THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Håndgemeng were formed in Oslo in 2017 by brothers Martin and Filip Wennberg on vocals and bass, Charlie Ytterli on guitar and Ola Holseth on drums. They had played together in various hardcore and punk bands in the early days, but the puzzle pieces didn’t come together until Håndgemeng — the riffs got slower and the amps got louder.
In 2019 they released their first EP Motorcycle Death Cult, followed by the Grim Riffer EP. Playing shows constantly, they became a band to take notice of in the Oslo underground scene. After parting ways with bassist Filip, longtime friend Kim Grannes took over as groovemeister in the band.
Just when they started making their debut album, society collapsed, and the world went into a global lockdown. Coincidence? We think not… Still, from that darkness, the band wrote and recorded Ultraritual, eight songs that will take you on a forceful, hard-hitting and definitely spacey heavy rock journey over millions of years.
Ultraritual is a high-octane weapon of sonic destruction that intrepidly draws from the fuzz-laden wizardry of stoner rock, the melodic richness of classic rock, all topped off by the band’s hardcore roots. Somewhere in the tundra, the cosmic offspring of Kvelertak and Mantar was born and decided to crank it loud while getting tenfold trippier. With seven bangers propelled by Martin Wennberg’s galvanizing roars, Håndgemeng take you from the depths of hell to the farthest reaches of space in a blink of an eye. Buckle up!”
