Archive for norwegian black metal

“Terrorizer’s Secret History Of Norway” – Special Issue Dedicated To History Of 1990’s Black Metal Scene Is Out Now!

Posted in Black Metal, metal bands, metal music, music news, rock music, rock music news, world news with tags , , , , , , on May 7, 2014 by Metal Odyssey

Terrorizer Magazine - Norway - special issue - May 2014 - promo cover pic

As reported on the Terrorizer Facebook page:

Terrorizer’s Secret History of Norway is out now! We bring you the history of all that transpired in that famous black metal scene of the early 1990s – the music, the mayhem, the murders and the controversy. We get the oral history on what it was actually like to be a part of that scene, as told by key players like The True Mayhem‘s Necrobutcher, Darkthrone‘s Fenriz and Satyricon‘s Satyr, to name but a few.

But don’t think black metal is all that Norway has to offer, as we also explore everything from avant-garde weirdness to death metal destruction and the fury of Oslo punk, as well as bringing you our list of essential Norwegian albums.

Click here to get your copy! http://Terrorize.it/dp7

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Stone Says: Whoa! I came across this whiz-bang magazine from Terrorizer and now I MUST get myself a copy! This looks to be a grand source for the history of 90’s Black Metal! Barnes & Noble… here I come! Metal be thy name.

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Stone - Motorhead Tee pic:small

LONG LIVE BLACK METAL.

Stone.

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VREID: Norwegian Black Metal Collective Unleash Fifth Full Length To North America Today!

Posted in Black Metal, black metal albums, Extreme Metal, Heavy Metal, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on March 15, 2011 by Metal Odyssey

Norwegian black metallers VREID today release their fifth studio album, simply entitled V, in North America via Indie Recordings. Issued to European territories in February, the nine-track offering was produced by bassist/songwriter Hváll at his own 1184 Studio and has already received a positive response from European press, earning a perfect 6/6 rating in Scream Magazine in Norway and an 8/10 in Terrorizer who called the record VREID’s “most accomplished work to date.”

V Track Listing:

01. Arche

02. The Blood Eagle

03. Wolverine Bastards

04. The Sound Of The River

05. Fire On The Mountain

06. The Others & The Look

07. Slave

08. Welcome To The Asylum

09. Then We Die

Check out the video for “The Sound Of The River”, filmed in Wroclaw, Poland by Grupa 13 (Behemoth, Amon Amarth) Just click this link

 

The song is reportedly inspired by the book Markens Grøde/Growth Of The Soil by Knut Hamsun (a book which earned the legendary and controversial Norwegian author a Nobel prize in literature in 1920).

ABOUT VREID:

VREID, Norwegian for “wrath,” arose from the ashes of Windir, following the tragic death of Valfar in January 2004. At the time the band consisted of Windir members Hváll (bass), Steingrim (drums), Sture (vocals/guitar) and new guitarist/longtime friend, Ese. This lineup went on to release four albums and one DVD.

Between 2004 -2006 VREID released two full-lengths on Tabu Recordings: Kraft and Pitch Black Brigade. The music was a natural continuance of the music Hváll wrote with Windir, with a new twist — the ambiance of Windir and rawness of Norwegian black metal meshed with the rocking groove of Sepultura, Metallica and Motörhead. The lyrics were in both English and Norwegian, and heavily influenced by historical themes.

By 2006 VREID signed to then-new imprint Indie Records. Their third album, I Krig (Norwegian for “at war”), was released in May 2007. All the lyrics were based on poems from 1946 by Gunnar Reiss-Andersen, a member of the Norwegian resistance fighters during WW2. In 2009 they released Milorg. With English lyrics, the album once again dealt with the resistance movement’s work in Norway during WW2. The album received rave reviews and is VREID’s greatest success to date.

Since then, the band has been on a long-lasting path of progression and success. Their European headlining tour with Kampar and Iskald (on which they played Milorg in it’s entirety almost every night) was nearly sold out everywhere. They also did an extensive tour with Pestilence as special guests on their comeback tour. In April 2009 VREID performed on the main stage of the Inferno fest. Their set included pyro, movie screens and guest performances to illustrate the themes from their last album. This show is the backbone for their first ever DVD, Vreid Goddamnit that was released in September 2010. In the summer of that same year, VREID found themselves playing some of their most monumental shows ever on the main stages of mammoth festivals like Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, Brutal Assault, Oslo Live and Zwarte Cross. For the US release in October 2009, they did the Heathen Fest with Eluveitie and Belphegor which took them to 29 cities in 31 days.

