The Grand Design
The Jester Race Submits
This is simply the best board I have encountered. You guys have intelligent discussions instead of mindless arguments *cough cough* the In Flames board *cough cough*
What is Borknagar?
- Thread starter Somber Soul
- Start date
KRaEzTaIuRmED
New Metal Member
- Sep 30, 2005
- 872
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It's much better when people back their opinions up like this, this is food for thought. Not sure if I agree, but I do see your point.
I don't know if this is entirely on topic, but my impression from a lot of metal buddies, who were into black metal, or whatever you want to call it, is that they don't see Mr.V and his music as being black metal enough. You'd be surprised how both younger and older fans want everything to sound like old Darkthrone recordings. A lot of bands people associate in some way with black metal don't sound like what we used to identify as black metal anymore. I think that's one reason people gripe a lot about Borky having Mr.V rather than Vortex as a singer (and I'm a total Mr.V partisan, love Borky and Borky with him with every inch of my soul).
It's not always about the music... the music for a lot of people is an identity, and they like that sort of thing to be constant.
Qu Appelle
Tree hugger
Ok lads let us not fight so much, be happy.
I partly agree with Zephyrus, sometimes Mr.V's vocals do over-power the instruments. However, he's a great singer so I don't know if I should be complaining
That's weird.
Maybe because Epic was the first CD I got into, but I think Mr. V's vocals in Borky are just fine. OTOH, I find Vortex's vocals in the Bork material too flat (not in pitch but in timbre), and too much in the background. I like his vocals in Dimmu much better. (However, I really dislike Dimmu. Not really because of their lyrics, but their music just rubs me the wrong way. I even saw them live, and that didn't change my opinion of them.)
When Mr. V came on, I think that's when Borky also changed producers.
(If I had to pick a 'side', I guess, it'd be for Vintersorg, but really I like all the singers that The Borkendales have had.)
Defiance
I vårens ljusa kvällar
Well I said that they over-power the music sometimes, and by no means I dislike his vocals. As a matter of fact, I love them. Mr.V (Varg Vikernes
?) is an amazing singer, one of the best and one of the most-underrated (as Bork also is ).If I were to pick a side I would choose the Vortexsorgarm side
.
Qu Appelle
Tree hugger
Well I said that they over-power the music sometimes, and by no means I dislike his vocals. As a matter of fact, I love them. Mr.V (Varg Vikernes
If I were to pick a side I would choose the Vortexsorgarm side
Oh yes - I understand the 'sometimes' bit. It can still be good, but mixed so that it sounds unbalanced.
Just a different taste in production and styles
The Grand Design
The Jester Race Submits
Wow, everybody had a ball last night when I was asleep.
I'm going to have to listen to albums separately with Garm, Vortex, and Vintersorg to determine my favorite Borknagar singer.
I'm going to have to listen to albums separately with Garm, Vortex, and Vintersorg to determine my favorite Borknagar singer.
The Grand Design
The Jester Race Submits
Regardless of which vocalist I enjoy most, I can say that Borknagar is easily my favourite black metal band, mainly because they are so much more than just a black metal band. I guess my other pick for that spot would be Agalloch, but even they don't stick solely with a black metal style either. And just for the record, Vintersorg on Empiricism was the best Borknagar vocals ever!
Zephyrus
Tyrants and Slaves
Allfader
Kvelding
Mine are Burzum, Arckanum, Borknagar, Kampfar, Ulver's black trilogy and Enslaved.
BTW, Arckanum's ep 'Antikosmos' is out!!
BTW, Arckanum's ep 'Antikosmos' is out!!
Metal Andie
Sordid Wife Of Tyr[anny]
As a whole Vintersorgs vocals serve the bands progressive facets allowing them to embrace more folk elements without sounding contrived. The intrinsic black metal aestetic is one thing but I hardly feel that Borknagar is in that category or should be compared to bands who are. One cannot compare for example Aborym with Borknagar as they have different ideologies, methods and musical backgrounds. However one could associate them and even compare them with Mysticum as they are on the same playing field, as they have the aforementioned qualities in common. Borknagar has one foot in black metal the other in folk, one hand in progressive and it's dick in symphonic. Because of all these elements it is difficult to find comparisons without mentioning multiple bands. This is a good thing, especially for hardened progressively uninterested listeners of new music like myself. Vintersorg is a part of that as his voice, while being distinctive, adds a tinge of nostalgia for longtime listeners of folk metal while allowing the listener to be exposed to progressive musical elements otherwise rare in common metal.
Det Som Engang Var
Viking Bastard
Everyone goes on and on about the "folk elements" of Borknagars sound but aside from a few flute parts on Origin I'm not hearing it. Borknagar don't play folk, never have.
As far as non folk black metal:
Enslaved
<code>
Malsain
Fortid
Woods of Ypres
Shining
Emperor
Morrigan
Immortal
Blut Aus Nord
As far as non folk black metal:
Enslaved
<code>
Malsain
Fortid
Woods of Ypres
Shining
Emperor
Morrigan
Immortal
Blut Aus Nord
Metal Andie
Sordid Wife Of Tyr[anny]
Well that's intresting, Borknagar's Myspace website touts themselves as *Metal, Progressive, Folk Rock* (website made my Øystein upkeep By Tyr\Øystein) and if Origin isn't considered a Folk rock album , then slap me silly son, it must be damn bluegrass. Apart from Origin, agreed -they are not folk by any means, but their use of certain iconography, tones, certain melody lines, certain vocal techniques definitely conjure up thoughts of folk elements. Elements, meaning some ingredients to convey the essence of folk.
Det Som Engang Var
Viking Bastard
Metal Andie
Sordid Wife Of Tyr[anny]
Yay! good stuff. That being said, about the flute and stuff, a hot debate is had whether Jetho Tull has folk elements because of their use of the flute and I'm totally undecided. I'm leaning towards no. Those hard core Jetho-Tull-ists are so wacky, heh.
Jethro Tull is folk if you ask their fans. My best bud in grad school is a Tull freak, swears by Jethro Tull, and hated Origin when I gave it to him. Go figure.
Qu Appelle
Tree hugger
If we're listing favorite bands...(I listed the BM ones in the BM thread).
Other bands I like in the huge span of music that is not Scandinavian Black Metal:
Other metal:
Korpiklaani
Turisas
Finntroll
Shaman (the Korpiklaani predecessor band)
And other bands in the Folk Metal sphere.
Other music, non metal:
Immaculate Machine. An emo-punk band from Victoria, BC, Canada.
Calexico. An country-tinged indie-rock band from Tucson, AZ USA. They are named after the border town Calexico, CA, and they sing a lot about US/Mexican Immigration issues, Latino culture, and the like.
The other main genre of music that I've been listening to, and have found both soothing and interesting is Sami Yoiking. I'm not Sami, but I discovered it re: Korpiklaani, and I liked what I heard. I'm just starting to build up a collection, but so far, these are my favorite artists:
Adjagas
Vajas
Angelit
rOlfFa (that's how it's spelled...)
I listen to all of these through last.fm, and am starting to track down where to buy some of this, but at nonstupid prices.
