Lumsk is a Norwegian

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

band from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. The band combines traditional Norwegian folk music and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

with

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

. The group has both male and female vocals with violin, guitar and drums.

History

After having released a self-produced demo, the band released an EP called ''Åsmund Frægdegjevar'' in 2001 under contract with the record company

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is an international record label. Founded in Finland in 1990, Spinefarm was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2002. History Spinefarm Records began as a mailorder distribution company, founded by Riku Pääkkönen. The c ...

. The next year, the band moved to

Tabu Recordings Tabu Recordings is an independent Norwegian record label founded in 2003 in Oslo. It is owned by Tuba Records, a major Scandinavian independent music distributor. The label focuses on releasing products from the Norwegian metal bands. Bands si ...

and released their debut album, which had the same title as the previously released EP. The album was characterized by its blend of classical instruments and heavy metal. The songs make up a narrative about the saga of Åsmund, who in Lumsk's interpretation sails from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

to rescue a king's daughter from a group of

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

s. Several years later, and with a new vocalist, the band released its second album, called ''Troll''. The album was a departure in many ways from its predecessor - the band had gotten a new vocalist and guitarist, and as a whole the music was not as heavy or dark as on the debut album. There were also fewer songs, and together they did not compose one narrative, but were rather stories in and of themselves; stories which were based on

Nordic mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

and were written by the saga author Birger Sivertsen and his wife Kristin. The same year the band released the single ''Nidvisa'', which, in addition to the song ''Allvis'' from ''Troll'', contained a song written for the action group ''Give Us Back Christmas'' (''Gi oss jula tilbake'' in Norwegian) in protest against department stores' early

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

decorating. The profits from the sale of the single also went to the group. On February 26, 2007, Lumsk released their third full-length album, entitled Det Vilde Kor. On this album, Lumsk have added music to Det Vilde Kor, which is a collection of poems written by the famous Norwegian poet

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to conscio ...

. With this album the music departed from its folk metal sound and incorporated a calmer and slightly more progressive nature. In July 2007 Espen announced on Lumsk's website that Ketil and Siv Lena would be leaving the band due to a baby being born. They were replaced by Swedish musicians Håkan Lundqvist and Jenny Gustafsson. In 2009 Annelise Ofstad Aar joined the band, as a replacement for vocalist Stine Mari Langstrand, who also left in 2007. On March 10, 2023 Lumsk released a double single for their upcoming album Fremmede toner, under their new label Dark Essence Records.

Members

Current

*Espen Warankov Godø - keyboards (2000-) *Eystein Garberg -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(2001-) *Espen Hammer -

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

(2002-) *Roar Grindheim -

(2012-) *Vidar Berg -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2005-) *Mari Klingen -

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(2020-) *Siv Lena Laugtug Sæther –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

(2001–2007, 2021 -)

Former

*Snorre Hovdal -

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

*Bjørnar Selsbak -

*Øyvind R -

*Vibeke Arntzen -

*Sondre Øien -

*Steinar Årdal - male vocals *Alf Helge Lund -

(1999–2005) *Ketil Sæther -

(2004–2007 - 2009–2012) *Stine Mari Langstrand -

(2004–2007) *Håkan Lundqvist -

(2007) *Jenny Gustafsson -

(2007) *Annelise Ofstad Aar -

(2009-2019)

Discography

Albums

*'' Åsmund Frægdegjevar'' (2003) *''

Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

'' (2005) *'' Det Vilde Kor'' (2007) *'' Fremmede Toner'' (2023)

Demos and singles

*''Demo 2001'' (demo, 2001) *'' Nidvisa'' (single, 2005) *'' Det Døde Barn/Das Tode Kind'' (single, 2023)

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial MySpace
{{Authority control Norwegian folk metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Trondheim