Keep of Kalessin
Encyclopedia
Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal
band from Trondheim
, Norway
formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitar
s and keyboards
, Warach on bass
, and Vyl on drums
. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War
in 1997, and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark
in 1999, before splitting up. Obsidian C. then toured with Satyricon
, but revived the Keep of Kalessin name for a 2003 EP, Reclaim
. In 2006 he reconstituted the group with a new lineup and released a third full-length, Armada)
. They toured with Behemoth
and Dimmu Borgir
early in 2008. Their fourth album Kolossus
was released on June 6, 2008. They take their name from Ursula K. Le Guin
's Earthsea
series of books, where Kalessin is the name of the arch-dragon who is the bearer of the Earthsea world. Keep of Kalessin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen
in the metal
category in 2008.
bands, Keep of Kalessin is in its harshness still melodic and technically oriented. In contrast to traditional Norwegian
black metal, Keep of Kalessin also make use of other instruments like the piano
, keyboards
and synthesizers. They started experimenting with a new sound which gave Keep of Kalessin its new character after Obsidian C. recruited the new band-members Thebon, Wizziac and Vyl for their album Armada in 2006, the follow-up after the Reclaim EP in 2003. Before Reclaim, the band had a much darker and colder character because of the different line-up they had back in the days. The line-up split in 2000, though Obsidian C. still wanted to make something of the band and the split-up wasn't the end of the band yet. He wanted to give Keep of Kalessin a unique character and develop its music, and improve himself too as a musician
and lyrics
writer, but the band still needed a drummer
who could keep up with his riffing and he couldn't find one in Trondheim
. After nearly 3 years, the band Satyricon
was in the need of a guitarist
and Obsidian C. participated in the auditions and "played the ass off" some other 30 guitarists who also had applied for the job. He made it to the band and came in contact with Satyricon's drummer Frost.
Obsidian C. didn't give up on Keep of Kalessin and as soon as Frost heard its material, without hesitation, he immediately said yes when Obsidian C. asked him to do the drumming on his new EP
. As the band's new guitarist
, Obsidian C. also toured with the band and this made it possible to recruit Attila Csihar
for his EP to do the vocals
. This new line-up recorded Keep of Kalessin's new EP Reclaim and sky-rocketed the band into the elite black metal scene of Norway
. But the line-up did not last and fell apart because of the distances between the band members. Still, this would not stop Obsidian C. and he was more and more determined to bring Keep of Kalessin to the masses. As part of Satyricon he toured a lot with the band and understood that touring is a must to promote a band. Not much later he teamed up again with Vyl, who was a part of the band before the breakup in 2000. Now the band still needed a vocalist and preferably a bassist
as well. This is when Thebon (vocals) and Wizziac (bass guitar) became part of the band.
Together with Torstein Parelius – the lyric writer from their EP Reclaim – the new line-up spent 2 years preparing to record their next album entitled Armada. This elevated the band to a higher place in the elite black metal scene of Norway and the band finally had a line-up which could last and made the band even more promising than before.
This same line-up recorded in 2007 the new album Kolossus, released in the summer of 2008, demonstrating the band improved their sound after the well received and highly acclaimed release Armada in 2006 which even got some good attention from the more mainstream
media in Norway. This resulted in a nomination for the Spellemannprisen
in the metal category in 2008. On Kolossus they started to experiment more with different instruments and the band indeed created a unique character for Keep of Kalessin.
In 2010, Keep of Kalessin entered a song in the Melodi Grand Prix
, the annual competition to select Norway's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest
, which was hosted by the country due to its victory in the 2009 content, becoming the first heavy metal
band to vie in the competition. The band performed their new song, "The Dragontower", in the first of 3 semi-final rounds and advanced to the Gold Final round, where the band finished in 3rd place overall through a combined viewer and jury vote.
Obsidian C. announced in the Studio Report 4 video of Kolossus that they're already working on some new songs for the next album.
