: | |||
1. | The Order of Things | 3:13 | ||
2. | Something Got in the Water | 5:46 | ||
3. | I Fucked Up | 2:43 | ||
4. | Peeling Skin | 4:14 | ||
5. | For the Sake of Conversation | 5:56 | ||
6. | A Place in the Forest | 1:45 | ||
7. | Sleep Now | 3:36 | ||
8. | Smell Yourself | 2:38 | ||
9. | Zero | 1:55 | ||
10. | Sleep Some More | 4:54 | ||
11. | Slave | 6:31 | ||
12. | The King of Prunes [Outtake] | 3:15 | ||
13. | Zero [Acoustic Live Radio Performance] | 1:59 | ||
14. | The Order of Things [Demo] | 3:22 |
Elvar Atli Ævarsson | Guitar & Vocals | |
Engilbert Hauksson | Bass | |
Hinrik Þór Oliversson | Drums & Percussion | |
Ragnar Ólafsson | Lead Vocals | |
Valur Guðmundsson | Guitar |
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Dubbed by their local media as "brain-stimulating musical perverts", the original problem child of Icelandic rock, Ask the Slave, has been raising eyebrows since 2004, making music true to their credo of "wtf?!" Now, teamed up with esteemed Norwegian independent label Crime Records, and in collaboration with We Låve Rock Music, the band is ready to launch their third full-length album. The album in question, Good Things Bad People, is their first release in 11 years and their first to be distributed internationally.
Those already familiar with the group's back catalog will know better than expect a conventional rock record. In true Ask the Slave fashion, the album comprises a wide range of sounds and moods. Although presented in a coherent flow, the album manages to be at the same time heavy and dark, soft and beautiful, serious and angry, and silly. Brace yourselves for heavy riffs, grand choruses, clever guitar-interplay, haunting melodies, catchy pop hooks, twists-and-turns, odd time signatures, far-out character-play, and a healthy dose of internal band humor.
This album is released in co-operation with We Låve Rock Music.
Track: | Duration: | |||
1. | Catch 22 | 2:42 | ||
2. | Wounded Knee | 6:26 | ||
3. | White Vigilante | 9:09 | ||
4. | Good Things Bad People | 2:56 | ||
5. | Katie Mae | 6:09 | ||
6. | Slave | 2:45 | ||
7. | The Beginning of the Blues | 4:21 | ||
8. | Eulogy | 4:09 | ||
9. | Tag, You're It! | 6:18 | ||
10. | Chain Gang | 4:08 | ||
11. | Catch 33 | 3:44 |
Elvar Atli Ævarsson | Guitars & Vocals | |
Hálfdán Árnason | Bass & Synthesizer | |
Ragnar Ólafsson | Piano & Lead Vocals | |
Skúli Gíslason | Drums & Percussion | |
Valur Árni Guðmundsson | Guitars & Vocals |
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An animist perceives all things - animals, plants, rocks, rivers, oceans, and mountains - as animated, and it all comes to life in Octohawk’s debut album.
With Animist, the Norwegian 5-piece denotes not a single creed or doctrine but a diverse otherworldly landscape of progressive, melodic, and abrasive music. Filled with thundering beats, heavy riffs, ripping vocals, and entrancing soundscapes, Animist represents the shapeless nature of real chaos.
The album, comprised of 10 crushing tracks, is an eventful experience. Rich in content and surprises, this album will delight all fans of sludgy, proggy, and groovy heavy metal.
Detached from all boundaries, Animist soars through many metal genres - seamlessly from powerful to ethereal and back with dual momentum.
With their debut album Animist, Octohawk lays down a solid foundation for their musical universe.
Produced by Octohawk.
Mixed and mastered by Kjetil Ottersen at Vektor Facilities.
Drums recorded by Christian Paulsen & Roy André Berget.
Music and Lyrics by Octohawk.
Design by Stian Svorkmo.
Track: | Duration: | |||
1. | Weather the Storm | 7:30 | ||
2. | Eyes Glowing Red | 5:13 | ||
3. | Iconoclast | 8:01 | ||
4. | Origin | 5:20 | ||
5. | Ferocious | 5:06 | ||
6. | By the Root | 5:32 | ||
7. | Redemption | 2:20 | ||
8. | Reanimate | 8:03 | ||
9. | Skyward | 7:05 | ||
10. | Ancestor | 8:45 |
David Jøndahl Hjellum | Drums | |
Christian Schei | Guitar | |
Stian Svorkmo | Vocal and Guitar | |
Steffen Overaa | Synth and Vocal | |
Espen Geitsund | Bass |
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CMM and Norwegian Cult Label CRIME RECORDS:
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Octohawk will amuse all sludge, prog, stoner, and doom fans out there. Without limitations, this Norwegian 5-piece playfully maneuvers through all the genres that excites!
