Ragnarok (band)
| Ragnarok | |
|---|---|
 Singer Nikolay Fridtjof Dahr live at the Ragnarök Festival 2010 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Black metal |
| founding | 1994 |
| Website | www.ragnarokhorde.com |
| Founding members | |
| Thyme (until 1999) | |
| Øyvind "Rym Vicious" Trindborg (until 2007) | |
| Jerv (until 2007) | |
| John Thomas "Jontho Pantera" Bratland | |
| Current occupation | |
| Nikolay Fridtjof "HansFyrste" Dahr (since 2008) | |
guitar |
Eivind "Brigge" Hjelle (since 2008) |
| Svein-Ivar "Deception" Sarassen (since 2008) | |
| John Thomas "Jontho Pantera" Bratland | |
| former members | |
Vocals, guitar |
Sander (1999-2000) |
guitar |
Gate Erik "Astaroth" Simensen (2000–2001) |
singing |
Ørjan "Ulvhedin Høst" Stedjeberg (2001-2007) |
Vocals, guitar |
Lord Arcamous (2001-2002) |
| Session members | |
Keyboards |
Pål Espen Johannesen (1995–1997) |
Keyboards |
Shagrath (1997) |
Ragnarok is a Norwegian black metal band from Sarpsborg that was founded in 1994 . The band name comes from Nordic mythology , from the term Ragnarök , the final fate of the gods.
Band history
Ragnarok was formed in 1994 by Jontho (drums) and Jerv (bass) after they left their former band Thoth. After a short time Thyme (vocals) and Rym (guitar) were added. The demo Pagan Land appeared in this line-up .
In 1995 the group recorded the song Et vinterland i nord for a local compilation . This gave them the opportunity to re-record their demo again and with a better production. Metalion 's Head Not Found label signed Ragnarok and their debut album Nattferd was released that same year. However, Ragnarok was not satisfied with the work of Head Not Found and left the label briefly. After this changed the conditions, however, the band stayed on the label. At a concert in Oslo with Old Man's Child , she received an offer from Century Media , but had to decline it. Arising Realm , the second album, was released in 1997. The keyboards were played by Shagrath by Dimmu Borgir .
In 1998 Ragnarok toured for the first time, first as a headliner with Siebenbürgen and Atanatos , then with Enslaved , Lord Belial , Gehenna and Aeternus . Then Ragnarok recorded the album Diabolical Age . The recordings did not progress well, however. A total of two sound engineers supervised the production, but the right sound did not want to set itself. In addition, band leader Jontho P. had personal problems. Thyme decided to leave the group, so the release of the album had to be postponed for good. In addition, Sander came from Shadow Dancers as the second guitarist, but he only stayed a year and left the group in 2001 due to lack of skills at live performances. Eventually, Astaroth took over the vacant post of singer. In 2000 Diabolical Age finally appeared with Thyme on vocals. After a tour with Satanic Slaughter , Astaroth got out again. In 2000 Lord Arcamous joined as the second guitarist and later also as a singer.
Now that the contract with Head Not Found had expired, the group looked for a new label and finally found it with the Swedish label Regain Records . In nomine Satanas appeared in 2002, the sound engineer was Tommy Tägtgren. A subsequent tour with Dark Funeral , Anorexia Nervosa , Occult and Tidfall was a bitter disappointment and also marked the end of the collaboration with Lord Arcamous. Since the occupation problems at Ragnarok prevented further work, Jontho P. Tsjuder joined and got to know Ørjan "Ulvhedin Hoest" Stedjeberg von Taake . After Taake and Tsjuder had performed at Under the Black Sun and Jontho Hoest had seen a Celtic Frost cover sing, he recruited him as a singer for Ragnarok. In the opening act for Six Feet Under , Exodus , Marduk and Impaled Nazarene , they then played at the X-Mas Festivals in 2002. Blackdoor Miracle was released in 2004 , after which the band was quiet.
In 2010 the group presented itself with a new line-up: HansFyrste (vocals), Brigge (guitar) and Deception (bass) now form Ragnarok. The only remaining original member is Jontho P. on drums. Collectors of the King was released on March 22, 2010.
Music style and ideology
Ragnarok is a typical black metal band that is particularly careful to represent the style of the early 1990s and refrains from progression. On the demo recording Pagan Land some passages and the vocals reminded of Immortal , according to Rites of Eleusis the cassette was "Ok", but did not bring any innovations; now the band prefers the Swedish variant of the style played by early Marduk and Dark Funeral.
When Pagan Land appeared, Ragnarok was perceived as a Viking metal band; Corresponding content can also be found on the first album Nattferd , where Thyme and Rym were mainly responsible for the lyrics and music. As Jontho explained, the band was partially inspired by paganism at the beginning and the singer was a pagan, Jontho and Jerv, however, were always Satanists and therefore felt that the recourse to Nordic myths was wrong; after some time Thyme turned to Satanism, while Rym was "only antichristian". Nordic myths and Vikings are part of the past and Ragnarok plays Black Metal, not Viking Metal. Despite the self-image as one of the few real and really satanistic bands, Ragnarok is described on the Regain Records side as "pagan, pissed off and proud of it" and by "hatred of everything non-pagan" and the music as "Pagan Black Metal".
According to Jontho, when it comes to Satanism, the band members think "not of a guy with horns, but rather of a force that man himself created", each member having his own views; the common denominator is "the rejection of all religions with all their hypocrisy", Satanism is understood by the band as "primarily anti-religious and anti-Christian". By Aleister Crowley , Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan questioned, he replied that they had interesting views, but he was not a direct follower of the Church of Satan. According to Jontho, “everyone should follow himself”, this is “Satanism in its essence”. The temporary singer Hoest, on the other hand, has no relation to Satanism and is close to paganism.
Discography
- 1994: Et vinterland i nord (demo)
- 1995: Pagan Land (demo)
- 1995: Nattferd
- 1997: Arising Realm
- 2000: Diabolical Age
- 2002: In nomine Satanas
- 2003: Fainted Eyes on Celtic Frost Tribute - Order of the Tyrants
- 2004: Blackdoor Miracle
- 2010: Collectors of the King
- 2012: Malediction
Web links
- official homepage
- Official MySpace presence
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Biography. (No longer available online.) Regain Records , archived from the original on April 21, 2009 ; Retrieved May 17, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Live the resistance . In: Ablaze . No. 39 (March / April), 2002, pp. 14 .
- ↑ a b Michael Quien: Ragnarok - Hoest and Jontho ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ A History Of Norwegian Black Metal ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ a b Ragnarok . 'Pagan Land' . In: Rites of Eleusis , No. 2, 1995, p. 42.
- ↑ Living the resistance . In: Ablaze . No. 39 (March / April), 2002, pp. 12 .
- ↑ Raimund Frieden: Ragnarok ( memento from July 19, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), 2000, accessed on February 15, 2013.
- ↑ HIGHWIRE DAZE INTERVIEWS RAGNAROK ( Memento from July 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ).
- ↑ Ragnarok. (No longer available online.) Regain Records, archived from the original on September 21, 2013 ; Retrieved May 17, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Eckart: Ragnarok - Interview with Jontho on "Collectors Of The King" . ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Krepuskulum: Ragnarok Interview .
