KAMPFAR KAMPFAR

KAMPFAR WILL RETURN ONCE MORE TO THE ANNUAL HIGH MASS OF BLACK METAL IN OSLO AND FOR THE 2024 EDITION THEY ARE ANNOUNCED AS ONE OF THE HEADLINERS ON TOP OF THE BILLING. WELL, HOW DID THEY GET THERE?

KAMPFAR WILL RETURN ONCE MORE TO THE ANNUAL HIGH MASS OF BLACK METAL IN OSLO AND FOR THE 2024 EDITION THEY ARE ANNOUNCED AS ONE OF THE HEADLINERS ON TOP OF THE BILLING. WELL, HOW DID THEY GET THERE?

By: Gunnar Sauermann

Metallum nigrum, quo vadis?

There is not a shred of doubt that Norway has by far the best known and strongest black metal scene on this planet. This rather long, but not small Nordic country spawned most of the great pioneering bands that shaped the still enduring style of the so-called ‘second wave’ such as Mayhem, Emperor, Darkthrone, and Immortal. These acts have become synonymous with black metal even though they built upon the legacy of Venom, Bathory, and Celtic Frost that originally gave rise to the genre in the early 80s, which were posthumously declared to constitute the “first wave”.

Yet, the strength of the Norwegian scene also rests on the many important acts that were inspired by the growing influence of the early adopters. Names such as Gorgoroth, Taake, 1349, Tsjuder, Gehenna, Urgehal, Trelldom, Dødheimsgard, Solefald, In the Woods …, and many more also come with at least massive underground credibility or an already achieved legendary status – and in the case of Dimmu Borgir for example with commercial success and cover story status in international music press on top.

It is probably fair to say that Norwegian black metal has largely stagnated on a very high level – at least during the last decade. The scene has not stopped being productive and has continued to spew out third, fourth, and probably already fifth generation bands. Yet although many of them have something interesting and new to offer, and the standard remains above average, the revolutionary fury and creative wildfire of the early years appears to have fizzled out.

The current scene seems to resemble a frozen landscape where the primordial giants still reside on top of the mountain, although, with the notable exception of Mayhem as the primus inter pares, most have moved on to different stylistic pastures or basically split up while enjoying a sporadic existence as a live act. Yet under the ice, there is movement. At this point of the black metal story, Kampfar have risen to challenge the status quo.

Somewhere in Time

A not so small part of Norwegian black metal has been about places. Musicians waxing on about taking inspiration from the deep dark fjords, the majestic, rugged mountains, and the ominous coniferous forests are commonplace. Some call this tedious or stereotypical but an actual visit to any of Norway’s most impressive natural locations can cure such misconceptions in an instant.

The ancient rivalry between the modern capital Oslo and Bergen, the old centre along the way to the North, has been continued in a sometimes serious but often rather tongue-in-cheek manner by certain black metal artists. It should be noted that quite a few bands are attributed to one of the two cities mostly for convenience’s sake as places like Jessheim, Kolbotn or Haugesund, to which the musicians came from or still consider their home, are hardly known outside of Norway.

Apart from these two major scenes, the renowned Nidrosian black underground of Trondheim and the somewhat special outlier of the Sognefjord region also should be mentioned at least in passing. And of course, there are also bands in many other places such as Kristiansand, Notodden or Tromsø. In short: in Norway, black metal is nearly everywhere.

Trying to pin down Kampfar to just one place is impossible: “I am originally from Fredrikstad to the

“WE SPEND OUR WHOLE FEE ON PYROS AND ALTHOUGH OUR MONEY WENT UP IN FLAMES, WE HAVE NEVER REGRETTED DOING IT.”

“WE SPEND OUR WHOLE FEE ON PYROS AND ALTHOUGH OUR MONEY WENT UP IN FLAMES, WE HAVE NEVER REGRETTED DOING IT.”

– DOLK

– DOLK southwest of Oslo where our bass player Jon still lives”, frontman Dolk explains. “Quite many years ago, I moved across the Oslofjord to Larvik. Our drummer Ask used to have his home close to Drammen but now he resides in Jæren, which is close to Stavanger.” Another point on the map is added by Ole Hartvigsen. “I come from Luster in the Sognefjord”, the guitarist winks with a smile and adds with subtle and well-deserved pride: “That area is quite a world of its own in Norwegian metal.” When the man of strings joined Kampfar, he had already been a member of Mistur for some years, which alongside Cor Scorpii is one of the so-called Sognametal bands, which have all been inspired by the legendary Windir.

