Of Darkness and Light

We Want Blood - Official Video

Of Darkness and Light

by ÅRABROT

supported by

Carsten Pieper Argh, I missed them last week when they supported Spidergawd not far from me. Howver, this served as the trigger to buy their latest album.
As the predecessor's title proudly claimed, it'is Norwegian Gothic that Kjetil Nernes and his wife Karin Park deliver. Imagine Sixteen Horsepower minus the Americana ingredients but keep the obsessive tone ;-)

I find myself hard pressed to name a favorite track, so that might subject to frequent change... Favorite track: Swan Killer.

jb. because it is how the background music of my life as a superhero would sound like Favorite track: We Want Blood.

XUN Marvelous new record from one of the best modern day rock and roll duos. Again, here's banger after banger, no skips, no fillers! Of course, that gonna take its place in my AOTY list! Favorite track: Madness.

tunafish-wyoming Årabtot at their sublime best Favorite track: Cathedral Light.

Darknight ÅRABROT never miss, this duo cause rock n roll masterpieces. Its the excellence in experimenting with their noise rock formula that makes this badass duo stand out, another fabulous album to fall in love with. Favorite track: Cathedral Light.

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.

Purchasable with gift card

name your price
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
12" coloured vinyl housed in a gatefold.

Includes unlimited streaming of Of Darkness and Light via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 14 days

edition of 240 6 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

€25 EUR or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Of Darkness and Light via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 14 days

Purchasable with gift card

€15 EUR or more

1.	Hangman's House 06:08	buy track
2.	You Cast Long Shadows 03:12	buy track
3.	Horrors of the Past 03:40	buy track
4.	Madness 04:22	buy track
5.	Cathedral Light 04:31	buy track
6.	We Want Blood 04:09 video	buy track
7.	Fire! 04:39	buy track
8.	Skeletons Trip the Light Fantastic 03:41	buy track
9.	Swan Killer 03:56	buy track
10.	Love Under Will 03:35	buy track

about

Out October 13 via Pelagic Records

There is a timelessness to the music of Årabrot; just as you think you have pinpointed an influence or reference point, it will escape your grasp, twisting and turning in unexpected directions, shaping a sound that is truly unique. The last two decades have seen Årabrot shapeshift through multiple iterations; they’ve tried on different shapes and sizes, encom- passed different moods and explored the outer reaches of various genres and yet never sounded less than entirely themselves. 2023 heralds the arrival of their tenth album, Of Darkness and Light - a cause for celebration.

Kjetil Nernes has been the core and the constant of Årabrot, and for some time now another heart has beat alongside his in perfect unison. A partner in life, love and music, Karin Park has contributed to Årabrot to varying degrees for ten years, and on Of Darkness and Light her presence is both solidified and amplified. The pair live together in a church in the Swedish village where Karin grew up, designing their own domain within which they nurture their children, their craft and their creative visions.

Of Darkness and Light took a long time to take shape and become a whole. Kjetil’s prolific songwriting ability meant that some songs had been tucked away for years, waiting for the perfect time and environment to bloom. Others were written with more urgency in the months leading up to the album’s recording.

Having survived throat cancer almost a decade ago, Kjetil speaks of the high that follows the realisation of a second chance at life. But eventually the inevitability of normality creeps back into daily life; the lull in live band activity in 2020 provided an opportunity to reset and take stock.. “There were certain things that I had to address concerning myself,” he states, “I’m dealing with human things, anger, frustration, bitterness, regret... not without hope though.” The album’s title references Nietzche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra - a philosophical text centred on self-overcoming, of transcending our own limitations. Or as Kjetil puts “You’re down in the dirt, but you have to climb out of it and find a way to make it all better.”

With the album fully written Kjetil hesitated when it came to recording, believing that the right producer, the right studio would reveal itself to him. Serendipity took the lead when Alain Johannes’s name came up in conversation between mutual friends. A few texts and a phone call later, Alain was on board: he would spend a month with the pair in Sweden.

