Einherjer is a

Viking metal Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by a lyrical and thematic focus on Norse mythology, Norse religion, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Viking metal is quite diverse as a musical style, to the point where some consi ...

band from

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, founded in 1993. Some of the band's

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 ...

s are heavily

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

influenced, while others have a more traditional

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. History One of the earliest forerunners in what would come to be the sound of symphonic metal was Celtic Frost ...

sound. Their lyrics retell Norse legends, and each of their albums has its own theme. The band split up in early 2004 after releasing the album ''

Blot Blot may refer to: Surname * Guillaume Blot (born 1985), French racing cyclist * Harold W. Blot (born 1938), served as United States Deputy Chief of Staff for Aviation * Jean-François Joseph Blot (1781–1857), French soldier and politician * Y ...

'' in December 2003, but later reformed. In December 2004, all members of Einherjer's last lineup, including the band's founders Frode Glesnes and Gerhard Storesund, founded the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band Battered together with bass guitarist Ole Moldesæther. In September 2008, Einherjer announced that they would reunite to do some selected shows across Europe in 2009, including the

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...

, Kaltenbach and Wacken festivals. The band signed with Indie Recordings in December 2010; their first album in eight years, ''

Norrøn ''Norrøn'' (''Norse'') is the fifth full-length album by the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer Einherjer is a Viking metal band from Haugesund, Norway, founded in 1993. Some of the band's albums are heavily Traditional folk music, folk ...

'' was released in September 2011. Einherjer has since released three more studio albums, and the latest one, ''North Star'', was released on February 26, 2021.

Name

The band's name is taken from Norse mythology, where the term

Einherjar In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri; literally "army of one", "those who fight alone")Simek, Rudolf (1993). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71.Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). are those ...

describes the slain warriors who have gone to

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

and joined

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

's table.

Battered

The band was reconstituted in 2004 as "Battered", a thrash band that included Glesnes, Storesund, and Herløe. A new vocalist joined them in 2005, Siggy Olaisen, The band only released one demo, ''...Beyond Recognition'', and one album—also named ''Battered''—before disbanding. The self-titled debut album was released February 27, 2006, in Norway; and March 13 in the rest of Europe. The American release date for the album was April 4, 2006.

Personnel

Current lineup

Frode Glesnes Frode Glesnes (born 7 October 1974) is one of the founders of the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer. He started as guitarist/vocalist, but decided to concentrate on the guitar duties. He did the lead vocals on Einherjer's last album, ''Blot ...

(previously Grimar) - vocals, guitar and bass (1993–2004, 2008–present) * Gerhard Storesund (previously Ulvar) - drums and keys (1993–2004, 2008–present) * Ole Sønstabø - Lead guitar (2016–present) * Tom Enge - Guitar & backing vocals (2020–present)

Previous members

* Aksel Herløe - guitar (1999–2004, 2008–2020) * Rune Bjelland (previously Nidhogg) - vocals (1993–1997) * Audun Wold (previously Thonar) - bass, keyboards, guitar (1993–1997) * Stein Sund - bass (1995–1997) * Ragnar Vikse - vocals (1997–2002) * Erik Elden - bass (1998)

Session and touring musicians

Tchort Terje Vik Schei (born 7 July 1974), better known by his stage name Tchort, is a Norwegian musician. He is known for his time spent playing bass for the black metal band Emperor and for leading the progressive metal band Green Carnation. He ha ...

- bass (1998–1999) * Stein Sund - bass (1999) * Jon Lind - bass (2000–2001) * V'Gandr - bass (2001) * Kjell Håvardsholm - bass (2002) * Sigve Husebø - bass (2003) * Eirik Svendsbø - backing vocals and bass (2008–2014)

Battered band members

* Sigurd "Siggy" Olaisen - lead vocals (Headblock) * Frode Glesnes - guitar and vocals (Einherjer) * Aksel Herløe - guitar (ex-Einherjer) * Gerhard Storesund - drums (Einherjer) * Ole Moldesæther - bass (Headblock)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Dragons of the North'' (1996) * ''

Odin Owns Ye All ''Odin Owns Ye All'' is the second full-length album by the Norwegian Viking metal band Einherjer. Its songs form a brief, but complete, narrative of the earth based on Norse mythology. The opening tracks tell the story of the giant Ymir, his d ...

'' (1998) * ''

Norwegian Native Art ''Norwegian Native Art'' is the third full-length album by the Norwegian viking metal band Einherjer. It was released on 11 September 2000 by Native North Records. Track listing # "Wyrd of the Dead" – 4:51 # "Doomfaring" – 4:45 # "Hugin' ...

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Av Oss For Oss'' (2014) * ''Dragons of the North XX'' (2016) * ''Norrøne Spor'' (2018) * ''North Star'' (2021)

EPs

* ''

Leve Vikingånden ''Leve Vikingånden'' (''Long Live the Viking Spirit'') is the first official release by the Norwegian heavy metal band Einherjer, following their 1993 demo ''Aurora Borealis''. It was released on 7 inch vinyl and only 1500 copies were made. B ...

'' (1995) * ''Aurora Borealis'' (1996) * ''

Far Far North ''Far Far North'' is a three-song EP released by the band Einherjer in 1997. The final two tracks are re-recorded versions of songs from the band's 1995 EP '' Leve Vikingånden''. Those two songs have Norwegian language lyrics, while the title ...

'' (1997)

Compilation albums

* ''Aurora Borealis / Leve vikingånden'' (2013)

Demos

* ''Aurora Borealis (1994)'' * ''...Beyond Recognition'', (Battered) 2004

References

External links

*
Battered's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einherjer Norwegian thrash metal musical groups Norwegian viking metal musical groups Norwegian symphonic black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 1993 establishments in Norway 2004 disestablishments in Norway Musical groups from Haugesund