We’ve written a lot about Kvelertak over the last month or so — Tom named their new album, Meir, Album Of The Week a couple weeks back, and I shared some of my thoughts on it here, when we streamed the record. I haven’t crunched the requisite numbers to make any sort of definitive statement, but right now, if you forced me to name my favorite album of Q1 2013, I’d probably come up with Meir.

Kvelertak usually seem to end up high on my lists of “best” things — their self-titled 2010 debut came in at No. 2 on my Pazz & Jop poll that year (beat out, and only just, by Agalloch’s Marrow Of The Spirit, which I’d regard as one of the few classic albums produced in the last decade), and the very best show I saw in 2011 was Kvelertak playing a party cruise circling the East River. It was an unlikely setting for a metal show, but Kvelertak treated it the same way they would a basement or a stadium: throwing themselves into the performance with wild abandon, like a Saturday morning cartoon brawl, a cloud of chaos from which occasional limbs appeared randomly, violently, at unlikely angles. It was incredible.

The band is playing NYC next month to promote the release of Meir — they’ll be at the tiny Studio At Webster Hall on May 17, and I can’t recommend enough that you make your way there, too. (It’s not an empty endorsement; I’ll absolutely be there myself.) To further celebrate the band’s great new album, Stereogum and Roadrunner Records are throwing an after party, to follow the band’s NYC show. The action’s going down at Idle Hands, at 25 Avenue B on the Lower East Side. Marvin Nygaard from Kvelertak will be DJing, drinks will be cheap, and all are invited. It will be a blast. You should come.

To further force your hand, we’re giving away three Kvelertak prize packs on Stereogum, which include: (A) a pair of tix to the Studio At Webster Hall show, (B) a Kvelertak T-shirt, and (C) a vinyl copy of Meir. To enter the sweeps, you need be a fan of Stereogum on Facebook and comment with your favorite Kvelertak song via Facebook Connect (do not use your ‘Gum user account on this post — we’ll have to be able to check if you are a fan of Stereogum on FB when the sweepstakes ends). The winner will be chosen randomly when the sweeps ends on 4/25 at 12 PM EST. (If you win but can’t make it to the show, you’ll still get the T-shirt and vinyl.) So have at it in the comments; I’ll see you on the 17th.