Earlier this month, Decibel’s online denizen, Vince Bellino, briefly introduced y’all to Norwegian wisenheimers, Shaving the Werewolf via a track called “A Stain Upon a Sheet.” We enjoyed their caustic brew of noise rock, slashing, angular metallic hardcore parries and punny locker room humor that when we were approached about airing their new video, we couldn’t say no. Well, we could, but there was note attached threatening the release of embarrassing and incriminating photos to the press if demands weren’t met with a smile.
So, here you go: the world premiere of Shaving the Werewolf’s “Ass Above, So Below,” a fitting song title from their new album, One Way to Dick City (out now on Negative Vibe Records). Additionally, we asked the band’s vocalist, Otter – which I’m naturally guessing is a nickname in tribute to Animal House – to give us some insight into the song, video as well as the band’s history and ridiculous moniker.
“The song is about searching for plump, delicious fruit in hard-to-reach places and finding that they don’t taste as good as you thought they would. As a matter of fact, they don’t taste anything at all. So, you close your eyes and turn your gaze inwards hoping that there is something plump and delicious there before realizing that the emptiness of space is just a reflection of yourself. The video is an extension of the song’s sentiment. It’s about those times when life seems a little uninspiring and soul crushing and the universe sends its guardian angels to help you through your turgid existence.
“Shaving the Werewolf was started by their vocalist in 2010. He rounded up five more guys to start concocting the intense and experimental expression Shaving the Werewolf’s music would end up as. Dissonant and aggressive, but still with a lot of humour, their sound has proven to be difficult to describe. They have been loosely labeled as mathcore, metalcore and noise rock, though none of those tags gives their sound a proper summary. Their music evolved from fast, mathy hardcore which sounded like they wanted to stab their listeners with a thousand sonic needles, into something of a more dynamic and eclectic sort. Although their music is still volatile and takes some sharp turns, Shaving the Werewolf’s new album is more focused and groovier than their earlier works, and the synthesizers play a more central part in their sound.
“The lyrical focus has since day one been on both inner and outer turmoil, and the general problems of being alive and conscious. Shaving the Werewolf’s name symbolizes different things. It is the act of facing a fierce adversary and imposing your will upon it. It is a futile and naïve attempt of trying to transform a hostile entity back into the human being it once was. It is a display of arrogance, where innocent animals suffer for the preferences of man. Most of all it is an utterly pointless and stupid act committed against a fictional concept. Shaving the Werewolf was chosen because Diarrhea of a Madman was too silly.”
