Ildjarn was a Norwegian cult
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 ...
project that formed in 1991. Ildjarn recorded music until 1997 but did not officially end until 2005. The man behind Ildjarn was
Vidar Vaaer, although some releases were collaborations with a musician known as
Nidhogg.
History
The band was formed in 1991. The band's music was a very raw, fast, simple and
lo-fi
Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...
brand of black metal, with most songs composed of basic drum patterns, a couple of riffs, and unintelligible vocals. The band's style has been compared to
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...
in its simplistic ferocity and short song lengths. Two Ildjarn albums were made entirely on a synthesizer. Of all the released music, the only Ildjarn song to have its lyrics published was "Eksistensens Jeger", from the self-titled ''Ildjarn-Nidhogg'' (2003) compilation.
In 2006, the band website stated that no more news would be printed, leading to the conclusion that Ildjarn had ended. The title of Ildjarn's 2005 release, ''Ildjarn is Dead'', further supports this conclusion. Part of Vidar Vaaer's motivation for ending Ildjarn was due to his 4-track recorder breaking (the same 4-track recorder used during
Emperor's early days as
Thou Shalt Suffer
Thou Shalt Suffer were a band that was part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. It formed in 1990 at Akkerhaugen, Norway, under the name "Dark Device". Its style was mainly death metal, though it included some black metal traits, alongside I ...
).
Related bands
The related band Sort Vokter consisted of Ildjarn, Nidhogg and two other members known as Tvigygre and Heiinghund. They released only one album called ''Folkloric Necro Metal''.
Discography
*1992 – ''Unknown Truths'' – demo
*1992 – ''Seven Harmonies of Unknown Truths'' – demo
*1993 – ''
Ildjarn'' – demo
*1993 – ''
Norse
Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries.
Norse may also refer to:
Culture and religion
* Nor ...
'' – EP (black metal release with Nidhogg)
*1994 – ''
Minnesjord'' – demo
*1995 – ''
Ildjarn'' – album
*1996 – ''
Forest Poetry
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
'' – album
*1996 – ''
Landscapes
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...
'' – album
*1996 – ''
Strength and Anger'' – album
*1996 – ''
Svartfråd'' – EP (black metal release with Nidhogg)
*2002 – ''
Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ...
'' – album (ambient release with Nidhogg)
*2002 – ''
Hardangervidda Part 2
Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...
'' – EP (ambient release with Nidhogg)
*2004 – ''
Nocturnal Visions
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
'' – EP
*2013 – ''
Those Once Might Fallen Those may refer to:
* ''those'', plural English distal demonstrative
Demonstratives (abbreviated ) are words, such as ''this'' and ''that'', used to indicate which entities are being referred to and to distinguish those entities from others. They ...
'' – Split with
Hate Forest
Compilation albums
*1995 – ''Det Frysende Nordariket'' – contains ''Ildjarn Demo'', ''Norse'', ''Minnesjord''
*2002 – ''1992-1995'' – contains a collection of songs from 1992–1995
*2003 – ''Ildjarn-Nidhogg'' – contains the two black metal releases with Nidhogg: ''Norse'' and ''Svartfråd''
*2005 – ''Ildjarn 93'' – contains previously unreleased songs from 1993
*2005 – ''Ildjarn is Dead'' – contains all demos and the outtakes from those demos
Members
* Ildjarn (Vidar Vaaer) – vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, synthesizer
* Nidhogg – vocals, keyboard, drums (occasional member)
*
Samoth
Samoth (born Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen, 9 June 1974) is a Norwegian guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the country's black metal scene. He is well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formatio ...
– vocals (occasional member)
*
Ihsahn
Vegard Sverre Tveitan (born 10 October 1975), better known by his stage name Ihsahn (), is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, best known for his work with black metal band Emperor. Tveitan is also a founding member of Th ...
– vocals (occasional member)
References
External links
*
Ildjarnon
MusicMight
MusicMight (formerly RockDetector) was a rock music website which provides artist and product information through a global website and an ongoing book series. Based in New Zealand, the site was founded by British writer Garry Sharpe-Young, and was ...
Bandcampby
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 ...
Dark ambient music groups
Norwegian ambient music groups
Norwegian black metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1991
1991 establishments in Norway
Musical groups disestablished in 2005
2005 disestablishments in Norway
Musical groups from Telemark
One-man bands
{{Norway-band-stub