Biography
Kristoffer Rygg was born in Oslo, Norway and later raised in Cascais, Portugal. He formed the experimental band Ulver at age 16, considered one of the early acts in the Norwegian black metal scene. Through his work with Ulver, Rygg would go on to become an important part of later metal subcategories, including avant-garde metal. Rygg is also the former vocalist of Borknagar (1995–1997) and Arcturus (1993–2003), both of which comprise central musicians from the early Norwegian black metal scene. Upon resigning from Borknagar, he recommended ICS Vortex as his replacement.
Rygg possesses a wide range of vocal textures and styles, ranging from baritone, countertenor, crooning and even black metal style screaming. He often records multiple tracks of himself to create dense male choirs on albums such as the majority of the vocals on Kveldssanger.
In 2005, Rygg collaborated with Portuguese musician/producer Daniel Cardoso in the project Head Control System. The music was described by the label as "groovy rock/metal with progressive edges and cinematic components." Their first and only full-length, entitled Murder Nature was released on 4 April 2006 through The End Records.
In recent years Rygg has been involved in freeform/improvisational project Æthenor which includes notable musicians such as Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))), Daniel O'Sullivan of Guapo and David Tibet of Current 93. In April 2008 he played five concerts with Æthenor. It was his first time on stage in over a decade. Rygg has since participated in several mini-tours and concerts with Æthenor. Their triple residency at the Oslo jazz club Blå resulted in the much-acclaimed 4th album En Form for Blå.
In 2009, fifteen years after their only concert back in 1993, he decided to reintroduce Ulver live in concert. The first show was hosted by the Lillehammer Norwegian Literature Festival Norwegian Festival of Literature, and initiated by the late author Stig Sæterbakken. A year later, and after a series of shows around Europe, Rygg stood in front of a full house at the main stage of Oslo's National Opera & Ballet. A video album from the event was released commercially, and includes liner notes by Rygg and Sæterbakken. [1]
Rygg owns and operates Jester Records, an underground label specializing in experimental music, including Ulver, which has since their early metal days metamorphosed into a musical composite difficult to categorize. He has acted as guest vocalist, lyricist, engineer, producer, and remixer for a large list of artists, including Alkaline Trio, Mindless Self Indulgence, Genghis Tron, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, Ihsahn, Dimmu Borgir, The Gathering, Merzbow, Carpenter Brut and Sunn O))).
Borknagar is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Bergen, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines black metal and folk metal with progressive and melodic elements. Borknagar's lyrics often deal with philosophy, paganism, nature and the cosmos.
Ulver is a Norwegian experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album Bergtatt, were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but the band has since evolved a fluid and increasingly eclectic musical style, blending genres such as experimental rock, electronica, ambient, trip hop, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise, progressive and experimental music into their oeuvre. 1997 marked their international debut with the release of their third album Nattens madrigal through German label Century Media. However, following discord with the label, Rygg formed his own imprint, Jester Records, in 1998.
Arcturus is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band formed in 1991. Their name, which means "Bear Guardian", references the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.
Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden is the third studio album by Norwegian band Ulver, issued on 3 March 1997 via Century Media. Composed and arranged during the first half of 1995, Nattens is a concept album about wolves, the night, the moon, and the dark side of mankind.
The Trilogie – Three Journeyes Through the Norwegian Netherworlde, sometimes shortened to The Trilogie, is a box set of albums by Norwegian black metal band Ulver, issued in 1997 via Century Media. Limited to 1000 copies, the set collects together Ulver's first three full-length albums, Bergtatt, Kveldssanger and Nattens madrigal in LP Picture Disc format, housed in a cardboard box, with a booklet & bonus posters. The set commemorates Ulver's black metal phase, before shifting styles dramatically into more ambient, electronic, and experimental music.
Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler is the debut studio album by the Norwegian band Ulver, issued in February 1995 via Head Not Found. The album was recorded at Endless Lydstudio in Oslo in November and December 1994 with Kristian Romsøe as engineer and co-producer.
Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is the fourth studio album by Norwegian experimental electronica band Ulver. Produced with Kristoffer Rygg, together with Knut Magne Valle and Tore Ylwizaker, it was issued on 17 December 1998 via Jester Records. It is a musical adaptation of William Blake's poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The album blends electronics, industrial music elements, progressive metal, avant-garde rock and ambient passages, following Blake's plates as track indexes. Stine Grytøyr, Ihsahn, Samoth and Fenriz all feature as guest vocalists.
Kveldssanger is the second studio album by Norwegian band Ulver, issued in March 1996 via Head Not Found. The album was recorded at Endless Lydstudio, Oslo, Norway in the summer and autumn of 1995, with Kristian Romsøe as engineer and co-producer.
The Archaic Course is the third studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Borknagar. It is the first album to feature Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs on vocals following the departure of Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg, and the first with guitarist Jens F. Ryland. The album also features contributions from Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjørnson, although he was not credited as part of the band in the album's liner notes. This is also the last album to feature drummer and founding member Erik "Grim" Brødreskift, who died of a deliberate drug overdose shortly after its release.
Solefald is a Norwegian avant-garde metal/black metal band that was formed by members Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland and Cornelius Jakhelln in August 1995, with Nedland singing and playing keyboard/synthesizer/piano and drums, and Jakhelln singing and playing guitar and bass. The duo experiment with a wide array of musical styles, frequently work on other projects, and rarely perform live under the Solefald name, leading them to describe themselves as "two stubborn goats pretending to be a band." According to the duo, their name is an Old Norse word for "sunset," taken from one of Theodor Kittelsen's paintings illustrating a poem of the same name by Theodor Caspari, published in the 1901 book Vintereventyr.
Simen Hestnæs, better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamented Souls. He is also a vocalist and the bass guitarist to the heavy metal band Borknagar, and the former bass guitarist and clean vocalist for the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir.
The Adversary is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. Released on 10 April 2006, it is the first in a conceptual trilogy of albums including angL and After. It features a guest vocal appearance by Ulver's Garm. The album has been noted for its stylistic diversity, encompassing extreme metal as well as progressive and classic metal influences.
Carheart is the debut album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal/jazz rock band Virus.
After is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. This album is the final album in a planned trilogy of albums by Ihsahn.
Wars of the Roses is the eighth studio album by the Norwegian experimental electronica band Ulver. The album was produced by Ulver, with John Fryer and Jaime Gomez Arellano, and issued in the UK on 25 April 2011 via Jester Records and Kscope, preceded by a single, "February MMX", in February. The album was released in the U.S. on 3 May 2011. Wars of the Roses is the first album to feature new member, British composer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel O'Sullivan.
Terrestrials is a collaborative studio album by American drone metal band Sunn O))) and Norwegian experimental music group Ulver. Produced by Stephen O'Malley and Kristoffer Rygg, it was released on February 3, 2014, via Southern Lord Records. It has been described as "three live improvisation pieces".
Myrkur is a solo black metal project by Danish singer Amalie Bruun. Initially, the real-life identity of the person behind the project was kept unknown. Her identity has since been made public. Myrkur has released four full-length studio albums to significant critical acclaim, as well as a live album and two EP. Her most recent album, Spine, was released on 20 October 2023 through Relapse Records.
M is the debut studio album by black metal project Myrkur, by Danish musician and singer-songwriter Amalie Bruun. Produced by Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg of Ulver, it was released on 21 August 2015 through Relapse Records.
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.
Hugh Steven James Mingay, also known by his stage name Skoll, is a Norwegian bassist.
