Cornelius Jakhelln (born 31 August 1977 in
Kristiansand
Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, f ...
), né Cornelius Brastad, also known under the
nom de plume
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
Cornelius von Jackhelln, is a Norwegian vocalist, guitarist, musician, writer and poet.
Biography
Musician
Born as Cornelius Brastad in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
to parents Arvid Brastad, an accountant, and Harriet Qvenild, a social worker, he changed his last to Jakhelln as an adult. He is currently residing in
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
. He was 18 years old when he and
Lars "Lazare" Nedland formed the
avant-garde metal
Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional sou ...
band,
Solefald. Along with being a lead vocalist, guitarist, bassist and composer in the band, he also handles the vast majority of lyric writing for the band.
Solefald has since released one demo and seven full-length albums. In December 2005, the band was nominated for the Norwegian
Alarm award for best
metal
A metal (from Greek μÎταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...
album for the album, ''
Red For Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 1''.
Cornelius' first time recording with a band other than
Solefald was in July 1999, when Cornelius performed guest vocals for the
gothic metal band
Monumentum for the songs "Black And Violet", a cover of the Italian band
Death SS, and "The Colour of Compassion". These recordings were released in 2004 on the Monumentum compilation album,
Metastasi.
In 2003, Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was
Sturmgeist
Sturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal band formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.
Biography Beginnings
In 2002, Cornelius Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was Sturmgeist (Stormspirit in German). The music was an ex ...
, and the band plays an experimental style of
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
/
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
with lyrics sung in English,
Norwegian, and German about
Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
Origins
As the Germanic lang ...
, war, and recitations of
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
poetry. On January 24, 2005, Sturmgeist released their first full-length, entitled
Meister Mephisto on the record label,
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...
. Since then, Sturmgeist has gone on a small European tour, and had recruited two more official members, John "Panzer" Jacobsen on guitar, and Christian "Anti Christian" Svendsen on drums, ending the band's time as a solo project. Sturmgeist's second full-length, entitled ''
Über
''Über'' (, sometimes written ''uber'' in English-language publications) is a German language word meaning "over", "above" or "across". It is an etymological twin with German ''ober'', and is a cognate (through Proto-Germanic) with English ...
'', was released October 16, 2006 through
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...
. His third album released under the Sturmgeist name was released in 2009, entitled
Manifesto Futurista
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
.
On August 26, 2005, Cornelius also announced on his official website that he would finally be recording an
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
album in
Sofia, Bulgaria that he had been planning for six years. He has described the project as a combination of
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
,
darkwave
Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...
,
hip hop,
drum'n'bass and
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
.
The album, entitled
My Only Drug Is Madness was released in 2007, under the band G.U.T, meaning Grace Under Torture. He got the phrase from a
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
short story entitled
Der Tod in Venedig
''Death in Venice ''(German: ''Der Tod in Venedig'') is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, published in 1912. It presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a Poli ...
.
Writer
Aside from being a musician, Cornelius made his debut as a writer in 2001. He has had many writings published in newspapers and magazines and a tetralogy of poems entitled
Quadra Natura for which he was deemed the winner of a national Scandinavian novel writing contest in 2007. The third volume of this four-book collection, entitled
Fagernorn. Quadra Natura 0111 was released on March 16, 2006. He is also involved with a Paris-based literary review entitled
Avant-poste, which was nominated for the French CNOUS annual award, as one out of ten cultural projects. He is also writing the
libretto for a contemporary opera telling a story from the
pagan times of the North.
He has continued to have a successful career as an author and was quoted in an interview stating "Being a writer is my job. And my music is… It's like a "Nebenjob", as you would say in Germany. A passion."
Education
Cornelius has a master's degree in philosophie/lettres modernes from
University of Paris IV: Paris-Sorbonne and a master's degree in the philosophy of
cognitive science with a minor in aesthetics from the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
. He is currently pursuing a PhD in philosophy and cognitive science from
École des hautes études en sciences sociales
The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate '' grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. Th ...
and a PhD in philosophy from the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...
.
Discography
With Solefald
# ''
Jernlov'' (demo) (1996)
# ''
The Linear Scaffold'' (1997)
# ''
Neonism (1999)
# ''
Pills Against The Ageless Ills'' (2001)
# ''
In Harmonia Universali
''In Harmonia Universali'' is the fourth studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on 24 March 2003, and their last record released under the Century Media label. The album features lyrics sung in four languages ...
'' (2003)
# ''
Red For Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 1'' (2005)
# ''
Black For Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 2'' (2006)
# ''
The Circular Drain
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (2008)
# ''
Norrøn Livskunst'' (2010)
# ''World Metal: Kosmopolis Sud'' (2015)
With Sturmgeist
# ''
Meister Mephisto'' (2005)
# ''
Über
''Über'' (, sometimes written ''uber'' in English-language publications) is a German language word meaning "over", "above" or "across". It is an etymological twin with German ''ober'', and is a cognate (through Proto-Germanic) with English ...
'' (2006)
# ''
Manifesto Futurista
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
'' (2009)
# ''
Operation Zion'' (2017)
With G.U.T
# ''
My Only Drug Is Madness'' (2007)
As guest musician
#
Monumentum: sang on the songs "Black And Violet" and "The Colour of Compassion" on the album,
Metastasi.
Books published
#
Gebura Muse. Quadra Natura 0001 August 23, 2001 at
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
editor
Aschehoug
#
Yggdraliv. Quadra Natura 0011 May 19, 2004 at
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
editor
Tiden
#
Fagernorn. Quadra Natura 0111 March 15, 2006 at
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
editor
Tiden
#
Gudenes fall 2007
#
Rikke gidder ikke! 2008
Cappelen Damm
#
Galderhug. Quadra Natura 1111 2008
Cappelen Damm
#
Vougesville 2009
Cappelen Damm
#
Trisyn 2010
Samlaget
#
Kosmopolis November 2, 2011
Samlaget
#
Raseri. En hvitings forsøk på en selvbiosofi November 21, 2011
Cappelen Damm
#
Umgangskrigen October 22, 2013
Cappelen Damm
References
External links
Official Cornelius Jakhelln Myspace PageSolefald Official HomepageSturmgeist Official HomepageG.U.T. Official Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakhelln, Cornelius
1977 births
Living people
Norwegian rock singers
Norwegian black metal musicians
21st-century Norwegian poets
Norwegian male poets
Norwegian male guitarists
Norwegian rock guitarists
Musicians from Oslo
Norwegian multi-instrumentalists
Date of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Norwegian male writers
21st-century Norwegian singers
21st-century Norwegian guitarists
21st-century Norwegian male singers