Solefald
Encyclopedia
Solefald is a Norwegian
avant-garde metal/black metal
band that was formed by members Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland
and Cornelius Jakhelln
in August 1995, with Lars singing and playing keyboard
/synthesizer/piano
and drum
s, and Cornelius singing and playing guitar
and bass
. The meaning of the band's name is best explained in an interview from Century Media Records website. Lazare states "Solefald is an old Norse word for sunset. We 'stole' it from a painting by the Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen
. His two paintings 'Soleglad' and 'Solefald' portrays the cycle of being, and we found it to be a very fitting idea for our band." Cornelius also states "'Solefald' means literally 'the fall of the sun', or just 'sunset'; the way we spell it is Danish
, from the 19th century."
release, but the band had an experimental edge, incorporating Lazare's clean vocals and piano passages into the black metal formula. They were one of the first bands in the black metal genre to incorporate new elements into the style, including a bag pipe passage in one song.
ese record label, Avantgarde Music, in 1996. In July 1997, the band released a follow-up to their demo. This first full-length release was called, The Linear Scaffold. The album was an expansion of the style on the demo. The album had a better recording quality, and contained 8 songs, two of which had previously been on the demo, but were now re-written and re-recorded. The band incorporated sounds and techniques that had never been heard in black metal before, using hand claps along with choruses in the song "Philosophical Revolt", jazzy clean guitar passages, and shrieked vocals over piano pieces. The album also featured vocals in English
and Norwegian
including one song which was simply keyboard melody played along with Cornelius' Norwegian
recitation of a poem he wrote ("Tequila Sunrise"). When this album was released, the band coined the term "Red Music With Black Edges" to define themselves.
band Haggard
with gothic metal
band Tristania
. Being a two-piece band, they employed the use of John Erik Jacobsen (aka Didrik von PanzerDanzer) on second guitar, who recently toured with, then joined, Cornelius' new band Sturmgeist. Drummer Tarald Lie and ex-Dimmu Borgir
member Jens-Petter Sandvik on the bass completed Solefald's live line-up.
by the Norwegian
black metal band Carpathian Forest
. Later, in July 1999, Cornelius did guest vocals for the gothic metal
band Monumentum
for the songs "Black And Violet", a cover of the Italian band Death SS
, and "The Colour of Compassion". These recordings were released in 2004 on the Monumentum
compilation album, Metastasi.
on September 24. The album incorporated black metal
, pop
, classical music, punk
, and progressive metal
. The album also featured more vocal techniques from each member. Singing in English and French, Lazare brought back his clean vocals, but also introduced a new style, in the form of hollering. Cornelius still used his high pitched wails and shrieks and his lower grunting, but he also introduced a style of spoken word singing. The lyrics were unconventional for metal in general and black metal especially, dealing with socio-political issues and pop culture criticism in songs like "Backpacka Baba" and "CK II Chanel
no. 6". The album received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for being too adventurous. The band even received a death threat from the USA from someone that considered the album an abomination to black metal. Others knocked it for its thin recording quality. The band stated that they used this quality because of the multi-layered song structures demanding a thinner sound to allow the many facets of the music to shine through. Another reasoning was that they wanted to use the recording style at the famed Sunlight Studios to achieve the "old school black metal" sound. The album's recording was also plagued with problems, including a mixing board that literally started burning. The band coined the term "Radical Designer Rock 'n' Roll
", for this release.
black metal
band Borknagar
as keyboard player and back-up vocalist. In 2000, Borknagar released their first release with Lazare playing with them, Quintessence
.
, was a concept album based on a fictitious tale written by Cornelius. It tells the story of two brothers, Pornographer Cain and Philosopher Fuck, and the days before their deaths. Cain, a pornography
director, is found guilty of the murder of Kurt Cobain
. Meanwhile, Fuck is exiled from the United States and dies in a hospital in Paris
. Musically, Pills
is more straightforward than Neonism. The album features more prominent guitar, with the keys acting as an accent and background instrument much of the time. Whereas Neonism consisted of songs that would each have a variety of styles and genres within them, Pills has a variety of different style songs, each focusing individually on a certain style. The song "Hyperhuman" opens the album with black metal. The song "Pornographer Cain" has much more of a heavy, hard rock
feel to it, until it breaks into a speedy techno beat. The album continues along with various style shifts, ranging from black metal played in Solefald's particular style ("Charge Of Total Affect", "Hate Yourself"), to the punk rock songs similar to ones found on Neonism ("The U.S.A. Don't Exist"). Still holding to Solefald's signature though, there are signs of experimentation, including a drum and bass
breakdown in "The U.S.A. Don't Exist", a grungy/Black Sabbath
style guitar outro in "Fuck Talks", and a Surf rock/1960
's style bridge in "Charge Of Total Affect". Vocally, the band had made yet another change. Maintaining Lazare's style and getting rid of his hollering style singing, and keeping Cornelius' lower black metal grunting, "Pills" saw the addition of a less high pitched black metal shriek from Cornelius, as well as Cornelius' most common style of singing to date. This new vocal style is a throaty sounding form of vocals, similar to some gothic rock
bands. This album, released on September 19, 2001, was Solefald's first album released through the German record label Century Media.
