Singled Out: Kvelertak's Bratebrann

K. Wiggins | 01-07-2020

Kvelertak are gearing up to release their new album "Splid" on February 14th and to celebrate we asked vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen to tell us about the song "Bratebrann". Here is the story:

When Bjarte showed up at the rehearsal room with the riffs for the new song 'Bratebrann,' it brought me back to the late '80s, when I was just a kid growing up in a small village in the south west of Norway. I knew right away what the lyrics should be about.

I remember this special day. It must have been 1986. A kid, maybe five years old, knocked on my door whispering with a guilty, shivering voice: 'Your forest is on fire!'

I had never met this kid before, but I knew he was my new neighbor. He was little bit younger than me.

This was the first day of a long friendship that lasted for more than 30 years. We hung out every day since then, from early in the morning till late in the evening. My dad used to call him 'the boy with the matches,' cause every time there was something combustible near him, he lit it up. Throughout our childhood and youth together, we burned down cabins, barns, garages, and went crazy with lighters and gasoline out in the woods. Most of the time, we didn't mean to burn down everything, but it just happened. I was always a chicken, cowardly, hiding when the grownups came running after us. He was always the scapegoat, even if it was some other kid in the neighborhood who had been the pyromaniac. He got used to. He didn't give a damn. He was my hero and my anti-hero. He still is.

The years passed by. I moved to Oslo and he stayed in our hometown working at a factory. Every time I was back home we hung out, went fishing, and burned stuff.

My good old friend tragically passed away in May 2018. This song is a tribute to him.

Every time I see smoke fill the air or when I see a building on fire, I think to myself: 'At least, no one can blame you for this, Svein.'

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!