Solefald is a Norwegianavant-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."[1] According to the duo, their name is an Old Norse word for "sunset," taken from one of Theodor Kittelsen's paintings[2] illustrating a poem of the same name by Theodor Caspari, published in the 1901 book Vintereventyr.[3]
Their first official rehearsal together was in 1995 with the song "When The Moon Is On The Wave." They released their first, 5 song demo, entitled Jernlov (translated to Iron Law in English), in 1996. Jernlov was the band's most traditional black metal release, but the band had an experimental edge, incorporating Nedland's clean vocals and piano passages into the black metal formula. They were one of the first bands in the black metal genre to incorporate new elements into the style, including a bag pipe passage in one song.
The band was signed by the Milanese record label, Avantgarde Music, in 1996. In July 1997, the band released a follow-up to their demo. This first full-length release was called, The Linear Scaffold. The album was an expansion of the style on the demo. The album had a better recording quality, and contained 8 songs, two of which had previously been on the demo, but were now re-written and re-recorded. The band incorporated sounds and techniques that had never been heard in black metal before, using hand claps along with choruses in the song "Philosophical Revolt", jazzy clean guitar passages, and shrieked vocals over piano pieces. The album also featured vocals in English and Norwegian. When this album was released, the band coined the term "Red Music With Black Edges" to define themselves.
In 1998 the band began to adventure out of the studio and onto their first and only tour. The band toured through Europe supporting symphonic metal band Haggard with gothic metal band Tristania. Being a two-piece band, they employed the use of John Erik Jacobsen (aka Didrik von PanzerDanzer) on second guitar, who recently toured with, then joined, Jakhelln' new band Sturmgeist. Drummer Tarald Lie and ex-Dimmu Borgir member Jens-Petter Sandvik on the bass completed Solefald's live line-up. A press statement released in July 2012 announced Solefald's return to the stage for two festival dates, first on 15 September 2012 at the Southern Discomfort festival in Kristiansand, Norway and the second at the 2013 Inferno Festival in Oslo. Session instrumental support for both concerts will be handled by Norwegian death metal band, In Vain.[4]
Starting in 1998 the two members started branching out into other musical endeavours, with Nedland performing the drums for the album Black Shining Leather by the Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest. Later, in July 1999, Jakhelln did guest vocals for the gothic metal band Monumentum for the songs "Black And Violet", a cover of the Italian band Death SS, and "The Colour of Compassion". These recordings were released in 2004 on the Monumentum compilation album, Metastasi.
In 1999, the band released their second full-length, entitled Neonism on 24 September. The album incorporated black metal, pop, classical music, punk, and progressive metal. The album also featured more vocal techniques from each member. Singing in English and French, Nedland brought back his clean vocals, but also introduced a new style, in the form of hollering. Jakhelln still used his high pitched wails and shrieks and his lower grunting, but he also introduced a style of spoken word singing. The lyrics were unconventional for metal in general and black metal especially, dealing with socio-political issues and pop culture criticism. The album received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for being too adventurous. The band even received a death threat from the USA from someone that considered the album an abomination to black metal. Others denounced it for its thin recording quality. The band stated that they used this quality because of the multi-layered song structures demanding a thinner sound to allow the many facets of the music to shine through. Another reasoning was that they wanted to use the recording style at the famed Sunlight Studios to achieve the "old school black metal" sound. The album's recording was also plagued with problems, including a mixing board that literally started burning. The band coined the term "Radical Designer Rock 'n' Roll", for this release.[5]
Following this album, the Solefald camp grew quiet for a little while. Nedland joined progressiveblack metal band Borknagar as keyboard player and back-up vocalist. In 2000, Borknagar released their first release with Nedland playing with them, Quintessence.
In 2001, Solefald came together to release their third full-length. The new album, entitled Pills Against the Ageless Ills, was described by the band as "a concept album about a pair of long-lost brothers — one a pornographer, the other a monk."[6] Musically, Pills is more straightforward than Neonism. The album features more prominent guitar, with the keys acting as an accent and background instrument much of the time. Whereas Neonism consisted of songs that would each have a variety of styles and genres within them, Pills has a variety of different style songs, each focusing individually on a certain style. Vocally, the band had made yet another change. Maintaining Nedland's style and getting rid of his hollering style singing, and keeping Jakhelln' lower black metal grunting, "Pills" saw the addition of a less high pitched black metal shriek from Jakhelln, as well as Jakhelln' most common style of singing to date. This new vocal style is a throaty sounding form of vocals, similar to some gothic rock bands. This album, released on 19 September 2001, was Solefald's first album released through the German record label Century Media.
The next Solefald endeavour came in 2003 with the full-length album In Harmonia Universali, released on 24 March 2003. The album contained 10 songs, with each song's lyrics devoted to various artists, philosophers, and deities. The lyrics are also sung in four languages on this album, English, Norwegian, French, and German. They incorporated a Steinway grand piano, a male choir, authentic Spanish classical acoustic guitar, violin, and saxophone. The music was layered, consisting of composite riffs and leads from the guitars and hammond keyboard sections. Vocally this found Jakhelln eschewing his black metal vocal approach, sticking strictly with this throaty spoken word performance. Nedland's vocals stayed primarily the same. This was their last album released on Century Media.
