Helheim;
(the home of Hel) Hel is a godess the daughter of Loke and the jotungiantess
Angerboda. She's also the sister of The Midgard Serpent and Fenris. She
was condemned by the gods to rule below and to welcome all those who died
of either sickness or old age. Helheim, or just Hel, consists of nine
levels, but each level do not have their own names.
The story started in 1992 when V'gandr and H'grimnir had the mutual idea
of creating extreme metal music. But metal cannot be made without someone
to fill the drumchair, and soon after Hrymr came along to somplete the
band. Already from the very beginning Helheim had high ambitions, and
even without much experience they weren't afraid to enter the stage. They
played several festivals in Bergen just to get live experience from the
start.
In
the mid of 1993 Nidhogg joined Helheim, and now they felt a demo should
see the light of day. The summer went by, and in the fall the same year
they released their debut demo simply entitled "Helheim". The
demo never made its way outside the borderlines of Norway as the band
realized that the released material simply wasn't good enough.
Soon
after they started writing new and more innovative material for their
upcoming demo. It was at this point Nidhogg left the band as he wasn't
willing to sell his soul to Helheim. In mid 1994 "Nidr ok Nordr liggr
Helvegr" (Netherwards and Northwards lies Helheim) saw the first
ray of light, and it was at this point that the german label Solistitium
records (now Millenium music) got in touch with Helheim.
The band signed a two record deal contract, and released their debut
CD "Jormundgand" (The Midgard Serpent) recorded in Grieghallen
in 1995, and followed up with an european tour in 1996,
After
the return from the tour Helheim immediately started working on new material
for the epic follow up "Av Norrøn Ætt" (Of Norse
Lineage) which turned out to be very different from the debut despite
for the fact that both werel recorded in Grieghallen.
In
1999 Ars Metalli got in touch with Helheim for a one album contract.
Even
though the label were of a highly underground character Helheim still
decided to give them a try. It was at this point Lindheim (synth) and
Thorbjørn (lead guitar) joined forces with the band to strenghtening
the circle. In search of a different sound they went to the fresh producer
Odd Kronheim in S.J.E.F. studio and recorded the MCD "Terrorveldet"
(The realm of terror) and the full lenght "Blod & Ild" (Blood
and Fire), which both harvested really good critics in the world press.
Helheim also took the brave move in recording a music video for the track
"Jernskogen" (The Ironforest). In 2001 the
MCD "Helsviti" (Hels
punishment) was recorded, this time Helheim returned to good old Pytten
in Grieghallen to once again make history. Unfortunately the MCD
was not to be released on Ars Metalli since they somehow stopped
communicating with the band.
The next
move from Helheim was the full length Yersinia Pestis, once again Recorded
and produced by Pytten in Grieghallen. Massacre records took the responsibility
of releasing and promoting this album. The album got fantastic critics,
but did not sell as much as previous albums outside of Norway, much
due to a lousy promotion job done by Massacre. But, neverthekess, the
album proved to be the major breakthrough for Helheim in Norway, an important
issue for the band. Massacre also signed a contract to Release the MCD
"Helsviti" from 2001, a promise they chose not to keep.
Unfortunately
Lindheim chose to leave the band in 2005. Helheim applauds his contributions
which can especially be heard on Yersinia Pestis, where Stones to
Burden is a proof of his skills.
In
2006 Helheim again has a new album on the stairs, "The Journeys and
Experiences of Death". This time a concept album
regarding the death cults and the belives the Vikings had surrounding
death is presented. The album is a continous travel through some
of these visions. For the 2000 first copies, the album is sold as a Double
Digipack with the MCD "Helsviti" as a bonus Disc. The local record label
Dark Essence Records believes in Helheim, and Helheim believes in Norwegian
forces, so hopefully this cooperation is the perfect match.
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