In the mid '80s, British biker metal band Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction sang about fast motorcycles and faster women, booze, pills, stardom and the kind of insanity that abounded in London's seedy clubs and streets. Now, 20-some years later, the band is writing songs about fast times and, er, Vikings. The band's new album, 'We Are Volsung,' band's first album since 2005's 'Rock Savage,' is based around the saga of Volsung, a hero in Norse mythology who was killed, then avenged by his son Sigmund and daughter Signy.

"It's not really a concept record," guitarist Cobalt Stargazer (aka Geoff Bird) told Noisecreep. "It is a collection of both heavier Norse inspired songs and what could be classed as garage-like, moonshine drinking, wild stomping, house shakers that crackle with vibrant energy."

In other words, just because Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction have gotten turned on to Norwegian themes, that doesn't mean they're suddenly donning corpse paint and sounding like Immortal. Still, Stargazer said the new album is probably Zodiac's heaviest to date.

"It is a tougher sounding, more stripped down record, capturing the sound of a live band rocking it to the maximum," he said. "It was recorded and mixed on an old analog mixing desk that was used for the Sex Pistols' 'Anarchy in the U.K.,' the early Mutt Lange-produced AC/DC albums and Queen's 'Night at the Opera' album."

Stargazer added that the band's interest in Norse mythology isn't a new development, and that even when they were focusing on more modern forms of chaos and debauchery, their Viking brethren were always close at heart. "The interest in Norse mythology was cemented by frequent forays into Scandinavia, especially Norway, having forged very close friendships with true Viking descendants," he said. "The album took shape after a long and arduous journey across Norway from Bergen to Oslo, through the frozen mountains, stopping only to rest and swim in the icy fjords -- something I wouldn't recommend in the winter."

'We Are Volsung' comes out Oct. 12.

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