released March 24, 2003. The album contained 10 songs, with each song's lyrics devoted to various artists, philosophers, and deities. The lyrics are also sung in four languages on this album, English, Norwegian, French, and German. They incorporated a Steinway
grand piano, a male choir, authentic Spanish classical acoustic guitar, violin, and saxophone
. The music was layered, consisting of composite riffs and leads from the guitars and hammond keyboard sections. Vocally this found Cornelius eschewing his black metal vocal approach, sticking strictly with this throaty spoken word performance. Lazare's vocals stayed primarily the same. This was their last album released on Century Media.
/folk
/black
band Ásmegin
. In 2004 he joined the avant-garde metal band Age Of Silence
as singer and main lyricist, which includes members such as Andy Winter from the band Winds
, and Hellhammer
from such bands as Arcturus
, Mayhem
, Winds
, and many more. Age Of Silence
released a new three song EP entitled Complications - Trilogy Of Intricacy
on October 11, 2005 as a lead into their approaching second full-length. Lars has continued to do guest vocal work, being featured on the Winds
album, Prominence and Demise
, the Pantheon I
album The Wanderer And His Shadow and the Havoc Unit album h.IV+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia)
. He is also still with Borknagar, who released Universal
in 2010.
In early 2005, Cornelius released the first full-length album Meister Mephisto
, through Season of Mist
from his solo band, Sturmgeist
, an experimental black
/thrash metal
band with industrial
overtones. Lazare contributed back-up vocals on this release, along with vocalist Fuchs of Weimar
's Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
. Following shortly after the release of Black For Death, Cornelius and Lazare continue to release more music from other projects. Cornelius released his second and third Sturmgeist
albums entitled Über
and Manifesto Futurista respectively. He also recorded an experimental electronica/metal album under the band name G.U.T. entitled My Only Drug Is Madness. He is also writing the libretto
for a contemporary opera
telling a story from the pagan
times of the North.
, with funding from Tekstforfatterfondet, to write their next album. Originally planning to release one new album, the group wound up writing so much new material, they decided they would release two new albums. In a quote from the band it was stated "Solefald was experimenting when everybody was being true. Now that things are changing and that we've pushed the experiment quite far already, we wanted "Red For Fire + Black For Death" to be our attempts at being true. This will be a true Nordic Viking Metal album." This two part saga is the story written by Cornelius about Bragi
, a Skald
in Iceland. Bragi is the king's court poet, until he sleeps with the queen. When this is discovered, the queen lies and claims that Bragi raped her. Bragi is then forced to flee Reykjavík
, because he will be killed for what he had supposedly done.
and cello
handling most of Lazare's musical arrangements rather than a synthesizer, female vocals thanks to Aggie "Frost" Peterson, and jazzy saxophone playing.
on November 13, 2006. The album featured Kristoffer Rygg
of Ulver
on guest vocals. It was announced on March 28 on Solefald's official Myspace page that the band and Season of Mist had parted ways.
, James Fogarty project "The Bombs of Enduring Freedom", Zweizz
, and others. In addition to these remixes, the CD also contains the entire Jernlov demo, marking the first time it has appeared on a digital medium.
. They released their 7th full-length, entitled Norrøn Livskunst
("The Norse art of living") on November 15, 2010. The album features guest vocals by Agnete Kjølsrud (ex-Animal Alpha, Djerv)
who was also featured the album Abrahadabra
released by Dimmu Borgir
in 2010 as well. It also marks Solefald's first guitar solo, brought in by the guest guitarist Vangelis Labrakis of the band, Mencea. The album marked the first time the band recorded an album with nearly entirely Norwegian lyrics. In a press release it was stated that "The lyrics on 'Norrøn livskunst' are written in a 'høgnorsk' style approaching the Norse — the sound ought to cut like a knife!"
, and Cornelius is an accomplished writer/poet, with many published writings including a tetralogy of poems entitled Quadra Natura. The fourth volume of this four-book collection, entitled Galderhug. Quadra Natura 1111 was published on September 16 of 2008. He has continued having a successful career as an author and was quoted in an interview stating "Being a writer is my job. And my music is… It’s like a "Nebenjob", as you would say in Germany. A passion."
Studio albums
Compilation albums
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...
avant-garde metal/black metal
Black 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....
band that was formed by members Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland
Lars Nedland
Lars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
and Cornelius Jakhelln
Cornelius Jakhelln
Cornelius Jakhelln , also known as Cornelius von Jackhelln, is a Norwegian vocalist, guitarist, musician, writer and poet.-Musician:...
in August 1995, with Lars singing and playing keyboard
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
/synthesizer/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...
and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, and Cornelius singing and playing 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...
