Viper Solfa is a Norwegian extreme

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

band from

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, Norway. It was founded in 2013 by Ronny Thorsen, once the symphonic gothic metal band

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

was separated.

History

After almost two decades of to exist Trail of Tears, the differences between some of its surviving members had become unsustainable; in consequence, they decided to go their own way in early 2013, prior to the release of their seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Oscillation Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

''. Viper Solfa came some months later in the same year, as an idea of the lead singer Ronny Thorsen, who wanted a somewhat different project he had done so far, with a more aggressive sound and focused on gothic black metal and

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

. Thorsen quickly gathered his former colleagues in Trail of Tears: bassist Endre Moe (formerly Dimension F3H and Cutthroat), and drummer Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow (Sphere). Thorsen asked to join at the prominent singer and multi-instrumentalist "Morfeus" (

Krister Dreyer Krister Dreyer (born 11 September 1974 in Sandefjord, Norway), commonly known as Morfeus, is a Norwegian musician, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Morfeus is noted for his work in several bands in Norway, including Mayhem, Limboni ...

), who was already known for his work in other Norwegian bands such as

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

Limbonic Art Limbonic Art is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Sandefjord. History Limbonic Art was formed in 1993 by Daemon, and was originally a full band featuring 3 other members. Daemon got in touch with Morfeus after the demise of the first li ...

and Dimension F3H. Morfeus accepted and immediately took the role of main songwriter and the interpretation of the guitar, keyboards and orchestration. With the material at hand, it became clear that the sound needed a female voice; after a hearing with more than two dozen singers from around the world, they elected the Norwegian soprano Miriam "Sphinx" Renvåg of the

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde music, avant-garde elements, including non-stan ...

band

Ram-Zet Ram-Zet is a progressive metal band (music), band formed in Hamar, Norway in 1998. Genre classification Ram-Zet's music is very diverse ranging from black metal to thrash metal. It has Industrial music, industrial sounds, Progressive metal, pr ...

as the last piece of the group. Therefore, Viper Solfa has a line-up composed of consolidated and recognized musicians in vast musical genres. Almost a year after it was established, they signed a contract with the German independent record label

Massacre Records Massacre Records is an independent record label based in Abstatt, Germany, specializing in bands from the heavier genres of metal. The label was founded in 1991 by Torsten Hartmann. Associated with Massacre Records are the marketing and music ...

and recorded between May and July 2014 in Transient Lab (mostly). Strand Spacemachine Studio and Studio in Oslo, Norway; finished the production and mixing in the Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes. The debut album was titled '' Carving an Icon'', and was released on February 20, 2015.

Band name

According to an interview with Ronny Thorsen in July 2015, he named his band Viper Solfa for two basic reasons:

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Carving an Icon'' CD (2015,

)

Members

*Ronny Thorsen - Male vocals (

growling Growling is a low, guttural Animal communication, vocalization produced by animals as an aggression, aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific ...

) *Miriam Elisabeth Renvåg "Sphinx" - Female vocals *

"Morfeus" - Guitars, keyboards, orchestrations *Endre Moe "Mr. Moe" - Bass guitar *Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow - Drums

References

External links

Official WebsiteMetallum ArchivesViper Solfa on FacebookYoutube Channel
{{Authority control Norwegian gothic metal musical groups Norwegian heavy metal musical groups Extreme metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2013 2013 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Kristiansand Massacre Records artists Musical groups from Norway with local place of origin missing