Ildjarn

Norway's Thou Shalt Suffer was known for being the band that featured members of what would eventually be Emperor. Another band that arose from their ashes was ILDJARN (Norwegian for "Fire-iron"). Like Burzum, Ildjarn is essentially a one-man band. Unlike Burzum, Ildjarn has produced some of the rawest, most vile sounding black metal in history.

After the demise of Thou Shalt Suffer, Ildjarn (real name Vidar Våer) continued to use the band's old rehearsal space to create his own music. He eventually began recording on a four-track, with primitive results. His first demos--with Samoth on vocals--saw the light of day in 1992, the same year as Emperor's first demo.

Here is Ildjarn's second demo, Seven Harmonies of Unknown Truths, in its entirety

This early work of his was raw and primitive, yes, but it wasn't too far removed from what other black metal bands in Norway were doing. Burzum's sound on the self-titled release and Emperor's '92 demo are good reference points for Ildjarn's initial sound. But changes lay ahead.

"Kronet" is a great example of Ildjarn's sound--from the self-titled '93 demo

Ildjarn's self-titled 1993 demo (with Ihsahn on vocals) stripped down the sound from the early demos even more. The production was bare bones, the guitars even more vile, the percussion more primitive. In a way, this sonic primitivism reflected Ildjarn's own beliefs about black metal. Black metal, for Ildjarn, was a lifestyle. In true misanthropic fashion, real black metallers---according to Ildjarn---should shun society and retreat into the woods. Ildjarn himself has said that once he has saved up enough money and resources that he would commit fully to the black metal lifestyle.

After honing his craft and putting out a couple more demos, Ildjarn released full-length studio albums on his own label, Norse League Productions. Ildjarn himself has stated that he founded the label for the sole purpose of releasing Ildjarn albums. This was also around the time Ildjarn began collaborating with fellow Norweigan black metaller Nidhogg.

From the 1995 self-titled studio album, this is "Skogslottet"

"Clashing of Swords" is one of Ildjarn's most well-known songs from the album Forest Poetry

These years---1993 to 1996---were Ildjarn's most fruitful. Not only did he put out several albums of absolute classic Norwegian black metal, but his collaboration with Nidhogg and work in the band Sort Vokter also emerged in this era. Ildjarn was extremely busy and prolific.

The Norse album--a collaboration with Nidhogg--is the source of this track, "Svarte Hjerter"

For the most part, the black metal produced by Ildjarn was raw, primitive, and necro. There was no subtlety, just straightforward minimal, lo-fi nastiness. But Ildjarn---much like that other one-man band in classic Norwegian black metal history, Burzum---ventured into ambient territory. Ildjarn (like Varg Vikernes and any other black metaller who created ambient music) recognized that black metal was a mood, a spirit, an ethos. And that could be conveyed with ambient music (although Ildjarn referred to it as "symphonic landscape music").

"Amber Lake" is from the Ildjarn-Nidhogg collaboration Hardangervidda

Ildjarn did more or less end his career at the dawn of the new millennium. But by this point, a new generation of black metal maniacs had discovered his work, and Ildjarn felt compelled to put out all of his previously unreleased material. This culminated in the brilliantly packaged, exhaustive, epic release Ildjarn is Dead in 2005.

This is the entire Ildjarn is Dead release, laid out 

Select Discography:

as Ildjarn: 

Unknown Truths (demo) (1992)

Seven Harmonies of Unknown Truths (demo) (1992)

Ildjarn (demo) (1993)

Minnesjord (demo) (1994)
Ildjarn (full-length album) (1995)

Landscapes (full-length album) (1996)
Strength and Anger (full-length album) (1996)

Forest Poetry (full-length album) (1996)

collaborations with Nidhogg:

Norse EP (1994)

Svartfråd EP (1996)
Hardangervidda (full-length album) (recorded 1997, released 2002)

Hardangervidda Part 2 EP (recorded 1997, released 2002)

other work:

Sort Vokter - Folkloric Necro Metal (full-length album) (1996)

Next time:  BESATT