As if living physically across the southern half of Norway was not complex enough, Kampfar also have a spiritual centre: “Our base of comfort has always been Hemsedal in the old district of Hallingdal”, Dolk points out. “Everyone of us is connected to the place. For me personally, this goes back to the time when I was only six years old. I have always seen it as my second home.” This comes as a surprise. Hemsedal might be one of the few places in Norway with at least no obvious connection to black metal. Instead, this narrow valley along one of the possible routes from Oslo to Bergen is best known as one of the prime ski resorts of the country.

“Hemsedal has been the cradle of Kampfar”, the singer objects. “I have been there with my parents and grandparents, who build a cabin in the valley when I was six. Up there, I recorded my first demo. Whenever my life has hit a dark period, I have been running off to Hemsedal as soon as possible. It has made us different, too. Kampfar are not from the Bergen scene, the Telemark scene, the Oslo scene or wherever else. We have always stood a little aside from them all.”

Ole, being the ‘new’ guy in the band, who has ‘only’ been a member of Kampfar for by now more than 13 years and possibly spoiled by the spectacular landscapes of the Sognefjord has his own perspective on Hemsedal: “It has been a vital meeting point for us – although we do not read much into it on a conscious level”, the guitarist elaborates. “The mountain ranges in the middle of Southern Norway seem to clash together in the Hallingdal region and this creates a special atmosphere that is different from the fjords of the west. Everything there is unlike other places, and even the weather and the elements seem to come together for a fight there.”

With the importance that the two members of Kampfar attribute to Hemsedal, it is hardly surprising that this spiritual connection to the land has found an artistic reflection in their work and in particular on the latest full-length ‘Til klovers takt’ (“To the Beat of Cloven Hooves”). This was, according to Ole, massively influenced by “the place, the history, and the old stories as well as the spirit of Hemsedal”.

The Dark Watershed

When ‘Til klovers takt’ came out in 2022 it lived up to the high expectations and the standard set by its predecessor ‘Ofidians manifest’. With that 2019-release, Kampfar had reached a new level. Then, three years later they proved most convincingly that were not only willing but also well able to hold on to their musical gains. In hindsight it is always easier to declare an album to be the breakthrough of a band in one way or the other. What made it even more difficult to initially grasp the full glory of ‘Ofidians manifest’ was the fact the musical changes were rather subtle and only revealed themselves through a diligent listening experience.

Looking back, Kampfar had always delivered quality albums, starting with their debut ‘Mellom skogkledde aaser’, which was released in 1997 – just three years after Dolk founded the band. Over the next two decades, the Norwegians continued to climb up on festival billings and the pecking order of touring. It takes dedication and a strong will to go through the often-tedious grind of the music business. Kampfar possessed both virtues as they worked very hard on their way from the raw underground to bigger labels and venues.

Then came ‘Ofidians manifest’ and it changed the game. The big question is, how and why?

“Black metal has always been something very personal for me”, Dolk sets out to provide an explanation. “When we did ‘Ofidians manifest’, I had hit rock bottom. I have already talked about it, so I can do it again although it feels hard now. I was so down; I was even ready to leave this life. People around me where worried what I might do to myself. Everything had turned dark. We had also not spoken to each other in Kampfar for about a year as we were all tired of the whole thing.” It takes an expert to make proper diagnosis, but Dolk’s words sound very much as if he was bitten by that most evil black dog called ‘Depression’. This still underestimated illness that strikes artists more commonly than gets noticed by the public, is dangerous and deadly. Victims of this perfidious beast even have a hard time to ask for or seek out the help that they so desperately need.

Before things came to the worst, Dolk found salvation in Kampfar. He had travelled to his refuge in Hemsedal and was joined there by Ole. Talking and making music became a cathartic process, a remedy for the curse. Yet he was not the only one hit by a dark personal time. While stuck in the cabin during a snowstorm, the guitarist received a phone call that his father had learned, he would pass away in only a few months. Creating music became a lifeline. “In hindsight, it feels strange that we even managed to start working on an album”, Ole reflects. “Yet there we were, making music. The process turned into something like a therapy. We poured all the darkness that was around and inside of us into these songs. Some of the material even seemed to write itself. It just clicked. This album will always be special to us.” Dolk experienced a similar epiphany. “I did not think about the outcome, while lyrics and vocal lines just erupted from the deepest hiding places of my heart”, the singer recalls. “It is the most personal album that we have ever done and because of this, everything changed.” Thus, a black metal masterpiece was forged from heart’s blood in a red-hot crucible filled to the brim with darkness, pain, sorrow, and suffering. It is truly not a gentle form of art.

