Historical development

Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 is a European country that began importing popular American rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 music in the 1950s, when that style was conquering audiences across the continent. Danish jazz and dance bands and soloists like Ib Jensen, Otto Brandenburg

Otto Brandenburg

Otto Herman Max Brandenburg was a Danish musician, singer and actor and film score composer.-Filmography:*Styrmand Karlsen *Sømand i knibe *Mine tossede drenge *Prinsesse for en dag...

, Peter Plejl and Ib Glindemann

Ib Glindemann

Ib Glindemann is a Danish jazz musician, the big band leader of the Ib Glindemann Orchestra . When in Europe, saxophonist Stan Getz was a frequent guest star of the orchestra.-External links:*...

 brought the style to Danish listeners. At the end of the decade, the English band The Shadows

The Shadows

The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...

 was a major influence on the first pioneers of the era, The Cliffters and The Rocking Ghosts.

In the early 1960s, British R&B and beat

Beat music

Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...

 bands inspired Danish counterparts like The Hitmakers, Sir Henry & His Butlers, The Defenders and The Beefeaters, as well as the breakthrough band Steppeulvene

Steppeulvene

Steppeulvene was a Danish rock band which despite its short life has become the icon for the Danish hippie music scene. The name of the group was taken from the 1928 novel Steppenwolf by German Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse...

, whose 1967 LP Hip

Hip (album)

Hip is the only full-length release by the band Steppeulvene, a Danish rock band. It was released in 1967.-Track listing:#Dunhammeraften 5:25#Itsi-Bitsi 4:54#Til Nashet 5:23#Jensen 6:40#0-0-0 5:02#Lykkens Pamfil 5:44#Kvinde Kom Ud 4:03...

revolutionized the field of Danish rock by fusing American folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

. Young Flowers was the first - and by far the best - rock trio

Trio

- Musical ensembles and forms :*Trio , three people performing music in some way*Piano trio *String trio *Trio *Clarinet-violin-piano trio...

; some of their songs were in Danish language, but several others were adaptions of Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...

 lyrics. Jazz bands like Blue Sun

Blue sun

Blue sun may refer to:*A star with a suitable spectral type, O*Blue Sun Corporation: a fictional corporation in the Firefly television series...

, Burnin Red Ivanhoe, Secret Oyster and Maxwells also moved towards rock. At the close of the decade, much of the rock world was incorporating sociopolitical lyrics, along with the rise of the counterculture

Counterculture

Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...

. Denmark's contribution to this field included Gasolin, Jomfru Ane Band and Røde Mor.

By the 1980s, however, pop-rock bands like Sneakers, Anne Linnet

Anne Linnet

Anne Linnet Anne Linnet Anne Linnet (born 30 July 1953 in Århus, Denmark, is a Danish singer, musician and composer. She has released a number of solo albums and has also been a member of several bands, such as Shit & Chanel, Anne Linnet Band, and Marquis de Sade. Anne Linnet is one of a small...

, Sebastian

Sebastian (Danish musician)

Sebastian was born as Knud Torben Christensen on December 19, 1949. He is a Danish singer, guitarist and composer.Starting as a musician in the late 1960s he is still active og very popular. So far his career has spanned four decades....

 and Lis Sørensen

Lis Sørensen

Lis Sørensen, born 28 May 1955, is a Danish singer. In the 1970s she worked with Anne Linnet in Shit & Chanel and Anne Linnet Band. In 1983 she released her first solo album.-Albums:*Himlen ned på jorden *Lis Sørensen...

 were popular, alongside punk-influenced Miss B. Haven, TV-2

TV-2 (band)

TV-2 , is a Danish pop rock band group formed in 1981 in Aarhus. The group is composed of Steffen Brandt , Hans Erik Lerchenfeld , Georg Olesen , and Sven Gaul...

, Sort Sol

Sort Sol

Sort Sol is a pioneer rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was formed in 1977 as a punk rock outfit, originally under the name Sods. Despite drastic changes in the group's line-up, their current name, which translates to English as black sun, has remained with them since the early 1980s...

 and Kliché

Kliché

Kliché was a Danish new wave band , influenced by Kraftwerk, punk rock, Devo, and David Bowie. They had, however, a distinct sound mainly due to lead singer Lars Hug's original voice...

. Most significant was the still popular cowpunk

Cowpunk

Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...

 band, D-A-D

D-A-D

D-A-D is a Danish rock band previously known as "Disneyland After Dark", a name that had to be changed after a threatening lawsuit from The Walt Disney Company. Their style of music is often categorized as melodic heavy rock...