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. The meaning of the band's name is best explained in an interview from Century Media Records website. Lazare states "Solefald is an old Norse word for sunset. We 'stole' it from a painting by the Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen
Theodor Kittelsen
Theodor Severin Kittelsen was a Norwegian artist. He is one of the most popular artists in Norway. Kittelsen became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legends, especially of trolls.-Biography:Kittelsen was born in the coastal town of Kragerø in...
. His two paintings 'Soleglad' and 'Solefald' portrays the cycle of being, and we found it to be a very fitting idea for our band." Cornelius also states "'Solefald' means literally 'the fall of the sun', or just 'sunset'; the way we spell it is Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, from the 19th century."
Beginnings
Their first official rehearsal together was in 1995 with the song "When The Moon Is On The Wave." They released their first, 5 song demo, entitled Jernlov (translated to Iron Law in English), in 1996. Jernlov was the band's most traditional 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....
release, but the band had an experimental edge, incorporating Lazare's clean vocals and piano passages into the black metal formula. They were one of the first bands in the black metal genre to incorporate new elements into the style, including a bag pipe passage in one song.
Linear Scaffold
The band was signed by the MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese record label, Avantgarde Music, in 1996. In July 1997, the band released a follow-up to their demo. This first full-length release was called, The Linear Scaffold. The album was an expansion of the style on the demo. The album had a better recording quality, and contained 8 songs, two of which had previously been on the demo, but were now re-written and re-recorded. The band incorporated sounds and techniques that had never been heard in black metal before, using hand claps along with choruses in the song "Philosophical Revolt", jazzy clean guitar passages, and shrieked vocals over piano pieces. The album also featured vocals in 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...
and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
including one song which was simply keyboard melody played along with Cornelius' Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
recitation of a poem he wrote ("Tequila Sunrise"). When this album was released, the band coined the term "Red Music With Black Edges" to define themselves.
Touring
In 1998 the band began to adventure out of the studio and onto their first and only tour. The band toured Europe supporting symphonic metalSymphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band Haggard
Haggard (band)
Haggard is a German symphonic metal musical group founded in 1991. The group combines classical music and early music with doom metal.-Background:...
with gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band Tristania
Tristania (band)
Tristania is a band from Norway, formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as symphonic gothic metal with doom/death metal influences , due to its strong ties with the goth metal's history...
. Being a two-piece band, they employed the use of John Erik Jacobsen (aka Didrik von PanzerDanzer) on second guitar, who recently toured with, then joined, Cornelius' new band Sturmgeist. Drummer Tarald Lie and ex-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...
member Jens-Petter Sandvik on the bass completed Solefald's live line-up.
Expanding Individual Horizons
Starting in 1998 the two members started branching out into other musical endeavours, with Lazare performing the drums for the album Black Shining LeatherBlack Shining Leather
Black Shining Leather is the debut album by the Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest.-Track listing:# "Black Shining Leather" – 4:32# "The Swordsmen" – 4:07# "Death Triumphant" – 4:27# "Sadomasochistic" – 4:02# "Lupus" – 3:06...
by the 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 band Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
. Later, in July 1999, Cornelius did guest vocals for the gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band Monumentum
Monumentum
Monumentum are an Italian gothic metal band formed in 1987 by Roberto Mammarella, founder of Obscure Plasma Records .-Biography:...
for the songs "Black And Violet", a cover of the Italian band Death SS
Death SS
Death SS is an Italian heavy metal band.-Biography:Death SS was formed in 1977 by Steve Sylvester. The band combined elements of horror and heavy metal to become a pioneer in horror metal and gothic metal, as well as doom metal and black metal. Death SS were one of the first...
, and "The Colour of Compassion". These recordings were released in 2004 on the Monumentum
Monumentum
Monumentum are an Italian gothic metal band formed in 1987 by Roberto Mammarella, founder of Obscure Plasma Records .-Biography:...
compilation album, Metastasi.
Neonism
In 1999, the band released their second full-length, entitled NeonismNeonism (album)
Neonism is the second full length album by Norwegian Post-Black Metal band Solefald. It was released on December 7th, 1999 by Avantgarde Music.- Sound :...
on September 24. The album incorporated black metal
Black 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....
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, classical music, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
. The album also featured more vocal techniques from each member. Singing in English and French, Lazare brought back his clean vocals, but also introduced a new style, in the form of hollering. Cornelius still used his high pitched wails and shrieks and his lower grunting, but he also introduced a style of spoken word singing. The lyrics were unconventional for metal in general and black metal especially, dealing with socio-political issues and pop culture criticism in songs like "Backpacka Baba" and "CK II Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
no. 6". The album received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for being too adventurous. The band even received a death threat from the USA from someone that considered the album an abomination to black metal. Others knocked it for its thin recording quality. The band stated that they used this quality because of the multi-layered song structures demanding a thinner sound to allow the many facets of the music to shine through. Another reasoning was that they wanted to use the recording style at the famed Sunlight Studios to achieve the "old school black metal" sound. The album's recording was also plagued with problems, including a mixing board that literally started burning. The band coined the term "Radical Designer Rock 'n' 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...
