Burzum was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black metal's history. He has also released four dark ambient and neofolk albums. The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the black speech, a fictional language crafted by Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R. Tolkien. Burzum's lyrics and imagery are often inspired by fantasy and Norse mythology, and do not feature the political views Vikernes is known for.
Viking metal is a style of heavy metal music characterized by a lyrical and thematic focus on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Viking metal is quite diverse as a musical style, to the point where some consider it more a cross-genre term than a genre, but it is typically seen as black metal with influences from Nordic folk music. Common traits include a slow-paced and heavy riffing style, anthemic choruses, use of both sung and harsh vocals, a reliance on folk instrumentation, and often the use of keyboards for atmospheric effect.
Einherjer is a Viking metal band from Haugesund, Norway, founded in 1993. Some of the band's albums are heavily folk influenced, while others have a more traditional symphonic black metal sound. Their lyrics retell Norse legends, and each of their albums has its own theme. The band split up in early 2004 after releasing the album Blot in December 2003, but later reformed.
Röyksopp are a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø in Troms og Finnmark, formed in 1998. The duo consists of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland. Røyksopp is the Norwegian word for the class of mushrooms known as puffballs, but the band's name substitutes ö for the second letter.
It's Hard is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Who. Released on 4 September 1982, it was the last to feature bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002. It was also the second and final Who studio album with drummer Kenney Jones, as well as the last to be released on Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK, peaking at No. 11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The US rights to both this album and Face Dances subsequently reverted to the band, who then licensed them to MCA Records for reissue. The album achieved gold status by the RIAA in the US in November 1982. It was their last album for over two decades until Endless Wire in 2006.
The Kovenant is a Norwegian industrial metal band from Hamar. The band originally formed as a symphonic black metal act known as Covenant in 1993, but in 1999 were forced to change their name to The Kovenant due to a dispute with a Swedish electronic band of the same name. The band's name change also marked a change in sound/style as well, as the band from there on began to focus more on an aggrotech/industrial metal sound heavily influenced by Europe's EBM scene. Despite their style change, The Kovenant did however later reissue their early albums under The Kovenant name.
Andy LaRocque is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, and producer, best known as a member of the heavy metal band King Diamond since 1985.
Blood Red Throne are a Norwegian death metal band. They were formed in Kristiansand, Norway, during the peak of black metal in 1998 by former Satyricon guitarist Daniel «Død» Olaisen and Emperor guitarist Terje «Tchort» Schei. Inspired by bands like Death, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, Blood Red Throne play death metal in a Scandinavian style, mixing old school, traditional and Swedish death with groovy riffs and elements of black metal. The band has released 9 albums.
Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War in 1997, and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark in 1999, before splitting up. Obsidian C. then toured with Satyricon, but revived the Keep of Kalessin name for a 2003 EP, Reclaim. In 2006, he reconstituted the group with a new lineup and released a third full-length, Armada. They toured with Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir early in 2008. Their fourth album Kolossus was released on June 6, 2008. They take their name from Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series of books, where Kalessin is the name of the arch-dragon who is the bearer of the Earthsea world. Keep of Kalessin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen in the metal category in 2008.
Odin Owns Ye All is the second full-length album by the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer. Its songs form a brief, but complete, narrative of the earth based on Norse mythology. The opening tracks tell the story of the giant Ymir, his death at the hands of Odin and his brothers, and the creation of the world. The later tracks tell of the murder of Balder that precipitates Ragnarok, followed by the destruction of the world and its rebirth from the sea. The album cover art is the painting “Odin and His Ravens” by Alan Lee.
Leve Vikingånden is the first official release by the Norwegian heavy metal band Einherjer, following their 1993 demo Aurora Borealis. It was released on 7 inch vinyl and only 1500 copies were made. Both of its songs have Norwegian language lyrics and were re-recorded for the band's 1997 EP Far Far North. The sleeve features an image of Mjolnir.
Crimson Glory was an American heavy metal band that formed in 1983 in Sarasota, Florida. They started in 1979 under the monikers 'Pierced Arrow', then 'Beowulf', before settling on Crimson Glory. The classic line-up consisted of vocalist Midnight, guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, bassist Jeff Lords, and drummer Dana Burnell. With that line-up, they rose to international fame in the mid-1980s and were considered one of the pioneers of the American progressive metal movement, along with Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Watchtower. During their career, they released four studio albums and one EP.
Blot is the fourth full-length album by the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer. It was released on 15 September 2003 by Tabu Recordings.
Andreas Hedlund, better known by his stage names Vintersorg and Mr. V, is a Swedish vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who has played in several heavy metal bands.
Eirik Hundvin, also known as Pytten, is a Norwegian producer and recording engineer for many classic black metal albums, mainly by Norwegian bands, nearly all of which were recorded in the Grieg Hall in Bergen.
David "Dave Bucket" Colwell is an rock guitarist from the United Kingdom and has been a member of Bad Company, Samson, ASAP, The Eastenders, The Entire Population of Hackney, 720, The Torpedos, Angel Street, Roger Chapman's Shortlist, The Jones Gang, FM, Frankie Miller's Fullhouse, Rock Steady and The Poppies. He recorded Back on Track with Humble Pie in 2001, touring with them until the band broke up in 2003. He started a supergroup called Rock Steady which, among others, includes bass guitarist Rick Wills, best known for his work with Foreigner and his associations with the Small Faces, Peter Frampton and Bad Company and did a New Zealand tour with this band. In November 2018 he joined again Humble Pie for their US tour. Dave Colwell has his own band now which is called Bucket's Rebel Heart. Their debut album "20 Good Summers" was released in December 2018 on Pride& Joy records and January 2019 in Japan on Marquee records.
Stein Sund is a bass guitarist from Karmøy who was a longtime member of the Norwegian viking metal band Einherjer. He has several projects up and running such as Thundra, Evig Natt, and Dwelling Souls.
Norwegian Native Art is the third full-length album by the Norwegian viking metal band Einherjer. It was released on 11 September 2000 by Native North Records.
The Billy Joel Band is the band that backs singer-songwriter and pianist Billy Joel on both studio and live recordings. The band stabilized around 1975 but underwent several lineup changes in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Joel's touring band as a whole did not begin playing on his records until he recorded the album Turnstiles in 1976. This line-up included Richie Cannata on saxophones and organ, Liberty DeVitto on drums, Russell Javors on guitar, and Doug Stegmeyer on bass.
Av Oss, For Oss is the sixth full-length album by the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer, released on October 27, 2014 through Indie Recordings.
