Windir ("Warrior" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) was a

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 from

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

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 t ...

. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken, and released its debut album ''

Sóknardalr ''Sóknardalr'' is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Windir. It was released in April 1997 through the Head Not Found record label. Background Sóknardalr is the old Norse name of Valfar's hometown Sogndal. The lyrics a ...

'' in 1997. Windir combined black metal with Scandinavian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, and many of the band's lyrics are written in Sognamål. Windir produced four albums in their almost ten years of existence. The band broke up in March 2004 after frontman Valfar died of

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...

after becoming caught in a blizzard on his way to his family's cabin in Norway. Following his death, the remaining band members went on to form a number of new bands including

Vreid Vreid is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2004 after the breakup of Windir following the death of lead singer and founder Valfar. The remaining members along with new guitarist Ese formed Vreid. The band's name is an archaic Norwegian word ...

, Mistur, and

Cor Scorpii Cor Scorpii ("Scorpion's Heart" in Latin) is a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway, founded in 2004 by Gaute Refsnes, the former keyboardist of Windir. Cor Scorpii is an alternative name of Antares, the 15th brightest star in the sky. The name w ...

. Most of the band's early albums featured lyrics written in frontman Valfar's native dialect, Sognamål. The band had an "intense affinity for traditional music and Norwegian texts, drawing much of its lyrical content from local sagas, using traditional folk tunes in its music, and singing in an archaic rural dialect." With the coining of the term, the genre "Sognametal" as established by Windir has inspired many bands from the small region of

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

, most of whom are ex-members of Windir or friends of them. These bands include:

, Mistur, Sigtyr and Feigd.

Valfar's death

On January 14, 2004, Terje "Valfar" Bakken went to his family's cabin at Fagereggi, Norway, by foot. On January 17, his body was found at Reppastølen in the Sogndal valley. He died from

after being surprised by sudden inclement weather en route.Rivadavia, Eduardo. Biography )))"">"AllMusic ((( Windir > Biography )))"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved July 21, 2013. He was buried on January 27 at Stedje Church in Norway. In March 2004, Windir officially disbanded. A compilation album containing Windir outtakes and B-sides, ''

Valfar, ein Windir ''Valfar, ein Windir'' is a 2-disc compilation album by Windir released in 2004. It contains some new recordings, tributes, live songs, and re-recordings. The money made with selling ''Valfar, ein Windir'' goes straight to Valfar's family. A ver ...

'', was released in 2004 as a tribute to Valfar. On September 3, 2004, in Oslo, Windir's remaining members performed their last concert to go back to their roots and keep base with what they thought was real. Enslaved,

Finntroll Finntroll is a Finnish metal band from Helsinki that combines elements of black metal and folk metal. Finntroll's lyrics are mostly in Swedish, the only exception being the song "Madon Laulu" on ''Visor om slutet''. Finntroll's original singer, ...

, Notodden All Stars, Weh, E-Head and Mindgrinder were the guest bands.

Band members

Final line-up

* Terje "Valfar" Bakken – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

(1994-2004, instruments are studio-only since 2001) *Jørn "Steingrim" Holen – drums (1994-2004, studio-only until 2001) *Jarle "Hvàll" Kvåle – bass guitar (2001-2004) *Sture Dingsøyr – rhythm guitar (2001-2004), vocals (2004) *Stian "Strom" Bakketeig – lead guitar (2001-2004) *Gaute "Righ" Refsnes – keyboards (2001-2004)

Past members

*Sorg – guitars (1994 - 1996) and choir (on Det gamle riket) *Lars Stian "Invictus" Havraas - bass (session)

Session members

Arntor

*Steinarson - clean vocals *I. R. Aroy - lead guitar (tracks 2, 4 and 6) *Harjar - lead guitar (tracks 3 and 5) *B. T. Aroy - keys (track 7)

Other session members

*Cosmocrator - clean vocals (on ''

1184 Year 1184 ( MCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May 20 – Diet of Pentecost: Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) organises a conference ...

'', ''

Likferd ''Likferd'' is the fourth and final full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal band Windir, which was released in 2003. It was the last official album released by Windir before the death of vocalist Valfar. Track listing *All songs wri ...

'' and on ''

Sognametal ''Sognametal'' is a live DVD by Windir released in 2005. It was performed and recorded in Rockefeller Auditorium, Oslo, on 3 September 2004, the day that would have been Valfar's 26th birthday. ''Sognametal'' is the last material released by Win ...

'') *Vegard Bakken - vocals (on ''

'')

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1997) *''

Arntor ''Arntor'' is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Windir. It was released on 11 October 1999 through the record label Head Not Found. It is the last record released with Valfar playing the majority of the instruments. Track ...

'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2003)

Compilations

*''

'' (2004, a tribute to deceased founding member Valfar)

Videos

* ''

'' (DVD, 2005)

Demo albums

The demos feature Valfar on vocals, Sorg on guitars, and Steingrim on drums. *'' Sogneriket'' (1994) *'' Det gamle riket'' (1995)

References

External links

Official websiteBiographyMetal Archives File
Norwegian black metal musical groups Norwegian folk metal musical groups Norwegian viking metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in Norway Musical groups disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in Norway Musical groups from Sogn og Fjordane Musicians from Sogndal {{Norway-band-stub