VREID spent 2010 playing select festivals and shows, with their main focus on writing V. Build upon Norwegian blackness and ’70s rock, on V, the Norwegian black ‘n’ rollers are reunited with guitar maestro Strom from Windir and Ulcus days (former guitarist Ese fled the band late 2009). With history as the lifeline of their lyrics, V focuses its thoughts on Hamsun, Munch and Sarte and is clearly bears some of their heaviest and most complex songs ever recorded. VREID have marched across the world performing over 200 shows since their start back in 2004, and will be hitting the road 2011. Further details to be announced in due time.

(Source: Earsplit PR)

VREID Lineup:

Hváll – Bass

Sture – Vocals/Guitar

Strom – Guitar

Steingrim – Drums

LONG LIVE VREID.

Stone.

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Enslaved “Vertebrae” – Progressive, Black Metal raises the bar

Posted in Album Review, Black Metal, black metal 2008, black metal 2009, black metal from norway, cool album covers, current heavy metal albums, current heavy metal music, current progressive metal albums, essential heavy metal albums, Extreme Metal, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, Heavy Metal Reviews, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal music, metal music today, Metal Reviews, Music, new heavy metal album, norwegian black metal, progressive metal, progressive metal albums, progressive metal music, recent heavy metal albums with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

main-150Enslaved, from Norway, has created quite the exquisite Black Metal album with “Vertebrae”. Why do I use the adjective exquisite to describe this album? Well, I revere the Progressive Metal of Mastodon and Dream Theater, the legendary Progressive Rock of Pink Floyd and the groove infested Black Metal of Satyricon. Enslaved encompasses the most Metal and progressively delicious elements from these favorite bands of mine, while incorporating them into their very own startlingly, mind popping sound. What Enslaved has done here, is taken Rock and Metal influences to a new level, creating an album that embraces everything that is brilliant about Heavy and Progressive music. (I am not saying Enslaved actually looked to these bands for inspiration, this is just my musical and Metal interpretation and/or opinion). Enslaved has their roots in Black Metal, a musical track record that overflows with Metal bragging rights… “Vertebrae” by no means exemplifies this band as not being original. This album is as original as it gets… I cannot truly count how many Metal bands there are, that dare to experiment with music so valiantly.

Black Metal has gone through a bit of a metamorphosis over the years… so have the other Metal genres. There will always be the blue collar – true to the roots style of Black Metal, it deserves it’s rightful place in the Metal universe. Enslaved, like their counterparts Satyricon, have taken the Black Metal stylings and tweaked them, in this case, Enslaved progressively tweaked. As with anything in life, change is a natural necessity that either is accepted or rejected. Change in the musical circles of Metal can often times be equated to selling out or mellowing down, every fan of Metal has their own right to personally object or accept what they want from their music. My point I am trying to make here is, Enslaved has not deceived me or let me down with their brand of Progressive, Black Metal on “Vertebrae”. Vintage Venom and Mercyful Fate will forever and always be at my Metal reach, Enslaved “Vertebrae” is an extension of what happens when musical and Metal barriers are broken down. 

In an all encompassing summary of the seven songs on “Vertebrae”, I hear the nod to the forefathers of Black Metal, with especially the lead vocals and the dark, macabre and searingly moody ambiance, coming from the musical background elements. The keyboards and organ can create Black Metal which pays homage to the original sound of this band and genre, it can also create the progressive path in which “Vertebrae” aims for as well. Herbrand Larsen is simply unreal on the keys, organ and vocals. The same can be said for each member of Enslaved… as a cohesive unit they have connected not only with each other with their Metal skills and prowess, they have also raised the bar musically, in a Metal world that is rapidly interconnecting with each others genres. I cannot resist myself by recommending highly “Vertebrae”, Enslaved has created an album that will be at the top of my Metal list for decades to come.

The members of Enslaved are: Ivar Bjornson on guitars, Grutle Kjellson on vocals & bass, Herbrand Larsen on keyboards, organ & vocals, Cato Bekkevold on drums and Ice Dale on guitars. Enslaved has given the Metal world seven brilliant new songs with “Vertebrae”, thus inspiring me to delve and journey even further into the vast genres and sub-genres of Metal music.

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