AGABAS: “HARD ANGER”

(We present Didrik Mešiček‘s vivid review of a new album by the Norwegian “deathjazz” band Agabas, which will be released on June 13th.)

Have you ever been so sick you’ve hallucinated things that made absolutely no sense when your fever dropped and you got better? Something so surreal it’s actually not possible to put it into words? Or perhaps you’ve done an incredible cocktail of drugs and went on an amazing trip, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can never be repeated?

Well, Agabas have, to my knowledge, done neither of those two things, yet they’ve invented deathjazz. Which is exactly what it sounds like. It’s jazz. Mixed with death metal. Lots of yelling and lots of sax. And today we’re gonna delve into this mess(?) and see what their new album, Hard Anger, which will be released on June 13th, is really about.

photo by Thomas Moe Ellefsrud

The band starts with a Eurovisiony title “Kjærlighet for alle” (Love for All), but the song is, of course, far from it. However, I am also struggling to tell you what this is. But let’s start by saying this is extremely chaotic – and it seems that, much like the ancient Greeks, these silly Norwegian lads here understand chaos as a neutral state of being. In practice, this means that their sound isn’t a subtle dash of saxophone like you might expect from Rivers of Nihil, but instead a full-throttle approach where all elements are thrown at the wall with equal force without much thought about what will happen. Of course, this is ludicrous and shouldn’t work. Yet it strangely does?

The second song, which is simply (and in contrast) titled “Jævla menneske” (Fucking Human) is another example of the band’s fury and my favourite bit is the relentless drumming. It feels quite frontal in the mix yet still not overpowering; it’s just there happily pummelling away like a massive combine harvester that’s harvesting boulders instead of corn.

If you thought things couldn’t get crazier, “En vakker himmel” features some very proper sax solos, and some fantastic continuous switching between growls and drums, while in the middle there’s a weird little echo effect that made me wonder if I’m on drugs. My tests came back negative, though, so it’s just the band being insane again.

Sondre Sørensen Brønstad is the name you aren’t able to say but should probably because he’s the vocal force majeure in this project, something that’s perfectly illustrated at the start of “Se det for deg”, which feels like Chuck Yeager flying fighter jets in quick succession right above your head. It’s absolutely sonically violent and actually slightly reminded me of Wiegedood, another band that loves pushing boundaries of what is acceptable. (If you’ve no clue what I’m on about, I suggest the song “FN SCAR 16”.) 

What I’m wondering when writing this is whether Agabas is a meme band – and subsequently whether a band that’s a meme has to necessarily be bad. Essentially, does the quality of art dictate its potential meme-ness? Well, I’ve not decided what the answer to that is yet, however, I’ve remembered that about a hundred years ago we had a brief period known as Dadaism that’s marked by nonsensical absurdity in art, and that’s basically what this band has – perhaps unknowingly – succeeding in being. Therefore, being the trailblazer I am, I’ve decided to baptise this new genre of music as True Norwegian Neodadaist Extreme Saxophone Metal.

photo by Thomas Moe Ellefsrud

If I do steer this article back into seriousness just for a second, I do have to note there’s clearly a lot of actual skillful musicianship from the band present in this release. One of the songs I really enjoy in the latter part of the album is “Råte”. With its unique alarm-like instrumental pattern and the vocals that at some stage just abandon melody and go straight into yelling, this track is the sonic embodiment of moments before a nuclear disaster. And who doesn’t enjoy that, right? 

As I listen through this album, my reaction to every new song’s beginning is just, “What?” while I’m smiling about the deranged ideas of this band. The Norwegians’ closing song, “På åpent hav” is actually probably the closest they get to a standard death metal song, and it’s another highlight of the album. Of course, this wouldn’t be Agabas if they didn’t also include a passage with an acoustic guitar and thus offer a bit of a surprise – but much like all other surprises in this album it’s a welcome one – and while they were often jarring, none of them has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. 

So Hard Anger…it’s certainly angry, but it’s most of all utterly deranged, and it should probably be put into a mental hospital. But it’s also something new, and that should always be applauded, especially when it’s actually a release of significant quality. Some of you will absolutely hate this album and find it to be an abomination, and I’m sure that’s also something the band is well aware of – we know metal isn’t for everyone, but this album really isn’t for everyone. However, I’m also sure some of you will think this crazy thing that is deathjazz is one of the coolest releases of 2025, and I think I’m pretty firmly in that second group.

LINEUP:
Sondre Sørensen Brønstad – Vocals
Oskar Myrseth – Guitar
Jarand Aga Baas – Guitar
Alexander Dellerhagen – Saxophone
Johan Jamtfall – Bass
Bjørn Syverinsen – Drums

https://agabas.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/agabasband/