
BOOZE ‘N BROS
-- Bokassa --
11/07/2019
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Stoner rock |
■ | Punk rock |
Album artists:
■ | Jørn Kaarstad | Vocals, guitar, banjo |
■ | Bard Linga | Vocals, bass |
■ | Olav Dowkes | Vocals, drums |
Review
written by Stijn “Metal Shredder” Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
Just like
many other rock- and metal-minded people I first heard of Bokassa when they
were revealed to be personally chosen and endorsed by Lars Ulrich himself as
one of the two supporting acts for Metallica’s European leg of their 2019 WorldWired
Tour (the other opening band being Ghost). Last month I eventually saw this
young Norwegian band perform in the King Baudouin Stadium for Metallica’s
concert there and I was pleasantly surprised by their performance (got to
admit, Lars still has some fine music taste). But what surprised me even more
was that I was contacted by Dutch promoter Jot Agency to review Bokassa’s new
album “Crimson Riders.” Let’s grab a cold one and shred this captain, shall we?
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Crimson
Riders” is the second album from the Norwegian stoner punk rock band Bokassa,
succeeding their 2017 debut full-length “Divide & Conquer” and is released
through British record label MVKA Music.
The Bokassa
trio describe themselves as the kings of stonerpunk. Whether you believe this
royal title is deserved or not is up to you to decide, but the description of
their style is accurate nonetheless. The band meticulously combines elements
from both stoner and punk rock with songs like “Charmed & Extremely
Treacherous” and “Blunt Force Karma” focusing more on aggressive punk beats and
shouting vocals while other tunes like “Wrath Is Love” and the album’s title
track are slower, moodier and feel more like traditional stoner. All songs on
the album (with the exception of the “Brologue” opening) retain some elements
from the other subgenre be it through changes in tempo, riffs or vocal delivery.
The band also add several nice twists to their songs. For instance, the album
final track “Immortal Space Pirate 2,” has short black metal inspired blast
beat sections, “Captain Cold One” is catchy as hell and the track “Vultures” even
has a couple of saxophone tunes!
Frontman Jørn
does an excellent job vocal wise, he sings in a slightly drunken manner and it
adds to the band’s dark yet also humorous atmosphere. During most of the
choruses Jørn’s two jamming bros join him as they hum and yell along and
it felt very tempting to shout along with them. Especially in the “Captain Cold
One” track these “choir” sections are very effective and they help turn this
particular tune into an epic stadium anthem! The other two guys also do a very
fine job in creating a larger-than-life experience with soaring riffs and
well-paced drum beats. Overall, Bokassa’s music has a beautiful connecting
quality to it and that’s certainly one of their major strengths. The material
on “Crimson Riders” feels like it speaks directly to you and Bokassa is more
than willing to let you sing and booze along with them.
[SHREDDING VISION]
The front
cover features a clocked figure with a pest mask and several skulls covering
his chest! This may sound creepy on paper, but the hand drawn art and the
bright colors make it look more like a light-hearted comic book. And in fact,
that exactly how I would describe the overall atmosphere on “Crimson Riders.”
Dark subject matter, but presented in a fun and colorful tongue-in-cheek style.
I certainly like it.
[SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
“Captain
Cold One” was the first tune I’ve heard from Bokassa and I loved it straight
away! It’s a catchy song with funny rhyming lyrics, sharp riffs and powerful
beats and an epic sing-along chorus. And thanks to the song’s aforementioned stadium
rock feel it was pretty damn awesome to hear and see Bokassa perform this tune in
the King Baudouin Stadium. The first of many unforgettable moments from that
Metallica event!
I also thoroughly
enjoyed the album’s finale “Immortal Space Pirate 2.” It serves as a sequel to
the song “Immortal Space Pirate (The Stoner Anthem),” which was the last track
on the preceding “Divide & Conquer” album and it’s a beautiful summary of
Bokassa’s flexible rock style. An eerie banjo opening followed by anger-filled
vocals and frantic beats to eventually cool off with stoner riffs and clean,
emotional singing. Great stuff!
The album’s
main weakness? I personally felt the opening instrumental “Brologue,” to be a
quite useless intro. It’s slow and threatening and it fails as a proper buildup
for the energetic “Charmed & Extremely Dangerous” track that follows it. In
fact, “Charmed & Extremely Dangerous” does a good enough job on its own to
get my blood pumping for this release. No prologue needed, bro!
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
8 bromances
out of 10. While their title as kings of stonerpunk is debatable, I did have
plenty of regal joy with this release. Bokassa’s second album is an excellently
paced and crafted blend of stoner and punk rock made with genuine energy and
passion for those subgenres. Whether you prefer your rock straight forward and anthemic,
fast and hard-hitting or slow and melodic, the Bokassa bros got you covered!
Now grab yourself a cold one and listen to “Captain Cold One.” Cheers!