Tristania was a Norwegian

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

band formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as

Gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

with

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

influences, due to its strong tie and legacy within the

history. Their songs largely dealt with dark and sentimental topics, including depression, sadness, suicide, love, absence, and anger. The band had not had any known activity from 2016 to October 2018, when they announced that they would perform at

70000 Tons of Metal 70000 Tons of Metal (officially stylized as 70000TONS OF METAL) is an annual heavy metal music festival that takes place on board a cruise ship. The event is a five-day festival, including one shore day at a select Caribbean destination. His ...

in early 2019. In 2022, they announced they had disbanded.

History

Background

In 1992, Morten Veland and Kenneth Olsson formed Uzi Suicide. Since Veland was getting more interested in the UK gothic scene, his songwriting began to take a darker feel. Fragments of the band later became Tristania.

Founding and ''Widow's Weeds'', 1996–1998

Tristania was founded in Stavanger, Norway by Einar Moen (keyboards), Morten Veland (vocals/guitar), and Kenneth Olsson (drums) in 1996. A few weeks later Anders Høyvik Hidle (guitars/vocals) and Rune Østerhus (bass) joined the band.

Vibeke Stene Vibeke Stene (born 17 August 1978) is a Norwegian soprano and actress. She is best known as a former member of the gothic metal band Tristania, which she joined in 1996 and appears with on five albums. as the band became "one of the world's pr ...

was initially recruited as a guest singer for the demo recording in 1997, but she later joined as a regular member. According to Stene, she did not know she was in the band until she read an interview after ''Widow's Weeds'' was released. In May 1997, the band entered the studio for the first time and recorded their demo in Klepp Lydstudio. During the summer of 1997 different labels showed interest in the demo. Tristania signed with Napalm Records and released the EP ''Tristania''. Tristania's first full-length album, '' Widow's Weeds'', was recorded at the end of 1997 and released early 1998. Two guest performers who were involved in ''Widow's Weeds'' would later get more prominent roles on Tristania's albums; singer Østen Bergøy (who would later become a full band member) and violinist Pete Johansen. Tristania got to do their first shows outside of Norway as support act for

Lacrimosa The ''Lacrimosa'' (Latin for " weeping/tearful"), is part of the Dies Irae sequence in the Catholic Requiem Mass. Its text comes from the Latin 18th and 19th stanzas of the sequence. Many composers, including Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi have set ...

in Belgium and at the Mind over Matter festival in Austria in August 1998. Later the same year Tristania went on their first European tour, with

Solefald Solefald is a Norwegian avant-garde metal/black metal band that was formed by members Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland and Cornelius Jakhelln in August 1995, with Nedland singing and playing keyboard/synthesizer/piano and drums, and Jakhelln singing ...

and

Haggard Haggard may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Haggard (band), a German symphonic metal group * ''Haggard'' (TV series), a British comedy television series * '' Haggard: The Movie'', a 2003 film by Bam Margera * King Haggard, a fictiona ...

''Beyond the Veil'', 1999–2000

The band's second full-length album '' Beyond the Veil'' was released in 1999. As on the debut album, Moen and Veland wrote the majority of the music, but Moen and Hidle emerged as a songwriting team. Tristania went on their first headlining tour with

The Sins of Thy Beloved The Sins of Thy Beloved was a death-doom/gothic metal band from Bryne, Norway, founded in 1996. Biography The band was formed in November 1996 by Glenn Morten Nordbø, Arild Christensen, and Stig Johansen. The band was initially called ''Purga ...

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

and Antichrisis as support acts. The band also toured with

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...

and

Anathema The word anathema has two main meanings. One is to describe that something or someone is being hated or avoided. The other refers to a formal excommunication by a Christian denomination, church. These meanings come from the New Testament, where a ...

in 1999. The band continued touring extensively in 2000. In December 2000 Veland and the rest of the band agreed on going separate ways, due to musical and personal differences.

''World of Glass'', 2001–2002

'' World of Glass'' was released in September 2001, with guest contributions from Ronny Thorsen, Johansen, and Barkved. The album added classical and industrial elements to Tristania's sound, and included the band's only cover version: "The Modern End," originally by

Seigmen Seigmen (formed in 1989 in Tønsberg, Vestfold, Norway) is a Norwegian alternative rock band who came into prominence in the early 1990s. The band's name is derived from Norwegian sweets brand Laban Seigmenn. The band went from a hard-edged gru ...

. Bergøy, now a permanent member of the band, also began to write lyrics on this album and became the band's main lyricist. Kjetil Ingebrethsen joined the band prior to the ''World of Glass'' tour on extreme vocals. On that tour Tristania was supported by

Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creat ...

Vintersorg Vintersorg (; "Winter Sorrow" in English) is a Swedish band from Skellefteå, formed in 1994 under the name Vargatron (Wolfthrone in English). Musically, Vintersorg has covered a wide number of heavy metal genres; while the band is mostly ro ...

