Sound Engineering Portfolio
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Analysis of a musical work. Recorded Work: Kvelertak - Mjød Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Semiotics ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Musical Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Appendices........................................................................................................................................ 9 Appendix A – Mjød Timeline .......................................................................................................... 9 Appendix B – Rhythm .................................................................................................................. 11 Appendix C – Spatial Analysis ....................................................................................................... 12 References .................................................................................................................................. 13 Introduction Kvelertak are a 6-piece band hailing from Stavanger, Norway. Their debut, self-titled record was released on the first day in 2010 and since has gained much acclaim and brought the band to the attention of audiences worldwide. This essay will focus on the first single from the record,’ Mjød’ and analyse it in terms of influence, structure, frequency, space, musicality and musical history, and in doing so, will reveal why it has been such a success in such a short span of time. Semiotics Classic musical elements Kvelertak are a six piece band. This means that aside from the standard rock band configuration of drummer, vocalist, and bassist, there are three guitarists. For a modern band playing this style of music, such an instrumental configuration is unexpected, especially considering there aren’t any overt audio cues present in the production of ‘Mjød’ that indicate the presence of a third guitar. This choice of instrumentation is a kind of homage to more classic rock and metal bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Iron Maiden that also used three guitarists to craft their sound. While Kvelertak haven’t written three separate guitar parts to highlight this fact, they do use it well to reinforce the pummelling “wall of sound” and locomotive momentum of the song. Other, more obvious musical elements that are borrowed from much older, classic rock’n’roll artists are the use of a boogie woogie style series of staccato strikes of a single chord on a piano, handclaps and tamborine. Artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis used boogie woogie style musical elements usually in extended solo or chorus sections over a walking bass line also played on the piano, as can be heard on tracks like “Great Balls of Fire”, much like conventional heavy metal bands would introduce a guitar solo after the second chorus. While not as standout in the mix as a usual boogie woogie piano part such as this would normally be in a rock’n’roll song, it definitely gives the same uplifting feeling sitting behind the wall of guitars and driving drums. The handclaps and rock’n’roll style tamborine come in at the end, during the second repetition of the double chorus. This helps carry the song forward, and keeps the chorus part interesting by adding new elements. Modern musical elements Mjød makes use of other musical elements that are not conventionally heard in rock’n’roll music. Following the very rock’n’roll sounding intro, with a vocal that, unless one intentionally went to research the lyrics sounds like a typical “one, two, three, four” count in, lead vocalist Erlend Hjelvik let’s out a high-pitched, guttural scream that he holds into the brief vocal solo that begins the first verse. Thereon throughout the song, all his vocalisations are variations on this style of delivery, which bear an overt similarity to the vocal styles of black metal bands and vocalists such as Darkthrone and Mayhem. There is also an obvious black metal reference amongst the rock’n’roll in the instrumentation used in the song. Following the second verse, the song moves into a kind of solo section just before the final double chorus. The melodic movement is exactly the same as the verse that precedes it, however there is a higher register lead played from one of the guitars parts, and all three guitarists change from playing a syncopated rhythm in time with the drums to using fast, constant tremolo picking for the entirety of the progression. The drums themselves also change from a half-time rock groove with a snare hit on every second beat to a blast beat, with a snare hit in conjunction with a ride bell strike on each half-count, and a single kick drum strike in between. This type of extreme rhythmic and melodic relationship is very prevalent in 80’s and 90’s Norwegian black metal songs. The only elements of the song that don’t follow a musical trend from a historical point of view and give it its own sense of originality are the two one bar musical rests that precede each verse. The first of these two rests features a vocal solo which introduces the lyrics to the first verse of the song. The second break features a single acoustic guitar which plays one bar of the verse melody which introduces the second verse. The use of acoustic guitar is of particular note as the rest of the song features heavily distorted guitars. It gives a sense of dynamic that differs from conventional rock’n’roll or metal in that, for an instant, it changes the instrumentation used to deliver the dynamic instead of relying on the performance or volume manipulation in the recording. All three guitars are heavily distorted, which is indicative of a modern rock or metal song. However, because each is playing in standard tuning (EADGBE), the tone remains quite bright and isn’t overly bottom heavy or muddy. This prevents the wall of sound created by the three guitars and the distorted bass guitar from becoming confusing or confronting, and allows the other musical elements in the song to stand out where necessary. Language and Lyrics Being a band based in Stavanger, Norway, Kvelertak share company with a group of similar sounding rock and roll and metal bands such as Immortal, A-ha and Turbonegro that fairly consistently choose to write, record and publish their songs in English. Assumedly this is to make themselves more marketable to the bigger record companies based in English speaking countries such as America and the UK. However, Kvelertak have chosen to buck this trend by sticking to their native Norwegian dialect for all their current releases. This is significant considering how popular the band is becoming in the English speaking world, with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl recently presenting the band with a gold record after sharing the stage together earlier this year, and British magazine Kerrang and Triple J radio’s punk and hardcore authority Stu Harvey naming their self titled debut album number six and two respectively in their top albums of 2010. The song title ‘Mjød’ literally translates to “mead”, the ancient viking drink of choice, and the lyrics of the song itself roughly translate to the following: VERSE Now we’re gonna sing a little song, it’s about alcohol. We don’t have any lyrics like that, we want some spectrum. Suttung (norse myth) followed close by, Odin kicked his ass. Suttung is not alive anymore, We have all the mead we want, Full of all this madness. Going to light up a joint, Put on some black metal and enjoy it with my best friend. CHORUS Odin gave us Suttung’s mead. The magical mead, Our daily bread. Odin gave us Suttung’s mead. The magical mead, It’s better than beer. So we’re going to fuck Odin’s widow while giving you awesome riffs Odin gave. See Kvelertak’s Order. These lyrics present a fairly pragmatic, tongue-in-cheek attitude towards the musical influences that the band shamelessly flaunts, or more directly, towards the expectations that come from flaunting such influences. As a rock’n’roll band that makes use of black metal songwriting elements, one would expect the lyrical content to be of a darker, more serious nature. Seminal Norwegian black metal bands like Darkthrone typically write lyrics that evoke very dark imagery, even Norwegian rock’n’roll bands like Turbonegro, who write similarly party-themed songs still maintain a political edge to their lyrical content. Making reference to drinking alcohol, smoking drugs and having sex with a now ‘dead’ Norse god’s widow, while proclaiming a religious affinity (“our daily bread”) with an ancient viking drink is a far cry from any of these expected lyrical topics, given the musical influences that can be heard. Even Kvelertak’s frontman Erland Hjelvik said in an interview with Kerrang! Magazine’s Simon Young for an online podcast, in response to a question regarding if non- Norwegian speaking fans ever question what the lyrics are about, that “not as much Norwegian people who are asking what the lyrics are, I don’t think they understand it either” (Hjelvik, 2010). There aren’t many Norwegian bands that pay homage through their lyrical content to Norse mythology or the fabled Viking culture upon which the nation was supposedly built. In doing so, Kvelertak create a unique