Hedvig Mollestad Trio

Norway’s power-jazz-metal threesome set off into new terrain.

Ding Dong, You’re Dead is released to coincide with Hedvig Mollestad Trio’s 10th year as a recording unit. Over six previous albums including one live set – the wilful Norwegians have blurred the boundaries between jazz and heavy metal. John McLaughlin and Miles Davis are in the mix. So are AC/DC and The Melvins. After last year’s solo Mollestad outing Ekhidna, Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen, Ellen Brekken and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad incorporate abstraction and transform what’s become familiar with a fresh precision. The instantly compelling All Flights Cancelled is emblematic of the latter, with Thomassen’s staccato one-string riffing underpinned by Bjørnstad’s panel beater drums and Brekken’s walloping bass. Then, the guitar heads into outer space. In the fresh territory there’s the wispy, foreboding title track and album closer Four Candles, a cousin of Sonic Youth’s Providence.