As such, the band's most known style would be that of progressive black metal, with most of their albums taking from this style. Borknagar's lyrics often deal with philosophy, paganism, nature, and the cosmos. Øystein Brun stated once that the name was inspired by a Scottish legend about a man who climbed Lochnagar, a mountain in Scotland.
Borknagar rose out of the ashes of the Norwegian death metal band Molested when then-member Øystein G. Brun became tired of the brutal aspects of the band's music. Øystein formed Borknagar to explore a more melodic outlet of expression; he wrote all of the music and lyrics and gathered together an all-star group of black metal musicians to play in his band. Well-known musicians of the black metal scene (such as Infernus of Gorgoroth, Grim of Immortal and Gorgoroth, Ivar Bjørnson from Enslaved, Garm of Ulver, Head Control System, and ex-Arcturus) joined the project, bringing immediate attention to Borknagar. The band never even recorded a demo – they simply asked for a record contract on Malicious Records and were granted their request. Borknagar's majestic, melodic sound was instantly liked by many and received positive press attention.
Borknagar has released ten albums to date. Their self-titled debut album features lyrics in Norwegian; all subsequent albums have featured lyrics written in English by both ICS Vortex from Arcturus and Dimmu Borgir and later by current singer, Vintersorg from Otyg and his eponymous band (Vintersorg). All of the band's records (excluding the original pressing of the debut album via Malicious Records) have been released by the Century Media label. Borknagar has toured with various bands, including the well-known Cradle of Filth.
Simen Hestnæs rejoined the band in 2010. Since then he and Vintersorg have shared lead vocal duties.
Discography:
1996 - Borknagar
1997 - The Olden Domain
1998 - The Archaic Course
2000 - Quintessence
2001 - Empiricism
2002 - Urd
2004 - Epic
2006 - Origin
2010 - Universal
2012 - Urd
2016 - Winter Thrice
2019 - True North
Members:
Current Members
* Vintersorg (Andreas Hedlund) - Vocals
* Øystein G. Brun - Guitar
* Lazare (Lars Nedland) - Keyboard
* Jens Ryland - Guitar
* ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnæs) - Vocals, Bass
* Baard Kolstad - Drums
Former Members
* Garm (Kristoffer Rygg) - Vocals
* Asgeir Mickelson - Drums
* Kai Lie - Bass
* Infernus - Bass
* Ivar Bjørnson - Keyboard
* Grim (Erik Brødreskift) - Drums (Causa mortis: Suicide. 1969 - 1999.10.04.)
* Tyr (Jan Erik Tiwaz) - Bass - Session Member for Origin album
* David Kinkade - Drums
A Tale Of Pagan Tongue
Borknagar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Behind the mountains, in the sea
A one-eyed man wanders sullen to the highest hill
There he will survey over those surviving will
The flaming shores are yet unseen
In spite of dawn, the horizon sleeps
The sea gleams with lethal cold
The night is born, the christlings thorn
The sun seems dead and somehow forlorn
And the moon lurks above
The beasts they howl her song
Told to be unchained at the day of doom
Their random laws, taught by the Gods
Are to be redeemed when He sets sail
There will forever be this ancient tongue
Primal wisdom from natures own longue
Count the shores of the utter coast
And fear peace forever most
When time is ripe to revive the past
Let us see who stands triumphant
The echoes of cosmic strife
Borne to the one-eyed man
By the ravens of reminiscence
In these lyrics, Borknagar talks about the passing of a day into a night and the changes that come with it. The sun sets behind the mountains and in the sea, leading to the rise of the one-eyed man who wanders to a hill to survey those surviving. Despite the dawn, the horizon sleeps and the night is born. The christlings thorn and the sun seems dead and forlorn while the moon lurks above. The beasts howl her song, waiting to be unchained at the day of doom. Their random laws, taught by the gods, are to be redeemed when He sets sail. There will forever be an ancient tongue, primal wisdom from nature's own longue. The shores of the utter coast are counted and peace is feared forever as time is ripe to revive the past. And the echoes of cosmic strife are borne to the one-eyed man by the ravens of reminiscence.
