A couple of weeks ago Black Debbath released their sixth CD,  “Nå får det faen meg være rock! Akademisk stoner-rock!” (Now, God Dammit It Must Be Rock! Academic Stoner-Rock!). Last week they started their concert tour in Norway, and last night they played a sold out Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo.

“Nå får det faen meg være rock! Akademisk stoner-rock!” has got good reviews in the Norwegian newspapers. So far this CD is considered the best from the band. You can hear it here on Spotify. At the concert they mixed new and old songs, to an audience that was more than enthusiastic.

To try to explain Black Debbath to non-Norwegian speaking people, is a tall order. But I will try: First of all, “Debbath” is a play on the word “debate”, and Black Debbath’s concerts are a mix between a concert and a debate society. They have taken upon themselves to point out topics they are concerned about, and their songs are meant to give solutions to these problems.

So when they play one of their new songs, “Norsk Bjørnsonforskning (holder et internasjonalt sett lavt nivå)”, (loosely translated to “Norwegian Bjornson research holds a low standard in an international context”), they point out some troubling consequences: What will Norway base it’s wealth upon when we don’t have more oil? We could rely on the research into the Norwegian poet Bjornstjerne Bjornson, but since this research doesn’t maintain the required standards, Norway’s future is definitely bleak.

On a more personal level, the song “Bytt kjøkkenklut oftere!” (“Change your kitchen cloth more often!”) tells about all the dangers we expose ourselves to in the kitchen, because we  use the kitchen cloth too long before washing it.

Black Debbath’s lyrics are absurd and surrealistic, but as with all comedy acts, they work because the band is really good and they are quite serious about their music. Their playing is hard, precise, and with many great details. Their new songs work well with the audience, combined with the best of their old ones.

The audience, all 1300 of them, had a good time, and hopefully they went home with a higher understanding of the research institute FAFO, about the internal problems in the moderate party, Høyre, the problems with all the wanking that will be the result of the planned park with statues of naked women in Oslo, and all the other important topics that Black Debbath are concerned about.

Black Debbath are touring Norway the next couple of months, and they are doing a new concert at Rockefeller in Oslo late April. They are also playing the Øya Festival in August, and probably more festivals during the summer. If you haven’t seen them before, my advice is to get a ticket to one of their concerts and to open your mind to their very special mix. If you have an open mind and you like hard and melodious rock, you are guaranteed a good time.

All the pictures are © Per Ole Hagen and must not be used without written permission.