", for this release.
Lazare Joins Borknagar
Following this album, the Solefald camp grew quiet for a little while. Lazare joined progressiveProgressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
black metal
Black 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....
band Borknagar
Borknagar
Borknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
as keyboard player and back-up vocalist. In 2000, Borknagar released their first release with Lazare playing with them, Quintessence
Quintessence
Quintessence, literally fifth essence , can refer to:-Science:* Aether , the fifth classical element after earth, fire, water, and air...
.
Pills Against The Ageless Ills
In 2001, Solefald came together to release their third full-length. The new album, entitled Pills Against The Ageless IllsPills Against The Ageless Ills
Pills against the Ageless Ills is the third full-length album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on September 19, 2001, their first album under the Century Media label...
, was a concept album based on a fictitious tale written by Cornelius. It tells the story of two brothers, Pornographer Cain and Philosopher Fuck, and the days before their deaths. Cain, a pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
director, is found guilty of the murder of Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
. Meanwhile, Fuck is exiled from the United States and dies in a hospital in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Musically, Pills
Pills Against The Ageless Ills
Pills against the Ageless Ills is the third full-length album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on September 19, 2001, their first album under the Century Media label...
is more straightforward than Neonism. The album features more prominent guitar, with the keys acting as an accent and background instrument much of the time. Whereas Neonism consisted of songs that would each have a variety of styles and genres within them, Pills has a variety of different style songs, each focusing individually on a certain style. The song "Hyperhuman" opens the album with black metal. The song "Pornographer Cain" has much more of a heavy, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
feel to it, until it breaks into a speedy techno beat. The album continues along with various style shifts, ranging from black metal played in Solefald's particular style ("Charge Of Total Affect", "Hate Yourself"), to the punk rock songs similar to ones found on Neonism ("The U.S.A. Don't Exist"). Still holding to Solefald's signature though, there are signs of experimentation, including a drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
breakdown in "The U.S.A. Don't Exist", a grungy/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...
style guitar outro in "Fuck Talks", and a Surf rock/1960
1960 in music
-Events:*January 14 – Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army*February 6 – Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles...
's style bridge in "Charge Of Total Affect". Vocally, the band had made yet another change. Maintaining Lazare's style and getting rid of his hollering style singing, and keeping Cornelius' lower black metal grunting, "Pills" saw the addition of a less high pitched black metal shriek from Cornelius, as well as Cornelius' most common style of singing to date. This new vocal style is a throaty sounding form of vocals, similar to some gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
bands. This album, released on September 19, 2001, was Solefald's first album released through the German record label Century Media.
In Harmonia Universali
The next Solefald endeavour came in 2003 with the full-length album In Harmonia UniversaliIn Harmonia Universali
In Harmonia Universali is the fourth full-length album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald, and their last under the Century Media label. It was released on March 24, 2003. The album featured lyrics sung in four languages, English, Norwegian, French, and German.At the time, this can be...
released March 24, 2003. The album contained 10 songs, with each song's lyrics devoted to various artists, philosophers, and deities. The lyrics are also sung in four languages on this album, English, Norwegian, French, and German. They incorporated a Steinway
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
grand piano, a male choir, authentic Spanish classical acoustic guitar, violin, and saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
. The music was layered, consisting of composite riffs and leads from the guitars and hammond keyboard sections. Vocally this found Cornelius eschewing his black metal vocal approach, sticking strictly with this throaty spoken word performance. Lazare's vocals stayed primarily the same. This was their last album released on Century Media.
Involvement In Other Bands
In 2003 Lazare continued expanding his involvement in other bands with his inclusion as clean singer into the vikingViking metal
Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound, bleakness and dramatic emphasis on lyrical themes of Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age...
/folk
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...
/black
Black 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....
band Ásmegin
Ásmegin
Ásmegin is a Norwegian folk/viking metal band formed in 1998. The name comes from Old Norse and means "by the might of the gods". Ásmegin's lyrics are written in Norwegian as well as some in Old Norse and older Norwegian...
. In 2004 he joined the avant-garde metal band Age Of Silence
Age Of Silence
Age of Silence is a Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal band formed in 2004 by Andy Winter of Winds.-Current members:* Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland - Vocals...
as singer and main lyricist, which includes members such as Andy Winter from the band Winds
Winds (band)
Winds is a Norwegian neo-classical/progressive metal band formed in 1998. The music is largely influenced by classical music, with Andy Winter's piano work and Carl August Tidemann's guitar solos, often the central focuses...
, and Hellhammer
Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career...
from such bands as Arcturus
Arcturus (band)
Arcturus is an avant-garde metal band formed in Norway in 1987. They named it Arcturus , after the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.-Biography:The band has released four official full-length albums...
, Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
, Winds
Winds (band)
Winds is a Norwegian neo-classical/progressive metal band formed in 1998. The music is largely influenced by classical music, with Andy Winter's piano work and Carl August Tidemann's guitar solos, often the central focuses...
