Capturing international attention with their wild performances and bold sociopolitical commentary at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, Iceland's self-described anti-capitalist BDSM performance art group
Hatari set themselves apart from the competition's usual pop fare with their corrosive electro-industrial metal and visual shock tactics. Months after finishing in tenth place, the outfit issued their first full-length,
Neyslutrans, an excellent debut that pushes the act beyond headline-grabbing novelty gimmick. Even though it's all in Icelandic,
Neyslutrans is compulsively listenable, catchy, and a gem for fans of beat-loving, industrial-metal artists like
Nine Inch Nails,
Rammstein,
Combichrist, and
3Teeth. A pulsing EBM heartbeat pounds through the entirety of the effort, off-setting the otherwise jagged mecha-metal stabs that heighten the aggressive energy of growling vocalist Matthías Haraldsson. As Haraldsson's bloody barks keep
Neyslutrans rooted in heavy music, Klemens Hannigan's pure singing elevates each track into something more ethereal. The balance of the two extremities and
Einar Stefánsson's addictive production create a torrential mix that is ominous, sometimes uncomfortable, and oddly sexy, especially highlights "Klámstrákur" ("Filthy Boy"), "Hlauptu" ("Run"), and "Þræll" ("Slave"). The swirl of physical and emotional responses might be confusing, but once listeners succumb to the trance,
Hatari keep it locked in. Delivering their gospel from a spiked, leather-clad pulpit, the outspoken trio decry capitalist excess ("Spillingardans"), warn of the impending apocalypse ("Engir Miskunn"), and even take a stand in support of Palestine with queer Palestinian artist
Bashar Murad ("Klefi/Samed"). Other cross-genre guests on the album include violinist Pétur Björnsson (the instrumental break "Spectavisti Me Mori, Op. 8"), Friðrik Margrétar and the Icelandic University of the Arts choir (the haunting "Nunquam Iterum, Op. 12"), rapper Svarti Laxness ("Helvíti"), and GDRN ("Niðurlút"). An altogether compelling experience,
Neyslutrans is a hypnotic thrill from these Nordic firebrands, a throbbing success of style and substance.