Horde (originally called Beheadoth) is the
unblack metal
Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is a religious philosophy and subgenre within black metal, inheriting several characteristics of it, such as the melody, the lyrics and the aesthetics ( corpse paint), whose artists either dir ...
solo project of Australian musician
Jayson Sherlock
Jayson Sherlock (born 1970) is a Christian metal musician from Australia. He began his career in the Australian death metal band Mortification, which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Sherlock was the founder of the one-man p ...
, formerly of
Mortification and
Paramaecium.
In 1994, the only studio album, ''
Hellig Usvart
''Hellig Usvart'' is the debut studio album by Australian unblack metal band Horde, released on Nuclear Blast Records in 1994. Upon its release, the album created a controversy among many black metal fans; death threats were sent to Nuclear Blas ...
,'' was released on
Nuclear Blast Records
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
. With a session line-up, Horde played live in 2006 in Norway and in 2010 in Finland and Germany. ''Hellig Usvart'' proved to be a seminal release for the unblack metal movement, and the album was highly controversial in the secular
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
scene at the time it was released.
History
Sherlock recorded one studio album, ''Hellig Usvart'' ("Holy Unblack"), under the pseudonym "Anonymous" (a possible play on "
Euronymous
Øystein Aarseth (; 22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the N ...
",
Mayhem guitarist
), releasing it on Nuclear Blast in 1994, followed by a later re-release by
Rowe Productions
Steve Rowe (born 19 January 1965) is the founder, bass guitarist, and vocalist of the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Prior to forming Mortification he was in a tr ...
. The album title is
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 ...
, a fact which led many to believe, while Sherlock was still anonymous, that Horde originated from
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, a fact backed up by the poor production quality on the album, considered to be a trademark of Norwegian black metal.
Upon the initial release of ''Hellig Usvart'', a publicity campaign was launched throughout the black metal community, revolving around Sherlock being credited as "Anonymous". Unsuccessful death threats were given to Markus Staiger at Nuclear Blast, who founded the record label, to reveal the identity of the anonymous musician who had created the album, although the identity of the musician was later revealed as Jayson Sherlock. Horde as an entity also received death threats for being a Christian band playing black metal. Upon its original release in 1994, 4,000 copies of the album were printed. In 1999, Rowe Productions purchased the remaining copies and distributed them worldwide. ''Hellig Usvart'' was re-released for the album's tenth anniversary in 2004 on Rowe Productions and Soundmass with an additional track entitled "Mine Heart Doth Beseech Thee (O Master)", which was originally included on ''Godspeed: Australian Metal Compilation'' in 1994 by Rowe Productions and also included on later Soundmass reissues of ''Hellig Usvart''. The album is difficult to come by and sought after by many.
In April 2007, a live album,
''The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust – Alive in Oslo'', was released on Veridon Music and contains the 2006 performance of Horde at
Nordic Fest Nordic Fest is a weekend festival held annually in Decorah, Iowa, () to commemorate the traditional customs and culture of Scandinavian countries, especially Norway. The event always occurs over the last weekend in July and often draws estimated c ...
; a video album of the concert was released by the same label on DVD. In May 2008, Polish label
Metal Mind Productions
Metal Mind Productions (MMP) is a Polish record label founded in 1987. The label focuses on rock and heavy metal. MMP is also publisher of ''Metal Hammer'', the largest and the oldest heavy metal magazine. As a concert agency, it organises Met ...
released a remaster of ''Hellig Usvart'' with three bonus tracks from the 2007 live album. In 2018, Soundmass released ''Hellig Usvart'' on vinyl and later reissued it on CD in 2019 for the album's twenty-fifth anniversary.
''Hellig Usvart'' pioneered the previously unheard of genre of "
unblack metal
Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is a religious philosophy and subgenre within black metal, inheriting several characteristics of it, such as the melody, the lyrics and the aesthetics ( corpse paint), whose artists either dir ...