, who in the late eighties turned into a Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio

Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...

 inspired Heavy Metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band. The following decade saw the rise of pop bands like Michael Learns to Rock

Michael Learns to Rock

Michael Learns to Rock are a Danish pop-soft rock band that performs songs in English. Formed in 1988, the band has sold over 11 million records worldwide, mainly in Asia, and in addition, another 6 million or more paid downloads for their single "Take Me To Your Heart" which was awarded "Most...

, Safri Duo

Safri Duo

Safri Duo is a Danish percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery and Morten Friis . Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000...

 and Aqua

Aqua (band)

Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...

, guitar rock bands like Dizzy Mizz Lizzy

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy was an alternative rock band from Denmark that started in 1988. Between 1994 and 1997, they were highly successful in Denmark and Japan, heading the early 1990s rock revival in Denmark. The trio consisted of Tim Christensen , Martin Nielsen and Søren Friis...

, Kashmir

Kashmir (band)

Kashmir is a Danish alternative rock band consisting of Kasper Eistrup ; Mads Tunebjerg ; Asger Techau and Henrik Lindstrand .-History:...

 and Psyched Up Janis

Psyched Up Janis

Psyched Up Janis was a Danish rock band started by Sune Rose Wagner, now a member of The Raveonettes, Martin Bjerregaard, and Jakob Jørgensen.-Biography:...

.

The current Danish rock scene is dominated by indie

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 influences in bands such as Mike Tramp

Mike Tramp

Mike Tramp is a Danish singer and songwriter who is best known for his work with the hard rock bands White Lion and Freak of Nature...

 (formerly singer in White Lion, Freak of Nature and Mabel, The Raveonettes

The Raveonettes

The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments, and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals...

, and Mew

Mew (band)

Mew is a Danish alternative music band consisting of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. Bassist Johan Wohlert was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2006...

. Other popular Danish rock groups include Sort Sol

Sort Sol

Sort Sol is a pioneer rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was formed in 1977 as a punk rock outfit, originally under the name Sods. Despite drastic changes in the group's line-up, their current name, which translates to English as black sun, has remained with them since the early 1980s...

 (Black sun), VETO

VETO (band)

Veto is a Danish indie rock band formed in 2004. They released their first EP, I Will Not Listen, in 2005 and their first full-length album, There's A Beat In All Machines, in 2006, both released on the Danish hip hop label, Tabu Records/Playground Music Denmark.In February 2007 Veto won the award...

, Figurines

Figurines

Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began...

, Kira and the Kindred Spirits, Carpark North

Carpark North

Carpark North is a Danish electronic rock band. The band was formed in Aarhus, Denmark on 28 July 1999 by Lau Højen , Søren Balsner and Morten Thorhauge...

, Saybia

Saybia

-History:From 1998 to 2000 they privately recorded three EPs before signing to EMI in the spring of 2001. In the summer EMI released the 6 track EP "Saybia". In September 2001 the band went to Sweden to record their debut album The Second You Sleep...

, Tim Christensen

Tim Christensen

Tim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, Mellotron, harmonium, keyboard, piano and organ...

, The Floor Is Made of Lava

The Floor Is Made of Lava

The Floor Is Made Of Lava is a Danish rock band, formed in 2006. The band consists of Tobias Kippenberger , Simon Visti , Lars Rock and Ace ....

 and the Danish folk metal

Folk metal

Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...

 band Svartsot

Svartsot

Svartsot is a Danish folk metal band formed in 2005 in Randers. Svartsot blend death and black metal with contemporary metal-styles and Nordic folk music.-History:On December 17, 2008, Michael Lundquist Andersen, Niels Thøgersen, Claus B...

. Some of the hard rock bands to come out of Denmark are Volbeat

Volbeat (band)

Volbeat is a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal, punk and rockabilly. They are inspired by classic rock and roll artists such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, as well as more contemporary hard rock, punk rock and metal bands, such as AC/DC,...

, Red Warszawa

Red Warszawa

Red Warszawa is a heavy metal band from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was formed in 1986 by "Lækre" Jens Mondrup and "Heavy" Henning Nymand. They both went to secondary school in Borup, Zealand, Denmark....

, Mercenary

Mercenary (band)

Mercenary is a metal band from Denmark that was formed in 1991. Although they are usually labelled as a melodic death metal band, they use aspects of power metal in their music, as well as thrash metal in their earlier work.-Biography:...

, Mercyful Fate

Mercyful Fate

Mercyful Fate was a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen. Initially active from 1981 to 1985, they reunited in 1992. The band went on hiatus again in 2000, when frontman King Diamond decided to continue his solo career...

 (later King Diamond

King Diamond

Kim Bendix Petersen , better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond...

