The hammer is soon to fall...

Over whiskey and riffs four Indy veterans have come together to form Kvlthammer. Kvlthammer is drummer Dustin Boltjes (Skeletonwitch, Demiricous, The Dream is Dead), guitarist/vocalist Nate Olp (Lair of the Minotaur, Demiricous, Deadmen), guitarist/vocalist Carl Byers (Coffinworm, Deadmen, The Dream is Dead), and bassist Bob Peele (Suicide Note, Deadmen, Whiskeytits). The men of Kvlthammer are seasoned musicians and friends bound to forge a collective middle finger salute of sleaze and steel with their music. Anyone familiar with their previous and current bands will know what can be expected of Kvlthammer: detuned fury that pounds, seethes and pulsates while shredding ear canals at top volume. Though they are a young band, Kvlthammer are sure to bring forth a true blaze over the Midwestern sky that bleeds ears and crushes all false hope. Carl Byers recently spoke with The Cracked Skull to introduce Kvlthammer and provide a preview of what's to come.

Kvlthammer... How did you all get together, and how did you come up with the name? Does the band name give the middle finger to elitist sub-sub-genre wankery?

Dustin was the impetus behind the band. In winter of 2011 he talked to Nate and me about doing a project, playing a sleazy mix of early black metal (ala Venom, Bathory, Mercyful Fate, and Hellhammer/Celtic Frost) and keeping a punk/street vibe to it all. Also, we're trying to write songs with as little effort as possible to keep it fun for everyone involved. The three of us got together in December 2011 and wrote our first three songs quickly. We've chugged along after that over short intervals when Dustin is home from Skeletonwitch tours, finishing the writing and then starting the recording of our album. Roy Hayes (Black Goat of the Woods, Boddicker) was playing bass for awhile, but Bob Peele has stepped in to fill that spot now. Major thanks to Roy for playing with us!

The name was a laborious process since every fucking name has been used multiple times over anymore. Same criteria as the songwriting approach; we didn't want anything too serious, but nothing cartoon-ish either. The name Kvlthammer sounds cool and it is kind of a 'fuck you' to elitist sub-genre wankery and the self-importance that it breeds. But, we don't have a stance or whatever. We're just writing music we like.

What can the world expect Kvlthammer to sound like (very bland and obvious I know; I hate to ask it)? Does the music shift back and forth between styles and genres? Did you all have set songs going in or was the writing process more organic within the group?

There's a little variation, but this first group of songs we wrote all have a unifying feel to them: simple structures and riffs shifting between d-beat, down-picked mid-tempo fist-bangers, and some blast beats here and there. We also have a slow song with a creepy ass riff that Nate brought to the first practice. We started writing on the spot, whether that meant Nate or I had a riff or no one had anything beforehand. The idea is to start drinking whiskey and if we spend longer than 30 minutes getting a basic song structure together, we ditch it and move on to something else.


As a newly formed band, what's in the near future for Kvlthammer? Recording? Shows? Blood letting? Slashing and burning of the weak and false?

The recording is almost done, so finishing it is the first priority. It's 8 songs with an instrumental interlude. I'm planning on doing a cassette run on my Clandestine Arts imprint, but ideally I'd like to see this album end up on vinyl and/or CD. Beyond that we'll be booking more shows and writing more songs. Nothing concrete yet, but I'd like to get a few out of town shows setup once the cassettes are in hand.


Your first show is coming up with Windhand. Should we be on the lookout for any surprises?

No big surprises. We're looking forward to finally playing live, and the show with Windhand and Teenage Strange is gonna rule.

Thanks for the interview, Mark!

Kvlthammer's first show is September 10 with Windhand and Teenage Strange at the Melody Inn (Indianapolis, IN).
www.facebook.com/kvlthammerofficial

Follow the link to hear a demo version of an impending Kvlthammer song...
soundcloud.com/clandestine-arts/unnamed-band-track-01-live