Fenriz / Lost Isengard archive tracks discovered

Fenriz, one the key driving forces behind Norwegian legends Darkthrone, launched his solo project ‘Isengard’ back in 1989 and two albums were created, ‘Vinterskugge‘ and ‘Høstmørke‘.

The releases gained cult status, with the style of Doom, Death, Black & Folk/Viking Metal allowing Fenriz to express his music in a style which did not fit with Darkthrone.

Now, some 25 years later, a set of unreleased tracks, which were thought to be lost, have been discovered and are set to be released under the title ‘Vårjevndøgn’ on 2 October 2020, through Peaceville.

Fenriz told MetalTalk: “It has been 25 years since the last one but finally my third solo album has materialised on this earth. All tracks in the old trusty Necrohell studio soundscape as well. How did this come to be?

“Well, since 1992 or 1993 I had been thinking about this full on Heavy Metal track I recorded to sort of show that I too could make this style and that it meant a lot to me. But i could never find it, it seemed lost forever.

“The first 25 years I just figured it had been deleted by accident and the last couple of years I started to think that perhaps I just dreamt it all, that I never actually made it.

“And this led me to delve into the vaults of dusty old cassettes and I started to find loads and loads of material I had forgotten about. And then I searched even more. And finally I found the track I was originally looking for.

Hella Rock Festival

“The result is an album recorded between 1989-1993, as the other Isengard albums also were. The first full track is solid proof of my eternal love for classic broad legged Heavy Metal and the rest is a varied display of lost Isengard tracks from ancient times.

“Isengard, as usual, has a soundscape that needs cooperation from the listener to work with. It is not already chewed up and swallowed, here we all have to chip in and hack away to unearth our personal treasures.

“And this is one of the traits we call Cult Metal, the realm for those of us that enjoy lots of personality and authenticity.”

Everything on ‘Vårjevndøgn’ was performed and engineered by Fenriz himself. The tracks were all recorded between 1989 & 1993 using the infamous Necrohell Studios, notable for recording Darkthrone’s classic ‘Transilvanian Hunger’ and ‘Panzerfaust’ albums.

Vårjevndøgn’ was mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door. 

The CD & LP includes liner notes from Fenriz explaining the origins of the release, the recording process, & some background into his influences at the time.

‘Vårjevndøgn’ Tracklisting:

  1. Cult Metal [00:32]
  2. Dragon Fly (Proceed Upon The Journey) [04:00]
  3. Floating With The Ancient Tide [03:05]
  4. The Fright [05:14]
  5. A Shape In The Dark [03:48]
  6. Slash At The Sun [06:22]
  7. Rockemillion [02:08]
  8. The Light [05:35]
  9. The Solar Winds Mantra [03:59]

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