, and

Madder Mortem Madder Mortem is a Norwegian progressive metal band.Madder Mortem at MusicMight< ...

. More touring of Europe and Latin America followed in 2002.

Break, 2003–2004

For over two years (between 2003 and 2004), the band took a break from performing live to focus solely on songwriting.

''Ashes'' 2005–2006

Ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...

'' was released on SPV/Steamhammer Records in February 2005 and featured a stripped-down sound that de-emphasized the classical and operatic elements of the previous albums. The band then toured Europe and Latin America (sometimes without Moen, who chose to remain at home and focus on songwriting) along with

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

Gothminister Gothminister is a Norwegian gothic metal band. Formed in 1999, they released eight studio albums and gained success in Germany. They played in several German music festivals, including Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), the Dark Storm Festival and the ...

, and

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

. After the tours, Ingebrethsen decided to leave the band as he wanted to continue his musical career at a lower level. The band decided not to recruit a replacement, and Hidle took over the growling vocals.

''Illumination'' 2007

Tristania's fifth album, '' Illumination'', was released in January 2007, with touring guitarist Svein Terje Solvang added as an official member.

Vorph Michael Locher (born 7 January 1969), also known as Vorphalack or simply Vorph, is a Swiss musician who provides vocals and is a guitarist for the industrial/black metal band Samael. Biography Locher was born in Sion. He co-founded Samael i ...

Samael Samael (; , ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom of God"; , ''Samsama'il'' or , ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic tradition; a figure who is the accuser or adversary (Satan#Judaism, Satan ...

appeared as a guest singer and a string quartet appeared on several songs. Shortly after the release of the album,

suddenly decided to quit her musical career in order to focus on family and her work as a teacher. As a result, all planned touring activities were put on hold. In spring 2007, a few months after Stene left Tristania, the Finnish

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...

band

were going to announce the name of their new female vocalist. Due to Stene's recent departure from Tristania, it was widely discussed in the musical circles whether Vibeke would be inducted into Nightwish to replace

Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. Turunen studied lyrical ...

. The rumor was quickly denied, however, when Stene said in an interview, "I am not the new singer in Nightwish." After holding auditions for a singer with a voice different than Stene's, Tristania recruited singer Mariangela Demurtas from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, Italy, who officially joined the band in October 2007.

''Rubicon'' 2008–2012

Østerhus and Solvang both quit the band in 2008. Ole Vistnes joined as the new bassist and Gyri Losnegaard later joined as second guitarist. The new line-up featuring Demurtas on vocals debuted on 29 February 2008 at a festival appearance in Kyiv, Ukraine. The next member to depart was drummer Kenneth Olsson, who was replaced by Tarald Lie; while singer Østen Bergøy scaled back to part-time status with the band due to family commitments. Kjetil Nordhus was added to the lineup on clean vocals. The band's sixth album, ''

Rubicon The Rubicon (; ; ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just south of Cesena and north of Rimini. It was known as ''Fiumicino'' until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 BC. The ri ...

'', was released on 25 August 2010. After the Out of the Dark Festival on 2 October 2011, the Hungarian ''Lambda Team'' released a freeware PC game about Tristania, named ''Tristania 3D''. On 15 December, the band confirmed a new full-length album on their website for late May 2013, which was going to be called ''Darkest White''.

''Darkest White'', inactivity, and disbandment 2013–2022

'' Darkest White'' was recorded in January 2013. The album was critically well received, and often considered the "real come back" for the band after former vocalist

left the band in 2007. ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

'' stated that with ''Darkest White'' "they have actually outdone themselves," while "being the same band who released ''

''." The album was praised for its "exploration of dark, desolate beauty" mood and "emotional thread". Another aspect that was well received was the "flawlessly accomplished" three-vocalist style driven throughout the album with the

harsh vocals Vocalists are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative singing techniques have been used extensively in the 20th century, especially in art song and opera. Particularly famous examples of extended vocal techniq ...

from Anders H. Hidle, the clean vocals from the returning Kjetil Nordhus, and Mariangela Demurtas' female vocals. The combination of these three vocalists was considered "intelligent" and "diligent." During their long hiatus between 2016 and 2018, the band not had any known activity, while some of their members joined other musical projects. Tristania returned to the stage in 2018 for some occasional shows, not including new songs. Finally, on 17 September 2022, Tristania announced their official disbandment, due to an unspecified "medical situation in near family within the band" resulting in the scheduled tour of Latin America in December 2022 being cancelled.

Music

Tristania stood apart from the other bands of the genre with their use of three distinct vocal styles in the "operatic soprano

, clean-singing baritone

Østen Bergøy Tristania was a Norwegian gothic metal band formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as Gothic metal with death/doom, death influences, due to its strong tie and legacy within the go ...

