We were lucky enough to get access to this band’s debut album before its release date set on April 21st. Halleys komet is a five member an underground band based in Hamar, Norway; Heine Gillerhaughen; the lead guitarist, Nikolas Møller on guitar and keyboard, Nikolai Selmer-Olsen on drums, Espen Forårsveen on Bass and Walter Berg, the vocalist. They all attended the same college and that’s how they crossed paths, but all were brought together by Heine Gillerhaughen who composed and wrote a few songs and needed to put a band together so he can bring this sound to reality.
From the very start, they received recognition and gained the love of the crowd whenever they performed live. Their shows are energetic, catchy, and interesting, leaving you wanting for more, that’s when they decided to record their debut album. The album was recorded in Dakkota Studios and produced by Ørunlv Snortheim the famous session guitarist in Hamar, where also the mixing took place. Later it was mastered by Roar Nubdal in his Studio Nubdal in Trondheim. The album has eight songs with three already released as singles: “Out of The Blue ”, “Self Medication” and “Last Forever”. The music is nostalgic, it brings you back to the ‘70s and ‘80s vibe, with artists like Bryan Adams, Thin Lizzy, and Van Halen. It simply caters to all tastes; the common sound effects of the ‘70s, the strong guitar riffs, country music hints, core rock music fundamentals, punk, modern metal, sweet ballad tunes and a lot more. A very rich combination of sounds and genres that will simply shift your mood with every track or even within the same track. One thing to notice is how the songs are long, four minutes and above, which simply shows how the artists have a lot to say and share through their music and lyrics. An interesting, uncommon maneuver is how they change the meter in the same song, like in “Lack of Conscious”. Some songs brought back some tunes from music by Elvis Presely or his period more specifically like “You could be mine” and “How I Love That face”, Others were more intense, faster, and prone to metal genre like “Self Medication”. Another thing that personally caught my attention and I loved, the bass lines in most of the songs and how remarkable and dominating they are, they’re simply hard to miss. The context of the songs and their lyrics fall under the same theme of finding meaning to life in its different aspects; love, addiction and substance abuse, depression, beliefs, some are close to discussing the philosophy of life and how we go through life changing experiences.
The music and the lyrics are deep and rich. Lots of sounds to watch out for, simply the more you listen, the more you’ll reveal its layers. Doesn’t mean you won’t like the songs the first time you listen to them, tapping your feet or head banging is inevitable.
