Hellhammer was a Swiss metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often regarded as a key influence on black metal and death metal. In June 1984, Hellhammer disbanded but two of its members soon formed the influential extreme metal band Celtic Frost.
Arcturus is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band formed in 1991. Their name, which means "Bear Guardian", references the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.
Thomas Gabriel Fischer, also known by the stage names Tom Warrior and Satanic Slaughter, is a Swiss musician. He led the extreme metal groups Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and today is the frontman of the band Triptykon.
Not of This Earth is the eighth studio album by The Damned. It is often called I'm Alright Jack & The Beanstalk.
The Sham Mirrors is the third studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. It was released on April 9, 2002.
Jan Axel Blomberg is a Norwegian drummer known professionally as Hellhammer. He is best known as the drummer of the black metal band Mayhem, which he joined in 1988, and is the only member to appear on all of their albums. In 1987 Blomberg, alongside Steinar Sverd Johnsen and Marius Vold, formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturus, which broke up in April 2007 and reunited in 2011. He named himself after the Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. Praised as a talented musician, Blomberg is a three-time winner of the Spellemannprisen award.
Kristoffer Rygg, also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a heavy-metal vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar.
Sideshow Symphonies is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. It was released on 19 September 2005. It is the first to feature Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs as the principal vocalist and Tore Moren as second guitarist, as well as the first Arcturus album released by Season of Mist. It marks yet another change in Arcturus' sound, with a cold, dreamy aesthetic featuring relatively quiet guitars, more prominent vocals, and a slightly reduced use of synthesizers.
Nexus Polaris is the second studio album by the Norwegian metal band Covenant, and was released in 1998 through Nuclear Blast.
La Masquerade Infernale is the second studio album by Arcturus. Released by Misanthropy Records in 1997, the album marks a drastic musical change from the slow, nature-influenced melodic black metal of Aspera Hiems Symfonia. Most of the songs revolve around the themes of theater, literature, and Satan. The screams characteristic of black metal utilized by Kristoffer Rygg on Aspera are replaced by a gruff, low-toned, clean vocal style. The album also features operatic singing and bizarre high-pitched singing from guest vocalist Simen Hestnæs, who nine years later would replace Rygg as the band's frontman. It was reissued by Candlelight Records in 2003.
Ad astra (phrase) is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars", and the motto of several organizations
Department of Apocalyptic Affairs is the second album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal band Fleurety.
Shipwrecked In Oslo is the first DVD release by Arcturus. It was released on August 21, 2006 by Season Of Mist. The DVD includes footage of the band's 15 song performance at the Rockefeller Music Hall during the Sonic Solstice Festival in Oslo, on September 24, 2005. Extra material such as a photo slideshow and rehearsal footage is also included.
Aspera Hiems Symfonia is the debut studio album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. Aspera is the only album Arcturus released to showcase a melodic black metal sound, though it still contains many of the experimental elements that would be expanded upon on their following albums, which saw the band shift permanently into the genres of avant-garde and progressive metal. Four of the album's songs are re-recorded versions of tracks from the Constellation EP, whereas the other four are new songs.
Steinar Sverd Johnsen is a Norwegian keyboardist and composer. Sverd plays keyboards and synthesizers in Arcturus and was also the main composer for the band. He formed the band with Marius Vold (Mortem, Stigma Diabolicum of Thorns, and Jan Axel Blomberg of Mayhem in 1987, originally under the moniker Mortem. The band split up in April 2007, but reformed in 2011.
My Angel is an EP and the debut release by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. It was released on 7" vinyl on 8 July 1991, through the record label Putrifaction Records. The EP is notable for being one of the earliest releases to be labelled symphonic black metal.
Ordo Ad Chao is the fourth full-length album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. The album received the Spellemann Award for best heavy metal album on 2 February 2008.
Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition is a two-disc compilation released by the Carpenters in early 2004.
Constellation is the first EP released by Norwegian experimental black metal band Arcturus. It was released on CD on 14 August 1994, through the record label Nocturnal Art Productions, limited to 500 copies. The EP is the band's only release with guitarist/bassist Samoth, who was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his role in the arson of Skjold Church in Vindafjord, and the first with Ulver frontman Kristoffer Rygg on vocals, a position he would hold until his departure in 2002.
Knut Magne Valle is a Norwegian heavy metal guitarist, songwriter, composer, recording studio owner, record producer and music arranger. Valle is best known as an Arcturus and Ulver (1998) band member.
