KAMPFAR Archives - Bruder Des Lichts

Norwegian Black Metal Titans 1349 Team Up with Folk-Black Vanguard Kampfar for a Tour That Promises to Ignite the European Underground.

In a union that promises to reshape the contours of black metal, Norwegian titans 1349 are joining forces with the revered Kampfar for the highly anticipated 1349 & Kampfar – 2024 EU Co-Headline Tour. A ceremonial gathering of black metal’s most fervent apostles, ready to spread the gospel of Aural Hellfire and pagan might across Europe.

1349, known for their unwavering dedication to the essence of black metal, have continually evolved while respecting the genre’s roots. From their formation in the ashes of Alvheim in 1997 to their groundbreaking releases like ‘Hellfire’ and ‘Massive Cauldron of Chaos,’ 1349 have cemented their status as a powerhouse of Norwegian black metal. Their journey has been one of relentless touring, including memorable stints opening for metal legends CELTIC FROST, and achieving milestones such as scoring a nomination for a Norwegian Grammy. Their sonic evolution, marked by ventures into ambient darkness and collaborations with icons like CELTIC FROST’s Tom Gabriel “Warrior” Fischer, exhibits an innovative spirit that refuses to stagnate. In 2018, the band’s creative prowess was further recognized when they were chosen to set Edvard Munch’s paintings to music, resulting in the eerie masterpiece Dødskamp.

As 1349 continues to summon the beast of the abyss with their ferocious live performances, this tour marks a new pinnacle in their relentless advance. Alongside the equally formidable Kampfar, this co-headline venture is set to be a beacon for fans of true, unadulterated black metal. They’ll be bringing along special guests Afksy across all 23 EU dates.

1349 & Kampfar Co-Headline – 2024 EU Tour:

01 October: Leipzig, DE @ Anker
02 October: Berlin, DE @ SO36
03 October: Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall
04 October: Gothenburg, SE @ Filmstudion
05 October: Stockholm, SE @ Kolletkivet Livet
07 October: Helsinki, FI @ Aaniwalli
08 October: Tallinn, EE @ Helitehas
09 October: Riga, LV @ Melna Piektdiena
10 October: Warsaw, PL @ Proxima
11 October: Kraków, PL @ Kamienna 12
12 October: Vienna, AT @ Vienna Metal Meeting
13 October: Budapest, HU @ Barba Negra
15 October: Prague, CZ @ Futurum
16 October: Munich, DE @ Backstage
17 October: Milano, IT @ Slaughter Club
18 October: Colmar, FR @ Le Grillen
19 October: Aarburg, CH @ Musigburg
20 October: Oignies, FR @ Tyrant Fest
22 October: Weiher, DE @ Live Music Hall
23 October: Paris, FR @ Le Petit Bain
24 October: Bochum, DE @ Zeche
25 October: Amstelveen, NL @ P60
26 October: Maastricht, NL @ Samhain Festival

Tickets are on sale now: http://linktr.ee/1349official

1349 States: ““Little did we know, more than four years ago, that by the time we would again go on tour in Europe, the continent was to be hit by a pandemic and a war. We have entered a time where grim realities have already become manifest, and a still deeper darkness hangs over us and has started its descent. To lend from our own songtitles, Pandemonium War Bells chime in the distance, threatening to become louder. It has become imminent to understand and take in the gravity and let the darkness sink in, and 1349 might just be the perfect soundtrack. Especially now, as we are about to release a particularly sinister and eerie album. We look forward to travel out to the Continent again and feel how the new songs work live in all their demonic splendour, as well as performing songs from our history and share their energies with both old fans and new. We are also pleased to be sharing the stage with fellow Norsemen Kampfar and our Danish brothers in Afsky who will join us on our journey southwards.“

Before embarking on this colossal tour, 1349 ascended new heights of darkness with their seventh studio album, The Infernal Pathway.

Emblazoned with the audacious tagline, “AURAL HELLFIRE,” the album maps a descent into darkness and chaos, marking the band’s continued dedication to bridging the old school with the avant-garde. The layered intensity of tracks such as Dødskamp or Striding the Chasm bespeak the band’s ability to create expansive soundscapes that echo with ultra-fast aggression and chilling ambients.

Current plans envision a brand new release to descend upon the black metal realm later in 2024. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the 1349 saga, where the AURAL HELLFIRE we experience, grows deeper and darker.

Norwegian black metal titans 1349 have returned with their long awaited seventh full-length: The Infernal Pathway. The album promises a journey through chaos and madness, darkness and peril, terror, and annihilation.

1349 is AURAL HELLFIRE. That has been, and continues to be, the primary concept since the band first rose from the ashes of Alvheim in 1997. Conceived around the founding members – vocalist and former drummer Ravn, guitarist Tjalve, and Seidemann on bass – 1349 completed their line-up with the addition of guitarist Archaon in 1999 and SATYRICON drum-legend Frost in 2001.

When their debut Liberation was unleashed in 2003, the Norwegians took the world by storm with their intense blend of old school black metal soundscapes and ultra-fast aggression. Further assaults followed in rapid succession. Beyond the Apocalypse (2004) and Hellfire (2005) cemented the band’s reputation as one of the strongest acts in the scene.

Upon the departure of founding member Tjalve, who decided to focus on his band PANTHEON I, 1349 have since continued as a four-piece – occasionally adding guest guitarists. Extensive touring aided the growth of their now massive following when the four-piece opened for reunited metal legends CELTIC FROST in North America in 2006.

Impressively demonstrating that holding true to the principles of the genre do not mean nostalgia and stagnation, 1349 widened their sonic palette with Revelations of the Black Flame (2009), which was co-mixed by CELTIC FROST mastermind Tom Gabriel “Warrior” Fischer. This inspired a newfound ambient darkness from the band, which was further explored on Demonoir (2010).

