Lifelover: Black Metal Circles Around, Rediscovers Rock, Manages Not to Kill Self

One would be hard pressed to think of a more contraindicated name for a Black Metal band than Lifelover.  This Swedish band, however, seem to have made very few decisions based on genre convention:  their logo is readable, their sleeve artwork conveys a thoughtful, artsy melancholy (without howling wolves or grim forests), and though their sound has one foot in the histrionic shrieks and decaying melody of Black Metal, the other stands firmly in the motorik, riff-laden, post-punk churning of bands like Joy Division and The Sisters of Mercy.  In fact, Lifelover are often downright catchy—at least compared to most of the shit that I listen to.  Questionable territory, to be sure, but the angst-ridden 19-year-old who lives inside of me is having a great time listening.  Their discography taken as a whole, Lifelover are just a great rock band, pulling in elements from everywhere.

Lifelover's 3 CDs, Pulver (2006), Erotik (2007) and Konkurs (2008) seem to be sold out everywhere, though Konkurs was released by Avantgarde Music, and is enjoying slightly better distribution, especially seeing as it's the latest release.  Last time I checked, Aquarius was awaiting restocks on the two more-recent albums, and was also plugging Konkurs as a highlight of the week.  You can stream some of the best Lifelover songs at their MySpace page; below are a few more tracks on mp3.

Shallow from Konkurs
Cancertid from Konkurs
Dödens Landsväg from Erotik
Välkommen Till Pulvercity from Erotik
Nackskott from Pulver
Vardagsnytt from Pulver

Comments

[Neu Mejican]

Nice. They should tour with Have A Nice Life