''Vaakevandring'' is the debut EP by the Norwegian unblack

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 ...

band

Vaakevandring Vaakevandring was a Norwegian unblack metal band that was active from 1996 to 2007. The name in Norwegian is a reference to the resurrection of Jesus.

, released in 2004 through Momentum Scandinavia.

Recording and production

The EP contains three re-mastered songs from the band's 1999 demo plus one additional demo track entitled "To Find Eternal Peace". The first three songs on ''Vaakevandring'' were produced in 1998-1999 by

Stian Aarstad Stian Aarstad is a Norwegian pianist and keyboard player best known for his four-year (1993–1997) stint with the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir during which he played keyboards and synthesizers Dimmu Borgir's second album Stormblå ...

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic lang ...

. "To Find Eternal Peace" was recorded in 2001 in

Nannestad Nannestad is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Teigebyen. History Nannestad was established as a municipality on 1 Janua ...

Instrumentation, lyrics, and style

Keyboard is a dominant instrument on the EP, and the overall output is a mixture of symphonic, epic, melodic, and technical black metal with

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

influences. The choir on "Og Sorgen Stilnet I Smertens Vann" was described by White Metal as neoclassical. "Fader Vaar" is an adaptation of the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

in Norwegian, and "Og Sorgen Stilnet I Smertens Vann" is also sung in Norwegian. Matt Morrow, writing for ''HM'', compared the style on the EP to that of old Dimmu Borgir and

Crimson Moonlight Crimson Moonlight is a Swedish black metal band. The band was formed in the summer of 1997 with the mere intention of recording a primitive old school black metal demo and playing one show before breaking up. However, the breakup never happened ...

. Dirk Hochenbacher of the youth ministry CrossOver compared the style to

Sanctifica Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band, formed in 1996, and disbanded in 2003. After releasing their EP, ''In the Bleak Midwinter'', in 1997, they were considered to be one of the leading modern Christian black metal bands in the early 2000s ...

, Parakletos, and Dimmu Borgir, this last as to be expected for the producing having been done by a former member of Dimmu Borgir.

Critical reception

Matt Morrow rated the album a three out of five. Dirk Hochenbacher felt the EP would be a good listen for any fans of melodic black metal. Valerio Mei of White Metal lamented that the break-up of Vaakevandring was perhaps the most regretful event in Christian extreme metal, though this disappointment was tempered with the knowledge that some of the musicians went on to join

Antestor Antestor () is a Norwegian Christian metal, Christian extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim. Credited for starting the northern European Unblack metal, Christian black metal scene,Bryzak, Michael. Liner notes of ''The Defeat of Satan'' a ...

and

Frosthardr Frosthardr is a Norwegian Christian black metal band, formed in 1997. The band plays a raw type of black metal music with occasional punk influences and lyrics from Christian point of view. The drummer Pål Daehlen (Savn) is a former member of ...

. Mei praised the high production value of the release and the talent of the performing musicians. They scored the EP ninety-two out of one hundred.

Track listing

#"Fader Vaar" - 6:39 #"Some Day" - 4:19 #"Og Sorgen Stilnet I Smertens Vann" - 6:06 #"To Find Eternal Peace" - 4:03

Personnel

* Trond Bjørnstad – Bass * Pål Dæhlen – Drums * Alexander Nygård – Guitar * Morten Sigmund Magerøy – Keyboards, guitar, sung vocals * Ronny Hansen – Lead Vocals * Stian Aarstad – Engineering and mixing * Jeff Mortimer – Mastering

References

2004 debut EPs Symphonic black metal EPs Vaakevandring albums {{2000s-black-metal-album-stub