Windir
Biography
Hailing from Norway's Sogndal region, Windir (meaning "Primal Warrior") combined the vicious fury of black metal with Scandinavia's rich folk music, history, and mythology. Masterminded in 1994 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken, Windir issued a couple of demos before debuting with 1997's Sóknardalr, on which Steingrim played drums and Steinarson provided clean vocals sung not in English, not in Norwegian, but in the Saognamaol dialect. Unveiled two years later, their second effort, Arntor, was a full-fledged concept album inspired by a local warrior legend of the same name, but unlike its predecessor, compositions were now sung in English, with an eye for the international market.
Following its release to generally rave reviews, Valfar decided to properly flesh out Windir for the purpose of performing live, and guitarists Strom and Sture, keyboardist Righ, and bassist Hvàll were added in time for 2001's 1184. Clean vocals were handled by one Cosmocrator this time out, and though still thematically steeped in regional Norse subject matter, Windir's folk music leanings also took a noticeable back seat here, making way for a return to more cohesively metallic direction -- also utilized on the band's fourth effort, 2003's formidable Likferd.
Selected Discography
There aren't many black/death metal bands that I like. This is one of the few.
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Hands down one of the greatest bands. Their amazing unique music combined with the fantastic paintings equal an experience like none other. While maybe you can get an epic trip/journey like Summoning these guys certainly make their own. Singing about their culture and embodying what it means to be a scandinavian black metal band.
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Valfar was a genious. When I listen to Windir, I absolutely must devote all my attention on the music.
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GGGGGGGGGGGG G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S M M M M M M M M M A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ! ! ! ! ! ! TRUE METAL!!!!!!! ! !
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Above average ... what's more, they have a distinct original sound that says the can hold their own just fine among the greats of Black Metal.
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quickly becoming a big fave-along with my beloved-ENSL A V E D . . .
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Why do the good die young? I feel like throwing myself into this music, to fight against that fate.
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I love the combination of the folk church organ with the extreme black metal guitar riffs and the extremely fast drummer. These guys did an incredible job at putting together this type of music. I like it that they went on their own to produce a genre that is different from anyone else and it sound sweet.
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why does every great band also have great artwork-i'll tell you the immense creativity knows no limits-great great band-so glad they were recently reccomended to me by a serious fan...
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I think with Windir and the very very sad and tragic death of Valfar that we can at least somewhat safely assume that these guys are/were (?) the quintessence of what Scandinavian mtal is all about. Because they were while not the pioneers but they took it and made it truly their own genre and now are legends. Most definitly a great listen and awesome. Oh yeah the clean vocals are just classic and what this genre's vocals should be.
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His passing was a reflection of his music. I shiver in empathy at the thought of the music that was passing through his mind during his last moments. Hail Valfar
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I think the church organ is a beautiful instrument.. . Anyway, so far this is the only band that I've heard that does this kind of music (folk/viking metal) without sounding bad.
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"Journey to the End". . . does it not say everything all at once without saying a word at all ? The sorrow and the brutality of life. The unwavering fortificatio n to stand up in the face of religious conditioning . . .Many Hails to Valfar! I curse the woeful winds of Norway that expelled the very last breath from his body. Pure Genius album after album.
Is it blasphemous to mention Vreid in the same breath ? Respect goes to them for putting Windir to rest with his death. Worth a listen. =***) |
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Awesome norwegian black metal with folk/viking inspiration. R.I.P. Valfar.
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After hearing the whole song, it's like Hawkwind that died and went to Heaven.
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