As a huge fan of Windir and Dissection, which are not among us anymore, I was constantly searching that incredible mix of powerful music and lyrics made of history and folklore. Something not entirely typical and I have finally found it!
Norwegian band Blot resides on the south of Norway, Kristiansand and is mix between viking and black metal music, the lyrics are influenced by folklore, history, society, nature. The band wants to highlight and carry forward the Norse heritage with mainly black metal sound, which makes their songs atypical for the black metal music and its dark lyrics.
The story begins one night in late 2007 when two friends Ruben Gentekos (Guitar/Vocals) and Jan Åge Lindeland (Vocals) agreed that in order to hear the exact music they wanted and they were influenced by, Dissection and Bathory, they had to make it themselves. Soon Bengt Orstad (Lead Guitar) came onboard as a drummer, but the band recognized his guitar skills, so he became lead guitarist and Blot was born. For live performance they had Stig Reinhardtsen (Drums, In Vain/Solefald) and Osvald Egeland (Bass/Vocals, former lead singer of Blood Red Throne) musicians with long experience on stage at home and away.
In 2009 they released an EP titled Blot, which contained 5 songs:
1. Honour and Might 04:10
2. Hate 04:02
3. God of War 04:35
4. This Is War 04:02
5. Victory 06:09
Although the astonishing and undeniable quality of music and lyrics, they didn’t perform live much, they were pretty silent.
Norwegian band Blot resides on the south of Norway, Kristiansand and is mix between viking and black metal music, the lyrics are influenced by folklore, history, society, nature. The band wants to highlight and carry forward the Norse heritage with mainly black metal sound, which makes their songs atypical for the black metal music and its dark lyrics.
The story begins one night in late 2007 when two friends Ruben Gentekos (Guitar/Vocals) and Jan Åge Lindeland (Vocals) agreed that in order to hear the exact music they wanted and they were influenced by, Dissection and Bathory, they had to make it themselves. Soon Bengt Orstad (Lead Guitar) came onboard as a drummer, but the band recognized his guitar skills, so he became lead guitarist and Blot was born. For live performance they had Stig Reinhardtsen (Drums, In Vain/Solefald) and Osvald Egeland (Bass/Vocals, former lead singer of Blood Red Throne) musicians with long experience on stage at home and away.
In 2009 they released an EP titled Blot, which contained 5 songs:
1. Honour and Might 04:10
2. Hate 04:02
3. God of War 04:35
4. This Is War 04:02
5. Victory 06:09
Although the astonishing and undeniable quality of music and lyrics, they didn’t perform live much, they were pretty silent.
In the spring 2014 they started recording Ilddyrking; like the EP, they made it independently and without signing with any label, which gave them freedom to continue to work in their own way and by their own rules. Ilddyrking was a work in progress for many years, mostly because of the members being too busy to get it done any faster; it meant a lot for Blot finally having done what they set out to do in the first place. Some of the songs were written much before album was made, but Blot decided to wait, until they got the lyrics and the sound they wanted, a perfect music, which was the reason why the band was made in the first place. They also re-recorded two songs from the EP (“Victory” and “God of War”) for the album. Beside those two songs, Blot have seven more songs and as the last song on the album you can hear the cover song of Dissection “Where Dead Angels Lie”:
1. Sound of the Horde 06:37
2. Chains Forever Unbound 04:27
3. Ilddyrking 04:53
4. Fimbulwinter 04:51
5. God of War 04:57
6. Blot 03:46
7. Mørkets Kall 04:46
8. Death to All 05:00
9. Victory 06:06
10. Where Dead Angels Lie 06:46
The album was finished it in winter 2014/15.
And as a track to listen to you can hear title song “Ilddyrking”
1. Sound of the Horde 06:37
2. Chains Forever Unbound 04:27
3. Ilddyrking 04:53
4. Fimbulwinter 04:51
5. God of War 04:57
6. Blot 03:46
7. Mørkets Kall 04:46
8. Death to All 05:00
9. Victory 06:06
10. Where Dead Angels Lie 06:46
The album was finished it in winter 2014/15.
And as a track to listen to you can hear title song “Ilddyrking”
Then in october 2015, eight years after their story begun, Blot finally released their debut album Ilddyrking, which had gathered great reviews from the magazines and web sites all over the world, such as Eternal terror, Norskemetal.net, Scream, No Clean Singing and many more.
In favour of Ilddyrking quality is even the fact that it won the title “Release of the year 2015” by Norskmetal.net readers.
The release party was made in Kick Nattklubb & Scene in Kristiansand in April 2016, where Osvald Egeland (bass//vocals) and Stig Reinhardsen (drums) joined the band as session musicians. In the opinion of the band, the party exceeded all their expectations. With bands Faanefjell and Sverdkamp who participated as guests and a bunch of people who showed up, they also had help of sponsors. The party was a huge success!
Short after the release party they posted a live video from the kick and review.
In favour of Ilddyrking quality is even the fact that it won the title “Release of the year 2015” by Norskmetal.net readers.
The release party was made in Kick Nattklubb & Scene in Kristiansand in April 2016, where Osvald Egeland (bass//vocals) and Stig Reinhardsen (drums) joined the band as session musicians. In the opinion of the band, the party exceeded all their expectations. With bands Faanefjell and Sverdkamp who participated as guests and a bunch of people who showed up, they also had help of sponsors. The party was a huge success!
Short after the release party they posted a live video from the kick and review.
Then on August 20 2016, they were booked for the Norwegian Midgardsblot festival, which is besides metal music also a festival of Viking lifestyle, the place where Blot fit perfectly, because of their music and lyrics. The main reason for booking them was that the festival organizers were impressed with their music.
The public reaction to Blot was very satisfying. They played early on Saturday, but managed to gather a large crowd, and got a lot of good feedback, as you can see in the video:
The public reaction to Blot was very satisfying. They played early on Saturday, but managed to gather a large crowd, and got a lot of good feedback, as you can see in the video:
Blot is not a typical live band, they only play a few concerts per year, but when they play, it is not something that you can easily forget.
Many people compared them to bands like Einherjer, Månegarm, Bathory, Tyrfing and even with Dissection and Windir, because of their music and lyrics and then again, they have their own unique style and way of performance.
These days Blot are working on their second album, however we do not yet have a release date for that. But as soon as we do, we will keep you posted.
In September 2017 Blot will open the main stage on the second day of the 15th edition of Southern DisComfort metal festival in Kristiansand. So feel invited to come. We will be there for sure!
Text by Dragana
dragana@unholyblackmetal.com
Many people compared them to bands like Einherjer, Månegarm, Bathory, Tyrfing and even with Dissection and Windir, because of their music and lyrics and then again, they have their own unique style and way of performance.
These days Blot are working on their second album, however we do not yet have a release date for that. But as soon as we do, we will keep you posted.
In September 2017 Blot will open the main stage on the second day of the 15th edition of Southern DisComfort metal festival in Kristiansand. So feel invited to come. We will be there for sure!
Text by Dragana
dragana@unholyblackmetal.com