Sarke – Oldarhian

Sarke are a Norwegian band comprised of (former) members from Darkthrone, Susperia, Spiral Architect, Borknagar and Satyricon. An impressive list of bands, so the “supergroup” tag is very much valid here. Oldarhian is the band’s second album and the first to feature the current incarnation of Sarke. Let’s see what the new record has to offer.

Vreid – V

Vreid consists of members from Windir. That band disintegrated after the tragic death of main composer and band leader Terje Bakken. The surviving members continued as Vreid. The past couple of years the band established themselves as a quality metal act, highlighted on albums like Kraft (2004), Pitch Black Brigade (2006), I Krig (2007) and Milorg (2009). V is the latest album by Vreid, so let’s take a closer look.

Enslaved – Vertebrae

Truth be told I’m a bigger fan of later day Enslaved, than of records like Frost (1994) or Eld (1997). It’s on Isa (2004) that Björnson and Co manage to reach their full potential with their progressive rock/black metal hybrid for which they’re known nowadays. This direction gets further explored and developed on Ruun (2006) and reaches its zenith on Vertebrae (2008).

Trinacria – Travel Now Journey Infinitely

Everyone who’s kept track of Enslaved the last couple of years knows that its members aren’t afraid of experimenting a bit on the side. One of those projects is Trinacria, which features Ice Dale, Björson and Kjellson from Enslaved and two female vocalists from Fe-Mail. The result of their joint venture came in the form of Travel Now Journey Infinitely, which is quite a musical adventure in its own right. Let’s take a closer look.

Solefald – Norrøn Livskunst

The dynamic duo behind Solefald are Lars A. Nedland and Cornelius Jakhelln. Both are accomplished musicians in their own right. Nedland was involved with Age Of Silence and Winds, and is still an active member of Borknagar. His musical partner in crime is active in Sturmgeist, but he’s also a renowned poet and writer in Norway. Over the years they used Solefald for their own experiments with black metal, culminating in albums such as Neonism (1999), Pills Against The Ageless Ills (2001) and

Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini

Originally starting as a black metal band, Enslaved have always been about musical progression, not much unlike their peers in Borknagar, Arcturus and Solefald. Major leaps in style were especially achieved on their Mardraum (2000) and Below The Lights (2003) albums. From Isa (2004) and Ruun (2006) on, the band keep refining their specific sound incorporating even more psychedelics and prog rock influences. Pink Floyd is the obvious reference here. On Vertebrae (2008) their prog rock/viking/black metal hybrid style reached its zenith.

In Vain – Mantra

My first introduction to this talented Norwegian band was their debut, entitled The Latter Rain. Its long and intricate compositions simply blew me away. In some ways it was the perfect autumn soundtrack. In January this year In Vain released their second full length, under the moniker of Mantra. Let’s see what this album is made of.

Sahg – III

Norway is well-known for its high profile contribution to metal in general, especially in the extreme metal sector. There are also bands who are active in the lighter side of the spectrum, such as Audrey Horne and Sahg. This last group, consisting of members from Audrey Horne and Gorgoroth, play a form of Black Sabbath influenced hardrock/doom metal with slightly progressive undertones. The guys are back with their third full length, simply entitled III.

Borknagar – Universal

In the early days Borknagar was just like many of your typical Norwegian black metal bands. Over the years they developed their own distinctive brand of progressive and innovative metal, releasing quality albums like The Archaic Course, Empericism and Epic. Now Øystein G. Brun and his partners in musical crime are back for more with their new record, called Universal.

Audrey Horne – Audrey Horne

Besides being the lead character in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, Audrey Horne is also the name of a Norwegian hard rock band, featuring members from Enslaved and Sahg. My first introduction to them was the Le Fol album, which is still one of my favourite records to this day. Anyway, the guys are back with their latest offering, simply entitled Audrey Horne…