DØDHEIMSGARD x 6

Once upon a Fenriz in the mid 90’s he was the guy in all those great bands (you all know which ones). The sole reason for me getting the Dødheimsgard debut Kronet Til Konge on CD back in the day was because I wanted every CD that Fenriz was playing on. And that’s how I discovered the amazing band Dødheimsgard.

Peaceville Records released an official vinyl for the first time ever of the Dødheimsgard EP Satanic Art (1998) just 2 weeks ago. It was originally released on Moonfog Productions and because of this great occasion I thought of doing a post about Dødheimsgard.

I don't want to repeat myself about every record so I write it here. I have all the original CD's from Malicious Records and Moonfog Productions. The 4 first records are vinyl reissues on Peaceville Records.

But first one VERY important fact about the band before we start. I refuse to call Dødheimsgard something other then Dødheimsgard!! First of all it's one of the best band names from the Norwegian scene and the other one (I won't even mention it) sounds like name of a House/Trip-Hop band or some other terrible genre.

Kronet Til Konge (1995) 

The debut album was released by one of my favorite record labels ever Malicious Records (Zyklon-B, Borknagar, Kampfar, Gorgoroth etc) this's a Peaceville vinyl reissue from 2015. It's my favorite Dødheimsgard record and it’s not just my 90’s nostalgia talking.

A very unique record that Fenriz, Vicotnik and Aldrahn made and I think they stood out in the scene in a good way at the time. There's only amazing songs on it and it's hard to pick out any favorite songs. If you want to know what Norwegian Black Metal is all about this is a great record to recommend to people that's interested. Enjoy this masterpiece from start to finish I can't say enough good things about it because it's flawless in my opinion.

Monumental Possession (1996) 

Their last album on Malicious Records this is a Peaceville reissue from 2016. I’ll admit that the album was a bit of a letdown when I bought it on CD back in the 90’s. I didn't think Monumental Possession was bad, but my expectations were probably too monumental. I do know some people that think it’s the best Dødheimsgard album ever.

However this album has grown on me and I do really enjoy it nowadays. A term I usually use is "vinyl worthy" if I didn’t think it was a great record I wouldn’t have bought it on vinyl when I already have it on CD.

Actually didn't know that Fenriz was out of the band when I bought the record. Even if that wouldn't have made it better. They had recruited Apollyon (Aura Noir etc.) on guitar and Alver (ex.Emperor) on bass. Apollyon, Vicotnik and Aldrahn all shared vocals duties something I thought was a strange decision. Because Aldrahn is clearly best of the 3 even if no one of them are bad at singing. It adds to the split feeling this album have and also the Thrash elements wasn't that great in my opinion. But still I highly recommend this album.

Satanic Art (1998)

A very fitting title to this 5 song EP that was their first release on Moonfog Productions. The EP was just released on May the 18th for the first time ever on an official vinyl on Peaceville Records. With a bonus track an alternate version of the song Symptom. It was released as a teaser EP for the then upcoming full lenght album and on 5 songs it did its job and made me want to hear their next album. 

On this EP Apollyon moved from guitar to drums and they replaced Alver on bass with the unknown Kai S. Halvorsen. They also recruited Svein Egil Hatlevik (Fleurety, Strid etc.) on keyboards and Galder (Old Man's Child, Dimmu Borgir) did his first and only appearance with the band on guitar. One thing I don't like are the loooong aliases the member adopted on just this EP like:
Mr. Always Safe And Sound
Mr. Dingy Sweet Talker Women Stalker
Mr. Dead Meat Smelly Feet
Mr. Fantastic Deceptionist
Mr. Nebulous Secrets
Mr. Anti Evolution Human Deviation.
Thank hell for copy and paste! This EP sounds completely different from their 2 previous releases. They got a more avantgarde and industrial Black Metal approach but I really liked it.

666 International (1999)

This was originally released on Moonfog this is another Peaceville reissue from 2012 limited to 666 copies on 2 white vinyls. I have said before that this is equally brilliant to their debut but if I had to pick a favorite I would choose Kronet Til Konge. But 666 International is another very unique album byt also WAY different from the debut. The production is flawless and it sounds timeless almost 20 years after its release.  On this record Aldrahn is main vocalist. They took away the silly aliases on this one. Almost... Guitarist Vicotnik call himself Fixit also keyboard player Svein Egil Hatlevik is Mr. Magic Logic. Apollyon returned to playing bass replacing Alver instead of playing drums.

Best choice was that they recruited on drums the one and only the man of many names, talents and bands Carl-Michael Eide (Aura Noir, Ved Buens Ende, Infernö, ex Satyricon, ex Ulver etc etc). Here he's known as Czral and the drums are programmed at sometimes but it doesn't matter they sound great and are very fitting to this masterpiece.

It's a cliche but I say it anyway every time I listen to 666 International I find new parts of the songs I haven't heard before. 49 min very well spent listening to this one. Some hate it some hate their image and about that they do look like retards on the pictures. But I only care about the music. I regard this one very high even in best Black Metal albums of all time it would have a place in my opinion.

Supervillain Outcast (2007)

Do I want Supervillain Outcast on vinyl? No! Well maybe for 5 euro... It’s a very average record. It's strange that in 8 years the band couldn't come out with something better. The lineup had changed completely and only guitarist Vicotnik remained. Kvohst was their new vocalist he does a good job but he ain't no Aldrahn... Someone I think is one of the best vocalists from the Norwegian scene (he does "additional vocals" on 2 songs). But the album as a whole well...

Only 3 good songs tracks, the other songs are below or average at best, weak sound, poor production, too many songs and drags it on way too long. I’m glad that I own the original Moonfog Productions CD because the Peaceville reissue is on 2 CD's and drags on for even longer with 7 bonus tracks. I have heard them and they aren't any better then the 15 songs on the original release.

A Umbra Omega (2015)

Their latest effort was an amazing record it’s how I imagined a followup to 666 International should’ve sounded like. Also amazingly Aldrahn had returned to the band in 2013. They also had a new lineup once again and only Vicotnik remained from the previous record. Actually I had given up on the band with their previous fiasco but a friend said it was great so I listened to it and ordered the double vinyl immediately.

Sadly Aldrahn quit the band just 1 year after this record was released. So on their summer tour in Europe 2016 Vicotnik had to sing and has remained their vocalist since that. I really which that the band would release more albums more frequently. It took them 8 years to make Supervillain Outcast and 8 years for A Umbra Omega to be released. With that tempo we won't get a new album until 2023... Hopefully it's not that far away, but I rather see them release a great record like this one then to haste out some sloppy mess. Of course it would be nice if Aldrahn would return once again but the future will tell.

That's my thoughts on Dødheimsgard definitely one of the better bands from Norway. I do not rank bands but if I did they would reach high in my list.