, and many more. Age Of Silence
Age Of Silence
Age of Silence is a Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal band formed in 2004 by Andy Winter of Winds.-Current members:* Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland - Vocals...
released a new three song EP entitled Complications - Trilogy Of Intricacy
Complications - Trilogy of Intricacy
Complications - Trilogy Of Intricacy is an EP by the Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal band Age of Silence. It was released on October 15, 2005. The concept of the album revolves around the opening of a shopping mall in hell.-Track listing:...
on October 11, 2005 as a lead into their approaching second full-length. Lars has continued to do guest vocal work, being featured on the Winds
Winds (band)
Winds is a Norwegian neo-classical/progressive metal band formed in 1998. The music is largely influenced by classical music, with Andy Winter's piano work and Carl August Tidemann's guitar solos, often the central focuses...
album, Prominence and Demise
Prominence and Demise
Prominence and Demise is the third full-length album by Norwegian progressive metal band Winds, released on September 4, 2007.-Track listing:#"Universal Creation Array" - 8:20#"Distorted Dimensions" - 4:34#"The Grand Design" - 6:20...
, the Pantheon I
Pantheon I
Pantheon I is a extreme metal band from Oslo, Norway, and sharing some current and past members with 1349. They have the particularity to include a Cello artist in their line-up, and are often praised for being unafraid to experiment with their sound, while still keeping the musical ethos of black...
album The Wanderer And His Shadow and the Havoc Unit album h.IV+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia)
H.IV+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia)
-Personnel:* sa.myel - drums, bass, guitars * t.kunz - guitars, bass * jos.f - vocals...
. He is also still with Borknagar, who released Universal
Universal (Borknagar album)
Universal is the eighth full-length album by the Norwegian metal band Borknagar. It marks the return of guitarist Jens F. Ryland. The band's former vocalist ICS Vortex performed vocals on the track My Domain. The album was intended to be released in the fall of 2009, but the release date was...
in 2010.
In early 2005, Cornelius released the first full-length album Meister Mephisto
Meister Mephisto
Meister Mephisto is the first full-length album by Norwegian experimental black/thrash band Sturmgeist, the, then solo, project of Cornelius Jakhelln. It was released on 24 January 2005. It is the 94th release by French record label, Season Of Mist...
, through Season of Mist
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...
from his solo band, Sturmgeist
Sturmgeist
Sturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.-Beginnings:In 2002, Cornelius Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was Sturmgeist . The music was an experimental mix of black/thrash metal with lyrics sung in English, Norwegian, and German...
, an experimental black
Black 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....
/thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band with industrial
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
overtones. Lazare contributed back-up vocals on this release, along with vocalist Fuchs of Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
's Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter is a Weimar, Germany based heavy metal band signed to Nuclear Blast in Europe and The End Records in North America...
. Following shortly after the release of Black For Death, Cornelius and Lazare continue to release more music from other projects. Cornelius released his second and third Sturmgeist
Sturmgeist
Sturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.-Beginnings:In 2002, Cornelius Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was Sturmgeist . The music was an experimental mix of black/thrash metal with lyrics sung in English, Norwegian, and German...
albums entitled Über
Über (album)
Über is the second full-length album by Norwegian experimental black/thrash band Sturmgeist. The album was released on October 16, 2006 through Season Of Mist. This album introduced two new members to the band, John E...
and Manifesto Futurista respectively. He also recorded an experimental electronica/metal album under the band name G.U.T. entitled My Only Drug Is Madness. He is also writing the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for a contemporary opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
telling a story from the pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
times of the North.
An Icelandic Odyssey: Red For Fire/Black For Death
Later in the year 2005, the band travelled to IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, with funding from Tekstforfatterfondet, to write their next album. Originally planning to release one new album, the group wound up writing so much new material, they decided they would release two new albums. In a quote from the band it was stated "Solefald was experimenting when everybody was being true. Now that things are changing and that we've pushed the experiment quite far already, we wanted "Red For Fire + Black For Death" to be our attempts at being true. This will be a true Nordic Viking Metal album." This two part saga is the story written by Cornelius about Bragi
Bragi
Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology.-Etymology:Bragi is generally associated with bragr, the Norse word for poetry. The name of the god may have been derived from bragr, or the term bragr may have been formed to describe 'what Bragi does'...
, a Skald
Skald
The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...
in Iceland. Bragi is the king's court poet, until he sleeps with the queen. When this is discovered, the queen lies and claims that Bragi raped her. Bragi is then forced to flee Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, because he will be killed for what he had supposedly done.
Red For Fire
The first album from this two part saga was released on October 14, 2005, and was entitled Red For Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 1. This album deals with Bragi's internal struggles with keeping control over his sanity, and his qualms with the gods as he fights to survive in the wilderness. The album featured the inclusion of a violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
handling most of Lazare's musical arrangements rather than a synthesizer, female vocals thanks to Aggie "Frost" Peterson, and jazzy saxophone playing.