Massive Cauldron of Chaos (2013) was the next milestone in the Norwegians merciless advance, scoring excellent reviews and a nomination for a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannprisen). The release sparked more festival shows as well as extensive touring, bringing 1349 to Australia and New Zealand. In 2018, the Munch Museum and Innovation Norway chose 1349 as one of four bands to create a song based on the paintings of Edvard Munch. As a result, the single Dødskamp was released earlier this year.

After performing a fiery show at Norway’s Inferno festival this year, 1349 started recording in Amper Tone studios and Studio Nyhagen with engineer Jarrett Pritchard. Thus, The Infernal Pathway was born, a sonic parallel to summoning and unleashing the beast of the abyss in all its fearsome, ferocious, and powerful splendour.

Lineup
Ravn – Vocals
Archaon – Guitar
Frost – Drums
Seidemann – Bass

Follow 1349:
Official Website: http://www.legion1349.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1349official
Instagram: http://instagram.com/1349official
Bandcamp: http://1349som.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/150xbiJGnTy1tSBZ9EFKnT
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/1349/79664050
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/10673
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/22185
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1349auralhellfire

Order The Infernal Pathway: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/1349InfernalPathway

KAMPFAR – ‘OFIDIANDS MANIFEST’ TO BE RELEASED ON MAY 3RD

Los Angeles, CA – Approaching 25 years of existence and having grown to become one of extreme music’s premier live outfits, while releasing albums that would dominate year-end lists and even bagging a Norwegian “Spellemann” Grammy award for their ‘Profan’ album, Kampfar looked ready to go and dominate for years to come. But behind the music, disguised during the intense live shows, underneath it all, was a clarity that the road’s end was nigh.

Founded back in 1994 by Dolk, who recruited Thomas to take care of strings and keys while the former focused on drums and vocals, the band was an underground gem for years. A band whose first records are spoken of with reverence to this day, perhaps helped by the low profile they kept at the time. It was ten years before the first live show was performed, at this point bassist Jon and drummer Ask Ty had joined the ranks and this line-up released another three albums before Thomas departed the band, 2011’s ‘Mare’ the last release with his stamp so solidly placed on it.

This recording marked a shift in the style and expression of the band, becoming the leading star for the records to come, now with the new guitarist and songwriter Ole who quickly developed into a key force of the group. With the albums ‘Djevelmakt’ and ‘Profan’ Kampfar established a new era for Norwegian Black Metal, proving that while some may have lost their passion for the fiercest musical exploits, these men had a hunger that was as ravenous as ever.

Except that life has a knack for surprise. Health issues caused the band to slow down and during the summer of 2017 it was decided that there would be no more Kampfar, unless something radically changed. The guys didn’t see each other for a year, didn’t really speak or keep up any kind of contact, just focusing on their own personal lives. “It was time to just heal, to not cause any more damage, to just see if one could get back to a point of strength again” says Dolk. It was a year that culminated in ‘Ofidians Manifest’.

Though demos were written by Ole during the spring, shaped massively by him losing his father in the same period, the main song writing was done over the course of two months in the fall of 2018, with another month spent recording the album in Bergen, Oslo and Pärlby, Sweden. The band spent intense weeks together in their creative home of Hemsedal, moulding and shaping the songs, surrounded by mountains and forest that turned from summer green, to autumn yellow, to winter white as they worked extensively on what was to become this testament to the band themselves.

As part of the healing process of creating this collection of songs the decision was made to involve Agnete Kjølsrud on the track ‘Dominans’. Her contribution to the song lifted the atmosphere of the whole album, and the duet is one of perfect harmony between two very different yet familiar voices bonding to create an excellent song. Marianne Maria Moen’s contribution on album closer ‘Det Sorte’ similarly brings to light the realisation that all life is fragile and that our voices must be allowed to bellow through the world for as long as there is air left to bellow with.

The madness of Medusa was chosen as a visual clue to the record’s themes, represented by two different paintings to be explored on the physical releases. And again, the band decided to travel to Poland to record a music video, this time with director Dariusz Szermanowicz of Grupa 13. The video, hinting at the many underlying stories of the album, is a chaotic depiction of the road back to equilibrium, a place no one knows yet all walk towards. According to Ask Ty, the choice of song proclaiming the band’s return was made because “it tells you everything you need to know about Kampfar today, distilled down to four and a half minutes of intense breaks and turns, it is the beginning and the end and the new beginnings after that, and it is the sound of a band that is alive and well.”

‘Ofidians Manifest’ represents Kampfar anno 2019. 25 years on from their foundation, only willing to release new music if they felt it would surpass all they had done before, it is a condensation of the immense struggles of the last few years. Everything that has been hidden behind the music and the live performances is laid bare, though told in the only way the band can portray themselves, through songs. It is immensely honest yet wrapped in their own folklore, the snake tongues splitting every truth into two deeper truths, every word sung dominated by the weight of all those sung before.

To Ofidian.

Kampfar is:

Ole – Guitar and keys | Jon – Bass | Dolk – Vocals| Ask Ty – Drums and vocals

Track list:
| Syndefall
|| Ophidian
||| Dominans
|||| Natt
||||| Eremitt
|||||| Skamløs!
||||||| Det Sorte

Pre-Order OFIDIANS MANIFEST: Physical – http://bit.ly/2IY6G1s iTunes – https://apple.co/2H6ANC8

Press pictures All press pictures are taken by photographer Sebastian Ludvigsen in Hemsedal where most of the album was written. Some of the pictures are taken just a few meters away from where the first Kampfar pictures were taken 25 years ago.

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