Runhild Gammelsæter is a Norwegian musician notable for being the vocalist for the American bands Thorr's Hammer and Khlyst. She works as a professional

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually speciali ...

and holds a Ph.D. in

cell physiology Cell physiology is the biological study of the activities that take place in a cell to keep it alive. The term ''physiology'' refers to normal functions in a living organism. Animal cells, plant cells and microorganism cells show similarities in ...

Biography

Runhild Gammelsæter was a 17-year-old foreign exchange student from Norway when she joined Thorr's Hammer along with

Stephen O'Malley Stephen O'Malley (sometimes referred to as SOMA; born July 15, 1974) is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist from Seattle, Washington, who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and expe ...

and Greg Anderson. After six weeks, which was the time it took to release '' Sannhet i Blodet'' and record ''

Dommedagsnatt ''Dommedagsnatt'' is the only album released by Thorr's Hammer. It was originally released on Moribund Records on cassette in 1996, but it was not until it was re-released on CD in 1998 on Southern Lord Records (the first release for the label) ...

'', the band split up due to Runhild returning to

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 ...

, Norway. ''Dommedagsnatt'' was released soon afterwards in 1996 via

Southern Lord Records Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include ar ...

. The four other members of Thorr's Hammer went on to form the band Burning Witch. In 2006, she helped form the band Khlyst along with

James Plotkin James Plotkin is an American guitarist and producer known for his role in bands such as Khanate and OLD but with an extensive catalogue outside these bands. He has played guitar for Phantomsmasher and Scorn and continues to remix tracks for band ...

and Tim Wyskida. The album '' Chaos is My Name'' was released the same year, which also featured two painted portraits by Runhild herself. On June 28, 2008, her debut solo album, ''

Amplicon In molecular biology, an amplicon is a piece of DNA or RNA that is the source and/or product of amplification or replication events. It can be formed artificially, using various methods including polymerase chain reactions (PCR) or ligase chain ...

'', was released through Utech Records. On December 13, 2014, she released a collaboration album with a renowned Norwegian noise musician Lasse Marhaug, ''

Quantum Entanglement Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon that occurs when a group of particles are generated, interact, or share spatial proximity in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the group cannot be described independently of the state o ...

''. Runhild Gammelsæter has a PhD in cell physiology from the Faculty of Medicine of 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 ...

. She is also a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Norwegian

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

company Regenics A.S.

Discography

With Thorr's Hammer

*'' Sannhet i Blodet'' (demo, 1995) *''

'' (EP, 1996)

With Khlyst

*'' Chaos is My Name'' (full-length, 2006) *'' Chaos Live'' (DVD, 2008)

Solo

*''

'' (full-length, 2008)

With Lasse Marhaug

* ''

'' (full-length, 2014) * ''

Higgs Boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the St ...

'' (full-length, 2022)

As a guest or session musician

*''

White1 ''White1'' is the third album by Sunn O))), released in 2003. It was the most significant departure from their original style to date. Each track was experimental in its own way, with Julian Cope reciting poetry for half of "My Wall", Norwegia ...

'' -

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bl ...

(full-length, 2003) lyrics and vocals for the song "The Gates of Ballard" *'' Ingentes Atque Decorii Vexilliferi Apokalypsis'' -

Fleurety Fleurety is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band. The band was formed in 1991 by Svein Egil Hatlevik and Alexander Nordgaren. History The band released their first demo, ''Black Snow'' in 1993. After that came the 7-inch EP '' A Darker Shade of E ...

(7" EP, 2009) vocals on the song "Descent Into Darkness"

References

External links

Amplicon/Runhild Gammelsaeter official website
*
Runhild Gammelsaeter on Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gammelsaeter, Runhild 1977 births Living people Women heavy metal singers Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian heavy metal musicians Norwegian physiologists University of Oslo alumni Women biologists People from Holmestrand Thorr's Hammer members Khlyst (band) members 21st-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers