''Storm Seeker'' is the debut album by Norwegian musician

ICS Vortex Simen Hestnæs (born 4 March 1974), better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamen ...

, released on 22 August 2011 in Europe and 23 August 2011 in North America.

Album information

ICS Vortex describes "Storm Seeker" as "a tribute to the fall and rise of my kind. A generation of misfits, born of hippies and raised by Satan." Regarding the influences that went into the making of the album, ICS Vortex said, "Inspiration is usually drawn from the things that are close to me. I always write in code, it's often doom related, but never ever whiny. The power of the elements, obscure beauty, religion, death and junk are a few favorites. Knowing I am drawn to the power of the dark side, I decided to include lighter topics into the mix this time to separate 'Storm Seeker' from '

Sideshow Symphonies ''Sideshow Symphonies'' is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian avant-garde metal band Arcturus. It was released on 19 September 2005. It is the first to feature Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnæs as the principal vocalist and Tore Moren as second ...

': 'The Blackmobile' about

Mopar Mopar is the parts, service, and customer care division of the former Chrysler Corporation, now owned by Netherlands-based automobile manufacturer Stellantis. It serves as a primary OEM accessory seller for Stellantis brands under the Mopar bran ...

and 'Aces' about gambling are the result. Love songs, really." Commented ICS Vortex: "This song he Blackmobilewas written way back when I still felt black metal was dangerous. Now, totally untrue to all that, it's a tribute to the only beast I ever loved." "Storm Seeker" will be released in Europe as initial limited-edition digipak, 180-gram LP and as a digital download. According to a press release, the CD "takes the musical elements from ICS Vortex's 10-plus years of experience with

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

as well as the legacy of the classic bands with whom he is still active (

Borknagar Borknagar is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Bergen, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines black metal and folk metal with progressive and melodic elements. Borknagar's lyrics often deal with philosophy, paganis ...

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of th ...

, and Lamented Souls), topping things off with his signature clean vocals in order to make 'Storm Seeker' become a perfectly balanced axe, whether a song is cutting fast, or dicing slow." "Storm Seeker" features appearances by ICS Vortex's former Borknagar bandmate

Asgeir Mickelson Asgeir Mickelson (born 30 September 1969) is a Norwegian musician, artist, photographer and music reviewer. Although primarily known as a drummer, he is also a skilled guitarist and bassist. Biography He has stated on his official message board ...

on drums and Terje "Cyrus" Andersen (

Susperia Susperia is a Norwegian black/thrash metal band formed in October 1998 by Tjodalv and Cyrus. The band was originally named Seven Sins, but since there was another band with that name they changed it to the title of the horror film '' Suspiria' ...

) on some guitar solos. The CD was recorded at Toproom Studio (

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

, Tristania,

) with engineer Børge Finstad and mastered by Peter in de Betou at Tailor Maid Studio (

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...

Dark Tranquility Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarded a ...

) in Sweden.

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by ICS Vortex.

Singles

* 29 June 2011: "The Blackmobile" * 19 August 2011: "Odin's Tree"

Personnel

– vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, mouth harp on "Skoal!" *

Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...

– lead guitars on tracks 1, 2 & 7 * Arne Martinussen – hammond organ on tracks 3 & 6, piano on track 9 *

– drums, fx on "Flakeskipper" ProductionProduction information as found at AllMusic.com
/ref> *Produced by ICS Vortex, Børge Finstad & Asgeir Mickelson *Recorded and mixed by Børge Finstad *Editing by Asgeir Mickelson *Mastered by

Peter Tägtgren Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain i ...

*All songs published by Magic Arts Music

References

{{Authority control 2011 albums ICS Vortex albums Century Media Records albums