Kvelertak w/Black Tusk and Cancer Bats Tonight at Exit/In

Not that I need an excuse to post about tonight's Kvelertak show at Exit/In with Black Tusk and Cancer Bats, but I happen to have two: 1) For a band with a name that's Norwegian for "Stranglehold," the above video for "Bruane Brenn" is awfully damn cute; and 2) Hey,

about metal on the Cream. You don't see that every day. Anyhow, resident metal man Sean L. Maloney did

for us, wherein he says Kvelertak shits on rules. Maestro, if you please:

Let’s not mince words — Kvelertak’s Meir is our favorite metal record of the year. There, we said it — even though we know most of you are shrugging your shoulders saying, “Who?” and the rest of you are penning your “Death to False Metal” letters to the editor. We don’t care about your rules, and this Norwegian band makes a perfect score for flipping the bird at genre formalities. With its black-metal overtones, tough-guy hardcore breakdowns and propensity for indulging classic rock whims at the drop of the hat, Kvelertak shits on the very concept of rules. Parties don’t abide by rules, and Meir is one hell of a party. It has an atypical, fist-in-the-air joie de vivre you don’t find in a lot of metal albums. The Norwegian bro-metal party bus is also bringing us Toronto’s Cancer Bats and Savannah-based power trio Black Tusk. —SEAN L. MALONEY

Starts at 8 p.m., tickets are $14. Now, to watch this video again ...