Lazer Viking

About

" The soundtrack to an existential video game "

You’d be forgiven for thinking we’re about to start expounding the virtues of some fierce Scandinavian heavy metal ensemble, all wild riffs, fervent battle cries and lyrics about this or that brutality. After all, the name is Lazer Viking. Lazer. Viking. With a Z, so how could it not go hard?

Well, surprise – this isn’t heavy metal. It’s not even a band, and it definitely isn’t Scandinavian. Instead, it’s a young Czech guy by the name of Jakub Kaifosz, bashing out hook-filled pop confessionals over stabbing retro synths that are rooted somewhere in the 1980s, yet sound fresh and exciting nonetheless. 

The metal comparison isn’t wildly off-course, however, and not just because Kaifosz’ first musical steps were taken with an extreme metal band that lasted nearly a decade, or because his later career continued to be tightly interwoven with guitar music. Rather, it’s the element of brutal sincerity in his current synth-driven work that’s more than worthy of the Lazer Viking moniker. 

In interviews, the singer-songwriter has described his 2022 EP ‘Tunnel Vision’ as an album that’s about “accepting grief and battling to overcome trauma”. The concise collection of “damaged and broken love songs” showcases his musical reinvention, stepping free of rock ‘n’ roll restrictions with vocals that undulate sensually around and through the electronic melodies, telling it like it is and sparing no one – not even himself. It’s not riffs and battle cries, no, but in a way, it cuts deeper than they ever could.