Black For Death
The follow-up to Red For Fire, entitled Black For Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 2, was released through Season Of MistSeason of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...
on November 13, 2006. The album featured Kristoffer Rygg
Kristoffer Rygg
Kristoffer Rygg , also known as Garm, Trickster G. and recently also God Head is a Spellemannprisen nominated vocalist, musician and producer known as the frontman of Ulver and former vocalist for Arcturus...
of Ulver
Ulver
Ulver is a musical group from Norway. Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal release entitled Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler , Ulver’s musical style has been fluid and increasingly eclectic, blending genres such as rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise and...
on guest vocals. It was announced on March 28 on Solefald's official Myspace page that the band and Season of Mist had parted ways.
Parting Ways with Season Of Mist
As is common with artists, Solefald decided to part ways with their label Season Of Mist. Cornelius issued the following statement on March 28, 2007:
I hereby inform our esteemed fanatici that Solefald have ended the collaboration with Season of Mist. Both parts emerge whole, healthy and happy from the split-up. Long-term Solefald connoisseurs will notice how a two-album dialectic seems to appear through our discography; two first albums with Avantgarde, third and fourth albums with Century Media, then the Icelandic Odyssey with Season of Mist. We have already entered discussion with another record label. Any interested labels out there can still get in touch, albeit fast.
Red for Fire + Black for Death
Cornelius
The Circular Drain
In January 2008, a Solefald remix album, entitled The Circular Drain was released through Cornelius Jakhelln's independent label, Von Jackhelln Inhuman, signed and limited to 1,000 copies. It features remixes by Havoc Unit...and Oceans
Havoc Unit, formerly known as ...and Oceans, is an industrial black metal band from Finland. It was formed in 1989 as a death metal outfit called Festerday, but soon changed its style to symphonic black metal. It released its first album as ...and Oceans in 1998, and in the following years it...
, James Fogarty project "The Bombs of Enduring Freedom", Zweizz
Zweizz
Zweizz is the primary performing alias of Norwegian musician and composer Svein Egil Hatlevik .Hatlevik started using the Zweizz alias in 2003 after leaving the Norwegian black metal group Dødheimsgard. According to Hatlevik, Zweizz should be considered a one man band, not a solo project...
, and others. In addition to these remixes, the CD also contains the entire Jernlov demo, marking the first time it has appeared on a digital medium.
Norrøn livskunst
The band went on to sign with Norwegian label Indie RecordingsIndie Recordings
Indie Recordings is a Norwegian independent record label specialising in heavy metal. The label was founded in 2006 by brothers Espen and Erik Solheim Røhne, who previously founded Tabu Recordings. Indie Recordings has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway...
. They released their 7th full-length, entitled Norrøn Livskunst
Norrøn Livskunst
- Concept :The press release for described the album as such:With "Norrøn livskunst", SOLEFALD looks to the early 1900-century Norway, when a young nation zealously engaged in exploring its cultural roots. Writers, painters and composers rediscovered Norse mythology, the Edda and the sagas. Houses...
("The Norse art of living") on November 15, 2010. The album features guest vocals by Agnete Kjølsrud (ex-Animal Alpha, Djerv)
Animal Alpha
Animal Alpha was a five-piece Norwegian rock group formed in 2002 and disbanded 2009.The band spent much of 2004 playing shows around Norway...
who was also featured the album Abrahadabra
Abrahadabra (album)
Abrahadabra is Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir's ninth studio album, released in 2010. The first single from the album, "Gateways", was released on August 20 in Europe and August 24 in North America. On September 14 a video for "Gateways" was released featuring Djerv front-woman,...
released by 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...
in 2010 as well. It also marks Solefald's first guitar solo, brought in by the guest guitarist Vangelis Labrakis of the band, Mencea. The album marked the first time the band recorded an album with nearly entirely Norwegian lyrics. In a press release it was stated that "The lyrics on 'Norrøn livskunst' are written in a 'høgnorsk' style approaching the Norse — the sound ought to cut like a knife!"
Not Just Musicians
Aside from music, Lazare is a newscaster for TVNorgeTVNorge
TVNorge is a Norwegian television channel.TVNorge went on the air December 5, 1988 and was the first advertising-supported Norwegian channel. The channel was started with 50 000 NOK...
, and Cornelius is an accomplished writer/poet, with many published writings including a tetralogy of poems entitled Quadra Natura. The fourth volume of this four-book collection, entitled Galderhug. Quadra Natura 1111 was published on September 16 of 2008. He has continued having a successful career as an author and was quoted in an interview stating "Being a writer is my job. And my music is… It’s like a "Nebenjob", as you would say in Germany. A passion."
Discography
Demo albums- Jernlov (1995), Self-released
Studio albums
- The Linear ScaffoldThe Linear ScaffoldThe Linear Scaffold is the debut full-length album by the Norwegian Avant-garde Black metal band Solefald. It was released in 1997 on Avantgarde Records.-Track listing:#"Jernlov" #"Philosophical Revolt" #"Red View"...
