Orlando, FL – Progressive-metal duo Nordic Hamster have returned to unhack the holidays with their explosive new EP, "The Battle For Christmas." Out officially via Indian River Music Company, the two-track behemoth packs a genre-busting punch and reimagines the most wonderful time of the year.
Cody Nordine (vocals) and Cody Hamilton (guitar) are childhood friends from Orlando who have been making a name for themselves with their guitar prowess for years. But on "The Battle For Christmas," the pair come out wholeheartedly for a brave new phase, exercising strong vocals over pliant progressive metal. The end result is a brief 5-minute-and-31-second epic that confirms these are full-time dads and full-time riff machines.
The first track on the EP, “Fill My Stocking,” is a real ear-catcher, with its intricate guitar work and propulsive rhythms standing out from the rest of the album’s sequences thanks to Nordine’s exceptionally dynamic voice. The song is the ideal blend of heavy metal and puckish holiday tropes, a harbinger of an album that’s both darkly humorous and technically skilled.
Up next is the title-track, “Krampus: The Battle for Christmas,” a thematic and sonic barrage inspired by the Christmas anti-hero. Hamilton’s guitar leads braid aggression and melody together, while Nordine’s vocals brood with both mischief and menace. It’s a track that illustrates Nordic Hamster’s facility for blending storytelling with musicianship, revealing that even a holiday tale can become an epic headbanging experience.
A two-song release, "The Battle For Christmas" is short in duration but massive by the size of its impact. The EP is the sound of Nordic Hamster’s evolution. From being an instrumental project to a band that has all of the tools required to deliver hard-hitting technical wizardry as well as narratives with depth. Every variation, vocal line, and drum hit on the album is painstakingly assembled, a listen that's bound to appeal to both fans of progressive metal and daring holiday music in equal measure.
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