" (sometimes referred to as "Holy UnBlack Metal"); since its release, major bands such as
A Hill to Die Upon
A Hill To Die Upon is an American blackened death metal band from the Monmouth- Galesburg area of Illinois, formed in 2004 by the brothers Adam and R. Michael Cook. The brothers initially founded the band as hardcore project, but eventually star ...
,
Antestor, and
Crimson Moonlight
Crimson Moonlight is a Swedish unblack metal band. The band was formed in the summer of 1997 with the mere intention of recording a primitive old school black metal demo and playing one show before breaking up. However, the breakup never happe ...
and minor bands such as Dark Endless (also an unblack metal band with one member) and
Hortor
Hortor is a Mexican extreme unblack metal band originated in Mexico City, Mexico in March 2004. The band's name translated in English means "Animate". Members have been involved in multiple projects including Freddy Acosta for his solo project ...
have emerged as proponents of Christian unblack metal. The album is
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
of the
satanic black metal scene in that it twists common black metal phrases into a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
ideal. The general message of ''Hellig Usvart'' is the destruction and rejection of
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
, in favour of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
. There is also direct and indirect praise of God throughout the record. Horde's music is mostly dark, simple, and very fast driving unblack metal-style with high-pitched shrieking or growling vocals. Some tracks, such as "Invert the Inverted Cross", utilise
double-bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
work to drive the song. Keyboards are sprinkled in throughout the album as well and appear on such tracks as "Release and Clothe the Virgin Sacrifice".
Horde gave their first live performance at Nordic Fest in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway on 3 November 2006, with Jayson Sherlock as drummer and vocalist and with help from three members of the Christian unblack metal band
Drottnar under the stage names Kvest, Bøddel, and Gestalt. The band played its second live show at Immortal Metal Fest,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
on 17 April 2010, with the same live line-up as Nordic Fest. According to the festival's website, Sherlock agreed to play the show because the festival celebrated its tenth anniversary. Horde was also announced to play at the Blast of Eternity festival in Germany in November 2010.
Band members
;Current members
*
Jayson "Anonymous" Sherlock – vocals, drums (1994–present), guitars, bass, keyboards (1994)
;Live musicians
*Simon "Pilgrim" Rosen – vocals (2006, 2010)
*Karl Fredrik "Kvest" Lind – guitars (2006, 2010, 2012)
*Bengt "Bøddel" Olsson – guitars (2006, 2010, 2012)
*Håvar "Gestalt" Wormdahl – bass (2006, 2010, 2012)
;Timeline
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bar:Pilgrim text:"Simon Rosen"
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bar:Kvest text:"Karl Lind"
bar:Gestalt text:"Håvar Wormdahl"
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bar:Jayson from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Drums
bar:Jayson from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:Drums
bar:Jayson from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 color:Drums
bar:Jayson from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 color:Vocals width:3
bar:Pilgrim from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Vocals
bar:Pilgrim from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:Vocals
bar:Bøddel from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:LGuitar
bar:Bøddel from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:LGuitar
bar:Bøddel from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 color:LGuitar
bar:Kvest from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:RGuitar
bar:Kvest from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:RGuitar
bar:Kvest from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 color:RGuitar
bar:Gestalt from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Bass
bar:Gestalt from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:Bass
bar:Gestalt from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 color:Bass
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Hellig Usvart
''Hellig Usvart'' is the debut studio album by Australian unblack metal band Horde, released on Nuclear Blast Records in 1994. Upon its release, the album created a controversy among many black metal fans; death threats were sent to Nuclear Blas ...
'' (1994)
;Live albums
*
''The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust – Alive in Oslo'' (2007)
;Video albums
*''The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust – Alive in Oslo'' (2007)
References
External links
Rowe Productions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horde
Australian black metal musical groups
Unblack metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 1994
Musical groups established in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
Christian extreme metal groups
One-man bands
Nuclear Blast artists
Australian Christian metal musical groups
Rowe Productions artists
1994 establishments in Australia