(1997), Avantgarde MusicAvantgarde MusicAvantgarde Music is an Italian record label, formed as a continuation of Obscure Plasma Records, focusing on black and doom metal artists. The label has a sub-label called Wounded Love Records, which has released albums by Dolorian and Taake.... - NeonismNeonism (album)Neonism is the second full length album by Norwegian Post-Black Metal band Solefald. It was released on December 7th, 1999 by Avantgarde Music.- Sound :...
(1999), Avantgarde Music - Pills against the Ageless IllsPills Against The Ageless IllsPills against the Ageless Ills is the third full-length album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released on September 19, 2001, their first album under the Century Media label...
(2001), Century MediaCentury Media RecordsCentury Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :... - In Harmonia UniversaliIn Harmonia UniversaliIn Harmonia Universali is the fourth full-length album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald, and their last under the Century Media label. It was released on March 24, 2003. The album featured lyrics sung in four languages, English, Norwegian, French, and German.At the time, this can be...
(2003), Century Media - Red for Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey, Pt. 1An Icelandic OdysseyAn Icelandic Odyssey is a two-part concept album series by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. The first part, Red for Fire, was released on October 18, 2005 while the second part, Black for Death, was released on November 24, 2006. The band was quoted as saying "Solefald was experimenting...
(2005), Season of MistSeason of MistSeason of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing... - Black for Death: An Icelandic Odyssey, Pt. 2An Icelandic OdysseyAn Icelandic Odyssey is a two-part concept album series by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. The first part, Red for Fire, was released on October 18, 2005 while the second part, Black for Death, was released on November 24, 2006. The band was quoted as saying "Solefald was experimenting...
(2006), Season of Mist - Norrøn LivskunstNorrøn Livskunst- Concept :The press release for described the album as such:With "Norrøn livskunst", SOLEFALD looks to the early 1900-century Norway, when a young nation zealously engaged in exploring its cultural roots. Writers, painters and composers rediscovered Norse mythology, the Edda and the sagas. Houses...
(November 15, 2010), Indie RecordingsIndie RecordingsIndie Recordings is a Norwegian independent record label specialising in heavy metal. The label was founded in 2006 by brothers Espen and Erik Solheim Røhne, who previously founded Tabu Recordings. Indie Recordings has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway...
Compilation albums
- The Circular Drain (2008), Von Jackhelln Inhuman
Current members
- Cornelius JakhellnCornelius JakhellnCornelius Jakhelln , also known as Cornelius von Jackhelln, is a Norwegian vocalist, guitarist, musician, writer and poet.-Musician:...
(SturmgeistSturmgeistSturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.-Beginnings:In 2002, Cornelius Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was Sturmgeist . The music was an experimental mix of black/thrash metal with lyrics sung in English, Norwegian, and German...
, G.U.T.) - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, SamplingSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
- (1995-) - Lars Are "Lazare" NedlandLars NedlandLars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
(ex-ÁsmeginÁsmeginÁsmegin is a Norwegian folk/viking metal band formed in 1998. The name comes from Old Norse and means "by the might of the gods". Ásmegin's lyrics are written in Norwegian as well as some in Old Norse and older Norwegian...
, Age Of SilenceAge Of SilenceAge of Silence is a Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal band formed in 2004 by Andy Winter of Winds.-Current members:* Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland - Vocals...
, BorknagarBorknagarBorknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
, ex-Carpathian ForestCarpathian ForestCarpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
, ex-Grail, BöhBOHBOH or Boh may refer to:* Boh , administrative division of Ethiopia* the obsolete International Olympic Committee country code for Bohemia* the obsolete FIFA country code for Bohemia* the Southern Bug River or Southern Buh in Ukraine...
, Darling Divine) - Vocals, PianoPianoThe 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...
, KeyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, Synthesizers, Organs, Drums - (1995-)
Former/live/session members
- John Erik Jacobsen a.k.a. Didrik von PanzerDanzer (SturmgeistSturmgeistSturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.-Beginnings:In 2002, Cornelius Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was Sturmgeist . The music was an experimental mix of black/thrash metal with lyrics sung in English, Norwegian, and German...
) - live second guitar - (1998) - Jens-Petter Sandvik - Live bass - (1998)
- Tarald Lie - Live drums - (1998)
- Silje Ulvevadet Dæhli - Violins on Pills - (2001)
- Kjetil Selvik - SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on In Harmonia and Red For Fire - (2003,2005) - Kristian Krüger, Kjetil Selvik, and Sigurd Høye - Choir on In Harmonia - (2003)
- Aggie Frost Peterson - Vocals on Red For Fire - (2005)
- Jörmundur Ingi - Spoken word on Red For Fire - (2005)
- Sareeta (ÁsmeginÁsmeginÁsmegin is a Norwegian folk/viking metal band formed in 1998. The name comes from Old Norse and means "by the might of the gods". Ásmegin's lyrics are written in Norwegian as well as some in Old Norse and older Norwegian...