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band from Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, Warach on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Vyl on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War
Through Times of War (album)
Through Times of War is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Keep of Kalessin. The album shows a combination of fast, dark and epic black metal. The band went on to embrace more elements from the thrash metal genre, receiving even more widespread appeal.It was originally released...
in 1997, and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark
Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark
Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark is Keep of Kalessin's second album.Avantgarde Music, the record label, mixed the running order of the tracks 1, 4 and 6 on the album . There are two different versions of this album, with different running orders. The first edition has track 1 Pain Humanised, track...
in 1999, before splitting up. Obsidian C. then toured with Satyricon
Satyricon (band)
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
, but revived the Keep of Kalessin name for a 2003 EP, Reclaim
Reclaim (EP)
Reclaim is Keep of Kalessin's first EP. It was released on December 6, 2003 in the United States and in Europe on January 15, 2004 as a Mini CD. It was recorded in July, 2003 in Silverstone Studios and Schweinhund Studios. The EP was produced by Schwein and Obsidian C.. The EP was mixed by Schwein...
. In 2006 he reconstituted the group with a new lineup and released a third full-length, Armada)
Armada (album)
Armada is the third studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Keep of Kalessin. The album was originally released under Tabu Records, however a 2 vinyl set of the album was released on Back On Black. The release features the return of drummer Vyl, and new bassist Wizziac and vocalist Thebon.-...
. They toured with Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
and Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
early in 2008. Their fourth album Kolossus
Kolossus
Kolossus is Keep of Kalessin's fourth studio album. It was released on June 6, 2008, in Europe and on June 10 in the U.S. A limited edition deluxe digipak was released under Indie Recordings which contains a bonus DVD including interviews, behind-the-scenes material, the making of Kolossus, the...
was released on June 6, 2008. They take their name from Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's Earthsea
Earthsea
Earthsea is a fictional realm originally created by Ursula K. Le Guin for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further six books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The...
series of books, where Kalessin is the name of the arch-dragon who is the bearer of the Earthsea world. Keep of Kalessin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...
in the 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...
category in 2008.
Biography
Unlike most black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
bands, Keep of Kalessin is in its harshness still melodic and technically oriented. In contrast to traditional Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
black metal, Keep of Kalessin also make use of other instruments like the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and synthesizers. They started experimenting with a new sound which gave Keep of Kalessin its new character after Obsidian C. recruited the new band-members Thebon, Wizziac and Vyl for their album Armada in 2006, the follow-up after the Reclaim EP in 2003. Before Reclaim, the band had a much darker and colder character because of the different line-up they had back in the days. The line-up split in 2000, though Obsidian C. still wanted to make something of the band and the split-up wasn't the end of the band yet. He wanted to give Keep of Kalessin a unique character and develop its music, and improve himself too as a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
writer, but the band still needed a 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...
who could keep up with his riffing and he couldn't find one in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. After nearly 3 years, the band Satyricon
Satyricon (band)
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
was in the need of a guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and Obsidian C. participated in the auditions and "played the ass off" some other 30 guitarists who also had applied for the job. He made it to the band and came in contact with Satyricon's drummer Frost.
Obsidian C. didn't give up on Keep of Kalessin and as soon as Frost heard its material, without hesitation, he immediately said yes when Obsidian C. asked him to do the drumming on his new EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
. As the band's new guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Obsidian C. also toured with the band and this made it possible to recruit Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...
for his EP to do the vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
. This new line-up recorded Keep of Kalessin's new EP Reclaim and sky-rocketed the band into the elite black metal scene of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. But the line-up did not last and fell apart because of the distances between the band members. Still, this would not stop Obsidian C. and he was more and more determined to bring Keep of Kalessin to the masses. As part of Satyricon he toured a lot with the band and understood that touring is a must to promote a band. Not much later he teamed up again with Vyl, who was a part of the band before the breakup in 2000. Now the band still needed a vocalist and preferably a bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
as well. This is when Thebon (vocals) and Wizziac (bass guitar) became part of the band.