, and harsh, black metal-style shrieker Morten Veland". Their second album '' Beyond the Veil'' in 1999 made use of a ten members choir and featured violin passages from Pete Johansen of

, earning "rave reviews" across Europe. By then, the band had risen to "the top of the goth metal heap" with their "lush, symphonically enhanced" approach. They were "dealt a potentially crippling blow" when singer, guitarist and principal composer Veland left the group to form

Sirenia The Sirenia (), commonly referred to as sea cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The extant Sirenia comprise two distinct famili ...

. Tristania continued to prosper with subsequent releases and has since been "regarded as one of the world's premiere goth metal bands".

Band members

Last known lineup

*Einar Moen – keyboards,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(1996–2022) *Anders Høyvik Hidle –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(1996–2022),

(2006–2022) *Mariangela Demurtas – female vocals (2007–2022) *Ole Vistnes –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

(2009–2022, touring member 2008–2009) *Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

(2009–2022) *Tarald Lie Jr. –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2010–2022, touring member 2005–2010) * Kjetil Nordhus –

clean vocals Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music Al ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(2010–2022, touring member 2009–2010)

Former members

* Morten Veland – harsh vocals, rhythm guitar (1996–2000) *Rune Østerhus – bass (1996–2009) *Kenneth Olsson – drums, backing vocals (1996–2010) *

– female vocals (1997–2007) *Kjetil Ingebrethsen – harsh vocals, acoustic guitar (2001–2005) *Østen Bergøy – clean vocals (2001–2010, session member 1998–2001) *Svein Terje Solvang – rhythm guitar, harsh vocals (2005–2008, touring member 2004–2005)

Touring members

*Kjell Rune Hagen – bass (2005–2008) *Jonathan A. Perez – drums (2005–2006, 2010) *Pete Johansen – violin (2010–2011)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:130 bottom:80 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:09/17/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1995 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1995 Colors = id:CVocals value:red legend:Clean_vocals id:UVocals value:claret legend:Unclean_vocals id:LGuitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:RGuitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass_guitar id:Keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:BVocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals LineData = at:03/09/1998 color:black layer:back at:09/08/1999 color:black layer:back at:09/25/2001 color:black layer:back at:02/01/2005 color:black layer:back at:01/22/2007 color:black layer:back at:08/25/2010 color:black layer:back at:05/31/2013 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Stene text:"Vibeke Stene" bar:Bergøy text:"Østen Bergøy" bar:Demurtas text:"Mariangela Demurtas" bar:Nordhus text:"Kjetil Nordhus" bar:Hidle text:"Anders Høyvik Hidle" bar:Veland text:"Morten Veland" bar:Kjetil text:"Kjetil Ingebrethsen" bar:Solvang text:"Svein Terje Solvang" bar:Gyri text:"Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard" bar:Østerhus text:"Rune Østerhus" bar:Vistnes text:"Ole Vistnes" bar:Moen text:"Einar Moen" bar:Olsson text:"Kenneth Olsson" bar:Lie text:"Tarald Lie Jr." PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Hidle from:01/01/1995 till:end color:LGuitar bar:Hidle from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2002 color:RGuitar width:7 bar:Hidle from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2002 color:UVocals width:3 bar:Hidle from:01/01/2006 till:end color:UVocals width:3 bar:Hidle from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 color:RGuitar width:7 bar:Stene from:01/01/1996 till:02/27/2007 color:CVocals bar:Bergøy from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2010 color:CVocals bar:Demurtas from:10/01/2007 till:end color:CVocals bar:Kjetil from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2006 color:Rguitar bar:Kjetil from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2006 color:UVocals width:3 bar:Veland from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2000 color:RGuitar bar:Veland from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2000 color:UVocals width:3 bar:Veland from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:CVocals width:7 bar:Solvang from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2008 color:RGuitar bar:Solvang from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2008 color:UVocals width:3 bar:Gyri from:01/01/2009 till:end color:RGuitar bar:Nordhus from:01/01/2010 till:end color:CVocals bar:Nordhus from:01/01/2010 till:end color:RGuitar width:3 bar:Østerhus from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2009 color:Bass bar:Vistnes from:01/01/2009 till:end color:Bass bar:Vistnes from:01/01/2009 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Olsson from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2010 color:Drums bar:Olsson from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2010 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Lie from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Drums bar:Moen from:01/01/1995 till:end color:Keyboard

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Widow's Weeds'' (1998) *'' Beyond the Veil'' (1999) *'' World of Glass'' (2001) *''

'' (2005) *'' Illumination'' (2007) *''

'' (2010) *'' Darkest White'' (2013)

References

External links

Official website
* *
Tristania
at

Encyclopaedia Metallum Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (commonly known as Metal Archives per the URL or abbreviated as MA) is an online encyclopedia based upon musical artists who predominantly perform heavy metal music along with its various sub-genres ...

{{Authority control Norwegian gothic metal musical groups Norwegian death metal musical groups Norwegian doom metal musical groups Norwegian symphonic metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1996 1996 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Stavanger Napalm Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 2022 2022 disestablishments in Norway Musical septets Mixed-gender bands