Okkultokrati – Night Jerks

Norwegian punk-metal outfit Okkultokrati are an offshoot of the Black Hole Crew, along with Haust and Blackest Woods. They basically do for dark metal what Pissed Jeans did for hardcore and grunge – take it outside and give it a stiff beating, then bring it back inside the bar and get it blind drunk. With guitarist Pål Bredrup faced with injuries which prevented him from playing on the record, some of the guitars are here interspersed with gloomy, funereal synths. But the thing that marks Okkultokrati out are the vocals – the guttural howl of Norwegian black metal here tempered with anger, wild abandon, and what sounds like a considerable amount of alcohol.

If the singer isn't shitfaced, that makes the album even better, frankly – his rambling, lurching performance imparting a sense of dangerous brinkmanship. The alternation of claustrophobically dark, synth-driven grave music and full-throttle, punk-infused metal gives the album more dynamic range than most modern punk and electronica records can dream of. [Bram E. Gieben]