Ved Buens Ende is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band. Their sound is diverse with quiet instrumental jazz influenced sections and aggressive black metal blast beats and vocals. Ved Buens Ende means “By the end of the bow” referring to the mythological rainbow Bifröst.
Ved Buens Ende was formed in Oslo in 1993 by the drummer Carl-Michael Eide and guitarist Vicotnik, who were then joined by bassist Skoll. Prior to this, Carl-Michael Eide had been playing in Ulver and Vicotnik in his own project Manes which eventually became Ved Buens Ende, not to be confused with other Norwegian band, Manes, known as Perifa, and later, Manii. They were signed to the British label Misanthropy Records. The band was unique by their mixture of many unusual musical elements for Metal, such as atonality and dissonance, a very prominent bass sound as well as Eide’s crooning and Vicotnik’s characteristic shrieks.
The band broke up in early 2007, without having released another album. Several songs intended for this album ultimately appeared on Virus’ The Black Flux.
As of 2019, they have reunited again. The current lineup is Skoll on bass, Carl-Michael Eide on guitars/clean vocals, Vicotnik on guitars/harsh vocals, and Øyvind Myrvoll on drums.
Back in 1995, when black metal was only in its nascence and was not yet secluded in the creative haste that would generate almost an industrial flux of identical sounding bands imitating one another, several releases have managed to both garner some attention and bring revolution and reconstruction into the medium. Some were not as inclined to the avant-garde, but did bring outside meanderings and motifs into the style, such as Ulver with their “Bergtatt – Et Eeventyr Capitler“ or Abigor with their “Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)“ or were strongly embedded into the respective culture as to introduce the folk segues into the sound, this happening with In The Woods, etc. However, some dissatisfied with such minor minute variation and derivations have opted for a more mature approach of sheer magnitude in evolution and execution that would bring shame onto the most black metal artists of today.
A Swarm of the Sun is the Swedish duo, Jakob Berglund and Erik Nilsson. Recorded by Erik Nilsson. Mix, master and drum recording by Karl Daniel Lidén. Design and artwork by Jakob Berglund. Distributed worldwide by Sound Pollution. Released on Erik’s label Version Studio Records.
A Swarm of the Sun released their fourth album on January 11, 2019. The album is titled “The Woods”, and is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed 2015-release “The Rifts”. “The Woods” expands its predecessor’s signature sound of chilling, emotional and sometimes unsettling post-rock into even deeper levels of haunting and unnerving soundscapes.
Oranssi Pazuzu is a Finnish psychedelic black metal band formed in 2007. The band consists of Juho “Jun-His” Vanhanen (vocals, guitar), Korjak (drums), Moit (guitar), Evil (keyboards, percussion) and Ontto (bass guitar). The band takes its name from “oranssi”, the Finnish word for “orange” and Pazuzu, a wind demon from Babylonian mythology.
The band recorded their debut album, Muukalainen Puhuu in 2008 in Korjak’s family cabin. It was released via Violent Journey Records in 2009 and followed in 2010 by a split LP with Candy Cane. Their second full-length album, Kosmonument, was released in 2011 through Spinefarm. In 2013, Svart issued the follow-up, Valonielu which was produced and engineered by London-based producer Jaime Gomez Arellano. The band’s album Värähtelijä was released in 2016 and received positive reviews from music outlets such as AllMusic Pitchfork and Spin. In 2017, the band released the two-track EP Kevät / Värimyrsky.
AllMusic’s James Christopher Monger described the band’s music as a combination of black metal, psychedelic rock, space rock, and progressive metal.
Two members of Oranssi Pazuzu and two members of Dark Buddha Rising have formed band Atomikylä. Oranssi Pazuzu is also part of the Wastement collective.
Since its formation in 2013, Saor has continually evolved while remaining boldly faithful to its Scottish heritage. Forged by the vision of the band’s founder Andy Marshall, Saor (meaning “Free” in Scottish Gaelic) has a uniquely expressive approach that dives deep into lyrical themes based on literature, landscapes, history, sorrow, nature, and the majestic mountains of his homeland.
Expertly transitioning between atmospheric Black Metal, Celtic Folk, and traditional Scottish sounds – the wildly exploratory music of Saor knows no limitations and seeks out every opportunity to expand on its potential.
With a crew of talented session musicians surrounding him in the studio, Andy recorded the debut album Roots in the band’s inaugural year, following it up with the second record Aura in 2014. Inspired by the response, Andy pushed himself creatively towards that next-level once again and brought his songs to the stage live for the first time in 2015 – a move that immediately bolstered the ambitions of Saor and opened the door to an entire host of new opportunities for them.
The release of the 2016 album Guardians saw even more support for the band’s music forming rapidly, soon finding Saor in high demand for shows of all over the globe. Surging forward to cover the map with stops in Russia, Malta, Belgium, Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Finland and the UK, they played in feature spots of notable festivals like Hellfest Open Air, Ragnarök Festival, Damnation Festival, Steelfest Open Air, Kilkim Žaibu, and Cernunnos Pagan Fest along their journey. Cementing their place on the stage where they rightly belonged, Saor became synonymous with gripping live performances, showcasing the range of sonic extremities in the band’s sound while revealing captivating ideas and complex structures.
The festival is in Ryma, Alba Iulia, Romania between August 19-22 2020. Tickets available now.
We’re done announcing the first session of bands and people dear to us. Taking a break for a few days now, next weekend we’ll probably announce 3 more bands, so that we can be at peace with the thought that we’re not keeping it a secret only for us.
The price of the Full Pass Ticket will grow with about 10% as of next year, which we will let you know a few days before.
We believe that the first bands announced have convinced you to join us. If not and if you still want some material, we will prepare for you a couple more shots, all underground and new regarding their artistic expression.
Tickets HERE
