Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have drawn controversy due to some of their concerts, which have featured impaled sheep heads and mock crucifixions. The band is named after the dead plateau of darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.
The jouhikko is a traditional, two- or three-stringed bowed lyre, from Finland and Karelia. Its strings are traditionally of horsehair. The playing of this instrument died out in the early 20th century but has been revived and there are now a number of musicians playing it.
The Norse mythology, preserved in such ancient Icelandic texts as the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and other lays and sagas, was little known outside Scandinavia until the 19th century. With the widespread publication of Norse myths and legends at this time, references to the Norse gods and heroes spread into European literary culture, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain. In the later 20th century, references to Norse mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation. Storytelling was an important aspect of Norse mythology and centuries later, with the rediscovery of the myth, Norse mythology once again relies on the impacts of storytelling to spread its agenda.
Mėnuo Juodaragis is an annual Baltic culture, alternative music, folk music and experimental music festival organized in Lithuania. It has been running since 1995 and is visited by 5,000 to 6,000 people each year, making it one of the biggest and oldest festivals in Lithuania.
Kristian Eivind Espedal, better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian vocalist and painter. He is best known as the former frontman of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. He is also the founder and lead vocalist of Trelldom and Gaahlskagg. Since leaving Gorgoroth, he has been involved with God Seed, Wardruna, and Gaahls Wyrd. He was the focus of the documentary True Norwegian Black Metal and also appeared in the film Flukt.
Twilight of the Idols (In Conspiracy with Satan) is the sixth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released on 12 August 2003 by Nuclear Blast and reissued in 2006 by Back on Black Records. It was the only album to feature drummer Kvitrafn.
Tom Cato Visnes, better known as King ov Hell or simply King, is a Norwegian musician. He is best known as the former bassist of black metal band Gorgoroth, and as a member of Ov Hell, God Seed, Jotunspor, Audrey Horne, Sahg, I and Temple of the Black Moon.
Ivar Skontorp Peersen, best known by his stage name Ivar Bjørnson, is a Norwegian composer/guitarist for the extreme metal band Enslaved.
Sahg is a three-piece Norwegian hard rock/doom metal band formed in Bergen in the summer of 2004, by key figures in the metal scene of their country: Tom Cato Visnes, Einar Selvik (Kvitrafn), Olav Iversen and Thomas Tofthagen. Iversen has been the main songwriter and the only constant member of the band since its inception.
The Gorgoroth name dispute refers to a legal dispute between musicians from Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth over who had ownership of the band's name, which was derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The parties to the dispute were band founder Infernus and members Gaahl and King ov Hell. It began in October 2007, when it was announced that Gaahl and King had decided to part ways with Infernus, although the former two claimed to have "fired" the latter. The dispute was concluded in March 2009 when a court verdict recognising Infernus as the legitimate user of the name was announced, and the outcome of the dispute also established a precedent in Norway for subsequent similar disputes.
Runaljod – Gap var ginnunga is the first album by Norwegian Nordic folk group Wardruna. It was released 19 January 2009 by Indie Recordings/Fimbulljóð Productions.
I Begin is the only album by Norwegian black metal band God Seed. It was released on 23 October 2012 in North America and on 30 October 2012 in Europe.
Runaljod – Yggdrasil is the second album by Norwegian Nordic folk musical project Wardruna, released 15 March 2013 by Indie Recordings/Fimbulljóð Productions. It is an interpretation of the Elder Futhark and is sung in Norwegian, Old Norse and Proto-Norse. The lyrics center on Norse spiritual themes.
Einar Selvik, also known by his stage name Kvitrafn, is a Norwegian musician known for being the drummer in the black metal band Gorgoroth from 2000 to 2004, and for fronting the Nordic folk project Wardruna, founded in 2002 and also including Gorgoroth's ex-vocalist Gaahl. Selvik and Wardruna's soundtrack work for the History Channel television show Vikings has earned him international prominence, and he also appeared as an actor on the show.
Gaahls Wyrd is a black metal band based in Bergen, Norway, formed by the former Gorgoroth and God Seed vocalist Gaahl.
Runaljod – Ragnarok is the third album by the Norwegian Nordic folk band Wardruna, released on 21 October 2016 by Indie Recordings/By Norse Music. It is the final chapter of the trilogy Runaljod, inspired by the 24 ancient runes of the Elder Futhark.
E is the fourteenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. It was released on October 13, 2017 by Nuclear Blast.
Midgardsblot is an annual extreme metal and folk music festival organised in Borre, Norway. The festival has been organised since 2015 and takes place at Midgard Viking Centre, museum in a former Viking settlement and largest burial mound site in Northern Europe. The programme of Midgardsblot includes tours of the area, battle reenactments, documentary screenings, lectures and panel discussions, as well as a Viking village, a Viking market and a games arena for archery, axe-throwing, and other activities.
Kvitravn is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian Nordic folk band Wardruna, released on 22 January 2021.
Lindy-Fay Hella is a Norwegian singer, musician and composer, known as a member of Wardruna and Lindy-Fay Hella & Dei Farne. She played electronic music before she became a founding member of Wardruna, which plays eclectic music influenced by runes. Her singing features prominently in Wardruna's Runaljod album trilogy. Hella released a solo album of electronic pop in 2019. For a second album in 2021, she fashioned her solo project as Lindy-Fay Hella & Dei Farne.
