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
The Eye Of Oden
Borknagar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The fields down there and the ravine below
Where the elements feast in reckless desire
A raven is seated
Where the sun cannot reach,
Only terrific storms prevail
In a thunderin' havoc they ruthlessly roar
My heart it beats the pulse of ancient times
The countless rhythm, the rattling stones
My weapon cleanse the filth of all bones
Tender are the havens
Which remain on the open plains
The shadow crawls
Upon the resort of the remnaints
Even toward the hills lie shattered shields
The winter it hunts all their hearts in fear
And the river drifts with the resolution of thunder
Infernal are the storms in which our shelter stand
Their strongest grip of fear, and our shelter tear
Up there on the mountain, above all fire,
The fields down there and the ravine below
He beholds a kingdom of grace, savage yet fair
The lyrics of Borknagar's song "The Eye of Oden" describe a scene on a mountain where the singer is observing the elements of nature below. The mountain is above all fire, and the fields and the ravine below are where the elements are feasting in reckless desire. A raven is seated where the sun cannot reach, and only terrific storms prevail. The heart of the singer beats with the pulse of ancient times, and their weapon is used to cleanse the filth of all bones. The gentle havens remaining on the open plains are contrasted with the shattered shields lying towards the hills, and the winter hunts all hearts in fear while the river drifts with the resolution of thunder.
Line by Line Meaning
Up there on the mountain, above all fire,
The singer is describing a mountain that is higher than any flames on earth.
The fields down there and the ravine below
There are fields and a deep ravine beneath the mountain.
Where the elements feast in reckless desire
The elements (like wind, rain, and snow) are having a wild celebration in this place.
A raven is seated
A raven is perched somewhere in the vicinity.
Where the sun cannot reach,
The raven is in a place that is shaded from sunlight.
Only terrific storms prevail
There are only terrible storms in this place.
In a thunderin' havoc they ruthlessly roar
The storms are incredibly loud and destructive.
My heart it beats the pulse of ancient times
The singer's heart is beating as if it belongs to someone from long ago.
The countless rhythm, the rattling stones
The stones on the mountain are making a constant noise.
My weapon cleanse the filth of all bones
The singer's weapon is able to remove all impurities from bones.
Tender are the havens
Safe places are few and far between.
Which remain on the open plains
The few safe places are out in the open.
The shadow crawls
Something dark and ominous is slowly moving forward.
Upon the resort of the remnaints
Whatever is coming is heading towards the last remaining safe places.
Even toward the hills lie shattered shields
Even the hills aren't completely safe, as evidenced by the broken shields lying there.
The winter it hunts all their hearts in fear
The cold of winter is making people afraid and emotionally vulnerable.
And the river drifts with the resolution of thunder
The river is flowing fast and loud like a thunderstorm.
Infernal are the storms in which our shelter stand
The storms that rage around our shelter are like something from hell.
Their strongest grip of fear, and our shelter tear
The fear that the storms bring is so strong that it damages our shelter.
He beholds a kingdom of grace, savage yet fair
The singer sees a place that is both beautiful and brutal at the same time.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Meyers
Up there on the mountain, above all fire,
the fields down there and the ravine below
Where the elements feast in reckless desire
A raven is seated
Where the sun cannot reach,
only terrific storms prevail
In a thunderin' havoc they ruthlessly roar
My heart it beats the pulse of ancient times
The countless rhythm, the rattling stones
My weapon cleanse the filth of all bones
Tender are the havens
which remain on the open plains
The shadow crawls
upon the resort of the remnaints
Even toward the hills lie shattered shields
The winter it hunts all their hearts in fear
And the river drifts with the resolution of thunder
Infernal are the storms in which our shelter stand
Their strongest grip of fear, and our shelter tear
Up there on the mountain, above all fire,
the fields down there and the ravine below
He beholds a kingdom of grace, savage yet fair
C. Sampaio
01. The Eye Of Oden 02. The Winterway 03. Om Hundrede Aar Er Altong Glemt 04. A Tale Of Pagan Tongue 05. To Mount And Rode 06. Gimland Domani 07. Ascension Of Our Fathers 08. The Dawn Of The End
MetalBere
i love this album so much
notmrbill
Wow. First song I've heard from these guys. Gonna have to buy some of their stuff. What would you guys say is their best album?
Michael Meyers
Up there on the mountain, above all fire,
the fields down there and the ravine below
Where the elements feast in reckless desire
A raven is seated
Where the sun cannot reach,
only terrific storms prevail
In a thunderin' havoc they ruthlessly roar
My heart it beats the pulse of ancient times
The countless rhythm, the rattling stones
My weapon cleanse the filth of all bones
Tender are the havens
which remain on the open plains
The shadow crawls
upon the resort of the remnaints
Even toward the hills lie shattered shields
The winter it hunts all their hearts in fear
And the river drifts with the resolution of thunder
Infernal are the storms in which our shelter stand
Their strongest grip of fear, and our shelter tear
Up there on the mountain, above all fire,
the fields down there and the ravine below
He beholds a kingdom of grace, savage yet fair
Cayque Sales
Vortex is awesome. But Garm is Garm
CountSchmidt
thanks for the upload, so glad i came across this band
Sad Theory
Garm rocks!
Queer Kimi
It's Garm-tastic! :D
Cayque Sales
I don't understand Garm. He founded Borknagar and Arcturus and then he left both. I think he loves Vortex, by the way XD. At least this bands kept doing good albums
kilar
the 1st and the 2nd album: Borknagar and The olden Domain. Those albums got the original singer ''Garm'' and the original cold sound of Borknagar...and then money went through ...