{"id":607641,"date":"2026-05-28T01:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607641\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T01:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:40:11","slug":"sabotor-forste-aksjon-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607641\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabot\u00f8r – F\u00f8rste Aksjon Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Among the foundations of heavy metal are resistance and counterculture. Thus, it makes sense that a young Norwegian band, Sabot\u00f8r, decided to create a record regaling tales of the Norwegian resistance against Nazi Germany. This period birthed the term Quisling as synonymous for traitor when Vidkun Quisling attempted to take Norway down a path of Nazism. The Norwegian resistance thwarted his plans by using tactics such as an underground press, \u201cice fronts\u201d that served to alienate Germans from Norwegian society, and anti-Nazi jokes meant to make the Nazis look foolish. It wasn\u2019t all non-violence, either. They managed to sink a German cruiser called the Bluecher. This all sounds like great material for an album, and I\u2019m only saddened I don\u2019t speak Norwegian to understand what these lads are singing about. While I don\u2019t know the words, I can appreciate the music as raucous, fun, and a little deranged.<\/p>\n

True to its themes of resistance, F\u00f8rste Aksjon (roughly translated as first action or first strike) features a collection of old school abrasive punk\/thrash tunes sure to stir the rebel in you. The raw, high-energy sound brings to mind Kill \u2019em All era Metallica, and opening song \u201cJerngrepets Inntog,\u201d could almost be a lost track from that classic debut. There\u2019s a hunger and passion that echoes those early Metallica years, and it brings a freshness and earnestness to the music. I also hear some early Kvelertak, and Sabot\u00f8r cites the obscure Brocas Helm<\/a> as a major influence. Like any good resistance movement, the music is unpredictable yet incessantly energetic. This means non-stop riffs, solos, and blasts of the snare drum. Sabot\u00f8r are not above hooks, with a catchy chorus that appears out of nowhere on \u201cSkyggens Frekvens\u201d and makes you want to sing\/shout along with it. Rasmus Str\u00f8mberg also catches listeners off guard with sudden leaps into vocal harmonizations that just add to the catchiness (\u201cJerngrepets Inntog\u201d, \u201cSabot\u00f8r,\u201d \u201cFlagget\u201d). In all, F\u00f8rste Aksjon is pure fun.<\/p>\n

\ufeffF\u00f8rste Aksjon by Sabot\u00f8r<\/a><\/p>\n

The musicians display a show of raw power and passion that makes F\u00f8rste Aksjon constantly exciting. Str\u00f8mberg\u2019s deranged vocal performance leads the way. He mixes the abrasion of Kvelertak\u2019s Ivar Nikolaisen, the mania of Sergeant Salsten (Deathhammer<\/a>), and even some touches of a young James Hetfield, particularly those pre-pubescent screeches. He screeches, shouts, screams, and growls through more than 30 minutes of intense music, and that\u2019s not all. He has an entertaining cadence that proves him to be a superb raconteur. He\u2019s full of surprises, turning the speed to 11 on \u201cBrente Jords Taktikk\u201d and then turning in a raucous bit on \u201cJevnet Med Jorden\u201d where he sounds like an auctioneer speaking in tongues. The other musicians also contribute to the mania, particularly drummer Mathilde Solemdal. He ensures a non-stop energy with his frequent snare hits, cymbal blasts, and frenetic blast beats. Guitarist Andreas Remmen provides a semblance of sanity with controlled yet energetic riffs. He provides plenty of melody, thrashy riffs, and even some cool arpeggios (\u201cFlagget\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The only thing holding Sabot\u00f8r back is the production. This is an instance where the high DR score (12) seems at odds with how the record sounds. In some ways, it sounds great, with crisp and clear instrumentation, including the bass. The lower quality of my promo copy probably contributed to my sound issues. I found the album to be on the quiet side and had to turn the volume up to hear it properly. However, the snare tone is too loud, and its incessant presence proves a headache. While the brief album length makes for easier repeat spins, the mix will make you want to give your ears a rest before long. There are a couple of other distracting bits, including a section on \u201cFlagget,\u201d where a plane engine sounds more like rumbling flatulence. While the rawness is appropriate, F\u00f8rste Aksjon could benefit from better balance in their mixing.<\/p>\n

As Sabot\u00f8r\u2019s own bit of first action, F\u00f8rste Aksjon proves to be an impressive debut. As the Indiana Jones flicks demonstrate, it\u2019s fun to defeat Nazis. These guys continue that tradition, while also demonstrating the effectiveness of resistance in the face of authoritarianism. Sabot\u00f8r also exhibit the joy of listening to hungry young musicians who just want to play what they love. There\u2019s plenty to love here, and plenty to look forward to as these musicians mature in their songwriting.<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.0\/5.0
DR: 12 | Format Reviewed: ~165 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Essence Records<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Among the foundations of heavy metal are resistance and counterculture. Thus, it makes sense that a young Norwegian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[47816,6446,97764,174480,206998,96,206999,11652,207000,191545,25229,128,55181,20322,263,129,207001,20383,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-607641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-47816","tag-3-0","tag-brocas-helm","tag-dark-essence-records","tag-deathhammer","tag-entertainment","tag-forste-aksjon","tag-heavy-metal","tag-kvelertak","tag-may26","tag-metallica","tag-music","tag-norwegian-metal","tag-punk","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-sabotor","tag-thrash-metal","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}