Infernal Ceremonies

“Through immense pain and outstanding artistic achievement” seems to be the answer to the opening question about how Kampfar became headliners at Inferno. For Dolk the downward trajectory finally reversed and his personal road began to lead from rock bottom all the way to the top of the Inferno Festival – despite the pandemic doing its worst to throw another spanner into the works of the Norwegians. As it turns out, in its own way the annual black gathering in Oslo over the Easter weekend is another magic place for both musicians: “When I think about the Inferno Festival the first thing that crosses my mind is the location”, Dolk announces. “When black metal became a thing in Norway during the early 90s, it was anything but usual to see those bands playing a venue as big as Rockefeller. I grew up in Frederikstad, which for me meant 1,5 hours of travelling to Oslo to see all the metal bands that came to Norway and played in Rockefeller. This place feels like kind of a cradle for me in becoming a musician. Then in 2001 it finally happened: Norwegian black metal bands entered this temple of music and claimed it as their own.”

Kampfar had to wait until the ninth edition before being invited to the Inferno Festival, but Ole already came to see the legendary Windir show in 2002 – which probably every single metalhead to be found in the Sognefjord region did at the time. “That is really a special memory”, the guitarist admits. “We waited down there in John Dee for over an hour because we knew that it was going to be crazy and packed. As soon as

Windir started their first song, the barriers just burst, people were crowd-surfing, and we were nearly ended up standing on the stage. This gig was something else.” When it was finally Kampfar’s turn in the year 2009, the band had already become so well established that they started out at the main stage in Rockefeller instead of having to undergo the ‘traditional’ first show down in the cellar of John Dee. “It was a remarkable moment to stand on that very same stage on which I had seen my favourite bands perform”, Dolk smiles at the memory. “It suddenly struck me that this is actually a quite small space. At that time, we had already performed all over the world and at big festivals. In my mind Rockefeller had always appeared so big, which just shows how strong its impact was on me. We spend our whole fee on pyros and although our money went up in flames, we have never regretted doing it. We just had to show the world that we were serious.”

It has been a long road, but finally Kampfar are going to perform as the headliner on Thursday. Even though the Norwegians are veterans by now, this still seems to mean a lot to them. “Of course, this festival and the Rockefeller have an important place in the heart of any band from Norway”, the guitarist responds. “Although I had moved to Trondheim, I kept coming back to Inferno through all the early years. It was also exciting when the time came for the bands to be announced at the ‘Kick-off’. Everybody was anticipating and speculating which bands were going to be on top and who was moving up or down.

It was the cradle of judging.” Dolk points out that especially for musicians, there was something else going on than ‘just’ a music festival. “At times, it felt as if the Inferno Festival were the Black Metal Olympics”, the vocalist bursts out laughing. “It was always important to be seen at this Black Metal World Cup and it is still the place to make connections and meet interesting people. For the Norwegian black metal scene, this is a most important, massive event.”

It is hardly an exaggeration that the Inferno Festival is not just Oslo’s main black metal celebration attended by locals but it is also the dream event for hundreds of visitors from around the globe. Many save up for years to make coming to Oslo true at one fine day. If 2024 is your year: welcome! Consider yourself lucky as among many other amazing bands your will get to see Kampfar – a band that has only performed at Inferno in 2009, 2015, and last in 2022. Even better, as ‘Til klovers takt’ was released much later in November 2022, it also means that the 2024 show will also mark the premiere for this excellent latest record at the festival. With the setlist and show still held secret, we will only find out at on Maundy Thursday that Easter weekend what exactly is going to happen. Yet everyone, who has ever seen Kampfar live on stage already knows: it will be a fiery and stellar performance!

Kampfar performs at Rockefeller stage Thursday 28th of March 23.30.

“IT WAS A REMARKABLE MOMENT TO STAND ON THAT VERY SAME STAGE ON WHICH I HAD SEEN MY FAVOURITE BANDS PERFORM.”

“IT WAS A REMARKABLE MOMENT TO STAND ON THAT VERY SAME STAGE ON WHICH I HAD SEEN MY FAVOURITE BANDS PERFORM.”

– DOLK

– DOLK

Rock & Metal

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By: Roy Kristensen