Borknagar Appreciation

[Naren]

Now, it's no secret around these parts that I'm a huge fan of ICS Vortex's vocals, but while his stuff in Dimmu Borgir was awesome, I think his stuff in Borknagar might be even better (and it had Garm, another amazing vocalist early on, as well as a guest vocalist on recent stuff). My favorite sub-genre of black metal is progressive black metal, and that's why I think bands like Borknagar, Ihsahn (his solo stuff), and Enslaved are so awesome.

I mean, this song from my favorite Borknagar album has ICS Vortex, Garm, Vintersong, and Nedland on vocals. Just awesome:

A recent coronavirus performance. I should probably show the album recording since it's much better sound, performance, and recording, but on forums like this, I guess visuals are more important than sound and performance (ICS Vortex is the only one on vocals in this one, even though Nedland sings on the album and quite a bit live):

And for sound only, my favorite song by the band period:

[petereanima]

Borknagar are amazing. Not so much into Dimmu, but they have a few very good songs.
As far as Garm goes, imho evreything he touches is pure gold. His voice is amazing and fits any style (your honors, see also EXHIBIT A). Ulver were and are ALWAYS ahead of their time.

[man jerk]

Love this band. My family has been subjected to listening to "Up North" on repeat so many times. There aren't many "Black Metal" (yeah I know this song isn't really black metal, but it's got some parts to it) that I can listen to with the family.

One of my favorite memories of Norway, Bergen specifically, was listening to Enslaved while returning from a Fjord tour. It was like 45-50*F and rainy/misty. The music had so much weight to it in that time and space, I nearly cried.

[Lozek]

Currently in my 'Can't stop playing Up North' phase, although I struggle with the name of the album because it's a phrase used to joke about the North/South divide in the UK.

[man jerk]

Currently in my 'Can't stop playing Up North' phase, although I struggle with the name of the album because it's a phrase used to joke about the North/South divide in the UK.

Where I am from in Minnesota, anything north of the Twin Cities is "Up North". And EVERYBODY goes "Up North" on Friday afternoon in the summer (and spending hours in traffic on I-35). Or the winter for Ice Fishing.

[Lozek]

Where I am from in Minnesota, anything north of the Twin Cities is "Up North". And EVERYBODY goes "Up North" on Friday afternoon in the summer (and spending hours in traffic on I-35). Or the winter for Ice Fishing.

Here's it's more that if you say the phrase, somebody will put on a bad Northern accent and repeat 'Ooooh, oop naorth'.

[Naren]

Borknagar are amazing. Not so much into Dimmu, but they have a few very good songs.
As far as Garm goes, imho evreything he touches is pure gold. His voice is amazing and fits any style (your honors, see also EXHIBIT A). Ulver were and are ALWAYS ahead of their time.

Yeah, Garm's vocals are amazing. I love his recent stuff with Ulver too, which is basically synthpop, I guess. And my favorite song off Dimmu's 2010 album, Abrahadabra, is the one with Garm singing the chorus and second verse:

(second verse starts around 3:13)

In fact, generally when he contributes guest vocals on an album, the song he sings on is one of my favorites on the album.

[Markus]

"Winter Thrice" is such an awesome song - there's something about the chorus that just gives me chills every time.

[JJ Rodriguez]

Love Borknagar's new stuff, also love their old shit. Winter Millennium is such a killer song.

[Dominic]

Currently in my 'Can't stop playing Up North' phase, although I struggle with the name of the album because it's a phrase used to joke about the North/South divide in the UK.

I'd never heard of the album, but that's what immediately came to my mind, being from Co. Durham.

We can perhaps best explain this to the many nations gathered here with this piece of UK national news footage:

Translated into the language of this community: saying "hello" in London is like including a video of your playing in your first post. Proof: I'm from The North, and that's exactly what I did, unaware that it would cause offence.

[Ryan]

I'd forgotten about these guys, used to be quite into them years ago... can't quite remember why I stopped listening to them. Will have to give them another listen at some point.

I can see this thread getting spicy.

[Valtteri]

Borknagar is one of those bands that I've always known the name of, but never bothered to check out. I never seem to check out much Norwegian metal, despite living in the country.

Currently in my 'Can't stop playing Up North' phase, although I struggle with the name of the album because it's a phrase used to joke about the North/South divide in the UK.

Having listened to it, the actual name of the album is True North, which in a British context would be Scotland I guess.

[Naren]

Having listened to it, the actual name of the album is True North, which in a British context would be Scotland I guess.

Yes, but the second track on it is called "Up North" which I posted a COVID-19 remote live performance up above. Here's the official music video:

[Valtteri]

Yes, but the second track on it is called "Up North" which I posted a COVID-19 remote live performance up above. Here's the official music video:

I know, but seems like Lozek referred to Up North as the album name.

[Lozek]

I'd never heard of the album, but that's what immediately came to my mind, being from Co. Durham.

We can perhaps best explain this to the many nations gathered here with this piece of UK national news footage:

Translated into the language of this community: saying "hello" in London is like including a video of your playing in your first post. Proof: I'm from The North, and that's exactly what I did, unaware that it would cause offence.

It's true. The only people in London who speak to others while travelling are either lunatics, tourists or beggars, although you will find that if anyone drops something or looks like they may leave something on the train, people will make sure they don't (we're not savages, just people locked into a fairly unpleasant set of circumstances in order to have a chance at progressing in life).

If you leave a shitty rental room that you pay a large percentage of your wages for and have to share with three other people because houses cost three times the national average and literally no-one can afford to buy one, in a populated urban area where you're very likely to get robbed for your shoes and considered lucky if you don't get stabbed, pay an exorbitant amount of money to travel to work (Cheaper Inter-London fares were scrapped during the Olympics for the sake of 'increased clarity'), have to wait for six trains to go by before you even stand a chance of squeezing onto one and not get your head shut in the door, then spend 45 minutes pressed into the unwashed armpit of an overweight gorilla who smells like he's been eating raw onions for the last two weeks, as he shouts loudly into a mobile phone in a language that sounds like he wants to murder everyone in the carriage, the last thing you need is some country bumpkin who still lives two doors down from his nan coming along saying 'Hello' with undertones of 'Gosh, isn't this exciting? All the villagers will be lined up to welcome me home from my adventures with strange tales of trains which go under the ground'.

The silence of Londoners is basically an unspoken agreement of 'This is shit, you know it and I know it, let's just try and not get in each others way as much as possible'.