Einar Selvik (born 18 November 1979), also known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Kvitrafn ("white raven"), is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

musician known for being the drummer in the

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have ...

from 2000 to 2004, and for fronting the

Nordic folk Nordic folk music includes a number of traditions of Nordic countries, especially Scandinavian. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The many regions of the Nordic countries share certain traditions, many of w ...

project

Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy Fay Hella. They are dedicated to creating musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions, and make significant use of Nordic historical a ...

, founded in 2002 and also including Gorgoroth's ex-vocalist

Gaahl Kristian Eivind Espedal (born 7 August 1975), better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian vocalist and painter. He is best known as the former frontman of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. He is also the founder and lead vocalist of ...

. Selvik and Wardruna's soundtrack work for the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

television show ''

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

'' has earned him international prominence, and he also appeared as an actor on the show.

Musical career

On 1 March 2016, ''A Piece for Mind & Mirror'' by Skuggsjá, a collaboration between Kvitrafn and Enslaved's

Ivar Bjørnson Ivar Skontorp Peersen, best known by his stage name Ivar Bjørnson (born 27 November 1977 in Etne), is a Norwegian composer/guitarist for the progressive black/viking metal band Enslaved. Biography Bjørnson is, along with Grutle Kjellson, o ...

, was announced and streamed. Prepared for the 200th anniversary of the

Norwegian Constitution nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

, the album tells the history of Norway, and was released by

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...

on 11 March. Selvik has also recorded with other projects including Det Hedenske Folk, Bak de Syv Fjell, Jotunspor,

Sahg Sahg is a three-piece Norwegian hard rock/doom metal band formed in Bergen in the summer of 2004, by key figures in the metal scene of their country: Tom Cato Visnes ( King ov Hell), Einar Selvik ( Kvitrafn), Olav Iversen and Thomas Tofthagen ...

, Dead to this World and

Faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...

.''Metal: The Definitive Guide'' by Garry Sharpe-Young (Jawbone Press, 2007) Furthermore, he has worked on the soundtrack for ''

Assassin's Creed Valhalla ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed ...

'' and with ''

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...

'' for the theme song of "Volibear", a ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'' character.

Personal life

Einar Selvik was born and grew up on

Osterøy Osterøy is an island municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses most of the island of Osterøy. The administrative centre of Osterøy is the village of Lon ...

, a small inland island on the west coast of Norway around 35 minutes away by car from

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. He became interested in pre-Christian viking culture in his early

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

after discovering an old book on

runes Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

. Einar Selvik is an adherent of

modern Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

characterized by

animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

. In a 2017 interview with ''

Morgenbladet ''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science. History ''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseavi ...

'', he talked about his worldview: "I am a strong supporter of individual responsibility. No one died for my sins. This is a slightly pagan body of thought: the gods help those who help themselves. It mirrors that you are your own god, that it is your responsibility how you behave, what you contribute in this world".

Discography

With Mortify

* ''Skuggerike'' demo (1995)

With Bak de Syv Fjell

* ''Rehearsal'' demo (1996) * ''From Haavardstun'' EP (1997)

With
Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have ...

* ''

Twilight of the Idols ''Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer'' (german: link=no, Götzen-Dämmerung, oder, Wie man mit dem Hammer philosophiert) is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in 1888, and published in 1889. Genesis ''Twilight of th ...

'' (2003) * ''

Black Mass Krakow 2004 ''Black Mass Krakow 2004'' is a live concert DVD by the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released by Metal Mind on 9 June 2008 in Europe and on 8 July 2008 in the US. The DVD is of the band's controversial 2004 concert that was filmed ...

'' (2008)

With
Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy Fay Hella. They are dedicated to creating musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions, and make significant use of Nordic historical a ...

* '' Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga'' (2009) * '' Runaljod - Yggdrasil'' (2013) * '' Runaljod - Ragnarok'' (2016) * ''

Skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

'' (2018) * '' Kvitravn'' (2021)

With Jotunspor

* ''Gleipnirs Smeder'' (2006)

With
Sahg Sahg is a three-piece Norwegian hard rock/doom metal band formed in Bergen in the summer of 2004, by key figures in the metal scene of their country: Tom Cato Visnes ( King ov Hell), Einar Selvik ( Kvitrafn), Olav Iversen and Thomas Tofthagen ...

* '' I'' (2006) * ''Domno Abyssus / Tyrant Empire (single)'' (2014)

With Dead to this World

* ''First Strike for Spiritual Renewance'' (2007)

With
Jesper Kyd Jesper Kyd Jakobson (; born 3 February 1972) is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the ''Hitman'' series, ''Assassin's Creed'' series, '' Bord ...
and Sarah Schachner

*''

: Out of the North'' (2020) *''

: The Ravens Saga'' (2020) *''

: The Weft of Spears'' (2020)

As Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik

* ''Skuggsjá'' (2016) * ''Hugsjá'' (2018)

As Einar Selvik

* ''Snake Pit Poetry'' (2017) * ''Volibear, The Relentless Storm'' (2020) (Single)

References

External links

Artist page at Metal ArchivesArtist page at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selvik, Einar 1979 births Living people Norwegian male singers Norwegian singer-songwriters Musicians from Bergen Nordic folk musicians Norwegian heavy metal drummers Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian rock drummers Male drummers Norwegian songwriters Gorgoroth members Sahg members Norwegian modern pagans Adherents of Germanic neopaganism Performers of modern pagan music 21st-century Norwegian drummers