| El Caco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Lillestrøm, Norway |
| Genres | Stoner Rock, Hard Rock |
| Years active | 1998 - Present? |
| Labels | Ceremony Records, Black Balloon Records, Indie Recordings |
| Associated acts | Brutter, Dog Almighty, Span, Squid, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra |
| Website | El Caco Official |
El Caco are a long-standing stoner rock band based out of Lillestrøm, Norway on the outskirts of Oslo. Active as a power trio since 1998, these Norwegian road bandits have the ability to grasp the finer elements of their influences and mold them into their own diverse sound. In the 2000s the band toured frequently through Norway amid tours through other parts of Europe and The United States. With a career spanning over twenty years El Caco had released seven studio albums amid other releases.
History[]
El Caco formed in 1998 after founding members Øyvind Osa and Anders Gjesti had worked with different drummers and finally settled on Thomas Fredriksen, officially composing a stable power trio. The band's first release would be the Sublime EP as they played local gigs and worked towards signing to a label, finding Black Balloon Records and releasing their debut album Viva on 19 March 2001 to positive reception. The band began touring various parts of Norway while also performing in the likes of Sweden, Germany and Italy among other countries. The next year the band would go on one of their most extensive tours in a seven-week trek through Europe supporting Nebula.
In the summer of 2002, El Caco entered Dug-Out Productions in Sweden with producer Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames) to record their follow-up album. The result of that session can be heard on Solid Rest, released in May 2003 on Black Balloon Records. “Solid Rest” would further diversify and improve their stoner rock sound. “Solid Rest” had also received fantastic reviews and was nominated for best metal album of 2003 at the prestigious Norwegian Alarm Awards. El Caco also toured Europe twice in 2003 and made their first ever full Norwegian tour, as well as playing summer festivals. Most of 2004 were spent on home turf with exception to their sole visit to the United States at SXSW. Otherwise El Caco would tour Norway intensively the first six months, before self-producing their third album, working again with Daniel Bergstrand.
The Search saw release in 2005 to rave reviews and culminated in the band winning the prestigious Norwegian Alarm Award for best metal album 2005, along with receiving a Norwegian Grammy nomination in the same category. El Caco would largely tour Norway in support and hit up the festival circuit through 2005 and 2006 before working on two more albums in quick succession in 2007's From Dirt and 2009's Heat, both of which attaining critical praise.
El Caco would tour in 2009 to support Heat but also support Megadeth and Slayer on their Norwegian leg of their 2011 European Carnage Tour. That same year El Caco would sign with Indie Recordings before recording at Recorded at Tanken Studios in Norway with Sven Andréen and recurring producer Daniel Bergstrand. Hatred, Love & Diagrams would see release in 2012 to critical praise as the band toured with the likes of Trained To Bite and Red Fang in support of the record. A follow-up via Indie Recordings in 7 would see release on 15 January 2016, engineered by Herbrand Larsen and mastered by Thomas Eberger. El Caco would appear at several festivals to support "7" and remain active in the Norwegian rock scene.
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- Viva (2001, Black Balloon Records)
- Solid Rest (2003, Black Balloon Records)
- The Search (2005, Black Balloon Records)
- From Dirt (2007, Black Balloon Records)
- Heat (2009, Black Balloon Records)
- Hatred, Love & Diagrams (2012, Indie Recordings)
- 7 (2016, Indie Recordings)
Other Releases[]
- Sublime (CD Single) (1998, Motorecords)
- Cosmic (7" Single) (2001, Black Balloon Records)
- A Nice Day (7" Single) (2003, Black Balloon Records)
- Someone New (CD Single) (2005, Black Balloon Records)
Members[]
- Øyvind Osa - Bass, Vocals (1998 - Present?)
- Anders Gjesti - Guitar (1998 - Present?)
- Fredrik Wallumrød - Drums (2007 - Present?)
- Thomas Fredriksen - Drums (1998 - 2006)
List of Known Tours[]
- 2001 Norwegian Mini-Tour (2001)[1]
- Viva European Tour (With Nebula) (2002)[2]
- Solid Rest Spring European Tour (With We) (2003)[3]
- 2003 Summer/Fall European Tours (2003)[4]
- SXSW Tour (2004)[5]
- 2004 Norwegian Mini-Tours (2004)[6]
- From Dirt European Tour (2007)[7]
- Heat European Tour (With Insense) (2009)[8]
- European Carnage (Norwegian Leg) (With Megadeth, Slayer) (2011)[9]
- 2012 Spring Tour (With Trained to Bite) (2012)[10]
- 2012 Winter Tour (With Red Fang) (2012)[11]
- Dunderbeist (Canceled) (2013)[12]