Thorr's Hammer
Encyclopedia
Thorr's Hammer was an American
/Norwegian
death/doom
band.
Thorr's Hammer was formed in Ballard
, Washington by Greg Anderson
and Stephen O'Malley
during winter 1994-1995. Soon after, Runhild Gammelsæter
, then 17-year-old Norwegian
exchange student, joined the band as vocalist/lyricist. The band reached its final form when Jamie Sykes and James Hale joined. The band was active only for six weeks during which it played two gigs and recorded a demo and an EP
entitled Dommedagsnatt
. The band disbanded after Runhild's return to Oslo
, Norway
. Burning Witch
was formed from the ashes of Thorr's Hammer and Runhild has currently teamed up with James Plotkin
(Khanate
) to form Khlyst
.
Thorr's Hammer reunited in 2009 to play at the Supersonic Festival
in Birmingham
, England and again in 2010 for The Roadburn Festival
in Tilburg. In an interview with Rock-A-Rolla magazine, Runhild Gammelsæter said the band "might make some new music" in the future.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
/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...
death/doom
Death/doom
Death/doom, sometimes writes as death-doom or deathdoom, is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal...
band.
Thorr's Hammer was formed in Ballard
Ballard, Seattle, Washington
Ballard is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of Seattle, Washington. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, ; to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont ; to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s...
, Washington by Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson (musician)
Greg Anderson is an American musician and co-founder of Southern Lord Records.Anderson is the guitarist in the doom/stoner metal outfit Goatsnake, but is also well known for his collaborations with Stephen O'Malley....
and Stephen O'Malley
Stephen O'Malley
Stephen O'Malley is a musician, predominantly a guitarist, producer and composer from Seattle, Washington who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and experimental music groups....
during winter 1994-1995. Soon after, Runhild Gammelsæter
Runhild Gammelsæter
Runhild Gammelsæter is a musician notable for being the vocalist for the American bands Thorr's Hammer and Khlyst. She is also a professional biologist.-Biography:...
, then 17-year-old 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...
exchange student, joined the band as vocalist/lyricist. The band reached its final form when Jamie Sykes and James Hale joined. The band was active only for six weeks during which it played two gigs and recorded a demo and an 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...
entitled Dommedagsnatt
Dommedagsnatt
Dommedagsnatt is the only album released by Thorr's Hammer. It was originally released on Moribund Records on cassette in 1996, but it was not until it was re-released on CD in 1998 on Southern Lord Records that it began to gain more popularity. The CD release contained a track that was not on the...
. The band disbanded after Runhild's return to Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, 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...
. Burning Witch
Burning Witch
Burning Witch was an American doom metal band from Seattle, Washington, active between 1995 and 1998.-History:Burning Witch formed on Capitol Hill, Seattle in early 1995. After the breakup of the doom/death band Thorr's Hammer in 1995, Stephen O'Malley, Greg Anderson and Jamie Sykes formed Burning...
was formed from the ashes of Thorr's Hammer and Runhild has currently teamed up with James Plotkin
James Plotkin
James Plotkin is an American guitarist and producer, famous for his role in bands such as Khanate and OLD, but with an extensive catalogue outside these bands. He has performed guitar duties for bands Phantomsmasher and Scorn and continues to remix tracks for bands such as KK Null, Nadja, Sunn...
(Khanate
Khanate (band)
Khanate was a drone metal supergroup that brought together James Plotkin and Alan Dubin, two members of the defunct band OLD, as well as Tim Wyskida and Stephen O'Malley )) fame)....
) to form Khlyst
Khlyst (band)
Khlyst is an American drone doom band, formed in 2006.-Biography:Khlyst is a drone doom project that features guitarist James Plotkin , female vocalist Runhild Gammelsæter , and drummer Tim Wyskida .-Line-up:*Runhild Gammelsæter - vocals, text*James Plotkin - Electric guitar, laptop*Tim Wyskida -...
.
Thorr's Hammer reunited in 2009 to play at the Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival is a yearly music festival in Birmingham featuring a combination of music, art, film and and other crafts. It continues to join boundaries between music and art, by inviting people to engage with both through a programme of avant garde sound and performance as well as hands-on...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England and again in 2010 for The Roadburn Festival
Roadburn Festival
Roadburn Festival is an annual international rock festival in Tilburg in the Netherlands held since 1995.-2012 edition:The event will take place in Tilburg from April 12 to 15 at 013 and Midi Theatre.It was sold out in 7 minutes.Thursday, April 12...
in Tilburg. In an interview with Rock-A-Rolla magazine, Runhild Gammelsæter said the band "might make some new music" in the future.
Line-up
- Runhild GammelsæterRunhild GammelsæterRunhild Gammelsæter is a musician notable for being the vocalist for the American bands Thorr's Hammer and Khlyst. She is also a professional biologist.-Biography:...
(a.k.a. Ozma) - vocals and lyricsLyricsLyrics 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... - Greg AndersonGreg Anderson (musician)Greg Anderson is an American musician and co-founder of Southern Lord Records.Anderson is the guitarist in the doom/stoner metal outfit Goatsnake, but is also well known for his collaborations with Stephen O'Malley....
- electric guitarElectric 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...
("drones and sunnSunnSunn Amplifiers, are a brand of musical instrument amplifiers.- History :In early 1963, the Kingsmen, a band based in the U.S. state of Oregon, became known for the song "Louie, Louie". After its hit single, the band soon embarked on a fifty-state national tour...
s") - Stephen O'MalleyStephen O'MalleyStephen O'Malley is a musician, predominantly a guitarist, producer and composer from Seattle, Washington who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and experimental music groups....
- electric guitarElectric 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...
("crust and earthEarth (band)Earth is an American musical group based in Seattle, Washington, formed in 1989 and led by guitarist Dylan Carlson.Earth's music is nearly all instrumental, and can be divided into two distinct stages...
") - James Hale - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
("subsonic attack") (replaced by Guy Pinhas at the 2009 & 2010 reunion shows) - Jamie Sykes - 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 ....
("battledrums")
Discography
- Sannhet i BlodetSannhet i BlodetSannhet i Blodet is a demo by the American death/doom metal band Thorr's Hammer.-Line-up:*Runhild Gammelsæter – vocals, lyrics*Greg Anderson – guitars*Stephen O'Malley – guitars*James Hale – bass guitars...
(Demo 1995) - DommedagsnattDommedagsnattDommedagsnatt is the only album released by Thorr's Hammer. It was originally released on Moribund Records on cassette in 1996, but it was not until it was re-released on CD in 1998 on Southern Lord Records that it began to gain more popularity. The CD release contained a track that was not on the...
(Cassette 1996, CD 1998, CD Reissue 2004, Picture Disc 2004)
External links
- Thorr's Hammer at the website of Southern Lord RecordsSouthern Lord RecordsSouthern Lord is an American record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson, specializing in what could broadly be classified as experimental heavy metal, particularly the doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal sub-genres. Some of the more notable artists on the label include Earth, Om,...
- Thorr's Hammer at Encyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives is a website which lists bands from various forms of heavy metal music...