Grand General

A Norwegian heavy fusion supergroup of sorts, this quintet initially performed under the moniker Kenneth Kapstad Group, perhaps leading some to consider the ensemble as a spinoff of drummer Kapstad's most famous outfit, the longstanding Trondheim-based psych-prog-metal band Motorpsycho, whom Kapstad joined in 2007. The Kenneth Kapstad Group was assembled to perform at the 2010 Trondheim Jazzfest, and featured several former students of the Trondheim Musikkonservatorium jazz program, including Kapstad himself as well as keyboardist Erland Slettevoll and violinist/violist Ola Kvernberg, the latter of whom won a 2011 Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy) for Jazz Album of the Year for his expansive modern creative octet recording Liarbird and garnered positive notice for his playing on the Motorpsycho/Ståle Storløkken opus The Death Defying Unicorn in 2012. The band lineup also featured bassist Trond Frønes, a member of "caveman metal" band Goat the Head (along with Kapstad) and other rock and metal bands (e.g., Cadillac, El Doom, the Born Electric, Sunswitch) on the Norwegian scene, as well as guitarist Even Helte Hermansen, an Ace Frehley and Sonny Sharrock fan who kicks it out as a member of the Rune Grammofon power jazz trio Bushman's Revenge.

Putting to rest the notion that this was a Kenneth Kapstad-led project, the quintet changed its name to Grand General prior to the release of its eponymously titled debut album by Rune Grammofon in February 2013. Given violinist/violist Kvernberg's placement in the group's fusion-tinged arrangements (not to mention the quintet's other instrumentation of electric guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums), Grand General invited comparison to the Mahavishnu Orchestra featuring violinist Jerry Goodman, although this quintet is often thicker, heavier, and more pummeling — fusion melded with metal, space rock, and prog. The writing on Grand General was split between Kvernberg and bassist Frønes, the latter of whom brought his own metallic edge to the group's compositions.