Together with Torstein Parelius – the lyric writer from their EP Reclaim – the new line-up spent 2 years preparing to record their next album entitled Armada. This elevated the band to a higher place in the elite black metal scene of Norway and the band finally had a line-up which could last and made the band even more promising than before.
This same line-up recorded in 2007 the new album Kolossus, released in the summer of 2008, demonstrating the band improved their sound after the well received and highly acclaimed release Armada in 2006 which even got some good attention from the more mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
media in Norway. This resulted in a nomination for the Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...
in the metal category in 2008. On Kolossus they started to experiment more with different instruments and the band indeed created a unique character for Keep of Kalessin.
In 2010, Keep of Kalessin entered a song in the Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1960.The festival has produced three Eurovision winners and...
, the annual competition to select Norway's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, which was hosted by the country due to its victory in the 2009 content, becoming the first 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 to vie in the competition. The band performed their new song, "The Dragontower", in the first of 3 semi-final rounds and advanced to the Gold Final round, where the band finished in 3rd place overall through a combined viewer and jury vote.
Obsidian C. announced in the Studio Report 4 video of Kolossus that they're already working on some new songs for the next album.
Studio releases
- Through Times of WarThrough Times of War (album)Through Times of War is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Keep of Kalessin. The album shows a combination of fast, dark and epic black metal. The band went on to embrace more elements from the thrash metal genre, receiving even more widespread appeal.It was originally released...
(19971997 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
) - Agnen: A Journey Through the DarkAgnen: A Journey Through the DarkAgnen: A Journey Through the Dark is Keep of Kalessin's second album.Avantgarde Music, the record label, mixed the running order of the tracks 1, 4 and 6 on the album . There are two different versions of this album, with different running orders. The first edition has track 1 Pain Humanised, track...
(19991999 in music-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
) - ArmadaArmada (album)Armada is the third studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Keep of Kalessin. The album was originally released under Tabu Records, however a 2 vinyl set of the album was released on Back On Black. The release features the return of drummer Vyl, and new bassist Wizziac and vocalist Thebon.-...
(20062006 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
) - KolossusKolossusKolossus is Keep of Kalessin's fourth studio album. It was released on June 6, 2008, in Europe and on June 10 in the U.S. A limited edition deluxe digipak was released under Indie Recordings which contains a bonus DVD including interviews, behind-the-scenes material, the making of Kolossus, the...
(20082008 in music2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
) - ReptilianReptilian (album)Reptilian is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian extreme metal band Keep of Kalessin, released on 10 May 2010 in Europe and on 8 June 2010 in North America through Nuclear Blast...
(20102010 in music2010 in music may refer to:*2010 in American music*2010 in Australian music*2010 in British music*2010 in Canadian music*2010 in European music *2010 in Irish music*2010 in Japanese music*2010 in New Zealand music...
)
Current members
- Arnt "Obsidian C." Grønbech - guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals (1993–present) - Torbjørn "Thebon" Schei - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(2005–present) - Robin "Wizziac" Isaksen - bass, backing vocals (2005–present)
- Vegar "Vyl" Larsen - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, guitar (1996–1999, 2005–present)
Former members
- Ghâsh - Vocals - (1996–1999)
- Warach (Øyvind A.Winther) - Bass - (1996–1999)
- Attila CsiharAttila CsiharAttila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...
- Vocals - (2003) - Frost (Kjetil-Vidar HaraldstadKjetil-Vidar HaraldstadKjetil-Vidar Haraldstad , was born on June 28, 1973 in Øyer, Oppland, Norway, and is the drummer in the black metal bands Satyricon and 1349....
) - Drums - (2003) - Cernunnus (Tor-Helge Skei) - Guitars (2003)
- Kesh - Bass (2003)
- Remi(Snake)Normann - lead guitar- (2010)