Vintersorg is a Swedish band from Skellefteå, formed in 1994 under the name Vargatron. Musically, Vintersorg has covered a wide number of heavy metal genres; while the band is mostly rooted in extreme metal styles, particularly black metal and Viking/folk metal, it has also expanded into progressive metal and avant-garde metal. Lyrically, the band deals with topics on fantasy, mythology, nature, the cosmos, and metaphysics. Vintersorg means "Winter Sorrow," but the name was taken from The Legend of the Ice People series by Margit Sandemo, where the character Vintersorg is the son of a great pagan leader.
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.
Empiricism is the fifth studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Borknagar. It is their first studio album to feature Vintersorg frontman Andreas Hedlund on vocals and Jan Erik "Tyr" Tiwaz on bass. It was also the last album to feature Jens F. Ryland on guitar until his return to the band in 2010.
Epic is the sixth studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Borknagar. It was released in 2004 on Century Media Records.
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.
Ásmegin is a Norwegian folk/viking metal band formed in 1998. The name comes from Old Norse and means "Might of the Æsir" or "Might of the Gods". Ásmegin's lyrics are written in Norwegian as well as some in Old Norse and older Norwegian. Some of the tracks on Hin vordende Sod og Sø are modeled after the Norwegian play Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen.
Winds is a Norwegian neoclassical/progressive metal band formed in 1998. The music is largely influenced by classical music, with Andy Winter's piano work and Carl August Tidemann's guitar solos, often the central focuses. The lyrics are written by Winter, and deal mostly with astral and existentialist philosophy.
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 the vocalist and bass guitarist to the heavy metal band Borknagar, and the former bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir.
Black Shining Leather is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest. It was released in 1998 through Avantgarde Music, and re-issued in 2007 by Peaceville Records via digipak format.
In Harmonia Universali is the fourth studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on 24 March 2003, and their last record released under the Century Media label. The album features lyrics sung in four languages: English, Norwegian, French and German.
Age of Silence is a Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal band formed in 2004 by Andy Winter of Winds.
Cornelius Jakhelln, né Cornelius Brastad, also known under the nom de plume Cornelius von Jackhelln, is a Norwegian vocalist, guitarist, musician, writer and poet.
Meister Mephisto is the first full-length album by Norwegian experimental black/thrash band Sturmgeist, the, then solo, project of Cornelius Jakhelln. It was released on 24 January 2005. It is the 94th release by French record label, Season Of Mist. A live drummer was originally planned to be involved with the recording, but Jakhelln wound up programming the drums instead, making Meister Mephisto the first time Jakhelln released an album that was an individual effort after being a professional musician since 1995. In an interview for Nocturnal Horde, Jakhelln stated that the music on the album was influenced by living for a month in Weimar, Germany. In a press release for Blabbermouth.net Jakhelln stated, "It is no coincidence if Meister Mephisto has Germanic culture as its scene and source." In support of the album, Jakhelln garnered support from various Norwegian musicians, including drummer Asgeir Mickelson of Borknagar and Spiral Architect fame, and went on a European tour with Season of Mist label mates, Carpathian Forest.
Sturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal band formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.
Origin is the seventh studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Borknagar. Origin explores the band's more progressive and traditional elements and is primarily an acoustic effort.
An Icelandic Odyssey is a two-part concept album series by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. The first part, Red for Fire, was released on 18 October 2005, while the second part, Black for Death, was released on 24 November 2006. The band was quoted as saying "Solefald was experimenting when everybody was being true. Now that things are changing and that we've pushed the experiment quite far already, we wanted Red for Fire plus Black for Death to be our attempts at being 'true'. This will be a true Nordic Viking metal album."
Universal is the eighth studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Borknagar. It marks the return of guitarist Jens F. Ryland. The band's former vocalist Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs performs vocals on the track "My Domain". The album was intended to be released in the fall of 2009, but the release date was postponed as a result of a label decision. It was released on 22 February 2010 in four formats: a regular jewelcase CD, a limited digipack which includes a bonus disc, a CD box with extras, and a gatefold LP with double vinyl.
Norrøn livskunst is the seventh studio album by Norwegian avant-garde black metal band Solefald and their first album released through Indie Recordings.
In Vain is a progressive death metal band from Kristiansand in Norway. Their music can be described as melodic extreme metal, and it is mainly composed by their guitarist Johnar Håland. The band has released four albums, and toured Europe with Solefald in 2013 and My Silent Wake in 2010. In Vain has also played concerts in Norway, and also played at the Inferno Metal Festival in 2013.
Winter Thrice is the tenth studio album by Norwegian heavy metal band Borknagar. This is the only album to feature drummer Baard Kolstad and the last to feature longtime members Vintersorg and Jens F. Ryland.