In early 2005, Jakhelln released the first full-length album Meister Mephisto, through Season of Mist from his solo band, Sturmgeist, an experimental black/thrash metal band with industrial overtones. Nedland contributed back-up vocals on this release, along with vocalist Fuchs of Weimar's Die Apokalyptischen Reiter. Following shortly after the release of Black For Death, Jakhelln and Nedland continue to release more music from other projects. Jakhelln released his second and third Sturmgeist albums entitled Über and Manifesto Futurista respectively. He also recorded an experimental electronica/metal album under the band name G.U.T. entitled My Only Drug Is Madness. He is also writing the libretto for a contemporary opera telling a story from the pagan times of the North.
Later in the year 2005, the band travelled to Iceland, with funding from the Norwegian Tekstforfatterfondet[no] (Lyricists' Fund), to write their next album. As the trip inspired more material than would fit on a single album, the group ultimately decided to split An Icelandic Odyssey into two albums, Red for Fire and Black for Death, which were released in 2005 and 2006 on the French label Season of Mist. This two-part saga is based on a story written by Jakhelln about a fictional Icelandic skald named Bragi. The band announced via Myspace on 28 March 2007 that they had parted ways with Season of Mist.[7]
In January 2008, a Solefald remix album, entitled The Circular Drain was released through Jakhelln's independent label, Von Jackhelln Inhuman, signed and limited to 1,000 copies. It features remixes by Havoc Unit, James Fogarty project "The Bombs of Enduring Freedom", Zweizz, and others. In addition to these remixes, the CD also contains the entire Jernlov demo, marking the first time it has appeared on a digital medium.
The band went on to sign with Norwegian label Indie Recordings. They released their 7th full-length, entitled Norrøn Livskunst ("The Norse art of Life") on 15 November 2010. The album features guest vocals by Agnete Kjølsrud (ex-Animal Alpha, Djerv) who was also featured the album Abrahadabra released by Dimmu Borgir in 2010 as well. It also marks Solefald's first guitar solo, brought in by the guest guitarist Vangelis Labrakis of the band Mencea. The album marked the first time the band recorded an album with nearly entirely Norwegian lyrics. In a press release it was stated that "The lyrics on 'Norrøn livskunst' are written in a 'høgnorsk' style approaching the Norse— the sound ought to cut like a knife!"[8]
Solefald remained with Indie Recordings for their next project, Kosmopolis, which was again split into two releases. The 2014 EP Norrønasongen: Kosmopolis Nord, named for a poem by Olav Aukrust, was described by Nedland as "progressive folk-pop-noise" that "sets the scene for the forthcoming album Kosmopolis Sud by being nothing like it. We’re Solefald after all!"[1] In 2015, the full-length album World Metal: Kosmopolis Sud claimed to merge "raw Norwegian metal and Dutch techno with Norse and African folk rhythms" to create "a true celebration of global culture."[9]
Aside from music, Nedland is a newscaster for TVNorge, and Jakhelln is a writer/poet, with many published writings including a tetralogy of poems entitled Quadra Natura.
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.
Lars Are Nedland, known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer, and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the heavy metal act Borknagar. He composes much of the music and all the arrangements for violin and cello on the Solefald albums, Red for Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 1 and Black For Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 2. He also has written some lyrics for the band, including the songs "04.34 pm", "Fluorescent", and "White Frost Queen." He and vocalist/guitarist/bassist/main lyricist Cornelius Jakhelln started Solefald in August 1995.
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.
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.
Ram-Zet is a progressive metal band formed in Hamar, Norway in 1998.
Pills Against the Ageless Ills is the third studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on 19 September 2001, and is their first album under the Century Media label. It is a concept album, following the story of two brothers, Philosopher Fuck and Pornographer Cain.
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.
Asgeir Mickelson is a Norwegian musician, artist, photographer and music reviewer. Although primarily known as a drummer, he is also a skilled guitarist and bassist.
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.
Über is the second full-length album by Norwegian experimental black/thrash metal band Sturmgeist. The album was released on October 16, 2006 through Season Of Mist. This album introduced two new members to the band, John E. Jacobsen aka Panzer on guitar and bass and Christian Svendsen aka AntiChristian on drums, officially changing the project from a solo band to a full band.
Neonism is the second studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on 7 December 1999, through Avantgarde Music.
The Linear Scaffold is the debut studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released in 1997, through Avantgarde Records.
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.
Thy Catafalque is an avant-garde metal band formed in Makó, Hungary, later based in Edinburgh, Scotland, after the relocation of its founder.
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.
Ænigma is the third album by Norwegian progressive death metal band In Vain. It was released on March 11, 2013 by Indie Recordings. The album was recorded at the Strand Studio, in Kristiansand, between September and December 2012. The album was mixed and mastered in Fascination Street Studios in Sweden.
↑ "Century Media Germany - 2004 - An Interview With Solefald". 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-03-09. Lazare: Solefald is an old norse word for sunset. We "stole" it from a painting by the Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen. His two paintings "Soleglad" and "Solefald" portrays the cycle of being, and we found it to be a very fitting idea for our band. Cornelius: "Solefald" means literally "the fall of the sun", or just "sunset"; the way we spell it is Danish, from the 19th century, but in Icelandic and Old Norse you find the name with the spelling "solarfall", meaning the same.
↑ Caspari, Theodor (1901). Vintereventyr. Christiania (Oslo): T. O. Brogger. pp.34–35.
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