, Ram-ZetRam-ZetRam-Zet is an extreme metal/avant-garde metal band formed in Norway in 1998. It began as a one-man project by singer and guitarist Zet, which later evolved into a full-grown band with the arrival of Küth and Solem , leading to the release of Ram-Zet's debut album Pure Therapy in September...
) - Violin on Red For Fire and Black For Death - (2005, 2006) - Live Julianne Kostøl - Cello on Red For Fire and Black For Death - (2005, 2006)
- Kristoffer RyggKristoffer RyggKristoffer Rygg , also known as Garm, Trickster G. and recently also God Head is a Spellemannprisen nominated vocalist, musician and producer known as the frontman of Ulver and former vocalist for Arcturus...
a.k.a. Garm a.k.a. Trickster G (UlverUlverUlver is a musical group from Norway. Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal release entitled Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler , Ulver’s musical style has been fluid and increasingly eclectic, blending genres such as rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise and...
, Head Control SystemHead Control SystemHead Control System is a cross-national groove rock/metal band featuring Portuguese Daniel Cardoso and Norwegian Kristoffer Rygg . Head Control System is currently part of North-American The End Records' roster along with bands such as Voivod, The Gathering, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Ulver...
, ex-ArcturusArcturus (band)Arcturus is an avant-garde metal band formed in Norway in 1987. They named it Arcturus , after the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.-Biography:The band has released four official full-length albums...
, ex-BorknagarBorknagarBorknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
) - Vocals on Black For Death - (2006) - Agnete Kjølsrud (ex-Animal Alpha, Djerv)Animal AlphaAnimal Alpha was a five-piece Norwegian rock group formed in 2002 and disbanded 2009.The band spent much of 2004 playing shows around Norway...
- vocals on Norrøn Livskunst - Vangelis Labrakis - guitar on Norrøn Livskunst
See also
- Age Of SilenceAge Of SilenceAge of Silence is a Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal band formed in 2004 by Andy Winter of Winds.-Current members:* Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland - Vocals...
- Lars NedlandLars NedlandLars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
sings lead vocals in this band. - ÁsmeginÁsmeginÁsmegin is a Norwegian folk/viking metal band formed in 1998. The name comes from Old Norse and means "by the might of the gods". Ásmegin's lyrics are written in Norwegian as well as some in Old Norse and older Norwegian...
- Lars NedlandLars NedlandLars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
sings clean vocals in this folk metalFolk metalFolk 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. - BorknagarBorknagarBorknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
- Lars NedlandLars NedlandLars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
plays keyboardElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, pianoPianoThe 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...
and synthesizer in this band. - WindsWinds (band)Winds is a Norwegian neo-classical/progressive metal band formed in 1998. The music is largely influenced by classical music, with Andy Winter's piano work and Carl August Tidemann's guitar solos, often the central focuses...
- Lars NedlandLars NedlandLars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
will be participating on the upcoming album for the band. - VintersorgVintersorgVintersorg is a Swedish band from Skellefteå, formed in 1994 under the name Vargatron . Musically, Vintersorg has covered a wide number of heavy metal genres; while the band is mostly rooted in extreme metal styles, particularly black metal and Viking/folk metal, it has also expanded into...
- Lars NedlandLars NedlandLars Are Nedland , known also as Lazare, from Kristiansand, Norway, is the vocalist, drummer and keyboardist for acclaimed avant-garde black metal band Solefald. He is also keyboardist for the progressive black metal act Borknagar...
performed on Vintersorg's albums; Visions From The Spiral GeneratorVisions from the Spiral GeneratorVisions from the Spiral Generator is the fourth full-length album by Swedish progressive/folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on June 24, 2002. This album saw a drastic shift in style in the band that was foreshadowed on the band's prior album, Cosmic Genesis...
and The Focusing BlurThe Focusing BlurThe Focusing Blur is the fifth full-length album by Swedish progressive/folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on February 16, 2004. This album was the most progressive album to date, with many experimental and avant-garde elements and the lyrics were now all written and sung in English.-Track... - SturmgeistSturmgeistSturmgeist is an experimental black/thrash metal formed by Cornelius Jakhelln in 2002.-Beginnings:In 2002, Cornelius Jakhelln began working on a new band. The name chosen was Sturmgeist . The music was an experimental mix of black/thrash metal with lyrics sung in English, Norwegian, and German...
- Cornelius JakhellnCornelius JakhellnCornelius Jakhelln , also known as Cornelius von Jackhelln, is a Norwegian vocalist, guitarist, musician, writer and poet.-Musician:...
's second band.
Official pages
- Solefald Official Homepage
- Solefald Official Myspace Page
- Cornelius' Official Homepage
- Cornelius' Official Myspace Page
- Lars Nedlands' Official Myspace Page
Record labels
- Avantgarde Music Official Homepage
- Century Media Records Solefald Homepage
- Season Of Mist Records Solefald Homepage
Solefald on music databases
- Solefald at Encyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives is a website which lists bands from various forms of heavy metal music...