PARANOID APOCALYPTIC PREMONITIONS. NUCLEAR WAR. MASSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND CORRUPT WORLD LEADERS!
Konspirasjoner reviews:
9/10 - Themetalforge.com
18/20 - Auxportesdumetal.com
90/100 - Lordsofmetal.nl
Lakei from Bergen, Norway dwell in an angst filled and aggressive dimension; a world in collapse where oppressors feast on the gagged carcass of man.
Dystopian nightmares materialize through a straggling offensive of towering bass lines, distorted barb wire guitar attacks and twisted, crass vocals. Imagine Amebix and Axegrinder dismembering Neurosis on an altar of early black metal, wrapped in shadowy post-hardcore, and you might get the gist of it.
Lakei’s debut album «Konspirasjoner» was mixed and mastered in Gothenburg’s legendary Studio Fredman with the godfather of Swedish death metal Fredrik Nordström and brother-in-arms Henrik Udd pulling the strings. The result is an anti-utopian monster; modern but primitive, an earth-quivering slab of crushing anthems.
«Fredrik thought our guitar sound was ’the most horrible thing he had ever heard’», drummer Arne laughs. «And we take that as a compliment! But then we recorded the thing ourselves, with all faders maxed out. The energy was intense».
«It was a simple choice, both with regards to studio and cover art», he continues. «We needed someone who could build on our ideas, and add to our expression a suitable sound and visual style. The guys at Fredman have a natural feel and intuition, and an amazing track record. And Santi in Mexico is the same, plus he draws an amazing line».
The album’s intricate cover art was composed by Santiago Armengod, an artist who paints and draws his political motifs on everything from paper to canvas and wood. Santi has previously produced cover art for a number of bands in the Mexican underground, among them Antimaster and Nagaf. The characteristic band logo was delivered by Santos, a longstanding contributor to the graphics of Kylesa, High On Fire and Lamb Of God.
«The time difference between Norway and Mexico was a challenge», vocalist Øyvind recalls. «At one point I ran home from a recording session in the middle of the night only to delve into a three-hour long dialogue on lyrics – via Skype – with a Mexican punk artist whom I did not know personally at the time. The outcome is a human skull that vomits rotting larvae, a pointed interpretation of the album’s themes and completely in line with what we wanted».