Einherjer is a
Viking metal 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 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'' 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 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 (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 - 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'' (1998)
* ''
Norwegian Native Art'' (2000)
* ''
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 ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Norrøn'' (2011)
* ''
Av Oss For Oss'' (2014)
* ''Dragons of the North XX'' (2016)
* ''Norrøne Spor'' (2018)
* ''North Star'' (2021)
EPs
* ''
Leve Vikingånden'' (1995)
* ''Aurora Borealis'' (1996)
* ''
Far Far North'' (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