Madder Mortem Archives - NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AGNETE MANGNES KIRKEVAAG (MADDER MORTEM)

Mar 042024

photo by Camilla NessetKnut J. Berget

(Our old friend KevinP has rejoined us at NCS with a very special interview of Agnete M. Kirkevaag that we’re very happy to share with you now, about one month after the release of Madder Mortem‘s latest album [enthusiastically reviewed here by Andy Synn].)

It has been 8 years since we’ve last sat down with Agnete Mangnes Kirkevaag, lead vocalist of Norway’s Madder Mortem. An abundance of things have transpired in her life since that time; 2 full length albums and a documentary about the band have been released, coupled with personal loss, mental and physical transformation.

Please join me again as I delve into the psyche of an enlightened and articulate gem of a human being. We discuss the new album, Old Eyes, New Heat (released January 26, 2024 via Dark Essence Records), how growing up in Norway and cultural norms shaped her life, who we have to thank for the band’s existence, and her journey of acceptance and gratitude. Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Feb 022024

(Andy Synn has a few words to share about four albums from last month you may have overlooked)

Here we are… one month into the new year… and we’ve already fallen behind.

Of course, that’s nothing new. As I’ve said before (several times, in fact) it’s impossible for any site, let alone any individual writer, to keep up with everything that’s released week after week (which is one reason I don’t trust anyone who claims that they’ve somehow listened to literally hundreds of albums every month – they may have heard them, but I doubt they really listened to them the way they deserve), so even at this early stage it’s no surprise that there’s so many artists and albums we haven’t been able to write about.

To be quite honest though, this is less and less of an issues these days – simply by accepting the fact that there’s always going to be stuff we’re not going to be able to cover, while also acknowledging that we’re definitely going to be featuring some stuff here that other places, and other people, won’t cover, we’ve gotten over our fear of missing out and embraced the idea that our value comes not from covering everything but from providing an interesting and distinct perspective of our own on what we do write about.

So, with that in mind, here’s four artists/albums from January – some of which you may already have been aware of, some of which you may not – that we (or, at least, I) felt compelled to pen a few extra words about so that they didn’t get overlooked following what was, after all, a very packed month of new releases!

AN A-Z OF EVERYTHING WE’VE MISSED

Album Reviews 10 Responses »

Oct 302018

(Despite what the title of this post says, Andy Synn hasn’t managed to review every fine 2018 album and EP we’ve heretofore failed to write about, but he does catch up with more than two dozen of them.)

While lots of blogs/zines are already (or soon will be) switching their focus away from covering new releases and towards consolidating their annual “Best Of…” lists, here on NCS island we’re still doing our very best to bring as many new (and some not so new) albums/artists to your attention as possible.

Of course the truism that “there’s simply too much music out there” remains as painfully accurate as ever, and it pains me to admit that I/we simply can’t cover all the releases we want to, in the depth we want to, no matter how hard we try.

So consider this article a voluntary mea culpa acknowledging our limitations and a (probably futile) attempt to make amends a little bit to all the bands and artists who we may have missed or ignored over the last several months, as well as to shine a light on a couple of upcoming releases you’ll probably want to keep your eyes/ears open for. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: MADDER MORTEM (AGNETE M. KIRKEVAAG AND BP M. KIRKEVAAG)

Interviews No Responses »

Oct 202016

Photo by Ann-Helén Moen Nannestad

(On October 28, Dark Essence Records will release Red In Tooth and Claw, the new album by Norway’s Madder Mortem, and in this new interview KevinP talks about the album with vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag and guitarist BP M. Kirkevaag.)

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K: So it’s been 7 years since your last album, Eight Ways. About freakin’ time don’t ya say? (LOL)

Agnete: Absence makes the heart grow fonder? But yeah, about freaking time! The album has been ready for quite awhile now, so we’re very impatient to get it out there for people to hear.

BP: Feels great and yes, about bleep bleepin’ time! The grey cloud has finally lifted from this album’s shoulder.

K: With this new album, Red in Tooth and Claw, you finally break free of any genre classification (even though you were kinda hard to pigeon-hole before this anyways). Do you find this to be a blessing or a curse?

Agnete: A blessing, definitely! Rock is supposed to be about rebellion, isn’t it? And to me, that means disregarding or at least questioning norms in general. And certainly norms that would place restraints on your creativity. But I can see that there might be short-term marketing difficulties in it too. It’s hard to slap a sticker on the CD case saying “for fans of some other rock band”, since I think the references would be wildly different for different songs.

To be honest, I don’t really know of anyone out there doing exactly what we’re doing and I’m really proud of that. But it has never been our goal. Our music has just ended up being the way it is because it’s what we like and enjoy playing. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MADDER MORTEM — “BLOOD ON THE SAND”

Premieres 7 Responses »

Oct 102016

(Our old friend KevinP has been absent from our pages for an extended hiatus. What brought him back? He’s about to tell you….)

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE: Madder Mortem is one of those clean-singing bands we talk about here because they are just so damn worthy of it. Vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag may have some of the most tender whispers, but that’s balanced out with violent screams.

Back on June 11, 2015, we featured a 176-second teaser clip of the new album, Red in Tooth and Claw. And now, FINALLY, we have a release date: October 28, 2016. The first single and lead track to that album, “Blood on the Sand“, is available for your listening pleasure below. Continue reading »

MADDER MORTEM: “RED IN TOOTH AND CLAW” TEASER

Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Jun 112015

(KevinP wrote this introduction to a teaser of new music from Norway’s Madder Mortem.)

There’s nothing more enjoyable than when Islander gets his panties so deeply in a bind over a NO HARSH SINGING band, that it takes the skills of SurgicalBrute to remove them. And as much as I relish his temporary misery, I am grateful that he essentially gives me free reign to talk about what I want (and feel is warranted). Which brings us to perhaps the most important musical thing for me this year, new MADDER MORTEM music.

It’s been 6 years since their last album, Eight Ways, and while the wait has been semi-agonizing, it also makes the heart grow fonder. The band released a 3-minute teaser last week with samples of 3 songs to their forthcoming sixth full length album, Red in Tooth and Claw. Even though it’s only a teaser, it’s enough to get me very very excited, maybe almost too excited. Continue reading »