With thundering beats, sludgy riffs, ripping vocals, and an entrancing soundscape, Octohawk provides an unearthly escape and just the right kind of heavy!
Determinist | Album | 2024 | Buy physical editions | Buy digital download | ||||
Quantum Age | Single | 2024 | Buy digital download (Single) | |||||
Animist | Album | 2021 | Buy physical editions | Buy digital download | ||||
By the Root | Single | 2021 | Buy digital download (Single) | |||||
Weather the Storm | Single | 2021 | Buy digital download (Single) | |||||
Iconoclast | Single | 2021 | Buy digital download (Single) |
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On a dark and damp, probably cold and windy winter’s day, early 2004, in Reykjavík, Iceland, an avid amateur musician and literature student by the name of Ragnar Ólafsson picked up the phone and dialed the number on the poster which read “Singer wanted”. “Does that ever work?” you might ask, “has there ever been a band successfully established through musicians wanted ads?” Well, yes, Metallica for one. And by now you’re probably under the impression that Ask the Slave was as well. Not quite. That was a different band. But it is the story of how Ragnar met guitarist Elvar Atli Ævarsson, a fellow music enthusiast who, at the time, played with said group. Now picture this scenario, a couple of weeks later; two guys in their early twenties are bonding during a 6-hour long drive to a paying gig with a band that neither of them is very passionate about. The two young men are intrigued to learn that they share an interest in Frank Zappa, an appreciation for eccentric, forward-thinking music, and a deep passion for good ol’ rock & roll. This sounds more like the beginning of a fruitful relationship, doesn’t it? And it was. Although the group in question would be dismantled only the very next day following a rather disastrous gig, Elvar would remember this guy Ragnar a few months down the line when giving up on handling vocal duties in another music project of his. So, this time Elvar picked up the phone. And that’s how Ask the Slave was formed.
Perhaps it’s down to the fact that Ragnar was raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Elvar a West fjord native, both of them having recently relocated to the Iceland capital and being poorly connected to any of the tightly-knit local music scenes. Outsiders, the two of them. With no real motivation to “fit in” with a certain crowd. That might be it. Whatever the reason, Ask the Slave has always been on the fringe, indifferent to trends, welcoming of influences and inspiration from all music deemed of quality, regardless of traditions or “cool factors”. This has resulted in their music being described as eclectic and unpredictable.
Within a year from forming, the Ask the Slave ensemble had recruited Valur Árni Guðmundsson from a legendary Icelandic underground metal act. Joining as a drummer prior to the recording of the group’s debut, Kiss Your Chora, Valur would later switch to guitar and effortlessly adapt to the songwriting methods of Ask the Slave. Subsequently surrounding themselves with local metal cannons, Ask the Slave soon became a popular, albeit controversial, live attraction in the open-minded Icelandic metal community. This culminated in the release of 2010s The Order of Things, a bold record that received great praise from reviewers and local music nerds.
Fast-forward to 2012. Ask the Slave begins the writing process for their third record, which almost immediately is named Good Things Bad People. Then what happened? 9 years went by, fast. That’s what. Well, other stuff too. Stuff like babies, families, day jobs, success and touring in other bands, depression, education, members’ withdrawals. But through complicated circumstances, Good Things Bad People gradually took shape. Eventually, the arrival of seasoned rhythm duo Hálfdán Árnason and Skúli Gíslason in 2017 proved to be the ultimate shot of energy that the group so desperately needed to finally get the job done.
Good Things Bad People will be released on June 4th, 2021, by Crime Records in collaboration with We Låve Rock Music. This marks the beginning of Ask the Slave’s overseas adventures, as previous releases have so far only been distributed in Iceland. That’s about to change though, as Crime Records will additionally be re-releasing the first two albums, with bonus material, also offering the option of buying all three albums as a 3CD rigid box collector’s item.
Box-set | Box | 2021 | Buy physical edition | Buy digital downloads of the albums (Bonus Tracks not included) | ||||
Good Things Bad People | Album | 2021 | Buy physical edition | Buy digital download | ||||
Chain Gang | Single | 2021 | Buy digital download | |||||
The Order of Things [Remastered] | Album | 2021 | Buy physical edition | Buy digital download (Bonus Tracks not included) | ||||
Kiss Your Chora [Remixed & Remastered] | Album | 2021 | Buy physical edition | Buy digital download (Bonus Tracks not included) |
Elvar Atli Ævarsson | Guitars & Vocals | |
Hálfdán Árnason | Bass & Synthesizer | |
Ragnar Ólafsson | Piano & Lead Vocals | |
Skúli Gíslason | Drums & Percussion | |
Valur Árni Guðmundsson | Guitars & Vocals |
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