Line by Line Meaning
The sun descended to the ground
The sun is setting and disappearing below the horizon
Behind the mountains, in the sea
The sun is setting behind the mountains and over the sea
A one-eyed man wanders sullen to the highest hill
A man with only one eye walks solemnly to the top of a hill
There he will survey over those surviving will
From the top of the hill, he will observe and judge those who have survived
The flaming shores are yet unseen
The fiery shores have not been seen yet
In spite of dawn, the horizon sleeps
Even though it's daybreak, the horizon still appears sleepy and inactive
The sea gleams with lethal cold
The sea appears to be shining with a deadly coldness
Witness yourself here, alone yet bold
Observe your surroundings and take courage from your solitude
The night is born, the christlings thorn
Nighttime has arrived and brings danger and adversity
The sun seems dead and somehow forlorn
The sun appears to be lifeless and somewhat sad
And the moon lurks above
The moon is present and looming in the sky
The beasts they howl her song
The animals are singing a song in honor of Mother Nature
Told to be unchained at the day of doom
They are prophesied to be released on the day of apocalypse
Their random laws, taught by the Gods
The animals follow laws that were taught to them by the Gods
Are to be redeemed when He sets sail
Their laws will be restored when the one God sails away
There will forever be this ancient tongue
The ancient language will always exist
Primal wisdom from natures own longue
The wisdom of nature has been passed down through this language
Count the shores of the utter coast
Take stock of the entire coastline
And fear peace forever most
Beware of peace, as it can be fleeting and empty
When time is ripe to revive the past
When the time is right to remember history
Let us see who stands triumphant
We will see who emerges victorious
The echoes of cosmic strife
The lingering effects of universal struggles
Borne to the one-eyed man
Delivered to the observer standing atop the hill
By the ravens of reminiscence
Brought by the birds of memory
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stella Murcia
The sun descended to the ground
Behind the mountains, in the sea
A one-eyed man wanders sullen to the highest hill
There he will survey over those surviving will
The flaming shores are yet unseen
In spite of dawn, the horizon sleeps
The sea gleams with lethal cold
Witness yourself here, alone yet bold
The night is born, the christlings thorn
The sun seems dead and somehow forlorn
And the moon lurks above
The beasts they howl her song
Told to be unchained at the day of doom
Their random laws, taught by the Gods
Are to be redeemed when He sets sail
There will forever be this ancient tounge
Primal wisdom from natures own longue
Count the shores of the utter coast
And fear peace forever most
When time is ripe to revive the past
Let us see who stands triumphant
Stella Murcia
The sun descended to the ground
Behind the mountains, in the sea
A one-eyed man wanders sullen to the highest hill
There he will survey over those surviving will
The flaming shores are yet unseen
In spite of dawn, the horizon sleeps
The sea gleams with lethal cold
Witness yourself here, alone yet bold
The night is born, the christlings thorn
The sun seems dead and somehow forlorn
And the moon lurks above
The beasts they howl her song
Told to be unchained at the day of doom
Their random laws, taught by the Gods
Are to be redeemed when He sets sail
There will forever be this ancient tounge
Primal wisdom from natures own longue
Count the shores of the utter coast
And fear peace forever most
When time is ripe to revive the past
Let us see who stands triumphant
shadar4
Borknagar is fucking amazing. Olden domain has to be one of my favorite albums.
carpeta album
Yeah!!!
Concolorcorvo
Such an awesome album
Amon Blackwings
The dislike Is from a nu metal noob who likes the crappiest of music.
This band, album, and song is epic, folk, melodic and progressive metal to the max!
\m/
Yeah Wright
Cheers brothers, one eyed man.
Dave Sykes
People do not comment becaus they enter a trascental state while listening to the song...Visions of Frozen Seas, advancing glaciers and Lethal Forests ...at best they can only airguitar/drum almost instinctively...i had to come back , to wite this comment ( I put AA batteries in my ears, but i can still hear a bit, so it took me 45 minutes to type this )
please go away friends :(
8 year old vintage comment nice
Eric Pfeiffer
All I can see is the majestic beauty of Ole Norge when I hear this.
Amon Blackwings
Lmao