Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with LaVeyan Satanism and the occult, Mercyful Fate was part of the first wave of black metal in the early to mid-1980s, along with Venom and Bathory. The band is also cited as a formative influence on many then-up-and-coming subgenres of heavy metal, including thrash metal and death metal, as well as the Norwegian black metal scene.
The earliest traces of Danish music go back to the many twisting Bronze-Age horns or lurs which some experts have identified as musical instruments. They have been discovered in various parts of Scandinavia, mostly Denmark, since the end of the 18th century. Denmark's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen, especially remembered for his six symphonies, while the Royal Danish Ballet specializes in the work of Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Danes have distinguished themselves as jazz musicians, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has acquired an international reputation. The modern pop and rock scene has produced a few names of note, including MØ, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Lukas Graham, D-A-D, Tina Dico, Aqua, The Raveonettes, Michael Learns to Rock, Volbeat, Alphabeat, Safri Duo, Medina, Oh Land, Kashmir, King Diamond, Outlandish, and Mew. Lars Ulrich is the first Danish musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Humlebæk is a town within the municipality of Fredensborg in North Zealand in Denmark, approximately 35 km north of Copenhagen. Humlebæk is located at the shore to Øresund and has a population of 9,855 (2023).
Rasmus Bensby Nøhr is a Danish musician, composer, and guitarist. Nøhr has released six studio albums since his debut in 2004 and is known for having created the Danmark Dejligst festival.
Copenhagen Jazz Festival is a jazz event every July in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Copenhagen Jazz Festival was established in 1979, but beginning in 1964 Tivoli Gardens presented a series of concerts under the name Copenhagen Jazz Festival with Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and many others.
Kissaway Trail are a three-piece indie rock band from Odense, Denmark.
Magtens Korridorer is a band from Denmark which was started in 1995 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The band consists of Johan Olsen (vocals), Rasmus Kern, Niklas Schneidermann (guitar), Terkel Møhl (bass) and Anders Ramhede (drums). The band's work is described as a mixture of rock and poetic post-punk.
Dúné [Dew-nay] were a Danish rock band from Skive. At their split-up in 2018 the band consisted of Mattias Kolstrup, Piotrek Wasilewski, and Ole Bjórn. Their style was comparable to British and American electronic rock and resembles elements of 1980s pop music and 1970s post-punk blend with a distinct and modern Scandinavian touch. The band was best known for their entertaining and energetic live performances.
Choir of Young Believers was the musical project of singer, writer and guitarist Jannis Noya Makrigiannis from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band, which consisted of Makrigiannis along with a rotating cast of supporting players, has had multiple No 1 hits in their home country of Denmark and was named the "Best New Act" at the 2009 Danish Music Awards. COYB’s music combines folk melodies, orchestral instrumentation, and dark lyrics.
The Danish Quartet is a name which has been carried by four Danish quartets:
Danish jazz dates back to 1923 when Valdemar Eiberg formed a jazz orchestra and recorded what are thought to be the first Danish jazz records in August 1924. However, jazz in Denmark is typically first dated to 1925, when bandleader Sam Wooding toured in Copenhagen with an orchestra. This was the first time most Danes had heard jazz music. Some prominent early Danish jazz musicians include Erik Tuxen who formed a jazz band and was later named conductor of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Bernhard Christensen, an art music composer who incorporated jazz elements into his pieces, and Sven Møller Kristensen, who was the lyricist for many of Bernhard Christensen's pieces and who wrote a book on jazz theory in Danish.
Rune Klan is a Danish comedian and magician. He has released an instructional video for magicians called Three Pieces of Silver. Klan has lived in the Middle East and in Canada and has toured in the U.S. where he has taught other magicians. In 2008 he was awarded the Tribini Prize by Bakken, for "his extraordinary ability to combine stand-up comedy with magic (...) and has managed to renew traditional entertainment, and also being able to convey it to the younger generation".
Allin Kempthorne is a British actor, magician and entertainer. As a magician he works under three distinct identities as Alan Thorn, Professor Strange and Gizmo. He was originally a tabloid newspaper cartoonist. He directed and starred in the comedy film The Vampires of Bloody Island and was shortlisted in the 2012 Twitter Shorty Awards.
UNNAMED UNKNOWN is a Danish alternative/pop rock band from Nyborg on Fyn. The band officially started in the beginning of 2009, but former drummer Mathias Hansen and current frontman Zachary Ray had already played together in the beginning of 2008. Along came bass player Casper Clausen and former guitarist Martin Christiansen. This quartet produced around 23 tracks and recorded it themselves at Zacharys room. But they only manage to land one gig together with another local band from Nyborg.
Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Cliche Love Song" written by Lasse Lindorff, Kim Nowak-Zorde, Daniel Fält and Basim. The song was performed by Basim. In addition to participating in the contest, the Danish broadcaster DR also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" performed by Emmelie de Forest. DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2014 in order to select the Danish entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen. Ten songs competed in a televised show where "Cliche Love Song" performed by Basim was the winner as decided upon through the combination of jury voting and public voting over two rounds.
Copenhagen Pride is Denmark's largest annual Human Rights festival, focused on LGBT issues. It involves the entire capital Copenhagen and is held in August. A colourful and festive occasion, it combines political issues with concerts, films and a parade. The focal point is the City Hall Square in the city centre. From around 2012 the festival usually opened on the Wednesday of Pride Week, culminating on the Saturday with a parade. In 2017, some 25,000 people took part in the parade with floats and flags, and more than 300,000 people were out in the streets to experience it.
Press Play On Tape (PPOT) is a Danish band that uses Commodore 64 tunes. The band formed in 1999 and has six members. The band classifies itself as a rock and bitpop band. The band's name originates from the message that the Commodore 64 computer outputs as a response to the LOAD command.
Dreamers' Circus is a Nordic band consisting of Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Ale Carr (Sweden) and Nikolaj Busk (Denmark).
Ole Erik Frimer is a Danish blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.
The Witch trials in Iceland were conducted by the Danish authorities, who introduced the belief in witchcraft as well as the Danish Witchcraft Act in the 17th century, and then stopped the persecutions. Similar to the case of Witch trials in Latvia and Estonia, the witch trials were introduced by a foreign elite power in an area with weak Christianity, in order to ensure religious conformity. Iceland was uncommon for Europe in that magic as such was viewed favorably on the island, and the majority of those executed were men, which it had in common with only the witch trials in Finland.