), Artillery

Artillery (band)

Artillery is a Danish technical thrash metal band. They participated in the early development of the genre, and their highly energetic, riff-centric and often fast-paced music is similar in style to that of Voivod, Coroner, Megadeth and Sabbat from the same era...

, and Royal Hunt

Royal Hunt

Royal Hunt is a progressive metal band based in Denmark, founded in 1989 by keyboardist Andre Andersen. The band is known for creating melodic music with a progressive and symphonic flair. They made a huge success during mid-90s with their classic albums Moving Target and Paradox mainly in Japan...

. For alternative rock, Cryoshell started out in affiliation with LEGO

Lego

Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

, gaining it some market. The most popular of the newer Danish bands is by far the band Nephew

Nephew (band)

Nephew is a Danish rock band, formed in 1996, in Århus. They had their breakthrough in 2004 with the release of their second album USADSB. The release coincided with lead singer Simon Kvamm's highly successful appearances on Danish television in the cult comedy show Drengene fra Angora, which...

, with their unique mix of Danish and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 lyrics, and their charismatic lead singer and frontman Simon Kvamm

Simon Kvamm

Simon Kvamm , is a Danish-Faroese actor and singer.He is most well known as member of the Danish rock band Nephew, where he is the lead vocalist and keyboard player. The band has had several hits in Denmark such as Igen & Igen &, Superliga, En Wannabe Darth Vader and Movie Klip, which have won them...

, who has grown to become one of Denmark's biggest stars. Nephew's music is a blend of indie and electro rock.

Famous Danish rock musicians are among other Lars Ulrich

Lars Ulrich

Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...

, the drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 and co-founder of Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

, and Mike Tramp

Mike Tramp

Mike Tramp is a Danish singer and songwriter who is best known for his work with the hard rock bands White Lion and Freak of Nature...

, the vocalist and co-songwriter of White Lion

White Lion

White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...

.

More extreme Danish metal bands include Mnemic

Mnemic

Mnemic is a Danish metal band, formed in Aalborg, Denmark in 1998. Their music has been described as a fusion between metalcore, melodic death metal, industrial metal and progressive metal, with additional elements of thrash metal and groove metal, to form a style the band themselves have...

, Illdisposed

Illdisposed

Illdisposed is a death metal band from Aarhus, Denmark that was formed in 1991 by vocalist Bo Summer. As of 2011, the band consists of vocalist Bo Summer, guitarists Jakob "Batten" Hansen, guitarist Ken Holst, bassist Jonas "Kloge" Mikkelsen, and drummer Thomas "Muskelbux" Jensen.Since their...

, Illnath, Corpus Mortale

Corpus Mortale

Corpus Mortale is a Danish death metal group. Established in 1993, the band has released two full-length albums.-History:Corpus Mortale was founded in Copenhagen in 1993 by Nicholas Maschøln and Søren Jensen, followed by Martin Rosendahl completing the lineup in 1994. From the beginning the band...

, Panzerchrist

Panzerchrist

Panzerchrist is a Danish death metal band formed in '93-'94 by Michael Enevoldsen and celebrated Danish artist Lasse Hoile.- History :Panzerchrist recorded a few demos and was signed by Serious entertainment...

, Konkhra

Konkhra

- History :Konkhra was first formed under the name of "Vicious Circle" in Køge—a small town south of Copenhagen—in November 1989. Before changing their name, they issued the self-titled demo Vicious Circle ; renaming themselves "Konkhra" they followed up with Malgrowth . Konkhra then,...

, Hatesphere

Hatesphere

Hatesphere is a Danish death and thrash metal band from Aarhus. The band was formed in 1998 by guitarist Peter “Pepe” Hansen. As of 2010, the band consists of vocalist Esben "Esse" Hansen, guitarists Peter “Pepe” Hansen, and Jakob Nyholm, bass player Jimmy Nedergaard and drummer Mike Park. The band...

 and Iniquity

Iniquity

Iniquity was a Danish death metal group. Established in 1989, the band released three full-length albums before parting ways in 2004.-History:...

.

Festivals

The annual Roskilde Festival

Roskilde Festival

Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...

 is held in Danish city of Roskilde

Roskilde

Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....

. The festival is the second-largest in Europe with ticket sales normally running from 70,000 to 100,000. The festival has featured many prominent artists (mainly rock), such as Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

, Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...

, U2

U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

, Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

 and Green Day

Green Day

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...

, and there has also been an emphasis on world music, alternative genres and Danish music at the festival. In 2000, the festival suffered a terrible accident during a Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

concert where 9 people were crushed by the wild crowds, making security a primary issue of the following festivals. The festival has since avoided any other incidents of this kind.