As a listener, one doesn't always measure the consequences of a good sound on a record. Lakei must have done it when they recorded their Konspirasjoner at Studio Fredman, the superbly acclaimed Swedish studios behind the famous "Göteborg sound", the studio that stands as proof of the quality of the bands that come out of it.

This generates the question: what remains when you strip a record for the good sound? Sound is what I am extremely sensitive to, which means I have a fond interest for its characteristics and means, but I try not to get fooled by a nice package. For what is a woman praised for her wonderful mane but a demise when all's been cut off? Which leads us to reflect on Lakei's first album Konspirasjoner.

The band as Lakei is young but composed of musicians with a certain amount of experience, that are obviously sound fanatics. Big efforts are put in tuning and effects to achieve the huge, distorted, heavy as planet Saturn riffs. The music sounds modern yet primitive, as good sons of the capital of black metal, Bergen, Norway. There's a right to the point feeling to it, which reflects in the short playing time. The tracks are of average length but seem longer, which they owe to the richness in expressiveness and the expansive sound.

The album doesn't lead me to new horizons, yet it grows on me throughout the album. The Bergen feeling in certain melodies especially makes me weak, though this is not a typical Bergen record, you will have got it by now.

Let us hear more from these guys. To begin with, meet them at the Øya festival in Oslo, Norway this summer!