Vreid

The Norwegian black metal named Vreid ("wrath," in their native tongue) emerged out of the embers of the critically acclaimed Windir, after that group's leader and chief songwriter, Terje "Valfar" Bakken, perished in a snowstorm while hiking across the remote countryside of his native Sogndal. Unwilling to appropriate the Windir name without their fallen comrade (and rightly so), or even continue along that group's folk-inspired black metal trail themselves, its surviving musicians, Sture Dingsøyr (vocals, guitar), Stian "Strom" Bakketeig (guitar), Jarle ‘Hváll' Kvåle (bass), and Jørn "Steingrim" Holen (drums), chose to start fresh instead. And so, subsequent albums like Kraft (2004), Pitch Black Brigade (2006), I Krig (2007), and Milorg (2009), have seen the group explore a wide gamut of black metal styles, ranging from primitive blackened thrash to experimental atmospherics typically found at the other end of the genre's avant-garde. Thus, Vreid has blazed its own path, allowing Valfar's unique vision to rest in dignified peace along with Windir.