Alain’s curriculum vitae reads like a who’s who of rock music; an accomplished musician himself (performing with the likes of PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, and Them Crooked Vultures, he also had his own band, Eleven, and currently performs under his own name), he has also has years of experience as a producer under his belt. It was his work on Mark Lanegan’s 2020 album, Straight Songs of Sorrow, that brought him to the forefront of Kjetil’s mind before kismet intervened to bring them together.

With Alain declaring “my gut feeling is always right” he decamped to Djura Missionshus
AKA the Church of Årabrot, in August 2022 to commence work. There was a brief interlude during which Kjetil accompanied Alain to London where he was performing at Wembley alongside The Foo Fighters. Rather than being a distraction, the weekend of rubbing shoulders with his formative heroes provided an injection of inspiration and positive vibes, and meant that he was able to bring a sprinkle of rock’n’roll magic back to Sweden with him.

The trio spent several weeks together, weaving their work around family life, putting together the puzzle pieces that would make up Of Darkness and Light - their first album recorded entirely in the church. The result is a bona fide rock album - under the electrifying veneer of shimmering synths and sophisticated sparkle, beats a heavy rock heart. The 2022 Heart EP lay something of a breadcrumb trail should one wish to trace some of the inspirations that can be detected, traced in the air around these ten songs. Words barely do justice to the visceral, concupiscent desire that lies behind their rallying cries on We Want Blood - a foot stomping, anthemic thrust that lies in the middle of the album. Elsewhere sinister murder ballads sit alongside celebratory ‘fuck yeah’ moments of joy; their pared-back approach to instrumentation does not diminish the richness of their sound.

Årabrot comes gloriously into their own in a live setting - with Kjetil holding court with liturgical flamboyance, whilst Karin gives herself over to a hypnotic rhythm of their own making. The pair are most electrifying to witness when performing; their symbiotic devotion is palpable as they perform in the clothes they were married in. And the songs on Of Darkness and Light sound as though made just to be experienced in a live setting - no light show, no pyrotechnics are a match for their apocalyptic revelry.

Rest assured, as long as there is breath in their bodies, this pair will be found preaching rock and roll under the neon-lit Årabrot cross.

biography by Becky Laverty

credits

released October 13, 2023

license

about

ÅRABROT Haugesund, Norway

Årabrot is Kjetil “Tall Man” Nernes and Karin “Dark Diva” Park. They live in the countryside with their two children in an old church. Rock’n roll is their religion.

Recommendations

shows

May 25

EartH

London, UK
Jun 21

Rock In Bourlon

Bourlon, France

contact / help

Contact ÅRABROT

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

ÅRABROT recommends:

Visions of Bodies Being Burned
by clipping.

Killer band. Killer record. ÅRABROT
go to album
Mestarin kynsi
by Oranssi Pazuzu

Black metal and psychedelic music is a tough mix, but here it's masterfully done. Add some kraut and Steve Reich and you have Mestarin Kynsi. ÅRABROT
go to album
Shame
by Uniform

Sounds like Uniform did something different for this record? A definite step up! One of the best heavy albums of 2020. ÅRABROT
go to album

If you like ÅRABROT, you may also like:

Holocene
by The Ocean

supported by 82 fans who also own “Of Darkness and Light”

Perfect prog in every song, full of expression and beautiful in their own way. choosing a favourite song is nigh impossible. Pherdcei
go to album
Violate Consensus Reality
by PSYCHONAUT

supported by 69 fans who also own “Of Darkness and Light”

Masterpiece! CU at www.rockimwald.de Like the different voices, also from Stefanie of Brutus! Cheers and peace! Manne mannes66
go to album
Hagioscope to the Heart
by Paint Thinner

Noisy, expansive psych-punk from Detroit that explores the darker, stranger corners of a colorful trip. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 22, 2019
go to album

Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.

listen now