How did it slip past me last year? Well, we’re starting 2024 with a big bang by adding a dosage of brutal, menacing, in your face metal at its finest. Coming from the worlds of Norway in Oslo, SÂVER are a three-piece who have been around since 2018. They have managed to take the Sludge and Post-Metal genre to the bone by adding that fierce arrangement which will send shivers down your spine.
The band considers Ole Christian Helstad on bass guitar and vocals, Markus Støle on drums and percussion, and Ole Ulvik Rokseth on guitar and vocals. Their latest album From Ember and Rust, which is a follow-up to their 2019 debut They Came with Sunlight on the Pelagic label, will hypnotise you into their sound and vision.
And we ain’t talkin’ about soft, cute, cuddly little momentum, we’re talking about the heaviest, and the most kick-ass sound that mixes elements of the screaming vocal effects from The Dillinger Escape Plan, Candlemass, TOOL’s Lateralus-era, Russian Circles, and Electric Wizard rolled into a big, massive joint for you to smoke into.
Everything on Ember and Rust is like a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode at any second. You feel as if you’re trapped in this maze and there’s at least 44 minutes to get out in the nick of time before you reach the finish line. The trio know exactly how they tested and made sure that the maze is not only impossible to get out of, but how it’s all according to plan.
You have the motorcycling fuzz-tone bass and doom-like riffs which is evidential on ‘The Object’ as the trio take listeners on the road to nowhere, not knowing the danger that is approaching. The last 3 minutes is where all hell has broken loose between Helstad and Rokseth as they do a call-and-response between their instruments.
They take a direct approach to ride off into the night before the insanity level kicks in. I did feel a tug towards TOOL’s ‘Vicarious’ and David Bowie’s ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ for a brief moment before Rokseth channels his inner Krautrock vibes, honoring the late, great Manuel Gottsching from the first two Ash Ra Tempel albums as he rips through the frets like a mad scientist cooking some strange experiments inside his laboratory.
Both ‘Eliminate Distance’ and ‘Primal One’ has a snarling beast, who is caged up, ready to raise hell and attack the city like there’s no tomorrow. Now I couldn’t tell if its Helstad or Rokseth handling the vocals, but man can they take it up a notch as they start going on this killing spree with Stole’s mid-fast pace drum work to keep up with the duo.
There’s also a softer side in the midsection on the fifth track for a brief moment with the angelic vocals before returning to the bloodshed. I imagine SÂVER were listening to the late ‘70s post-punk and the death and thrash metal sound that were probably an inspiration during the making of this album. Taking admiration between Public Image Ltd, The Cure’s Pornography-era, Napalm Death, and Slayer.
Right from the beginning, SÂVER are a band you might want to be on the look-out for. It’s the attitude, the eruptive forces, and bone chilling arrangements that’ll make you want to say, “What the hell was that? I need to listen to this again. This is the perfect exercise music that I want to build my muscles for.” Just be prepared for multiple listens. Because once SÂVER takes you into their territory, there’s no turning back.
