Release:

Faravid Recordings
17. Nov. 2017
Distribution: Playground/Cargo

Info:

Upon November the 17th, the first HULKOFF album "Kven" will be unleashed. It is warrior music, rooted in the location of the once mighty Kvenland. The Kvens are the forgotten tribe of a forgotten kingdom, yet the Kven legacy lives on to this day.

"Kven" marks the debut of HULKOFF as a "solo" artist. Having spent decades writing and performing in band constellations (a decade of success as the songwriter/frontman of gold selling Swedish chart-topper RAUBTIER), it was high time to realize this idea. The album is mixed and mastered at the Black Lounge by sound maestro extra-ordinaire Jonas Kjellgren.

"I have thought about this album for a very long time" Hulkoff says, "and to finally let it see the dawn is nothing short of triumphant". The music is, as Hulkoff prefers it, iron-hard and grandiose. Melodic and aggressive, Metal for the Viking-hearted. The lyrics delve into the ancient ancestry of the North, and the way of life and the religion of the Kvens, The Scythians, The Goths, The Celts, the Finns and the later Norse. Blood-soaked, of course. From the bronze age through the migration period and into the iron age, Fenno-Scandia (or Etunaheimar/Jotunheim) has been a kettle of cultural birth. And fierce warriors.

The musicians performing together with Hulkoff on this album, are second to none. Anders Johansson (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall) is nothing else than a living legend. Anders shares Hulkoff's interest in the old ways and hard music. So does Anders' son Niklas Johansson, who is playing bass on the album. "It is a great and inspiring thing, to have father and son picking up arms together". Hulkoff proclaims. On the track Ibor & Aio, about the two warrior brothers who became chieftains and ruled the Winnili tribe together, in pursuit of a new Kingdom, Hulkoff is joined by the one and only Sabaton frontman Jocke Brodén. Together they deliver a heartfelt tribute to the Royal brothers, who managed to find a home for their tribe in what is now known as Lombardy in Italy.

"Kven" is a historical journey in many ways. In "Wide-Wuth", Hulkoff experiments with ancient Gothic. The chorus and the bridge consist of Neo-Gothic poetry with a few splashes of ancient Greek and Scythian. "Imagine what it would sound like, if Theoderic the Great sang a metal tune". Ancient Hunnish can be heard on "Kurgan" and Old Norse words and phrases appear on "Jarfr". The track "Erilaz" about the Heruli warrior "Muha", has the parts of Muha's invoking of hail into his spear sung in Proto-Germanic.

The three singles "Faravid", "Dragonrider" and "Einherjr" have thus far been well received amongst the followers, and the plays are picking up fast. Tour dates are adding up, and Hulkoff is preparing the War-band for battle.

Tracklist:

1. Jarfr
2. Dragonrider
3. Ibor & Aio
4. Einherjr
5. Today We Hunt
6. Kurgan
7. Aegishjalmr
8. Erilaz
9. Faravid
10. Wide Wuth
11. Blood & Iron
12. Kvenland Will Rise Again